MONDAY, MONDAY

Tomorrow my Mom arrives. The doctor cleared her to fly. She's pretty exited and was all packed this morning. Even though she has done this trip many times, this is the first time she's come cross country since she started having so many health problems. She's seventy-six with COPD, asthma and sciatica (sp) so I'm pretty proud she's going to do this! We'll pick her up tomorrow and then she can rest in the car while I have my annual eye exam before starting the drive home.

Two years ago, I had a torn retina-not a big deal-but each year I have to have a check up in the city. The amazing part of the checkup is the dilation of the eye. You older people know what I'm talking about. This is not the kind of dilation as at the optometrist. When these drops kick in, you can see every blood vessel in your eye from the inside. It is a strange feeling.

If you have ever seen any alien movies where they have the huge irises, that is what a person looks like. My older daughter usually takes me. On the way home I have to wear two pairs of eyeshades and keep my eyes closed because the light is so blinding. Last year I stayed at her house until about four hours after the drops before daring to drive home and my son-in-law was still making up wisecracks about the way I looked! He's a pretty serious guy who's not prone to a lot of joking so I really enjoyed the jokes.

I grew up in a family that was never serious. Wisecrack was our middle name. Add to that the fact that my Dad was hard of hearing and you can guess what a get together with my family consists of. My brother two years younger than me still calls me nicknames like "Fatso" (which I'm not), Bubbles and the ilk. My younger brother (seven years) apparently thinks I'm getting really old because he calls me Honey and Sweetheart. My little sister (fifteen years) is more like a daughter but she can wisecrack with the best of us. My Mom really spread us out on our ages.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to these next few weeks. We're going to spend a couple of nights at a local Indian casino and hotel and go to see Chrystal Gayle who must be getting damn near as old as I am.

To quote a friend who came to visit this morning. "Bye, Bye and Buy Bonds".