St. Patrick's Day

"The things that matter most in life are the things that blind side you on some idle Tuesday."

So the most publicized speech from my graduating year went. This token of advice rang true once again this morning. Around six in the morning I woke up to the sound of a persistent ring. Rings are always persistent when your sixth sense tells you it's something important or someone who feels they are. This was important.

My mother in law was on the phone, "Mel can I talk to Bobby, it's Mom." During weak moments she refers to herself as my Mom. I knew something was wrong from the start. Half asleep I passed the phone off to the Captain. He hung up the phone with a sigh and slept a little longer. Then another call sometime later. This time he was up and out the door.

His father had indigestion last night shortly after we had dinner. This morning it still hadn't gone away and his pain was worse. He decided to go to the ER at St. Josephs next to NASA. Within an hour we found out they caught the start of a third heart attack. He was medi-vaced to Methodist Memorial in Houston. He is having angioplasty and in stable condition.

Right now Rob is driving his mother around. The first time this happened he was the last to know; the second time he was eight thousand miles away. This time he is here and taking control of everything. Corbin is out in the cold feeling awful and riding his bike. His last words to his grandfather were the kind muddled with preteen angst and immature glares. Bobby is doing his own thing, the apathetic shell of Aspergers with an analytical core.

Me, I just said good bye to the Captain and his mom. They came by to talk to the children and let me know what was going on for the moment. She reached out to give me a big hug when she saw me, I could tell she needed it and I realized I need it too. After handing his mother a book to read we said our goodbyes. I didn't have any romance novels but I did hand her Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. It's not her normal reading material, but it has yet to disappoint anyone.

All of this changes everything. I don't know where anyone will be in the next month. The Patriarch might not make it through, which means drastic changes around here. He was the first to even like me in the family and has always stuck up for my end. I don't know exactly what and how I'll feel when the time comes.