After nine weeks at CHQ, Dad was very ready to return to his retirement home, friends and familiar routines by the first of September so I took him back to Pittsburgh and then returned to the lake house for a week of peaceful aloneness with just a dash of fun with some friends and neighbors there.

The weather that had been chilly and damp all summer suddenly turned absolutely gorgeous and I thoroughly enjoyed long walks, blueberry picking, hiking in a nearby ancient forest and late night forays to watch the International Space Station and the US Shuttle race across the starlit sky. It was so great that I was easily persuaded to stick around for a second week.

My first class (a workshop I’m teaching on Don’t Retire; Re-Inspire! was scheduled to start on the next Tuesday so I had to leave no later than Sunday. It was with regret that I packed up the cottage and shut everything down for the winter there.

My son called while I was driving home and offered to feed me dinner if I came to their house for a reunion with the grandsons so I looked forward to a fun evening. About an hour after I arrived however I received a phone call that my Dad had been taken to the ER with abdominal pains. His doctor called the next morning to report a gallbladder attack and impending plans to do surgery to remove it.

Even though this is a simple procedure these days, any medical intervention for a 93 year old has serious implications so I taught my first class and then drove straight back 5 hours worth of turnpike to be with him.

Four days of sitting in a hospital, and all that entails started to really take the edge off my end of summer serenity. After getting him back to his home and arranging for help from the assisted living team there, I headed back to my own home feeling more exhausted than I’ve felt in a long time.

By yesterday, I realized that I wasn’t just tired – a fever, sore throat and throbbing headache let me know that I am now sick with some sort of flu – I really don’t care at the moment which one it is.

So I’ve had to cancel my class tonight and am confined to quarters on a liquid diet laced with Tylenol and decongestants. Seems to be some sort of payback for taking that two-week vacation…..hmmm

But, that is life, isn’t it? No matter how well we plan or what we intend, sometimes life just gets in the way. Many of us have gotten to an age where if one of the kids doesn’t need something, one of the parents might.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t work on our dreams or do things for ourselves – it does mean that we need to be prepared for a change of plans and remember to keep a sense of humor. And sometimes be prepared to pay for the good times….