Clearing My Calendar

Before we went away on vacation I promised myself that once we got home, I would turn over a new leaf since I recently discovered that I was all grown up.  Exactly when this life altering event took place is unclear, but the fact remains, I should have stepped up to the plate a long time ago.  With more than half of my life over, I have to make up for all of my prior slacking while I can.  Now that I’m fully recovered from my fun filled vacation in Punta Cana, I’m ready to put my nose to the grindstone and start making a difference.  I would have started right away, but I had to tie up a few loose ends.  It's kind of hard to change the world when you don't have any clean undies.  And as I said in an earlier entry, I had to get right back to work (2 hours after getting off of the plane), celebrate Ray's birthday (3 days later), Mother's Day (just one week later), and both mine and my middle daughter’s birthday less than a month later.  I accidentally scheduled myself to work on Ray’s birthday so he went out with some friends for dinner and drinks.  They had a wonderful time despite my absence.

Ray and his brother take their Mother to The Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia for brunch in The Fountain Room every year on Mother’s Day.  It’s sort of a tradition.  Bernard always takes his wife Mary, their daughter Lisa and her husband Joe, their two little girls, and Ray… he took me the past two years.  Who he has taken on previous occasions is a combination of speculation, folklore and distorted memories.  This five star restaurant caters to anyone with enough money to be included  on the list of beautiful people.  Elegant surroundings, white glove service, live classical music, and a buffet of scrumptious seafood, caviar, sushi, breads, cheeses, and salads (all crisp, chilled, colorful and huge) are what you’ll find there.  The Entrées are all prepared from world famous recipes, with hard to pronounce names, made with spices not found on the shelves of your local super market, all drenched in sauces and gravies so rich it would take a team of Mayo Clinic cardiologists years to undo the damage done to your heart.  I'm surprised that partaking of the decadent desserts they offer don't come with a mandatory prison sentence, death or a contract signing over your soul to Satan himself.  I think I read somewhere that the fresh fruits had been handpicked by the virgin daughters of Roman Gods now retired on secluded tropical islands somewhere between South Africa, France and Thailand.  The only way this brunch could be any more spectacular would be if Sean Connery himself had been our Maitre d'.  Or maybe Brad Pitt.  Considering what Ray’s Mother put up with raising him to adulthood, re-mortgaging his home is the least he can do for Mother’s Day.  The tip alone was over $300.  Just from our table.  In retrospect, although I probably gained a few pounds just from eating that one meal, I think it would be an insult to Ray's family to try and lose it now.  My larger size will be a living testament to their generosity, and I will carry it proudly.
I also got to spend some quality time with my kids and my grandbaby, Brandon, designed new business cards for Ray, got my nurses license renewed, went to the dentist, and even squeezed in a trip to the shore, a visit to the Philadelphia Art Museum, and watched ‘Casablanca’, a classic film I had never gotten a chance to see.  And… we found a way to get tickets to the upcoming Jimmy Buffett concert here in Jersey at the end of this month. 

I’ll bet some people thought I was just lying around doing nothing.  Tomorrow, right after I get my hair cut and visit a close friend in the hospital, I will be ready to get started.  In some small, but hopefully memorable way, I am going to change the world.  I’m not going to rest until I make it a better place for all of us.  I have absolutely no idea where to even start, but I won’t let that stop me.  Maybe it’s better that way.  I can let my imagination run wild.  Having no formal plan, I’ll be free to explore any opportunity that presents itself, and savor every moment.  With the wind blowing through my hair, the warm glow of the sun on my cheeks, I will go wherever fate leads me.

 

Just as long as I’m back home in time to watch the season finale of ‘The Sopranos’ on TV Sunday night, feed the cats and attend the Nursing Supervisor’s meeting at 8:30 on Monday morning…