Saturday, August 30, 2008

The best-laid plans …

Just about all I’ve talked about for the past couple weeks is party, party, party. Then the morning after the party, you all get … nothing! Well, there’s a reason for that.

Yes, we had the party, and yes, it was a big success. Our family room is the perfect size for a dozen people (we could have squeezed a few more in), and the guest list included the cream of the Democratic crop in our little county.

We failed to include the elusive Unknown Factor as we planned the event. Sometime very early Thursday morning, my husband’s mother fell in her bedroom and severely fractured her right humerus. Her housekeeper didn’t find her until noon.

My husband, of course, spent the day and most of the evening at two hospitals, and my mind was definitely not on the party. My mother-in-law was initially taken by ambulance to our local emergency department and then transferred to a larger facility for the surgical repair of her arm yesterday afternoon.

She did very well with the surgery, spent last night in ICU for observation (due to her age and other medical conditions) and we expect her to spend a couple more days on an orthopedic unit before being transferred to a rehabilitation hospital. If she qualifies.

Because my mother-in-law is right-handed, she used her right arm to break her fall. (Note to self: Practice falling with left arm extended.) She apparently fell face-first, as evidenced by the two huge shiners and other bruises/lacerations on her face. I asked the nurse to keep mirrors away from her.

Back to Thursday night – we carried on without my husband, and he did make it home in time for Obama’s acceptance speech. The group photo I took was pretty boring, but at least everyone’s faces are visible. When it’s on the Obama website, I’ll let you know. (They are putting together a slide show of the hundreds of photos submitted to them.)

Here are a couple random shots of party food/things, not people:

The centerpiece on the buffet table

‘Yes We Can’ (and generic, patriotic) cupcakes

Obama logo fruit pizza

One of the best parts of the party was the two times everyone here burst into spontaneous applause. One, of course, was after Obama’s speech. The first was after Al Gore’s speech. The comment was made and agreed upon that if Gore had been that good a speaker during his Presidential run, he might have won the last election. (Yes, yes, I know he did … you know what I mean.)

Today is FOOTBALL! Villanova at WVU at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time. We’ll be home from the hospital in plenty of time, and since it’s not an ESPN- or network-televised game, we’re going to splurge and order it on ESPN Gameplan.

Because we deserve it. And we’re worth it.

Y’all have a great weekend. Don’t labor too hard.

2 comments:

Anne M. said...

It's always worrisome when older parents fall, and it can happen any time. Bones break easily and it's totally normal to try to break a fall with the dominant hand. Hmmm, perhaps you could give lessons on doing it the other way?

Totally agree about the speeches. It was an amazing evening, with the people I've liked from the past reminding me why I liked them, and laying the groundwork for Obama's historic day.

Marla said...

OMG I LOOOOVE the fruit pizza! How cute. Sorry about MIL, and hoping for a speedy recovery for her. I'm going to practice falling on my well-padded butt.

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