Today we are having a pool party.

Well, its a birthday party, out by our pool, on this 89 degree sunny summer day. My husband Nick’s son, Nicholas, turns 37 years old today. Nick very much wanted to throw him a party, which was planned well before we knew Nick would be having bypass surgery, or needing about 2 months of recovery time. His son, of course, would have understood if we had to cancel the party or reschedule it until Nick had recovered a bit more, but my Nick is stubborn, and he really wants to throw this party for his son. There are reasons for that which I wont get too into here since its not my place, but lets just say that for years, Nick and his son were estranged – they came back into each others lives just over a year ago when a family members death brought them together at the same hospital – and life is short and the topic of dads and sons makes me all weepy for so many reasons, and here we have yet another second chance situation to grow a meaningful relationship and let it blossom.

So, around 2pm today, members of Nick’s family, a few of my family, and some of Nicholas’s friends, will come to our house for a “toned down” easy birthday party. Ice-cream cake, sandwich platters, pickles, potato and macaroni salads, mini bags of chips and things, a cooler filled with drinks, and people splashing in the pool and making memories and having a new appreciation on life and the relationships we foster, grow, and evolve.

Nicks sister Dawn stayed with us the past couple nights, so she could help us get ready for the party – vacumn the pool, clean house, help carry things that Nick isnt allowed to carry, while Im at work during the day and cant be available to help as much as Id like to be. So many friends and family have come through during and after this surgery to help out and to offer assistance in so many ways, and it just makes me know even more how fragile life is, how fragile we ALL are, and how wonderful it is to have people around you who care.

Thats all I got for today.