Folks in town

monshu's family is in town. So far, this is working out, even though the timing is somewhat crazy. Due to flight delays, they got in at midnight on Monday. At 8 a.m. on Tuesday, the Old Man and I reported to the hospital for his surgical procedure. It was an hour and forty minutes before they took him back, so I figured the day was more-or-less blown. But the whole thing took barely half an hour. He spent twice that much time in recovery. Even with stopping off to get his meds and do a little shopping, we were home by 2 p.m. and he felt good enough to invite his family over for dinner.

This threatened to go off the rails when they finally made it to the el station only to find a "police action" was "in progress". Exasperated, he paid to have them come up by cab, so dinner wasn't too late. He was apologetic to me, but I think the general rule that your own family's foibles are more irritating to you than another's was in effect, since I shrugged and told him I hadn't expected to eat earlier. (They're still operating on West Coast time, plus there's nothing easier when you're finding your way around a new city than completely losing track of the time--and that goes even when your home turf isn't small-town Oregon.)

I was more worried that they'd be trapped there by an approaching thunderstorm front, but it moved through quicker than expected. His sister ultimately decided to spend the night so she and the GWO could take care of some errands the next day, but his niece and her husband needed to get back to the hotel so they could be ready to set up the next day. By the time he took them to the corner for a cab, the rain was tapering off. He had his second wind by then, so the two of them were still chatting well after 11 when I made my excuses and crawled into bed.

Today the plan is to take them to Wicker Park for mid-range vegan cuisine. Whether I join them or not will depend on how tired I am and, crucially, whether clintswan still needs help getting packed for his impending move out west. Part of me is inclined to take a pass just so the four of them will be able to spend some time without me in their midst, since who knows when they'll ever have that opportunity again. But I genuinely enjoy their company--I was talking art and comics with the young'uns up until the moment they left and this will be my only chance until Monday, when the convention is over and they have a free day before heading back.