"Oy." It's not just for Jews anymore.

Oy! Howie, Leandro, Gert and Me at La Mex once again...

"Oy." I hear Carina say it each time she picks up the phone. For a long time, I thought she was about to launch into a litany about her aching back which was bothering her from her helping take care of Gert but, one day, I realized that "Oy" was her way of saying "Hey" or "Hello" or, upon occasion, "Oy, my aching back."

I'm slowly learning Portuguese but am way behind the learning curve when compared to Carina's mastery of the English language. But, of course, she is young and...um...I'm not. So far, she can say bitch, shit and a few other choice words. I, on the other hand, am stuck with "Oy."

Well, this morning at 4:30 am, I wasn't the only one saying "Oy." Poor John awoke me from a semi-sound sleep to tell me we had to head to the emergency room N-O-W. Seem like, in his quest to keep up with the young 'uns on the weekend, he busted a rib on the jet ski. And, in typical manly fashion, he wouldn't go to the doctor before the rib was about poking through his (insert whatever internal organ a rib might poke through...) . So, I awoke Sharyn and told her she was on duty while I took John to the emergency room at Shady Grove. Mom was up too so I had to inform her as to the problem. Her response was a heartfelt "Oy!" Off we went.

I've gotta tell ya - I've had my fill of Shady Grove Hospital as of late. I stayed with Mom for 7 days and nights during her last stay, visited John in the emergency room (during Mom's hospitalization btw - THAT was quite a feat) when he couldn't stop coughing. I visited my friend Marianne there twice last week while she was saying "Oy, kidney stones hurt." Not sure if macaroni and cheese and salmon croquettes helped the matter but at least I felt like I was doing something. But, "Oy," I'm tired.

John's diagnosis was a broken rib from trying to keep up with said young 'uns on the jet ski. They gave him TWO vicodin (shoot...my broken rib earlier in the year only netted me one pitiful tylenol #3. Oy...), and he was quite the happy fella for a few hours. I think I could have talked him into a spin around the dance floor somewhere if I could have gotten him to walk straight. Poor thing. What a lightweight! But, I brought him home, put him to bed and climbed in next to him for 3 hours of sleep while darling Sharyn took care of Mom. What a delight it is to have her here. It's like having another one of me - she seems to just know what to do and when to do it, and I firmly believed that she could keep Mom 'pink' while I napped - and she did. In fact, I didn't hear one "Oy" when I got up.

After awhile, John and I awoke and he headed into work for a bit while Sharyn and I headed out to about a thousand errands for my houseboat trip this coming weekend. Dear Carina was in charge of the "Oy" brigade for the afternoon.

Sharyn and I ran all over town getting in and out of the convertible about a thousand times (I know...I've been told a million times not to exaggerate). We did though hit about 6 different stops, the last of which was coming home to unload everything we'd purchased, pick up Carina and Gert and head to our local watering hole, La Mex. Friends Andi and Howie had dropped by so they were dragged along. So, our masses descended upon Theresa, the bartender at La Mex and we proceeded to prop Gert up at the bar with a bourbon and coke and laugh our asses off. Leandro joined us after a while and, honestly, Mom so perked up at seeing him that I was a bit put off. I mean, really, I'm the one here every day - Leandro walks in and the woman totally swoons. And, I'm not the only one put off by Mom's reaction; ask John about it. Not so good with it. But, it is what it is and Leandro and Mom seem to have a special connection which is just amazing to watch. They "get" each other even though they're 70 years apart in age. It's really something to watch. He lights up her world when he walks in the room and, for that, I'll be forever grateful.

Anyway, general merriment was had by all. John and Bobbi joined us after a bit but they hit the tail end of the party happy hour - Oy.

As I type this, Mom has her television ears on and I'm listening to the Beatles on my iPod. Oy, life is good...



Anyway, as always, i've digressed.