My internal clock, off from the external clock change, woke me at 3am yesterday. I needed to be at Mom's by 5, but I didn't want to be late. Despite the early hour I got up reassuring myself I could sleep after it was all said and done (maybe 2ish?). Taking my mom to back surgery she's begged for (complete and utter pain all the time from nerves being pinched), I was the child to be by her side for the day. Susie-Q will get tonight-Friday and I'll take the weekend. We KNOW not to depend on Mark. He has the greatest heart, just a bad sense of time (he actually followed me down the aisle to his seat at my wedding). We arrived and parked at the hospital without event and went to where the day would be begin, EMA. Early morning admissions. Who would've thunk it? They told her the day before her surgery was moved from 7:30 to 9, but to be there at 5:30 any how. We were prepared to wait some. What weren't prepared for was a two hour wait in the front waiting area, followed by a five hour wait in the prep room, followed by another four hour wait in the holding area. How many hours is that? 11 hours to get to surgery?!!! By the time, I'd looked at every family come and go, and the stupid EARLY morning admission sign for hours, I was fuming. I could only imagine what my poor mommy was feeling (she'd been taken off her arthritis drugs, pain medicine and others, so she has been in even more pain for weeks, not to mention no food since the prior midnight). All of the waiting, followed by a four 1/2 hour long surgery. I didn't make it the whole time. When they wheeled her off and she was in surgery and seemed to be doing ok, I called Mark and told him to haul his rear over to sit for the rest of the night and field phone calls. He did it. I have never been so happy to see my bro as I was last night! Right before he got there, there was a tornado watch, then warning, so I'd been shooed into a central room for a half hour. I'd been through so much, I calmly sat finishing my crossword while all the other family members sat glued to the tv awaiting word. I just wanted to get in Mommy's car and get mine so that I could go home.

The rain was still coming down in buckets, but it was late enough in the evening few cars were on the road. There were a couple going 40-45mph on the interstate with their hazards on, but they were in the slow lane so it seemed ok. Wrong. The one directly in front of me was having problems. They managed to make it to the exit (they had tried the one before, but decided it was wrong halfway through exiting), but then the car's left rear went sliding over the lines and then over compensated and the front right slid over the lines, over and over, until it hit the concrete barrier. It never even fazed the driver. And by this time, there was no pelting rain and very little standing water as we were north of the storm (the worst was to the south). I decided it was "operator-error" (bad/drugged driver) and headed to mom's even more quickly, just wishing I could have my car, my home, my BED! Three exits, two traffic lights and then my mom's street. I made it. Except that there were police cars across my mom's driveway and two doors down across Bobbi's driveway. Whattha?! As I pulled up, I saw that the "tornadic activity" (high winds) had knocked down the three million year old tree that I'd grown up sitting in the shade, my mom had sat in its shade, my grandfather cursed the birds that made their homes in it and messed up his cars... had fallen across the driveway, taking out power lines and live wires were down. Frustration set in and I just cried. I'm still trying not to let it all out, but I will. I pulled up as far as I could, got out, sauntered over the officer and said "I need to put this car in the drive, and take that car." He was sweet and explained the situation, and pulled back enough so that I scoot in and out like I needed to. As I drove home, I was remembering how mom and I'd discussed taking my car more than once and I was so so so so relieved I'd stood my ground and taken her car. If I hadn't, her car would've been crushed, literally. Amazingly, the trees didn't land on anyone's house. It landed in mom's yard and Susan's yard. She spent the night at Bobbi's; they're all three friends luckily.

Mommy called me this morning at 5am today to tell me she felt good "all things considered" and sounded happy. Pleased that they gave her a beautiful suite (they better have after making her wait 11 hours!) and relieved to be on the road to recovery. Now to find out how the city did cleaning up the lines and trees and figure out who's paying for any damage. Think I'll make S-Q do it. What's really sad? The brand new, big and beautiful stainless steel refrigerator, side-by-side, ice maker and the dishwasher and the brand new gas stove arrived yesterday. I didn't even get to enjoy it. I was so tired, exhausted and whatever is past exhausted. One of, if not THE, most frustrating days of my life, but it's over and I'll never forget it as long as live!!!