Winning Big!!!
Know when to fold 'em. Know when to walk away, know when to run. Dad didn't go to Colorado because Mom's congestive heart failure is back, along with pneumonia. I went to Bismarck alone, without my husband or kids. It sort of made me sad, not being with them, traveling so much, but I knew I had to be in Bismarck. Dad met me at the door with a blue duffle. "Let's go!" he said cheerily. I asked why he needed a duffle to go to the casino for dinner. He said we were staying overnight. I understand. 24/7 can get a little intense, and Verena was there to help with Mom. Sure! I said, after traveling 200 miles, after 800 miles LAST weekend. What's another 150 miles among family? We headed south out of Mandan, took the straight road that took us 30 miles out of the way, but I'd never been that far south in that part of western North Dakota. This area is by far the most beautiful part of North Dakota. Let me rephrase that - it is far more beautiful than Fargo, even though I LOVE Fargo - you gotta admit - it's flat.
We talked the whole way down - about transmitters, and starting up the company, about employees, and earning money as a child. He loves the color of the grasses (I do, too). We got to the casino, but they were booked for the night. What the heck - we went into dinner. There was too much good stuff to choose from, so we split exactly one whole dinner - crab cakes, wild rice soup, filet mignon and lobster, even one scoop of ice cream with chocolate sauce. "Let's have a contest," Dad says when we're done. "We'll each bet $100 and see who ends up with the most." "That's too much," I said, "how about $50 each?" We got 20 5's, split them, and headed to blackjack. Dad was brilliant - holding on 15 and watching the dealer break. He won $20, I lost $10, but kept $2.50, so lost $7.50. Dad walked away with $20, betting $15 - net gain? $5 - Dad's ahead. But aha - the quarter slots - I spent $15, and won $18.75 - net gain? Uhm, $1.25. Dad bet $5 and lost it all. He was still excited about winning the $20, so we decided to just stop right there and cash out. We walked away with a total of $95.75, but I'm thinking Dad won the bet, edging me out by 25 cents or so. We headed back to Bismarck, taking the scenic route along the river, just in time to watch the sunset over the hills, casting that golden light on everything, making the tree shadows long and dark. That's my favorite time of day.
"What should we do now?" he asked. "Let's go to a movie," I said, heading to the north part of Bismarck. We saw "Bucket List" - my, what a movie to see when Mom's sick, and think about what would be on my own bucket list, if I were to make one. I'll have to think of that a little bit more. The show got out at 11:30. Now remember - my bedtime is 9PM, so phew - that was late. But I have to be honest, that was the most I've gotten to talk to Dad in probably 5 years, and the most animated and chatty I've seen him in a while. No worries, no concerns, no responsibilities, if even for a few hours. I'm so glad I was here, I'm glad I was the one that got to go with him, I'm glad he got to get away, if only for a few hours.
And Mom and Verena? They had my pheasant orzo salad with sauteed onions, garlic, carrots and zucchini, and watched a movie until midnight - they didn't suffer. And Dad? Well, we're all taking naps, so I'd say the evening was a huge success all around.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, EVERYONE. Happy happy happy. Who would've thought I'd be with Mom for one more Mother's Day? Not me. Will she be here NEXT Mother's Day? Probably not, but it's okay - we had this year, we had this time, and it was precious to me.
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