Got mail from my mom tonight. This is always the problem with birthdays and holidays - there's always the chance that she uses the opportunity to invade whatever peace I have.
This time, it came with a thorn - namely, that my dad is having heart surgery sometime soon. My mom has gotten a lot of mileage in the last 15 years from the fact that last time we were incommunicado, my father had a heart attack and I did not call, because my brother kept me up to date and I did not want to cause stress
