Summer ninety eight, for us, has been and gone now that we are mercifully back from holidays in one piece. Yes I refer to the "family hallowed holiday", where we three, my husband, my elderly mother, and me, minus our adult son but along with good Ole "Murphy" packed the van to the hilt and hit the road to see the sights. Commonly called the "Great Escape" by some, while being a source of contention for others as they pray to the Almighty God to make it through yet another "adventure"!

Whilst we are away our minds are filled with the thought that our adult son of twenty two, is staying behind to mind the home front. Soooooo, there, before the "Grace of God" go we, off into the great beyond to pay through the nose for a bed to sleep in and edible food to eat if we are lucky.

On the first leg of our trip, Murphy's law and extended overwork, dictated that my husband come down with a vicious four day flu that was also visiting the same area according to the doctor my husband went to at the walk in Emergency Care Clinic nearest our hotel. Did I mention that our stay on this particular plain was slated to last exactly four days? The poor dear spent the "sight seeing" part of our trip, flat in bed with a high temperature, headache, sore throat, and hacking cough.

At the very moment that we landed at our sight seeing destination, and my husband was contracting the killer flu, a heat wave such as no one has ever seen in fifty years hit the exact same area. The radio and television announcers advised everyone to stay indoors from 10:00am to 4:00pm until the heat abates a bit.

This heat wave creates much discomfort for most but the youngest and/or vainest of holidayers but it is pure hell for mother. She is slightly over-weight with high blood pressure and a heart condition. By no means, the least salient issue is the fact that she has newly arrived at the elderly age of a complete lack of tolerance for anything remotely unseemly which means that her hell is my hell.

Even though I am only two months to the day away from my last of thirty radiation treatments, I remain the healthy one. What to do, what, to do?

The town that we are holidaying in is set along a beautiful lake which has ample shade due to many mature and stately trees. According to various media reports it is between 5 and 7 degrees cooler on the beach so mother and I can safely hit the beaches. I reason that if I park the car near by so I can get her to someplace cool relatively quickly, she'll be comfortable and content. She is an avid observer of human nature and can sit and watch people for hours.

Still to be addressed is the fact that my husband must stay in bed, and be awakened to take medication at regular intervals. Hmmmm.... The hotel we are staying at is just across the street from the beach. If mom and I leave early in the morning, and get a parking spot right in front of the hotel, I can walk back to check up on my husband at the appropriate times.

Voila the problem is solved. Mom and I went there and did that for four days whilst Don remained safely ensconced in bed to heal. Truth be known after working months of overtime, sleep is what he needed the most and besides he hates doing the beach scene at the best of times. He was back to normal by the time we left for the next leg of our journey, visiting family. Don't you just love it when a good plan comes together?

After two days of endless driving, we arrive at two conclusions: we pull into my mother's sister's place and mother comes to the decision that she has passed the gypsy part of her life and does not take well to travelling anymore.

Oh well, we are here now, so let's just make the best of it. So we availed ourselves of my Aunt's hospitality by existing harmoniously, in a place that comfortably houses half as many people and is at least two bathrooms and gallons of hot water short of it's present company.

After the first day, when we catch up on each other's news, we are faced with getting to know each other's little idiosyncrasies, made worse by such cramped conditions. It is at this point that we all discover that both, my mother and her sister have both grown to an age of zero tolerance to any little inconvenience.

Invariably it boils down to the quality of the environment we are all forced to live in. One sister requires a warm, and stale environment at the behest of her arthritis. The other sister absolutely must have it icy cold and crisp to accommodate her heart and weight condition. Each facing certain and lasting discomfort if it isn't agreeable to them.

No one but Mom, directly says anything, but the fight is on. One sister, turns the air conditioner up, and the other turns it down. One opens the doors and windows in the hot part of the day, while the other shuts them tight fast as the nonexistent wind. When the hostess begins to leave the premises unexpectedly for a significant amount of time, we, the guests, finally take heed and move on to the next port of call. Bless my Aunt for her diplomacy, she is indeed a very patient person.

With the second leg of the trip solidly behind us, my husband and I have second thoughts ...maybe everything isn't all that extreme. After all, we are family and love each other to pieces. Aren't we truly lucky to have the opportunity to make it possible for the two elderly sisters to keep in touch. "They are both such dears", we think as we set off for yet another destination...my husband's side of the family only three hours away.

Two weeks have gone by and so far my husband and I have managed to sleep together every night, but in places with absolutely no privacy. Keep the faith honey, and be patient.

Ah, the last leg of our journey...my entire, rather large, in-law family is as happy to see us as we are happy to see them. It has been a long time since we have all been together and we have much to tell each other.

However, my mother is ready to chew us all up and spit us all out as she tires of getting reacquainted with where she packed all her stuff. Whoa, she has really lost the gypsy in her soul as she becomes confused by yet another routine she must get used to! Try as we might even my husband and I are growing tired of her new game of fifty two pick up at each stop while trying to visit.

With each new day comes a new and novel problem that mother discovers is making her uncomfortable. It is too hot, too crowded, too this, too that, heavens even the sky is the wrong color blue. She begins to pick apart everything I do and her back seat driving has become intense. I firmly remind her that she is not the only person in the world whose comfort must be considered. Our youngest nice has fallen prey to the flu whilst in my care. I must take her to the emergency walk in clinic, irrespective of not having her health care number and no immediate way to contact her parents as she is burning up with a temperature of 104.2 degrees Fahrenheit.

The next day I must also attempt to give her medication which is the one thing that this sweet little girl just can't abide and will use any and all child-like ruses to avoid taking it.

The reason that my niece's health is tantamount in my life is not only because I love her but also due to the fact that almost everyone else is thirty miles away at the old home stead. They are attempting to sort through one hundred years of life and living in an attempt to separate the garbage from the priceless collectibles.

I remain in town with two elderly ladies, my mother and mother in law, my two young nieces, and their two dogs, one of which is very elderly and on her last legs. I figure it would be typical of my luck that the old dog will bite the bullet sooner rather than later and become convinced that it will happen on my watch. I just lost my own beloved pet and have not completely recovered from that yet!

Finally, the day comes on which we must head home. Home sweet home. Our son is a welcome sight, our house looks good, but most of all my mother is back in her own element and if not happy is at least contented once again.

The neighbor calls within the hour of our return to belligerently inform us that while we were gone my son Ryan and his rock band has seen fit to practise every day so could we please deal with him accordingly. Furthermore could Ryan please take a pass on the music tonight as they have company and want to sit outside and have a quiet talk without benefit of the background noise.

I stick my tongue firmly in my cheek and inform the neighbor that Ryan's band is getting ready to play at a wedding the following weekend, thus the extra practise. I remind him that Try's band already consistently quits playing at 9:00 p.m. any night they do practise (WELL before the legal time limit for noise reduction) and never practise for more than two hours at a time at a volume only slightly higher than acoustic level, in deference to their comfort. However, given this, if it is still going to send him over the edge, Ryan would probably graciously agree to refrain from this particular practise.

He losses his belligerent tone and assures me it will just be required for the one evening while his company is visiting. So be it!

There is also a set of registered letters waiting for us upon our return, one for mom and the other for Ryan. Upon claiming them at the appropriate depot the next day we learn that they are each being sued by the people that Ryan rear-ended at slightly above Idle Speed after coming to a complete stop at a controlled intersection, last summer. There was no damage to either vehicle but the whole family manage to sustain copious damage to their necks, backs and sex lives.

As my heart pounds wildly I put in a call to our lawyer, before calling our insurance company to find out what on earth we're supposed to do now. Rest assured, they exclaim, nothing to worry about they'll handle everything. Apparently it is part of normal procedure in these cases to send the notification of suit directly to the policy holders even though it is the responsibility of the insurance company to handle it. Well, that's a "gotcha"!!!!!

When I deliver the notices to our insurance agent I request a comprehensive list of names and places to write to and lodge a complaint about this latest fraudulent scheme being committed on the general public and blatantly tolerated by our Justice System. It seems this is our only recourse. Look out folks, I have another cause to fight. Charge!

I have already taken on the Day care system and the Health Care System, and as a result have personally received several letters from the corresponding government Ministers. My husband tells me that this is indeed an honor, as they usually get one of their flunkies to handle the crack pots. He knows because he is a employee of the Provincial Government and one of these a fore mentioned flunkies which is why I can't properly pursue the matter to a satisfying fruition.

Now it is my MLA's turn. We are about to correspond with each other in order to induce him to change the laws that allow this blatant insurance fraud to be perpetuated over and over again on our society. I personally know of three other families facing the same insult and increase in insurance premiums so will encourage them to write to the appropriate people too.

I awoke the following morning of our arrival home, with a voice not unlike Kermit the Frog's and discovered much to my dismay that I am the next innocent person to succumb to that summer flu that is stalking the prairies. The next time my youngest niece has to take her accursed medicine she can take comfort in the knowledge that her Auntie Pat will be taking her very own medicine at the same time. What's that old cliche about misery often times loving company?

Notwithstanding Murphy's contribution to my holiday, during our visits this summer with various family members, in sickness and in health, I was struck with one consistent and profound truth. There we all sat, out on the patio, relishing the cool breeze(if there was one) as well as each other's company, all successfully living the lives we have chosen for ourselves. In the midst of our busy and challenging lives we still choose to make time for each other and accept one and other but for our falses as well as our talents (for we all have some of both).

When you consider the following quote, "Reach out and tell someone what they mean to you. Because when you decide that it is the right time, It might be too late." ...well suffice to say, I feel we all truly did, "Seize the Day".