Night Work

I literally did not sleep a wink last night. After watching the ball drop in Times Square, I headed for bed. The boys had turned in earlier -- no wild and crazy celebration this year.

At midnight our time, I heard a few fireworks and wished myself a Happy New Year. Then I started to plan the year. Many of you know I am a planning freak -- I love to think I have some control. So, I lay in bed with a virtual clean slate in front of my wide-open eyes. And here's what I came up with:

January: Because my sleeplessness was largely pain-driven, I vowed to have my second knee replacement surgery in January. I will opt for skilled nursing instead of coming right home after discharge from the hospital. Valery has volunteered to come stay with me when I have the surgery, but I'd like to save her visit for later in the spring (see April, below). Ben now has his driver's license and that will make logistics simpler than they were the last time around.

February and March: Dedicated to recovery from the surgery.

April: Will have various relatives come to visit and to claim household goods I'm ready to part with and won't have room for when I sell the house and we move to someplace nearby and smaller. List the house for sale.

May: If there are no snow days this year and school gets out early enough, I'd like to drive to Massachusetts with the boys to be there for Nichole's graduation (if she figures out a way to get in the two classes she still needs to take). Both boys will be driving by then as Logan will get his permit in February. We should be able to get there with just a one-night stop each way.

June - August: The boys will be in summer school. We will spend the summer getting ready to move and with good luck will sell the house and actually move. Probably no trips to California for the boys this year, Ben should get a job and learn to earn.

September: I'll go to California for my "Golden Girls" reunion. Five of us, friends from high school, plan to meet at Little River Inn in Mendocino, California and spend four days recalling or trying to forget our high school days.

And that's as far as I got. Maybe I'll go to sleep now (5:35 A.M.)