Her Triumphant Return

Since July 16 -- that's three months ago, kids -- Mumsie has spent a total of exactly three nights at home. She was home for three nights between her hospital and rehab stays after having a knee replacement, and the little joy ride she took in a Life Star helicopter to Yale/New Haven hospital for emergency surgery for a dissected aorta.

That Mumsie.

In those three months, Mumsie spent a lot of time at Yale, made a couple of trips back and forth to the local hospital here in New London, but has spent the bulk of her life these last 13 weeks staring out this window:

. . . at this lovely view:

Mumsie missed a lot, staring out that window. Frankly, she missed summer. She turned 80, but that didn't stop us from celebrating, oh no. And my Dad died, and she hated that she had to miss that.

But now, those days are over. Because yesterday, all that changed.

Mumsie got sprung!

Kelly wheeled her out and Billy photographed the joyous occasion and Mumsie hugged every aide, every nurse, every Physical Therapist she saw on her way out the door.

Oh look! A mirror! Let's take a cool shot!

You gotta love that Mistah . . .

If Mumsie were another kind of person -- a person like, say, me -- she would have been giving ol' Beechwood the finger on her way out.

But Mumsie is not that kind of person.

And then, just like that, Madame-Mumsie-Pie was home . . .

. . . like it was all just a bad dream.

Welcome home, Mumsie!

(And don't worry, you're home for good now. We've locked all the doors and windows just to be sure.)