Short (but great) visits

A wise brother once told me, and I've always agreed, that a short visit is better than none. This week we had three of them.

First, a visit with my surgeon, Dr. Cameron. The reason? We wanted to determine if the size of my aortic root, which is where the aortic artery attaches to the heart, hadn't changed in the last six months. It had dilated somewhat between my 2008 surgery and a June 2009 checkup, and after fooling a few since then, hadn't actually changed since. The result? No measurable change in over 1 year. Great! The more determinations like this, the better. We'll see him, and his great office staff, again next autumn. Hopefully it'll be another 10 minute conversation like this one!

Second this week was a fun get-together among the four youngest in my immediate family. I have to say I truly appreciate the humor each one weaves into everyday life -- I think I'm guilty of being the serious one too often! Here's a picture of the four of us.

Third, Eddie and I visited Johns Hopkins University on Saturday morning for an engineering and sciences open house. Eddie's only a high school sophomore and far from thinking seriously about what to study in college and where, so it was a relaxed, exploratory visit. Many nice Hopkins students answered our questions, and by skipping the afternoon what-it's-like-to-live-here sessions, we were back in time for him to attend his homecoming game. Perfect!

Short times, but great times, indeed.