Life Imitates Art...or at least a commercial

OK, so most people reading this blog might know that my dad is going in for open-heart surgery early tomorrow morning (and by early, I mean before Starbuck's is even open, which is just not RIGHT in my book). Anyway, I'm off track. What I'm trying to say is that I am thankful for my family, especially my parents, who have dealt with this situation just like we've dealt with most others that have come along in our lives...with a lot of prayer, and a lot of humor!
The best example of this was when my dad was hospitalized a couple of weeks ago for chest pains. After many tests and many threats by Dad to escape, they found that a section of his aorta will need to be replaced. While still processing all of this, Mom made phone calls to the rest of the family. She got a hold of Travis (older brother) who was on his cell, driving back from Tallahassee, and explained to him that Dad needed surgery and it would be very extensive. Here is where the cameras should have been rolling, because Travis let Mom go on for a few minutes and then said, "Wait a minute. Don't you have insurance??" Mom: "Yes, of course. Anyway....." (she continued to explain the surgery here). Travis heard nothing she said from this point on, because HE thought she had said the surgery was "expensive." And he was amazed! Was her next stop ebay, to bid on a discounted procedure? Was she going to scour the paper for a coupon?? We all got a good laugh at it, and since we'll need a few more laughs over the next days/weeks to come, I came up with a short list of good reasons to have heart surgery. Here you go, Dad!
1. The gowns you wear are just so dang cute....and the ventilation is unsurpassed.
2. If you're a guy, it's one of the few times you get flowers delivered to you and you don't have to feel weird about it!
3. You get a hair-free chest, which gets you one step closer to the Men's Health magazine cover.
4. It's the one time you're allowed to take really, really great drugs. Life will never look better to you than when you're this medicated!
5. You get to sleep a lot...oh, I forgot. They do come in and wake you up every 2.7 minutes to see if you're resting.
6. You hear from people that haven't called you in years.
7. The food is so....um, scratch this one.
8. Pretty pink bedpan included at no extra charge.
9. If you've ever thought of yourself as a "modest" person and wanted to be a little more daring, let's just compare this experience to going from the Amish community to a nudist colony in one fell swoop! (no offense to the Amish)
10. And, finally, you get to find out how much people really love and care about you. We do love you, Dad!