FOUR IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER

Many years ago, the band "Three Dog Night" sang a song called One or One is the Loneliest Number. Take your pick. It's at the bottom of this post and guess what year this clip is from? 1969. Are we on a roll here or what? That's the end of my humor for tonight. Sorry.

Be that as it may, I learned the hard way that four, NOT one, is the loneliest number for our family. This past Saturday, my daughter got a four-hour pass from the psychiatric hospital she's currently committed to. We managed to get both boys together and we all went to see a movie as a five-member family again. We've been five for a long time. We're actually six, but that's a story for another time and place, if ever. It's been IvesFives for many, many years. Saturday, IvesFives rode again. It was only for a few short hours, but it was wonderful. Everyone was in a good mood. The kids got along really, really well. We had tons of laughs, too much movie junk and just a super fantastic time. We saw Public Enemies. For those who might not know, that's the Johnny Depp flick about John Dillinger. It wasn't my cup of tea, but the kids wanted to see it and because everyone was so dang happy, I thoroughly enjoyed it in spite of myself.

I have written before about how difficult it is to leave her every time they lock the door behind us. This time it was almost more than I could bear. Things were so good for just a few hours. I'm a realist. I know that if we were allowed to take her home, at this point, things would seriously deteriorate once again. My brain knows that. My heart wants to control/alt/delete that knowledge. We were a somber bunch when the four of us got back in that van for what seemed like an awfully long ride home.

This song was playing in my head all the way back. It's a good song. For me, though, four will forever be the loneliest number. I can't wait for the five of us to be together again. . . for as long as forever can be with teenagers. I need it. Ray needs it. The boys need it. And Lil needs it, too, whether or not she believes it right now. She will. That is my most fervent prayer. Enjoy the song.