Tuesday my parents found out that my mom would be able to get her operation on Wednesday. Amtrak is great for a situation like this--a few minutes on their website and I had a one-way next-day reservation to DC for $86. So Wednesday I brought my luggage with me to work, then walked to the station (another big plus for Amtrak) at 7:30, where I met Sara. We had a nice dinner--sandwiches and beer--sitting at the bar at Casey's, right across the street, then Sara left me to the first leg of my trip, the bus ride to Toledo. The bus ride was routine, but the train was delayed on its way to Toledo and we didn't board till 2:30am.
I didn't sleep very well at night, but enjoyed the ride the next day anyway, and managed to get a nap then.
From Union Station I took the metro to Fort Totten, then the K6 to Chalmers. Within a block of home, my parents passed me in their car--I hadn't been sure if they'd be home that night at all, and didn't have any keys, so it was a relief to see them, and to see that my mom seems to be doing quite well.
Tomorrow I'll try to work most of the day--we'll see how that goes.