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The trip, condensed
Ok, if I don't condense this a bit, I'm never going to finish. So, I'll try to do a quick write up of the rest of the days, then post pictures.
Monday was spent moving my things from the old farm house to my father's shed. My brother is making progress on the old house, but there is a LOT to be done. It will be years before he finishes. The things that I had boxed up in the past were still safe, thankfully, and I found a few new things to pack away as well. Some boxes needed to be repacked into smaller boxes, as they were simply too heavy to move. I found my grandfather's safety razor! I'd looked for it in the past, but couldn't find it- turns out, I'd boxed it away. It has a mechanism that lets the top open for the blade when the bottom is twisted. Very cool, and obviously, it's an antique. I was so happy to find it!
I quickly realized how out of shape I am, not that I needed the reminder. My activities consisted of repacking boxes, moving the boxes to the top of the stairs until there were enough to make a few trips down the stairs to the porch, where I stacked them until there were enough to load into the truck. I started using the golf cart, but it held too little to be worthwhile. Once the truck was loaded, I drove it up to my father's shed and unloaded it. There was a loft that everything was going to go onto, but it needed arranged, and that was a job for another day. Right now, I just wanted to get everything moved to the shed. Later, in the afternoon, I'd have help from Cole. At one point, he found a small piece of magenta cloth, and said we should take it and wash it and give it to my grandmother, because ladies held those cloths in front of them and danced.
What?
Each evening, I'd join my brother's family for dinner. I was placed between Kyle and Cole, because they each wanted to sit beside me. Kyle is an exceedingly happy child .. until he is not. At that point, his smiling face just collapses into the deepest frown imaginable, and he cries loudly, usually yelling "MINE!" It's difficult not to laugh at him when he does this, because it's so comical. These outbursts usually only last about 20 seconds at the most.
Much of my trip had been planned for me, it seemed, but Tuesday was my day. I went into Oakland to see my friend Serena; she'd been my senior prom date, and we reconnected a few years ago. She and I went to see my grandmother. I also did a few other things around town, stopping in at the newspaper where I'd gotten my start, and stopping at my sister's law office in opes of seeing her. It rained heavily all day, which was wonderful. Where I live, there had been no measurable precipitation in March or April, I believe, so rain was a rare treat.
My sister's law office was having some work done, so the normal entrance was blocked off. By the time I found a side entrance, I was soaked. I step through the door into what must have been the law library. I walked down the hall, looking for anyone to be in, when a tiny girl in her 20s popped out of her office and saw me. I asked if my sister was around. She said no, with what looked like a slight smirk on her face. Apparently, I in my rain-plastered clothing and dripping hair was amusing. She asked if I wanted to leave a message, and I said no, just to let her know her brother had stopped in, and I turned and went back into the rain.
Sadly, there was no crash of lightning as I departed.
My sister has been fighting Lyme's Disease for years now. It was only diagnosed properly around the time of my mother's death two years ago, and the medicine she takes to control it nearly kills her, apparently. It's a sad situation, but she apparently has good employees and her husband does a good job looking out for her. A common complaint from family members is that she never talks to any of them. But when you're really sick, it's easy to just get wrapped up in your own little world of your own worries.
When I got home, my brother asked if I'd stopped by my sister's law office, and I told him I had. Apparently, the girl there immediately called my sister's husband when I left to tell him that a "scary giant man" had come in claiming to be her brother! He then called my brother to see if I was in town. I asked Mike, my brother, if he had told her that I was in town, and he said yes, so apparently, not only does she not talk to the rest of the family, but she doesn't even talk to her husband sometimes.
I had dinner again with Mike's family that night. The night before, Cole had said he wanted me to say grace; I escaped that awkward situation by saying I wanted to hear him say grace! Tuesday night, he said it was his mother's turn, but I could see him peeking at me from behind his clasped hands as I sat there quietly, waiting for them to finish.
Wednesday, I moved all of my boxes onto the loft. We also saved the dresser that I had as a boy, which I'm fairly certain was my father's when he was a boy. My brother thought it should be put on the burning pile, since a chipmunk had apparently lived briefly in one of the drawers, but I cleaned it up and stored it away. As I explained to my brother, it can always be burned later, but once that's done, there's no going back. I know if I'd let him burn it, I'd regret it.
It rained Wednesday again. While I did not enjoy the humidity, I truly was enjoying the weather! Of course, it just made the landscape that much greener.
Wednesday night, at dinner, once grace was said, Cole asked his mother why Uncle Timmy wasn't bowing his head like they were. I looked down at the quizzicle little man, and said "I don't think this is the right time or place to have a theological discussion with a five year old. This is a dinner table." He looked confused, and my brother said, "He sure likes to use big words, doesn't he?" My sister-in-law, Janet, just looked relieved.
Thursday was a big day. My cousin and her husband came down in the morning to see me, and then I loaded Dad into my car to take him on an hour drive to Morgantown for a bone scan. The entire way he tried to tell me how to drive. Twice I had to forcibly tell him that he can drive however he wanted when he was behind the wheel; but he wasn't, so shut up.
It probably would have been going too far to have stopped the car and tell him to walk if he didn't like the way I drove, but I was sorely tempted.
He had his injection of radioactive material first, and then we had two hours as it worked its way through his system. We went looking for a part I need to fix his computer, then hit Golden Corral for lunch., where I got to watch a woman in her 80s spend ten minutes scraping all the custard out of a fresh pan of bread pudding, leaving all the bread behind, and ruining the dessert for anyone else!
Back at the hospital, he went in for his scan, which took about 45 minutes, then we stopped by Sam's Club before heading home. I was pretty worn out by then. It was an exhausting trip. Once back at dad's house, my brother and his family brought cake and ice cream to belatedly celebrate my birthday, which was very nice. Cole even signed his own name in my card! I went to the nursing home and got my grandmother. At dad's house, as I was backing up to his porch, I was distracted by the non-stop chatter of my grandmother (seriously, she never. shuts. up. She'll read road signs, and then complain how no one ever talks. It's because she never gives us a chance!) and backed right into the golf cart, leaving a lovely square dent in the trunk of the rental car.
Oopsie.
By the time everyone left, I'd had enough of people. I was overloaded- just too many & too much too quickly; and I all I really wanted was to go home. My home.
Friday, I packed everything up. Cole came up early to say good bye to me. I took one last drive around with the golf cart, left it at my brother's house, then walked back to my dad's house and said good bye to him. And once again, I was on the road.
I stopped at Frostburg to look in on my old university campus, which I barely recognize any more. I also stopped in Cumberland to surprise a friend on his birthday. He's a quadriplegic with very limited use of his arms, a really nice guy with some unfortunate political views, and I've known him since college. He was delighted to see me, and I spent about 20 minutes with him. Sadly, he told me that none of his old friends come around any more. When one's life gets busy, it's easy to forget those who have nothing but time on their hands, I suppose.
And then, it was back to Frederick to spend more time with Doug. He wasn't working, so we were able to spend more time together. We walked around Market Street (A seriously awesome part of town) and I picked up a DVD of "The Crocodile Hunter Movie" for $2.50. Late afternoon, I said my goodbyes and set out for Dulles, where I had a hotel reservation for the night. I could have stayed at Doug's house, but I really needed a good night's sleep (air mattresses and I don't get along well) and some time alone to decompress.
Saturday morning, I returned my rental car (they said nothing about the dent!) and got one my plane for home. As always, it was a long series of flights, but I was back in Casper at 8:30 pm, and I was so happy to see Andy again. We stayed the night in Casper and headed home the next morning.
I was so glad to be home.
Monday was spent moving my things from the old farm house to my father's shed. My brother is making progress on the old house, but there is a LOT to be done. It will be years before he finishes. The things that I had boxed up in the past were still safe, thankfully, and I found a few new things to pack away as well. Some boxes needed to be repacked into smaller boxes, as they were simply too heavy to move. I found my grandfather's safety razor! I'd looked for it in the past, but couldn't find it- turns out, I'd boxed it away. It has a mechanism that lets the top open for the blade when the bottom is twisted. Very cool, and obviously, it's an antique. I was so happy to find it!
I quickly realized how out of shape I am, not that I needed the reminder. My activities consisted of repacking boxes, moving the boxes to the top of the stairs until there were enough to make a few trips down the stairs to the porch, where I stacked them until there were enough to load into the truck. I started using the golf cart, but it held too little to be worthwhile. Once the truck was loaded, I drove it up to my father's shed and unloaded it. There was a loft that everything was going to go onto, but it needed arranged, and that was a job for another day. Right now, I just wanted to get everything moved to the shed. Later, in the afternoon, I'd have help from Cole. At one point, he found a small piece of magenta cloth, and said we should take it and wash it and give it to my grandmother, because ladies held those cloths in front of them and danced.
What?
Each evening, I'd join my brother's family for dinner. I was placed between Kyle and Cole, because they each wanted to sit beside me. Kyle is an exceedingly happy child .. until he is not. At that point, his smiling face just collapses into the deepest frown imaginable, and he cries loudly, usually yelling "MINE!" It's difficult not to laugh at him when he does this, because it's so comical. These outbursts usually only last about 20 seconds at the most.
Much of my trip had been planned for me, it seemed, but Tuesday was my day. I went into Oakland to see my friend Serena; she'd been my senior prom date, and we reconnected a few years ago. She and I went to see my grandmother. I also did a few other things around town, stopping in at the newspaper where I'd gotten my start, and stopping at my sister's law office in opes of seeing her. It rained heavily all day, which was wonderful. Where I live, there had been no measurable precipitation in March or April, I believe, so rain was a rare treat.
My sister's law office was having some work done, so the normal entrance was blocked off. By the time I found a side entrance, I was soaked. I step through the door into what must have been the law library. I walked down the hall, looking for anyone to be in, when a tiny girl in her 20s popped out of her office and saw me. I asked if my sister was around. She said no, with what looked like a slight smirk on her face. Apparently, I in my rain-plastered clothing and dripping hair was amusing. She asked if I wanted to leave a message, and I said no, just to let her know her brother had stopped in, and I turned and went back into the rain.
Sadly, there was no crash of lightning as I departed.
My sister has been fighting Lyme's Disease for years now. It was only diagnosed properly around the time of my mother's death two years ago, and the medicine she takes to control it nearly kills her, apparently. It's a sad situation, but she apparently has good employees and her husband does a good job looking out for her. A common complaint from family members is that she never talks to any of them. But when you're really sick, it's easy to just get wrapped up in your own little world of your own worries.
When I got home, my brother asked if I'd stopped by my sister's law office, and I told him I had. Apparently, the girl there immediately called my sister's husband when I left to tell him that a "scary giant man" had come in claiming to be her brother! He then called my brother to see if I was in town. I asked Mike, my brother, if he had told her that I was in town, and he said yes, so apparently, not only does she not talk to the rest of the family, but she doesn't even talk to her husband sometimes.
I had dinner again with Mike's family that night. The night before, Cole had said he wanted me to say grace; I escaped that awkward situation by saying I wanted to hear him say grace! Tuesday night, he said it was his mother's turn, but I could see him peeking at me from behind his clasped hands as I sat there quietly, waiting for them to finish.
Wednesday, I moved all of my boxes onto the loft. We also saved the dresser that I had as a boy, which I'm fairly certain was my father's when he was a boy. My brother thought it should be put on the burning pile, since a chipmunk had apparently lived briefly in one of the drawers, but I cleaned it up and stored it away. As I explained to my brother, it can always be burned later, but once that's done, there's no going back. I know if I'd let him burn it, I'd regret it.
It rained Wednesday again. While I did not enjoy the humidity, I truly was enjoying the weather! Of course, it just made the landscape that much greener.
Wednesday night, at dinner, once grace was said, Cole asked his mother why Uncle Timmy wasn't bowing his head like they were. I looked down at the quizzicle little man, and said "I don't think this is the right time or place to have a theological discussion with a five year old. This is a dinner table." He looked confused, and my brother said, "He sure likes to use big words, doesn't he?" My sister-in-law, Janet, just looked relieved.
Thursday was a big day. My cousin and her husband came down in the morning to see me, and then I loaded Dad into my car to take him on an hour drive to Morgantown for a bone scan. The entire way he tried to tell me how to drive. Twice I had to forcibly tell him that he can drive however he wanted when he was behind the wheel; but he wasn't, so shut up.
It probably would have been going too far to have stopped the car and tell him to walk if he didn't like the way I drove, but I was sorely tempted.
He had his injection of radioactive material first, and then we had two hours as it worked its way through his system. We went looking for a part I need to fix his computer, then hit Golden Corral for lunch., where I got to watch a woman in her 80s spend ten minutes scraping all the custard out of a fresh pan of bread pudding, leaving all the bread behind, and ruining the dessert for anyone else!
Back at the hospital, he went in for his scan, which took about 45 minutes, then we stopped by Sam's Club before heading home. I was pretty worn out by then. It was an exhausting trip. Once back at dad's house, my brother and his family brought cake and ice cream to belatedly celebrate my birthday, which was very nice. Cole even signed his own name in my card! I went to the nursing home and got my grandmother. At dad's house, as I was backing up to his porch, I was distracted by the non-stop chatter of my grandmother (seriously, she never. shuts. up. She'll read road signs, and then complain how no one ever talks. It's because she never gives us a chance!) and backed right into the golf cart, leaving a lovely square dent in the trunk of the rental car.
Oopsie.
By the time everyone left, I'd had enough of people. I was overloaded- just too many & too much too quickly; and I all I really wanted was to go home. My home.
Friday, I packed everything up. Cole came up early to say good bye to me. I took one last drive around with the golf cart, left it at my brother's house, then walked back to my dad's house and said good bye to him. And once again, I was on the road.
I stopped at Frostburg to look in on my old university campus, which I barely recognize any more. I also stopped in Cumberland to surprise a friend on his birthday. He's a quadriplegic with very limited use of his arms, a really nice guy with some unfortunate political views, and I've known him since college. He was delighted to see me, and I spent about 20 minutes with him. Sadly, he told me that none of his old friends come around any more. When one's life gets busy, it's easy to forget those who have nothing but time on their hands, I suppose.
And then, it was back to Frederick to spend more time with Doug. He wasn't working, so we were able to spend more time together. We walked around Market Street (A seriously awesome part of town) and I picked up a DVD of "The Crocodile Hunter Movie" for $2.50. Late afternoon, I said my goodbyes and set out for Dulles, where I had a hotel reservation for the night. I could have stayed at Doug's house, but I really needed a good night's sleep (air mattresses and I don't get along well) and some time alone to decompress.
Saturday morning, I returned my rental car (they said nothing about the dent!) and got one my plane for home. As always, it was a long series of flights, but I was back in Casper at 8:30 pm, and I was so happy to see Andy again. We stayed the night in Casper and headed home the next morning.
I was so glad to be home.