Good grief. When I last signed off, I never dreamt it would be 75 days before I'd begin to gather my wits about me again.
Personally, nothing's amiss....
... and since I'm not fond of excuses, I won't offer any. OK? OK!
Most recently ....
DH and I realized a long-overdue visit to my son and his family in Alabama ... by way of Florida.
I'd quite given up on trying to figure out the thought processes behind airline schedules and insanely-expensive fares. Then quite by accident, I discovered substantial $$$ might be saved by flying into Jacksonville (v. Birmingham or Atlanta) .... and we could fulfill a decade-old promise to visit Tom's sis and BIL at the same time. Yea, me!
Not so fast.
Given DH's chronic hip issues, I thought it brilliant to book the red-eye: It would be sparsely populated so he might stretch out, and I'd be too sleepy to notice every bump or jiggle.
Can you tell, we've not flown recently?
Every stinkin' seat on that airbus was filled! 'Ms. Genius' here had even pre-selected the one row where seatbacks don't recline. To add insult to injury, when DH went to sit down, his seat cushion did a 90-degree pivot! ("Oh that's OK, sir. They're just velcro-ed down.)
Does anyone else remember when flying used to be fun? When travelers actually dressed up in hose and heels for the privilege? Thank God, we landed w/o incident!
Rain -- and more rain heralded our return to that State I once swore I'd never set foot on again. (You think I'd not heard the term, 'never say never'?) Then, when I saw the manner in which Tom's sister lives, I immediately felt ashamed that she'd ever been to visit our place.
....OK, I'm blaming that on lack of sleep and a raw, sore throat.
It's amazing how a long snooze, followed by nice company and a great meal turned my attitude right around!
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| Tom and Annette |
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| Poor quality from our moving vehicle ... But this is John Grisham's residence. (Probably just one of his houses, but neat to see all the same!) |
I won't say time spent w/ family was relaxing or fun, necessarily ... our 14 year-old grand-dog passed suddenly which was devastating for all concerned.
And driving 7 hours a day isn't the lark it once was.
Still, I'm feeling infinitely more peaceful for having seen and hugged those I love!
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| Troy, Chloe (16 y/o), Sarah (20) and Lois My DIL complained her face was all puffy from crying, but I still think she's beautiful. |
That ... and I'm ridiculous pleased with my unintended souvenir.
I'm not necessarily a fan of shopping (more about that at another time!) .... but returning to Florida, I began craving an iced coffee in the worst way. Must have been kismet, but SIL took me to this delightful Plantation shop on the island featuring everything I wanted ... and nothing I needed. (Been there yourself, have you?)
Given Annette's member discount, I probably picked up more goodies than was prudent ... and thank goodness I didn't read one price-tag correctly, or I'd have put my doorknob back.
(OK, it's a doorknob-turned-bottle-stopper. But it still looks just like those in my grandmother's farmhouse so many years ago.)
Thank goodness, DH doesn't get his feathers ruffled if my common sense wanders off the reservation now and then!
Finally, I'm supposing the mystery surrounding Flight 370's disappearance isn't far from any of our thoughts and prayers. I can't begin to imagine what their loved ones are going through.
A few years back I posted about differing 'farewells', citing one of my all-time favorite movies, Castaway.
"There is a goodbye intended to be temporary ~ much more temporary than 4 years! ~ when he says, I'll be right back."
We never know when we say 'goodbye' some morning, if that's the last time we're going to have this exchange .... when or if there will be another hello.
So, isn't it important for all of our goodbyes to be loving and genuinely affirming? "God be with you... good be with you."
I think so, too.
Hugs,
Myra
