October 2, 2014

The Trip Home

October 2, 2014

Sometimes we need to be flexible.  It is not always possible, but when it is, sometimes we just need to change our plans.  I left last Friday afternoon to go see Mom who was in the hospital in Grapevine, in the Ft. Worth/Dallas area.  I went as far as San Antonio the first night, and on to Grapevine the next morning, arriving just after noon on Saturday. 

I had expected to head home on Monday morning.  When Monday came, Mom was worse so I decided to stay another day and go home Tuesday.  Tuesday came and the procedure they did, didn't bring the results we had hoped for, so I decided to stay another day.  By Wednesday morning, Mom was much better and plans were being made to transfer her to a Rehab Center.  That day, it seemed that the time to return home had arrived.  I am thankful that my husband was supportive and encouraged me to stay as long as needed.

The facility where Mom is staying now

Mid-morning Wednesday I started my trip home.  Most people make the trip in one day.  It is about a 10 hour drive.  I have had some back problems off and on over the years (nothing compared to Mom's), but my doctor has encouraged me to not over do it on long car trips.  I just didn't see that I could safely make it in one day.  Wednesday I drove to San Antonio and on Thursday drove the rest of the way home.  That just seemed wisest.

The trip was rather uneventful.  The traffic was not too bad.  I waited until after rush hour to leave San Antonio and slept later than I had been.  I needed the rest.  The weather was very nice and I had lots of time to spend thinking, praying, and planning.  The thinking was about the previous week with Mom.  The praying was for her and for a friend having surgery on the other side of the world.  The planning was mostly on the rehearsal dinner for Stephen's upcoming wedding.  In my days in the Ft. Worth/Dallas area, I only had 2 hours with him to work on plans for the wedding and surrounding events.  There is still much to do, but we made some good decisions.

Again as I drove I got sleepy, but made frequent stops to walk around and to do a little shopping.  I think that I mentioned on the trip up, that I can't really listen to music or the radio in the car so it adds to the boredom.

All of the area where I traveled that day has had a lot of recent rains and was beautiful with greenery everywhere and wildflowers blooming!  That is not the norm for the start of October in deep South Texas.

In this area of deep South Texas, there is a huge ranch called The King Ranch.  The main highway we use cuts through The King Ranch and we have always just referred to it as "the ranch".  I think we all feel that a tiny part of it is ours and I always love seeing the changes on "the ranch" brought about by changes in the seasons and weather extremes: droughts, tropical storms, heavy rains, etc.  It has been dry on "the ranch" for a long time and it was a delight to see it so green and to see a few of the ponds starting to fill.

In years past, the farmers and ranchers in this area raised cattle or grew cotton, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, etc.  Now the latest thing popping up in the flat farmland is windmills.  I guess they are a better cash crop.  There are hundreds and hundreds of these in the area now and probably thousands.  We do get a lot of wind so I guess it is logical - just not economical.  Yesterday was one of those windy days.

I arrived home around 3:00 and went straight to the office to take care of a few things.  After work I went by Mom's and she had this lovely rose blooming.  Sorry I can't get it to her to enjoy, but I am enjoying it.

We joined friends for supper and enjoyed catching up on news. They have been on a vacation and had adventures to share and I had lots of news to share with them.  It was nice to be back into a normal routine.

It is good to be home.  I am glad I went.  I wish it was not so far away.