Yesterday was a fairly busy day getting ready for take-off. It was nothing to pack up for a few weeks, heading out where the temperature won’t drop below 80 degrees. We are so used to packing for international travel, for longer periods of time and various climates. For this trip, all of our stuff just fit in carry-on bags. Traveling light has it’s advantages.
Kory had to make a quick trip back to Costco because one of his hearing aids quit working a few days ago so he stopped wearing them both. It makes such a difference for all of us when he can actually hear what’s going on. Turns out it was just some ear wax clogging up the speaker, so he’s back in the know and I’m not having to repeat everything I say to him. Hallelujah for that.
Kaleb was a big help cleaning the house and preparing for our departure. We left in the early afternoon with four pies in tow. We dropped two of them off in two different places on our way to Jan, my step-mom’s house where two pies were being delivered for dessert.
Jan was kind enough to make us dinner and invite my step-brother and his wife over to see us off. I love that woman. She has a heart of gold and it’s always nice to be able to spend time with that family, catching up on what’s going on in their world. My step-brother’s daughter is leaving next week to attend college in New York so it was nice to spend time chatting with her before she leaves. I remember the strawberry cake from her 3rd birthday party like it was last month. Hard to believe time has gone by so quickly.
This morning we were up before the crack of dawn. Jan drove us to the airport and sent us off with a cup of coffee and a muffin for the plane. She thinks of everything. We’ve never flown Southwest Airlines before and they have open seating so we were a bit stressed about not being able to sit together, but we got one of the last rows with three seats together – a definite answer to prayer.
The flight attendant was one of the funniest ones I’ve ever encountered. As she was giving the announcements before take-off she was telling us about the oxygen masks and she said, “If you’re traveling with a child, or someone who acts like a child, be sure to put your mask on first.” Then at the end she said, “So sit back and relax, or sit up and be tense, it’s all up to you, but we hope you enjoy the flight.” That got several of us chuckling.
Kaleb entertained himself on the flight with his notebook and pencil. He’s inventing some roll playing game that has many levels and details, so he’s writing up the rules and different aspects of play, and as my computer is free, he’s typing them up as well. He’s very absorbed by it all so I’m thankful for that.
He invented a board game when he was six years old that was downright genius. It was based on the life in the rainforest. It had several layers, stacked one on top of the other and the player went around the different levels that represent the canopy cover of the trees. It included all the different rainforest animals and if, for example, the player landed on the sloth square, they could only go half speed through the rest of the game. He’s clever that way, coming up with funny twists and turns. Many people who saw it thought it should have been in mass production, but it had a few glitches to work out and he lost interest before it got perfected. We’ll see how long his interest in this new game lasts, but I’m thankful he’s not sitting on electronics day and night.
The East Coast had a 5.8 earthquake just before we landed in Philadelphia. I’ve had my days of making waves wherever I went, but having an earthquake precede my arrival was a first. We were unable to use our cell phones because all the city was abuzz with this very rare phenomenon, so I couldn’t call my friend, Connie and tell her we were on our way, until we were about two minutes from her house, when the phone lines finally freed up. The evening news went on and on for about 20 minutes about this event, even when no damage was reported anywhere. Talk about sensationalism! They’d closed down the Philly airport just before we landed, but it was back open again in no time so we didn’t even know the difference.
It was great to see Connie again! She was a neighbor of ours when I was growing up and I used to babysit her kids. They moved to New Jersey in the late 70s but we’ve been in good contact all these years. She calls me the daughter she never had and she brags about Kaleb like he’s her own grandchild. She had two sons, Curt and Rob. Curt died in the 80s when he was only 21 years old, of cancer. That was a tough time for us all. Robbie came down with cancer not long thereafter and has never fully recovered. The treatments they gave him disabled him for life and he’s spent the last two years unable to walk. I knew I needed to get out here soon if I were to see them again because they are both struggling with health issues and I didn’t want to wait until it was too late.
We have lots of catching up to do as it’s been several years since I was here last. She’s been out west to visit us, but Kaleb’s never been here. Connie treats him like her own and Robbie called me tonight to tell me he’s had to remind his mother that she DOES have another child, too, as she’s been talking non-stop about the fact that Kaleb is coming. It’s nice for him to be spoiled a little. She taught him how to make a milkshake tonight using an old milkshake mixer from the 1950s that she used in her family’s restaurant in Indiana when she was growing up. Sweet moment.
Now, I need to sleep. We didn’t get enough of it last night and we want to adjust to local time, so that’s it for today. There’s much to look forward to in the next few weeks and I’m thankful for every moment of it.
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