Mom's House and Other Adventures

I am spending a week at my  mother's house helping my sister with various chores that Mom can't get to.

It was quite an adventure to get there, and quite an adventure while we were there, and an adventure to get back.  Not as bad as it could be, but for me, any venture away from my familiar place and routine is fraught with danger.

Biggest danger was to my wallet while I was waiting for three hours in Houston for the next flight, and for my sister to get in so we could catch that flight together.  There are many little shops in the Houston airport.   All with high prices.  I managed to find one with reasonable post cards, and a small bagel shop that was also more reasonable, and I sat myself down and did postcards for awhile.  There was no good place to sit and read in anything resembling comfort.  That is one of the noisiest airports I've ever been in, and it has a distinct lack of seating in the area of B terminal near B1-11.

My sister and I usually stop to eat before we leave the last airport near our destination and drive to Mom's. This time, we didn't.  We drove on in the town where Mom lives, got  the house opened and took inventory, then went to eat something.  We stopped to see Mom, added to our shopping list, and made the first of MANY trips to WalMart.  Seems we can't do stuff at Mom's house without having to go get more stuff from WalMart.  Or Winn-Dixie.  Those are the two places we seem to find ourselves when we really just came to do yard work and visit with Mom.  There's always something we thought we had at the house that we don't have, something Mom needs at the assisted living place, just always something!

So, we survived the yardwork, and a week in a SMALL town.  The trip home was uneventful, even though we both had to RUN to catch our connecting flights home from Houston.  Soon as I got on that plane to OKC, I felt so good, even though I still had the vestiges of a sinus headache.  I do believe I'm allergic to Alabama.  First time I ever visited there, I got a headache, and it's happened ever single visit since.  I just make sure I have Excedrin Tension Headache and decongestant on hand when I get there.

This trip was so much more pleasant.  My sister seemed to feel better.  Mom is doing well at the assisted living, and there's just a lot less stress all around.  Mom looks better than she has in a while, she's eating right, she takes her medicine right, and actually interacts with other humans besides Aunt Margaret!  It's amazing.  She's just SO much better.  This facility is absolutely wonderful, and the people who work there obviously care about the folks they are responsible for.

On our trip back to the Pensacola airport to come home,  C-130 flew overhead, obviously associated with one of the military bases in the area.  That was a good omen to me.  C-130s are always a good omen to me.  Scrappy little cargo haulers that Matt used to fly on.  Love the sound they make.

Got home in one piece, had plenty of time between flights, even though I was afraid it was going to be too close.  Spent some time with good friends after I got home, got the laundry done, and made margaritas!  Yes, #KatieMargarita rides again!  (As the #Perlgirls will tell you.)

This week has flown much faster than last week did.  I have tomorrow off to prepare for another trip, this one to Austin, TX.  I've never been there before, so it will be fun to see a new place, and I get to meet a few more online friends in person, plus see a couple I've already met again!  Good times, and good friends.  It's going to be a great weekend.

More on that experience later, perhaps.