A Long Day

IF you look closely, there's a little blackdog

curled up nextto Moran's head

Friday night may have been the longest night, but today was, for me, the longest day. Colin and granddaughter Morgan were at the cottage by ten this morning, having set a speed record from Tomball that I don’t want to think about. They hung around for about an hour, packed up the many bags I had—clothes, food, presents—and we were off to Addison and Jamie’s office where we would pick up a foosball table.

Which somehow took two hours. My sons enjoy each other’s company and kept disappearing into corners of the office, no doubt talking about the toy business and who knows what else. What they weren’t doing was dismantling the foosball table for moving. Morgan and I grew increasingly bored and hungry, and Sophie was anxious in strange surroundings, with a small dog who tormented her with his treat when she didn’t have one.

We left the office close to 2:30 and made a beeline for Wendy’s. Then it was on Highway 45 headed to the Houston area with a whole lot of other folks. As Colin told Lisa, the two of us argued the whole way and it wore me out. I accused Colin of thinking every statement I made called for rebuttal. Morgan and Sophie slept. Time passed.

We stopped at the Buccee’s in Madisonville for gas and a potty break. Horribly crowded, and forgive me, but I do not enjoy being in the teeming midst of humanity. And I’ve talked long and loud about how kind people are when you’re on a walker. Not at Buccee’s. They cut in front of me, scowled at me, and not one person smiled.

Coin decided to take a back way from Madisonville which would have the benefit of missing the awful traffic that is always in The Woodlands. But when he said, “I think I’ve done this once before,” I was not inspired with confidence that we were saving time. The back road landed us in Navasota, and I was in familiar territory.

Colin and Morgan had left home at 7:15 this morning, telling Lisa we’d be home before seven. We made it by 6:50, and Colin said to Morgan that it had been a long twelve hours and they had made a loop around Central Texas. I was with them more of the day than not, and I was tired.

Lisa greeted us with wine and chicken piccata, and we munched on Christmas cookies and did the Advent Calendar. Sophie has settled down in her crate, and I’m about to go to bed. It’s good to be with family.

Oh my goodness, what a day!

November 22, 2017

Several poignant reminders of JFK’s two speeches, one planned and one impromptu, in For Worth on November 22, 1963, sent my mind plummeting back in time to the long weekend we spent glued to the ongoing pageant of tragedy and grief on TV. I was living in Missouri at the time, with no inkling that I would someday live in Fort Worth. Texas was still a foreign country to me. When we moved to Fort Worth and drove occasionally to Dallas, I could not bear to drive by the Book Depository. But oh that weekend—moments that remain forever engraved on the mind.

This morning, Sophie knew something was up. She always knows when I drag out the bag I pack for visits to kids’ houses where no public transportation is involved. She’d stare at me, watching my every move. My assurances that she was going too did not calm her. When Jordan began loading the car, Sophie went beserk, barking and jumping around. But she’s been a good traveler all day. Now she is doing a dance around Colin’s shepherd-mix dog. Soph seems to be saying, “I know you’re bigger, but I will only put up with so much.” She barked harshly just now when I gave Grace a little love,

Jordan and Jacob planned to drive me to Waco. First thought was that we could meet Colin, Kegan, and Morgan for lunch, but as noon approached and there was no plan, I announced I was going to eat lunch. We left Fort Worth a little before one o’clock, and when we arrived in Waco, Colin was still forty miles away. I said Jordan could leave me in a McDonald’s, and she fixed me with a look. “With one dog, two walkers, your bag, computer, and dog food?” We drove on and met the Tomball contingent in Reisl, maybe  20 miles from Waco.

Those who know the area will understand when I say Hwy. 6 from Hearne on was a solid line of traffic headed north—A&M people going to the Metroplex for the holiday. After College Station, it was heavy but moving traffic, until about Prairie View where it slowed to a crawl--people heading to Houston. By then we were in territory familiar to Colin, so we took back roads, but they too were crowded, and we spent some time moving inch by inch.

At one point I said something about looking forward to turkey, and Morgan told me we were not having turkey. Hogshead is on the menu. I said I thought I’d be a vegetarian, and she said, “I’m with you, Juju.” Colin finally admitted there is a turkey but says the hogshead is the center of the menu—only 79 cents a lb.! Fancy that bargain. He is curiously reluctant to show it to me, and I suspect it’s a figment of his imagination. More on that later.

A long day, but I’m grateful to be here.

Colin, just out of the hot tube, with his Turkey Trot medal

They were an hour late for the race, still ran the 5K course, and got medals