Going Home

Every day I remind myself that I need to come home and post a new blog so I'm not overwhelmed with catching up. It never fails that I get busy and before I know it I'm in bed, overdue on sleep and only a couple of hours until I need to be at work. My sleep pattern is getting a little better. I average 4 hours a night before getting up at 5:45. At least I'm not back in the day when I didn't sleep at all!

Two weeks ago I made a spur of the moment trip to St. Louis to go see my Uncle before he started his radiation and chemotherapy treatment. I saw him in February at my Mom's funeral but I had not seen the rest of the family for over a year and I was really feeling that I needed to check in with everyone, especially my Grandfather. It was a quick weekend trip and I actually got a great last minute deal on airfare and car rental, which was nice. Saturday morning my plane left at 5:30 am (ugh!) and I arrived in St. Louis around 9am. I picked up my rental car and headed to Uncle Chuck's house in Collinsville.

The weekend was really nice and it was great spending time with everyone. I miss living so close. When I was in Ohio I was only 5 1/2 hours away and I really should have taken advantage of that more often. Charleston is a 14+ hour drive to St. Louis and believe me... it's a bitch! Saturday was a pretty lazy day. Peggy was having a birthday party for the Mother so I went upstairs and napped. When I got up Uncle Chuck, Peggy and I went into town for dinner.

On Sunday I made plans to have lunch with Grandpa and Mil. I knew they wanted to see Uncle Chuck, so he and Peggy followed me to their house so they could visit for a bit. Eventually Grandpa, Mil and I headed to Applebees for lunch and then to Wal-Mart to pick up Mil's prescriptions. You never know where you will end up with those two!

After lunch, on my way back to Uncle Chuck's, I made a detour and took the back roads through the country. When I'm in town I always make sure I go to the family cemetery. I really love it out there - it's so peaceful. I sat for a moment in front of the fresh grave of my Uncle who passed away the day before my Mother and reflected on what my family has been through over the past couple of years and prayed that things will get better.

I was a bit sad that my cousin Denise made no effort to see me (again!) when I was visiting. Over the last couple of years she has become more and more estranged and I'm pretty much over it. There was a time when we were very close and now she can't even be bothered to return a phone call. Unless you text her, you won't hear from her! On top of the bond that we already share we are now both without parents. I wanted to talk to her and spend time with her and I'm really sad that she did not take the time to do that even after I contacted her multiple times over the weekend. I wonder what is going on in her life that makes her treat family this way.

Sunday evening Kris, Sarah, Erin and Eric come over for dinner so I could meet the babies and see Ava. Truth be told, my biological clock has been ticking for several years but after a couple of hours with two infants and wild 4-year old I was having second thoughts about motherhood!

Kris, Ava, Sarah and Jacob

Me and Jacob

The adorable Norah

Jacob, Norah and Erin

The weekend flew by and before I knew it I was on a plane headed back to Charleston. Just before I returned the rental car I stumbled upon something pretty humorous.

Not sure if I'd want to shop where they laugh at me before I even walk in the door!

In the same neighborhood, I also found this wonderful sign:


I was ready to get back home so I dropped off my car and hopped on the shuttle and headed to the airport. I must say that this trip was the most pleasurable airline experience I have ever had. They didn't lost my luggage, the planes were all half-full so I didn't have to sit next to anyone and the flights were all on time!

On the way home I sat next to the engine of the plane. I felt responsible to watch for any birds we might fly into. Luckily I didn't have to report any fatalities and we didn't have to land in the Mississippi River or the ocean!

Lovely!