HOME!

After 22 days I am home again! Mom is doing remarkably well. Her biggest obstacle is walking, but she's pretty speedy in that wheelchair. She's in zero pain, can get up and dressed alone, and make coffee and something simple for breakfast. She's wearing the Medical Guardian pendant and that gives me some peace of mind although I still made it clear that she is not to attempt walking with her walker unless someone is beside her. We made arrangements to have a senior care aide with her 5 x week from 11-3 to help with getting her to and from appts (she has a long line of friends offering to do this, but she doesn't want to impose on them - none of them would consider it an imposition) as well as helping with some cooking and various household chores for the time being. A nurse comes 2x week, as does physical therapy and occupational therapy. I took her to her appointment for moulding and marking in preparation for radiation which is yet to be scheduled. I was still on the road home when one of the neighbors brought a meal over and 3 more texted me. So, I felt it was time to come home.

I was away for 5 weeks. Home for 10 days. Away for 3 weeks. I'm so glad I was able to be there for mom, but boy, did I ever miss home!

At the end of my 10 hr trip, I was greeted by an enthusiastic Skeet and a happy husband. I had rented a car to come back so first thing Wednesday morning found us in town. DH had rented a car to come to Texas 6 weeks earlier, before mom's surgery, and he paid $153.00 for 1 day. My rental cost $280.00 for the same route!!! I was flabbergasted, but it was my only way home. I talked to the manager and was told that there was an extremely high demand for rental cars as few people were flying, but I still could not believe the huge increase! That's just ridiculous. When I did a little digging, I found out that a lot of rental vehicles had recently been sold (they make more money on selling them than renting them), but that too attributed to the decrease in available rentals. Increase demand. Decrease supply. The basic principal of economics means I dropped a cool $280.00 in a single day. That's a lot of fabric! 😄But, it got me home and that's priceless. 

When I got home, my 3-yr old phone died that night. It was a refurbished phone so I guess it was time, but I really do not like to spend money on phones. I think they are wildly overpriced and I refuse to buy the newest, greatest, latest. Alas, we don't have a landline and cell phones have become a part of our everyday lives, mine included. I don't play any games or participate in social media although I used to post on Instagram a few years ago. Blogging seems to be the only medium I've embraced. So, new phone in hand, DH and I made a Sam's run and then escaped all things urban and turned towards dirt and sky.

I am completely and utterly peopled out! And it's going to take me a while to recuperate, but this is how I do it.

Eating from the garden that DH so sweetly tended to. It flourished under his newly discovered green thumb:

Firing up the grill and giving thanks for the new ranch raised beef in the deep freeze

Mowing in the cool of the morning:

Yes, this is a good start: