Well, get comfortable, grab a coke, and relax…here’s what we did in Texas to the best of my weak memory.
Tuesday…April 21…we left home around 10 a.m. so we could take Melissa out for a early birthday lunch. We went to one of my favorite restaurant in Louisville…not sure it’s hers but she selected it…the Bristol Bar and Grill and we had a wonderful lunch. We ended up getting to the airport early so we had lots of time to “people watch” before we caught our 2:30 p.m. flight to Dallas. This flight, and the one into Abilene, were very smooth and uneventful…we got to Abilene around 6:30 p.m. Mom had a delicious dinner prepared…still an excellent cook…so that took care of this day.
Wednesday, April 22…My nephew, Jonathan and his girlfriend, came for a visit and it’s been years since we’ve seen him. He’s grown up…over 6’2″ and just a big man…and it was good to learn more about him and what his future plans are. We were to take them to lunch, along with Victoria, but there was a miscommunication and they ate before they got to the house. Since none of us had eaten, they went with us and shared an appetizer. Lawrence, Linda, and Buddy arrived from Nashville that evening and we visited with them for a little while before they returned to their motel for the night. They travel non-stop so they were exhausted…15 or more hours coming in from Nashville, TN. Nothing else much happen that day except for some hot games of Texas 42.
Thursday, April 23…this was our day to meet up with Lorin, Patsy, and Victoria at Harold’s for lunch…10 people total. That’s a Bar-B-Que place we have enjoyed since we were students in the early 60’s and it’s still good and the owner is still doing the cooking and serving. YUMMY!!! We finalized our snacks, etc. for Saturday so we made a quick trip to Albertson’s for some groceries and we are all getting in the full swing of things. Again not much going on besides 42 and non-stop snacking.
Friday, April 24…a very busy day. Mom had her physical therapy this morning and it laster for a good 2 1/2 hours…she was quite tired when she got back to the house. While she was there, Linda Lou and I made all the snack things for the reception on Saturday…took most of the 2 1/2 hours mom was gone.  We decided to forgo going out for lunch and went and got some subs and ate at the house. At 2 p.m. I took Mother to the beauty salon to get her hair done and that was followed by a 3:30 p.m. nail appointment. We got back to the house around 4:30 p.m. and she rested for just a few minutes before we headed to my brother’s house for a hamburger/hot dog cook out…this was to celebrate dad’s 90th birthday. A cousin, Gail, and her husband, Wilson McCoy, was  there and that was quite a surprise to the folks. I haven’t seen Gail in over 50 years and she was a joy to be around…along with Wilson, of course. Family ties were still there! Once we got home, we were all bushed so it was off to bed.
Saturday, April 25…What a FULL day this was. It started out with breakfast at a nice restaurant at 8:15 a.m., the reception was from 10 – 4 p.m., and then the dinner was at 6:30 p.m. The morning really began around 6:30 a.m. when my sister, Linda, called on my cell phone to tell me to open the front door. They didn’t think they would be able to come but at the last minute decided to try. Since they were flying  “stand-by” they got to spend 4 hours in the New York airport before they got to Dallas, rented a car, and then drove the 3 1/2 hours to Abilene…it all began in Nashville, TN at 11:15 on Friday morning and they finally reached Dallas at 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning. They too were exhausted when they got there.  To say the folks were surprised is an understatement!!! The last sibbling to arrive was Jerre and his wife Rita, along with a couple of their kids and grandkids. Our oldest son, Carter and his wife Lori, arrived in town around 10:30 a.m….another surprise for the folks. This entire day was a success and many happy memories were made. All five of us kids were there…been five years since we’ve all been together…so it was perfect for the folks. Jerre and Rita couldn’t stay for the dinner so they left for home after the reception…she had to go to work that night. By the time we got back to the house, Mom’s legs were swollen very badly and they were still swollen on Monday morning. The doctor told her to keep her legs elevated this WEEK and she should recover from all the weekend events. She felt it was worth it, I guess.
Sunday, April 26…The morning consisted of church and Sunday school class taught by dad…he did a good job. We all went to lunch at a steak house and then headed back to the house to visit…along with snack on the left-over finger foods.  Linda and Jim left for home early this morning and were able to make all their connections and got home by 3 p.m., Carter and Lori headed out around 5 p.m. and Lawrence, Linda, and Buddy did their usual middle-of-the-night departure.Â
Monday, April 27…the party is officially over. We’re taken to the airport by 7:15 a.m. for our flight to Dallas. Unfortunately, we were delayed because of storms for almost 2 hours…they kept saying we’d be departing every 15 minutes. The Dallas airport was closed to in-coming planes due to the storms and high wind. To say we had a bumpy ride is putting it mild. The flight attendant stayed in her seat the whole time…didn’t even do a final check to see if our seats were up, etc. She just announced that she would trust our judgment concerning our safety. We made it, so all was good so far. As we got into the Dallas airport we hear the “final” call for our plane home. George was still collecting our carry on bag, which took a while, but he sent me on and I wasn’t sure he was going to make it. I was glad to see him get on just a few minutes before the door was closed…they had some stand-by military guys get on after him. We had some bumps as we headed towards Oklahoma before heading to KY. Once we got past the storms, we had smooth flying. Our luggage was finally delivered to our home sometime during the night. They called around 11 p.m. to tell us they would be bringing it and George told them to just leave it on the porch. Sure enough, it was there this morning when we got up.
So today has been catch up day with laundry and yard work. Hope you got an idea of what all we enjoyed and the events taken place.
Blessings……..