Monday, February 11, 2008

A GPS only works when you put the right address into it. I know this is stating the obvious, but it was confirmed to us this weekend. Bob, Pam and I were on our way to a wedding in Lancaster for Sarah, a friend of Pam's whom she's known since Camp Esperanza days. We were already running late as we didn't anticipate the Dallas traffic. Of course, we should have known better, but Bob did a great job of maneuvering through the stop and go traffic on I-35. We were about 10 minutes behind and hoping the wedding started late. We got off I-35 and onto another highway when we saw that the exit we were supposed to take was now closed. So we got off at the next exit, hearing in a British voice "recalculating, recalculating." Speeding down a two-lane country road (Lancaster is pretty rural.), we finally heard "turn left, arriving at address..." We turned, passed two old ranch homes and then saw a sight that immediately threw me into panic mode. It couldn't be. It wasn't. The church. Right out of "Little House on the Prairie." It even had a crooked wooden cross right over the door.


Pam, being the ever so clever girl, says "Stop. I have to take this picture!" Meanwhile we are now 12 minutes late. We backed up (the road had ended), and turned to go back, somewhere. Thank God for Baptist church steeples. There in the distance was a tall, white steeple. It had to be the church. I looked at the invitation and repeated the address. 805 E. Third Street. 805???Bob had misread the fancy script on the invitation and put 305 into the GPS. He probably wasn't wearing his reading glasses at the time. We raced over there, jumped out of the car, ran into the church and quietly slipped in the back just in time to hear them say their vows. Thank goodness the church was big and full of people. The wedding was lovely...and short. The bride was very beautiful. The reception was in a very large, nice room at the Waxahatchie Civic Center. All the people serving the food were friends of the family. It seems that years ago, a group of friends made a pact to help out at each other's children's weddings. That included doing all the decorating, flowers, food etc. It reminded me of what weddings must have been like at say...305 E. Third Street, the little white wooden frame church...on the prairie.

Besides the wedding, we had a pretty busy weekend with Pam. We brought Toby, our foster dog, to the Adopt-a-Pet. We had him groomed just days before to "show him off" and apparently it worked. He didn't even make it into his crate at the AAP, before someone was interested in adopting him. Of course, Bob and I had only good things to say about him. I told Bob we need to be in sales. He said, "I am." Oh, yeah, that's right. Gabby, the other dog we fostered for a bit, also got adopted. It was a sad day for Bob, but I think he'll live. We agreed to wait a bit before we commit to another dog. Fostering Toby was an experience. Bob and I both lost a pair of shoes. I have some upholstery to repair yet. But we nursed him back to health from a car accident, so we feel pretty good about that. I think next time I pray for a dog, I'm going to be very specific!

Just want to say...spending time with adult children is great. It's amazing how much they remember about their childhood that parents forget...or did we even know to begin with? Alot of memories have been made in 22 years in FloMo, and I'm very thankful for that.


Friday, February 08, 2008

So now it's February...I haven't blogged since the end of December. For many reasons. Not much to blog about unless you think the following is blog-worthy...

We've been fostering dogs, one to start, then added one, now back to one. It's been an experience. At times I thought Bob and I were certifiably crazy. No, not just thought we were, knew. If anyone knows of a family with kids who want a very happy, affectionate, playful medium-sized dog, we have him. He'll be at the Adopt-a-Pet at Petsmart on Saturday the 9th. He came with the name Elvis, but we renamed him Toby.

I was sick with daily headaches, starting at Christmas time and lasting into January. Thankfully, they have subsided thanks to physical therapy and medical massage therapy. Apparently I have three herniated disks in my neck that could most likely have been causing the headaches. Oh, the pleasures of aging! As the headaches subsided, a cold followed. And just when I thought I was on the mend, a sinus infection developed, necessitating an evening trip to the local "doc in a box" for a steroid shot to the butt. All in the family...if you've read Pam's blog. Oh the hazards of being a teacher!

The up and down weather's about to drive me crazy. I know it's a factor in why my cold and sinus infection came and hung on. Today is absolutely lovely. Can it just stay like this for at least a week?

Pam's coming in tomorrow for a wedding to a friend she met while going through cancer treatment. We are looking forward to spending time with our middle "adult child." These times are very precious to me. I just wish there were more of them, but I'll enjoy everyone I get!