Back Again

Hello, and how have you been? I know it's been awhile, but we were on vacation. And it was just a little inconvenient to blog while I was away. I did one day, but it felt weird on someone else's computer. And I could go on and on about how hard it was to get on a wireless network at the hotel, but that's for later in the blog.

We left for Texas on Saturday and did about 711 miles the first day. We went a different way this time. We felt the need for something a little different, so hubby and I planned a route that took us up the back roads of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. That hooked us up with a pretty major state highway in Mississippi. And that took us to Jackson. Yea for Jackson. That meant we were done driving for the day.

We stayed at a Best Western that was pretty conveniently located. It was on the west side, which meant we were closer to our destination. And there was an Applebee's in the parking lot. There were also a couple more restaurants, but we chose Applebee's because we could walk. And we all needed to walk. We wanted a hotel that had a heated or an indoor pool so we could work out the kinks from the drive, but that didn't happen. What we found out as we were leaving the next morning was that there was a Pizza Hut that had a play land for the kids not too far away. If we had known that, we would have had pizza.

The drive was beautiful and really gave us an appreciation for a time that seems long gone in our hurry up society of today. There were beautiful farms and quaint churches and small towns. It was nice to know that there are still places like that. Some of the country side through our route was very steep land that didn't seem like people could live there. Yet there were houses in places that looked as if the house was about to slide down a hill or steep cliff. It is amazing to me where people choose to live, and where they choose to make a life.

Getting to Texas was the best part of day two. We got to my sister's house and were met by my beautiful nieces. My oldest niece is almost as tall as I am. Not that I'm that tall, but she is twelve(almost). She's not supposed to do that. And the youngest of my four nieces was walking, talking, and whining. She was just a baby that last time I saw her. How does time go by that quickly? I know, tick-tock, tick-tock. It was a glorious week that at some times seemed to fly and others seemed that time couldn't go fast enough.

I got to see my friend Scott. We have known each other for so long and spent quite a bit of time together. It was so wonderful to make a connection again. We have been corresponding through email and blogs, but it was nice to hug him. I think back to the things we've done and said and smile. He has always made me laugh. And he is part of my family. He spent so much time at my house, I thought my mother was going to start charging him rent. He and his partner Jeff brought pizza and soda out to my mom's house. That was no small feat since she lives in the middle of frickin' nowhere with narry a street light around. We were so happy they made it.

And I got to see my friend Ruthie. It was about time for that to happen as well. We got to meet her boyfriend, who is a really nice man. And her son was there as well. I can remember when she was pregnant with him and now he is 15. Once again, how does that happen? I know, you don't have to repeat it. We had dinner at TGI Fridays and went bowling, then back to her house for a little while. The boy was amazed at her son's prowess at Guitar Hero. And it was good to get that hug. It is the physical touch that nurtures us and our souls and makes us feel alive.

I'll post more about our trip later, and more on my other blog. We are so glad to be home in our own beds. But as soon as we pulled out of the driveway at Mom's, the tears began to flow. Some of them were mine. We miss the family, we miss our friends. But we have more memories to add to our stockpile, to pull out when we need a family fix. I hope you all enjoyed your holiday and hope you all continue to be blessed.