Remnants From A Trip Of A Lifetime

Last year on this date I was in the Chattanooga area making the trip back to Texas for bilateral knee surgery. The 30th was on a Sunday and I went to Sunday School, then headed out with SequishShawn loaded down with three and a half months of clothes for three different seasons. Warm, cold and rehab attire. I would arrive on November 1st, have a little time for catching up with friends, getting all the last minute medical appointments taken care of and attending Joint Camp. Emotionally, it was a hard drive to Texas because just watching me walk, it was obvious that something needed to be done about those knees but I really did not want to leave the mountains. I didn't know it then but I do now that these would be some of the most difficult days of healing and rehabbing and learning to walk correctly. I would do it all again in a heartbeat because the quality of life is so much better with energy and walking. Just to think this process began from a trip of a lifetime.
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Last year on this date I was on the road from Chattanooga to Covington. Yes, once again I stopped writing being distracted by a day with no schedule. A much needed trip to the grocery store, well stores and a stop at the Post Office. I got some vacuuming done and also put up things from our Costco trip. Buddy stayed close all day. Think these long daily absences of the past two weeks affected her a bit.

We were able to get some yard work done last week. The butterfly bushes have taken over in the back. Roy trimmed them back a bit and he also trimmed some plants in the front yard. We loaded up about five bags of yard waste and took them over to the landfill. We left enough cover for the birds in the back so they feel safe by the bird feeder.

I haven't written much about Beth's visit here. We had a blast! We have known each other since the sixth grade and became friends in high school. We were those two girls who laughed a lot and found joy in just about everything. We have been friends apart longer than being friends together. We traversed about the mountains enjoying the scenery, friendship and conversations. Seems that we both, although not similar in comparison, experienced a chapter of life, closing...but just not closing but beginning a new chapter of life. We are making plans for her next visit.

On the way home from Charlotte on Sunday, the clouds and sky certainly complemented the silhouettes formed by the mountains. Add in the fall colors and it was a visual delight. I stopped for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel and had one of those moments in the rather mundane task of throwing away the to go cup from the Holiday Inn Express. Cause it was just one of those moments in January 2016 that changed the course of my life...the end of my shoe caught a metal piece by the trash can and I fell, breaking my hip in Lafayette Louisiana. I'm making my brain talk to my feet as I walk. As I approached the front of the building, a gentleman was walking up at the same time and he arrived at the door before me and waited with the door open while I threw away the cup. Such a kind gesture and I didn't trip or fall while doing that mundane task. It did make me think though, if I hadn't fallen in January, I probably would have kept putting off knee replacements. I wouldn't have gotten healthier. I wouldn't be enjoying life as much as I am now. I've written this before but it truly was a trip of a lifetime.