The Big Trip wrapped up with about 10 days in Minnesota and Iowa hanging with my family, adding a couple days to meet Joelle’s biological sister who also lives in Iowa with her adoptive family. I see my family all too seldom these days, and it’s such a gas to have time to spend talking, hanging around, and catching up. I have a funny family, so there’s always lots of laughter going on. We also eat and eat. And we eat. For entertainment purposes only (or at least primarily), some of us took a trip to the great Mecca of capitalism, the Mall of America. We rode the rides and shopped some of the shops and, yes, did some eating. The kids had been talking about the MoA for a week before we went, so they’re always jazzed to go. It really is quite the place. I think our favorite new product (sold in several stores) is the giant beanbags that convert back and forth from even king-size beds to chairs/couches. You've gotta love that there are people out there trying to find new uses for their 70s beanbag chairs.
The toughest part of being back in God's country was seeing how much my mom’s Alzheimer’s has continued to progress. She still seems to be happy and enjoying herself, so that’s something…but all in all it’s hard to see her fading away a little at a time. A thousand cheers for my sisters who live near her and are doing the work of caring for her. Nan and I both choked back tears every time we visited…I’m sure they do the same far more often. It’s such a nasty disease, slowly robbing people of their memories and ability to think. Mom had pretty good visits while we were there, knowing that she knows us (even if she can’t remember our names) and chatting happily about whatever crossed her mind. Still, it’s hard to believe how much she’s lost. Whenever we can’t think of a word or lose our train of thought, my siblings and I all wonder if we’re in the early stages...
Alas, in the morning we’ll be hitting the road for another six or so hours. If we’re in the mood, we may pause in Bowling Green to see my grad-school alma mater, but otherwise we’ll have to keep ourselves occupied across the flats of Indiana and Ohio. We’d initially talked about saving some days to spend for touring across here, but this stretch of I-80 holds a limited number of hard-hitting tourist destinations. (The lyrics to the old John Denver song “Saturday Night in Toledo Ohio” keep popping into my head.) (Ok, you can stop laughing at me for knowing the lyrics to John Denver songs.) But we can take a break and tour if something strikes our fancy… We’ll see how it goes.
As things come to an end, I have to say a giant THANK YOU to Lindsey and Sue who’ve continued along at work without me. For no additional compensation beyond this paragraph, the two of them have had to simply add my work to theirs over the past four months. The good news is they’ve done so with their usual skill and efficiency. The bad news is that they’ve proven I’m mostly a figurehead. (I’m tenured, so I can live with that…) I can’t thank them enough for their support, as without them, we never could have left home.
I’m sure I’ve got more entries in me, but with just one more night on the road I’ll no doubt be sending the next one from home (once we get the cable turned back on). From Richmond to the Everglades to San Diego to Seattle and home again, it’s been quite a ride!
The View from the Ferris Wheel at MoA
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