For most of the last month I feel like I have been slogging through a dense fog. It seems as if everything has been more difficult and has taken twice as long as it should have.
I can point to several things that may be contributing to this feeling, but I think the biggest part is that winter, although it has been mild, is still lingering. The other big thing is uncertainty around my mom’s health. I also have house fever.
Our current home is a condo centrally located in the village, and we can walk to almost everything we need. It’s great in that respect. What’s not great about it is having a shared wall, no personal outdoor space, and not having enough room for guests. The fact that it is four levels is also a bummer. The laundry is in the basement and my closet is on the third floor. There are 38 stair risers between those two places, and let me tell you, it is a royal pain to lug an armful of clean clothes up 38 steps! Fingers crossed the perfect house will show up soon.
On the winter note, one day it’s in the high 50s and sunny, and the next day it’s snowing sideways. And of course, the sideways snow was most recently occurring as we were making our way to the airport at 4 am so I could catch a flight to see my Mom, who was having her fourth heart procedure in a year and a half.
Thanks to my husband’s great driving, I made my flight on time and got to the hospital in Texas about 15 minutes before they took Mom in for the procedure.
The surgery went fine, and we got to spring her from the hospital the same evening. She is doing okay, but her doctors still think there is something else going on, so there will most likely be additional procedures in her future. I am glad these procedures are mostly day surgeries, but I am also concerned that each time they operate to fix one thing, they are causing additional trauma, which may lead to other issues down the road. In any case, it was good to see her and hopefully she will feel better very soon.
On a much higher note, my cousin Natalie and I will shortly be off on our next adventure, and Mom promised she would do her best to stay out of the hospital while I am in Europe. I asked her to set a longer goal of staying out of the hospital indefinitely!
On our upcoming trip, Natalie and I have decided to make London our base and take lots of day excursions, or possibly overnight trips, to see as much as possible. And unlike my fall trip to Ireland, we will NOT be renting a car. I can’t handle any more white-knuckle driving. This time I want to relax and enjoy the scenery while someone else chauffeurs us around.
Our grandfather’s family had connections to Wales, so we are for sure going there, but we plan to play the rest by ear. If any of you have any “must see” suggestions for our English tour, please let me know. I would love to get some great ideas of things to do and see.
As always, thanks for reading! Until next time.