Whoo… It’s a bittersweet traveling season. I flew out to
South Carolina early Wednesday morning. A 6 a.m. flight, with Starbucks in
hand, I didn’t even drink that cup. I fell asleep holding it for the first leg
of my trip. I landed in Charleston at 11 a.m. and went straight to the Citadel
for meetings. Three and a half hours
later, lots of paper work shoved in my bag, etc. and exhausted, I stopped by
the barracks to see my old tactical officers. Retired Cols, and like my second
dads, I was greeted with bear hugs and knobs to mess with. I ended up staying a
little longer than planned due to a few quick counseling sessions that were
forced upon me. Apparently I know all the answers now. Finally making my way to
my house on John’s Island, I convinced my mom, who had been baking up a storm
all day, to go to sushi with me. My dad and sister HATE sushi. My mom, brother,
and I love sushi. Since they were not in town until the next day, it was an
easy sell. Then next morning, bright and early at 6 a.m., my mom and I departed
for Charlotte, NC to pick up my dad, sister, and her best friend.
(Folly Beach, SC)
We then drove from Charlotte to Pinehurst to see my great
grandfather. He and I are very close. I sadly haven’t been able to see him
since his 102nd birthday in July. Well, he fell last week and hit
his head. He was in the hospital for stitches and a CT scan. Turns out he had
broken his hip years ago and didn’t tell anyone, he has multiple blood clots in
his legs, and his heart rate was 36. Needless to say, he decided to start
hospice. I went to see him, to say goodbye. Because as much as it breaks my
heart, I won’t be there to hold his hand when he takes his last breath. God, I
hope someone is there though. His breathing was shallow but he told me the
story of how he met my great-grandmother (he knows it is my favorite). I cried,
a lot. I hate seeing him in pain and struggling. He asked me to smile when I
was saying goodbye, it took three goodbyes for me to finally walk out the door.
It is and will be a rough next few weeks.
After leaving Poppy and returning to SC, I was exhausted and
went straight to bed. The next day, Friday, was another busy day and Halloween.
I had a OB/GYN appointment in the morning and spent the rest of the morning
helping my mom and dad around the house. Until my brother came in. He has been
having debilitating headaches for almost a month. This one was extremely bad.
So I grabbed his keys and took him to the E.R. where we spent the afternoon
with doctors. Did I mention that he was getting married the next day? He and my
sister in law got married last spring but had a reception party at Folly Beach
(hence why I was in Charleston). Once he was discharged, I rushed to get to
Retreat Parade at the Citadel. I had told the President’s wife I was in town
and promised to meet up with a few Cols and a General. Thankfully, I made it
just in time to say hi, give a few hugs, shake some hands, meet the new
Commandant, and get out of there. I did my Halloween makeup in the car (a deer
again) and made it to the bar with my grandpa before the rest of the group
showed up. We had to pregame. After seeing my aunts and uncle and catching up
over shrimp and grits and beer, we headed over to a comedy horror theatre.
Probably the funniest experience! It was an interactive theatre and thankfully
I had a lot of liquid courage (wine) to help me through my speaking parts… The
rest of the night is a little blurry.
(Left to Right; me, my sister, my cousin, and my sister's best friend)
The morning of my brother’s wedding was ironic. We woke up
to rainy, freezing cold, and windy temperatures, very much like the day my
brother got engaged. We meandered to downtown Charleston to the farmers market-
which was, of course, closed due to weather. Fast forward to my brother’s
wedding ceremony and reception. It was so nice to see old friends and my family
in one place. A lot of laughs and another night of blurry endings… I caught my flight out the next morning with
a 2 hour layover in NYC. I missed the city, and because of high winds we
circled Manhattan twice. I have a lot of very fond memories there and hope to
be back again soon. I made it back to St. Louis and drove straight to Columbia,
MO. It was a crazy few days… And it will be for a few weeks. I am flying to
Vancouver on Sunday, the 8th to speak at the North American SETAC
conference for a week. Stay tuned for those pictures! And of course after the
conference, I am flying straight to San Diego for the Marine Corps Ball with a
certain Captain. Can’t wait to show y’all my dress.
(Andy and Macy exchanging vows)
(It wouldn't be a Citadel wedding without a ring picture #ringknockers)
PS. I was in the south for four days, my southern accent is
back. Good Lawd…
No comments:
Post a Comment