I See What You Meme

Over the last week or so, when people ask me, "How are you doing?" my response is "It's been a crazy few weeks." The emotional highs and lows of the last two months have made things a little chaotic in our household. It all began when Roger was called to Florida unexpectedly. His father (Robert), on vacation with Juanita Bonita in the RV, had been diagnosed with appendicitis and the results of the surgery had produced complications.The family was called together.  The birthday boy looks pretty! Meanwhile, plans were still in motion for an (at that point) surprise party for Roger's 50th birthday. As his father seemed to be on the mend, he made it back from Florida with about 4 hours to spare before the secret celebration. The party was a fun distraction and we had dozens of "good deeds" done in honor of Roger's birthday to share with him. Plus beer.  Just some of the many "good deeds" done in honor of Roger's 50th ...

I got to spend the last week in Florida.  Yes, for those of you reading my blog in Virginia or other frigid climates, you are allowed to be a tad jealous.  Even though the evenings were cool, I got by with a sweater. And I walked on the beach almost every day.   It all ends tomorrow.   Overall, I had a great time with friends and family.  I spoke at my hometown library to a crowd of over 60 people and also presented to a great Girl Scout troop run by an old childhood friend. After all of that, I had a chance for some rest and relaxation.   I did have a few realizations during my trip. I have become the queen of reminiscence. I think I drove Roger crazy with stories of "there used to be a huge hotel in this spot" and "back when I was a kid, nothing was built out here" and "I remember when...".  Yeah, I'm getting older.  There is a mixture of feelings in watching your hometown change, especially when you don't live there all the time.  ...

The vacation is officially over. Roger and I had a wonderful and relaxing time.  A few lessons learned: Lesson #1: Air Tran provides excellent customer service. The weather in Richmond delayed our departure and we missed our connection in Atlanta.  Fortunately, Air Tran put us up in a local hotel with a meal voucher and a flight out the very next morning. Unfortunately, we didn't get to the hotel until almost midnight and needed to leave  the hotel at 6 AM to make our shuttle. We didn't get a lot of sleep and the hotel had some bizarre issues with the room: the remote control for the television just advanced the channel regardless of which button was pressed (including volume).  Plus, the telephones were disconnected from the wall jack. When we connected them, the dial tone didn't seem to work. Good thing we had our phones and didn't need a wake-up call.  It was clean, though, and it was better than sleeping in an airport terminal.   Lesson #2: Social ...