From Georgia we headed north to Michigan. We made a quick pit stop for breakfast with the Feds in Chatanooga. The Blevins clan is always up for the fun get-together on the fly. They have grown used to my crazy travel schedule over the years, which makes it that much more challenging and great when we can actually coordinate a meet up. Oh, did I mention that the day prior to our leaving the Swamp I came down with Benign Vertigo?! "OOOH THAT'S BAD" should really be the name of this stupid ailment. I woke up and went to get out of bed and thought I was going to go sailing right out the window. At least my balance (or complete lack thereof) thought I was moving.
I had to try to decorate a wedding cake before we left and had to do it all backwards and leaning to my left side. This task was difficult for a variety of reasons...1) I'm right handed so I lean to the right when I decorate...2) It was flipping hot and humid in the kitchen and I was feeling cranky due to the dizziness...3) I was very cranky and dizzy...4) Did I mention I was really cranky?
Finally got the cake decorated and delivered with Margot's help (THANK YOU TONS!!) and then we proceeded to go directly to the NAVY JAX emergency room because I was really feeling like I was struggling with something very bad. Sat on the bed in the ER for an hour then a doctor came in and moved my head around. Normally, not a bad thing, but today not such a good idea. I thought I was falling off the bed and started grabbing for the first thing I could reach to keep me from falling. Do you know how close a NAVY doctor's lower half is to the side of the bed, and how close it is to your reach when you are feeling dizzy and like you are about to fall over? IT IS VERY CLOSE. Yikes! Then he had me stand up, put my feet together and shut my eyes. (This was going to be very bad--I could feel it). Tip my head back--WHOA I'M FALLING PEOPLE. Guess who caught me? Man, that was embarrassing.
They came up with the Benign Vertigo and then added "that really sucks" to the diagnosis. The same greeting came from one of the best Army doctor's in the country when we were visiting Margot. "Wow, that sucks" was then followed by a rather pitiful shoulder shrug. Basically, a gunshot wound, a knife gouge, perhaps an arrow shot through my butt would have been a better problem to have. They can ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING about those little items. I was told that it would most likely go away in a few weeks. I won't even go into details of some of the other options I was given. The were all lousy!
OK, I'm done being a baby (for now). Whoops, wait, I'm not. We had to drive through the Appalachian Mountains on the way up to Michigan. UGH! As long as there were trees blocking my periferal vision of the valleys, dips, swails and ranges I was ok. Sort of. I was popping the prescription for dizziness along with my beloved Mike and Ikes in an effort to comfort myself. That just made me nervous. Poor Rob!
Finally made it to Michigan. The weather was great! No humidity! Low temps in the 80's made sleeping with the windows open a treat. Eleni got to hang with her cousins--Angus (95lb lab) the loveable giant with a knee breaking tail, Cork (25lb cat) who was so irritated by the Bug that he didn't swat at her, he simply pushed her off the couch! What? I know, brat! And then there is sweet Beau (small cat)who pretty much stays out of the line of fire. Angus and Eleni are really cute together because Angus thinks he is little and Eleni thinks she is big. The two of them really like to cuddle when they finally settle down.
On to Minnesota by way of Illinois and Wisconsin. We had to pull off in WI for squeeky cheese that our friends had always told us about. Oh My Gosh...super squeeky! We grabbed some old fashioned Wisconsin pop and giggled and squeeked our way to the twin cities.
We were going to Minnesota to attend the International Ministerial Fellowship conference (Rob's endorsing agency)and his Ordination by IMF.
What an AWESOME three days! We stayed with such a nice couple, Beth and John Brevold and their little dog Oliver. They made a great trip that much better. We hope to come back and visit again, but as friends rather than strangers the next time. THANK YOU BREVOLDS!! Also, fantastic, cool and low humidity weather. Technically, it was like our winter weather and we were loving every minute of it. The conference was beyond anything we could have imagined. We met some pretty amazing people and heard some fantastic Christian artists. From the land of 10,000 lakes we turned south to Missouri to visit with Rob's family for several days. Again, fabulous weather! Great times playing Skip-Bo (card game) with his mom and dad each night. Got to visit with his aunt and her new hubby, and also with Rob's brother and his family. It was smart of us to keep up with the niece and nephews on facebook before we arrived so we could effectively torment them in person. I gotta say, not having teenagers to worry about is a blessing! Great kids thankfully, but the parents lose a lot of sleep. Hee hee hee!
As we were leaving Kansas City heading south, we came upon the town of Nevada, MO. This is the home of Cottey College.
This wonderful little 2-year, all girls college is owned by the PEO sisterhood, of which I am a member. Rob and I made a small diversion in our plans and it turned into an hour-plus tour and learning opportunity that I didn't think I would ever get. Very cool! Now we are going to work on our niece, Cierra, for admission. I think it would be a wonderful fit!
By the end of I don't even know what day it was on the road, we were in the Ft. Hood area of central Texas. Rob and I added a couple of days to our trip so we could see where we were going to be living for the next three years. It was hot, BUT NOT HUMID! Score yet another great day on the road. We found a really cool local hangout at Lake Belton on our first night. The next day we went onto post to meet with the Command Chaplain and to check out how "gigantic" the post was.
Ft. Hood is HUGE! It doesn't even fit onto one map. We got lost several times, went to two exchanges that were several MILES apart and were told it was easier to get to one point on base if we actually left the post, went down an exit or two and came back on at a different gate. WHAT? We never did find our destination and left more confused than when we arrived...but in a good way. My friend Margot and I are planning a recon trip in November to try to find a place to live and to check out the Austin area. Austin is about 45 minutes south of the Ft. Hood area and we are told is a great city. I already found my Michigan State Spartan Alumni Club there so I am good to go. Watch parties for college football and college hoops? Check!
From the heart of Texas it was a full day's drive back to Columbus, plus we lost an hour from central to eastern time. The day after we got back to Camp Dude (Doug and Margot Dudewicz), Rob received his official orders to swear in.
We were so excited that Doug was able to do the swearing in, since he is the one who started this all for Rob back in December at dinner on Christmas Eve. It was even more special in that it was the last time the dudes would get to hang out before Rob leaves for Chaplain school and Doug deploys to Iraq for a year.We finally arrived back at the swamp on the 8th of August. As we turned the corner into our subdivision the two of us just gasped when we saw how high the weeds had grown in the yard. It rained almost every day that we were gone so the lawn couldn't be mowed and the jungle had free reign on our property. I started to unpack the car and Rob started mowing the lawn. We have a way to go before we can get everything back to normal. Our plan is to rent our home for the next 10-15 years while Rob is in the Army.
So, our next phase is getting the swamp in shape for renters, meeting with the traffic office to schedule our military move and to find our new home in tornado alley.
All-in-all, we are very excited at what lies ahead and have enjoyed sharing our trials and tribulations with everyone.
Your continued support and prayers get us through those days when we feel like we are going two steps back before moving another step forward, and for that we are so thankful. We will keep adding on to our little pebble every so often to keep all of you updated on our antics. You guys know me, you know there will always be antics!
That's all for now from the swamps!
xo Muff
No comments:
Post a Comment