Fancy Shmancy

I had a doc visit on Wednesday. No changes in treatment. No news is good news! My appetite is better, and my weight is holding steady. My breathing is decent, but is challenging at times and limiting. My eyes are very annoying, but I'm learning coping tools. I strapped on that toolbelt and loaded up with Van to come to a continuing medical education conference in San Antonio. We both hesitated because last year's conference was a complete DISASTER with my eyes and lungs, car trouble, etc. But because my parents were available to take care of our kids, and because Van and I have been at each other's throats, we decided that it was best. I almost bought a sign at Hobby Lobby the other day to laugh with him. It said, "What we have here is a failure to communicate." Anyway, we loaded our respective bags in the comfy minivan. We got all the way to Georgetown before the check engine came on. Oh, yes, by the way, Van, the same light came on when I was coming back from the doctor's office in Dallas yesterday. "What we have here is a failure to communicate." He calmly pulled into the Dairy Queen parking lot, called 1-800-Farm-Tow and our sweet insurance agency (thank you!) and ordered a smoothie for me and a Blizzard for him. Then, he ordered a Blizzard for me, too. The tow truck man was pretty prompt. We had a very sober, engaged discussion about life's woes in the cab of his truck on the way back to Waco. Van and I both attempted to elicit laughter from the man, but it was to no avail. I couldn't believe that references to National Lampoons Christmas Vacation didn't do the trick. Super sentimental and very kind. Van recommended a book about being fathered by God to him, and he was touched. Not what we expected!

Mom, Dad and the kids met us at the mechanic with Van's truck. The kids were all smiles and loving grandparent time. They gawked at our minivan being lowered with hydrolics, and Zane savored rolling our suitcases through the puddles in the parking lot. Chick-Fil-A lemonade and back on I35. We waved at the Dairy Queen in Georgetown an hour later, and we landed in San Antonio with full bladders. Fancy Hotel on the Riverwalk with a cush bed and cush pillows. Van walked to go learn something the next morning, and I found some hot chocolate and a scone. I played on Shutterfly with the Cooking channel in the background. I finished the photo album "Summer 2011" and got sentimental missing my sweet kids and my parents. That was the summer right after my transplant, so there were fewer pictures than normal, but most included my folks and Van alongside the kids in the garden, in the kitchen and building a picnic bench in the yard. Just lovely.

Then, a real treat. Van came back for lunch, and we met my San Antonio cousins at Spagetti Warehouse and got in a nice visit. These are folks that I grew up with seeing several times a year, and now we keep up with each other via Facebook. It was really special time.

After Van's last session, we walked through the mall, needing absolutely nothing but an ICEE. We strolled over to Fogo de Chao, an eating establishment that brought back memories of Nairobi's Safari Club. Once upon a time, when we were broker than broke, we spent some money in Kenya at a place where they served all types of wild game (crocodile, etc.) while we watched traditional dancing. If I remember correctly, each person cost $14 which was crazy expensive. This time, there were 1,000 waiters that came around offering us prime rib, pork rib, filet mignon, and all types of Van food on a skewer. My favorites were the Brazillian treats of carmalized banana and fried plantains. This part reminded me of teaching in Houston when our cook, Chari, cooked bananas in cream for us as a treat. She was from Spain, and put a lot of love into every morsel. I was nervous at first being in such a nice setting and forgetting to change out of my tennis shoes, but the wait staff and the company I was keeping made me feel at ease. We called the kiddos to check in. Avi had been to the coin store with Mom and Dad. She had charmed the owner who let her pick a few treasures of foreign currency. Pretty cute. The owner commented that she was such a well behaved child. I wonder if he changed his mind after she turned out the store's lights on the way out. The boys and a neighbor had ventured into the woods to make soup for the animals. It included acorns and sticks. They figured it would attract raccoons.

Just a few more days before we check to see if our little beagle has been born. I'm surprisingly excited about it. I think it will be a little challenging to adding another responsibility, but I think it will be really good overall.