Friday morning… We got the green light. For the previous few days, the nurses had commented that she was doing fantastic and wondered if she was on her last treatment. She had to tell them she was mid-way through the regime each time. The attending doctor on our floor asked Summer how she was feeling. Summer shrugged and said, “you know… tired”. The Doctor asked if she would like to go home (as if she might say no??) and said she was cleared to leave at 3 PM. 
Nate got lucky on this one. Summer loved our corner room with the isolation cell for the caregiver. Not sure Nate would have loved it too much. He was lucking out!
Nate texted me at about 10:30 to give me his ETA and progress on Google Maps. He would be in Memphis around 1:15. I pretty much packed everything up when we left Target House on Tuesday anyway… I went into my “cell” and packed down my bags and bedding. I just needed to wait for Nate. When he got to the bridge from Arkansas, I said goodbye to Summer and met Nate down in the parking lot. I handed him the parking pass and let him have my parking space. I was instantly on the road home.
Angela’s birthday was Friday… I drove as quickly as I could… But I had a couple of postcards I wanted to deliver to the post office before getting home. They were Memphis/Elvis postcards! They needed to be stamped near Memphis at the least. I drove for a bit and then pulled off at Blytheville Arkansas. I figured the town could not be too terribly big. I’ll just get off the exit, get some stamps and get out.
Well, that was wishful thinking. I got off the exit. Then put “post office” in the GPS and followed the directions. I think it was 10 minutes later till I got to downtown Blytheville. While heading to the Post I saw what I thought was a classic gas station or theatre or something. It was worth circling back after dropping off the postcards.
The building was a Greyhound Station. Do you remember Greyhound? The bus service what used to be the easy, cheap way to get across the country. If time is not of the essence. This station looked great. It also looked empty. I didn’t have much time to investigate. I grabbed my camera and my phone and walked a few steps from the car to grab a pic. I would love to go back and check it out, but I think heavy clouds add to the character. Again… I have to get get back for Angela’s birthday!
I drove to a COSTCO in St. Louis to fill up, and pick up some flowers and a rotisserie chicken for dinner. (I have sworn off fast food burgers, that is a story in itself). I ended up getting a tray of legs because I thought that would be easier to eat in the car. It’s not. I grabbed 100 napkins and attempted to eat chicken legs while driving through St, Louis traffic to 55N. It was ridiculous! Making matters worse… I forgot to grab the water bottle from the passenger door before getting on the road. I did the unthinkable…. I set the Prius Prime in full cruise and lane departure mode when I was on the home side of the river and reached over to the center of the car to grab the bottle while NOT attending the wheel. The Prius is small and it was a split second… But I still feel like I could have died. Or at least got a beepy warning. Why do I share this? I have no idea. To let everyone know I am an idiot, but the car is smart. So, I have that going for me.
Fortunately, Angela will be taking the “smarter than Eric” car back down to Memphis on Monday morning. Nate has been with Summer since Friday and needs to get back to Carbondale.
We talked to Summer a couple of times this weekend. She sounded pretty good yesterday. She actually called us, because (as she said) we had not talked to her in 24 hours!!! Wow, she misses us??? Today, we called her and she said her and Nate were playing a game. She sounded TIRED! When I called her out on it… She said she needed a nap. But, she had just woken up from a nap, so she was not sure what to do. The chemo takes a few days to really kick in. I think this next week will be pretty lethargic for her and Ang.
House stuff… I got the TV put back up after it was repaired by LG. Angela and I did it ourselves because the repairman will not do that???. I was seconds away from calling my neighbors Troy or Andy because I would never live it down if Ang and I dropped it. We got it handled though.
Dave Burling came out today to talk about our septic. When Aiden was home last week… Our drain was backing up in the basement. This happens once in a blue moon but has been happening a lot this past 3 weeks. (coincidental with Aiden being home? There are no coincidences!) A plumber came out before I left for Memphis and said our septic lines were not looking good. He thought there might be some roots in there and an alignment problem. He cleaned it up and we have had flow without problems. Then again, Aiden went back to school and we don’t use nearly as much water with 1 person in the house at a time.
Regardless, I called for septic help.
Dave looked around today and said the tank probably settled… He wants to dig a little at the front and rear of the tank to take a look around. GREAT! This should be an adventure!
Mom’s Birthday is January 21st… I am happy to be home this week to participate. Send her wishes if you see her.
Summer: Your folks choreographing everything is like a GPS in itself. They are amazing at keeping everything running smoothly. Someone comes, someone goes. Someone is coming next week. Someone is traveling home. And so on and so on. WOW!! I hope you have a great week and can TRY to catch up on sleep. I love your Dad’s updates.