Days 3-5

A car came to pick Jeff up at 8:20.  The perks of a good job--someone drives you to the airport.  I drove M to CCD at church--his preparation for confirmation.  An hour later J and I met him for church.  It was a joy to worship with my two grandsons.  I always delight in seeing the diversity of a large parish--even in a univesity town like Princeton--or maybe more so.  There were worshippers of European,  Latino, Asian, and the Indian sub-continent origins.

A thin layer of ice--Mt. View Park

The boys fixed their own lunches and spent lots of time on electronics and homework.  I went for a lovely walk.  This was an easy grandmother gig!  Susan was home around 4--all went well for her travel.

My Facebook feed and my text messages are full of protest news and photos.  Dan sent photos of large crowds in NYC; Sue sent one from Grand Rapids.  People are protesting in South Bend.  I have sent five supportive email messages to Republican senators who are objecting to Trump's immigration bans. My plan is to encourage principled Republican lawmakers.

Monday:  Susan and I had a great supper Sunday evening and chat over red wine while J and four friends played a board game downstairs.  It was good to hear their voices having a great time. Because Susan does not really need help during the week, I rebooked my flight for tomorrow.  The extra $200 is OK--my husband is worth it!

Travel stress made sleep come again with difficulty.  Jeff's car showed a warning light so a trip to Gladwyne was iffy with his vehicle.  I don't like driving especially on interstates--and now in a rental car--but when Laura sent a photo of two of her little ones anticipating Grandma's visit, I knew I had to give it a try.

At 10:15 I went to Liliepie's Bakery to have coffee with the Moorheads, friends from NCSU days, and their daughter-in-law Michelle, a lovely young woman who is undergoing chemotherapy.  I had prayed for her and emailed her and it was so good to meet her and to catch up with old friends.

A brisk walk and a little nap and I feel much better and ready for the next step in my adventure.
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Hertz gave me a bright blue Ford Focus.   I confess to a Trader Joe's stop before leaving Princeton to stock up on my very favorite candy bars--Milk Chocolate Truffle.  I will try to portion out the five of them so they last for a while!

The traffic was not bad, but it started to snow and I could not figure out the headlights.  Every once in a while they came on automatically but not consistently.  Once I got to Gladwyne, I got out the manual and it will be OK tomorrow.

A and I had some playtime.  At age two, he speaks much longer sentences and really knows how to play with his trains, legos, toy kitchen, etc.  I told him I had something for him in my suitcase and he immediately said that he had a birthday a week ago.  I thought that was pretty good that he made that association.

Michael, Laura and I had a great soup supper which was prepared by the nanny.  The older ones were busy with various things, including Kindles, of course. And now two of the four are in bed while the older two watch a TV show with their dad.

Tuesday: I heard A during the night and apparently (one of Ruth's favorite words!) Laura was up with him for an hour before she gave up and let him fuss by the door where he sleeps on the floor--rejecting his comfortable bed.  He then slept until 7:30.  I had been awake for a while and went to get him at that point.  It was a busy breakfast time and get ready for school time and by 9 am, all were out of the house except Laura and me.

  I left around 9:45 and returned the rental car with the only problem being finding a gas station to fill up.  Susan picked me up and brought me to Princeton Junction, I got on the 11:40 train and learned that my flight would be delayed out of Newark.  An agent gave me a back-up flight out of Chicago but once through security, I learned that an earlier flight to Chicago was also delayed so I got myself a seat on that one.  I made it to South Bend at the original time, got an Uber ride, and was home to struggle with a key that would not open the door.  Jim was on his way home by that time--assuring me that he could see well enough to drive--and we were both happy to be home and together.

It takes so much effort and energy to travel.  I kept thinking that maybe it was getting too difficult for me to do it by myself at age 70.  I put a little note in my purse that gave emergency phone numbers for each stage of my journey with a short recap of my strange TGA episode last February.  But then I remember that travel is rough even when you are young and I did handle all the rough parts and I had lovely times with my children, their spouses, and my grandchildren.

 I am very happy to be home again with my husband--and to have a day ahead of laundry, groceries, cooking, and not much else.