Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig! (Traveling North/South)

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig

Friday - Sunday, July 13-15, 2013

Traveling North Photo Series

Three weeks on the road,and we're finally home.This is a recap of our return journey to Florida.  I suppose it could be called Traveling South instead of Traveling North.

The picture above is one of my favorite lovelies at my parents' house in Maryland. It sums it all up nicely. I started my life story with my parents, my brother, and my sister nearly 50 years ago. (And pretty soon, I'm going to start a series on that!) We moved all over the country, six states while I lived at "home."  I grew up and moved away to college in Florida at age 17. I got married at 22, we moved back to Maryland, had four children, moved back to Florida, had six more.   So now we have 10 kids, two sons-in-law, and 2 grandchildren. The cycle starts over.  I (and sometimes WE) go back to Maryland as often as I (we) can. But Florida is home.

Mom has been in the hospital or rehab for six weeks due to complications from back surgery. She's still in the hospital now, but they are talking of sending her HOME soon. (Jiggety jig!  Jiggety jig!) This picture is of our last visit before we left Maryland.

A little gift to encourage her,

especially since she loves her kitties.

My sister Barb is my hero.

She is at the hospital almost all the time,

trying to make sure Mom is getting the very best care,

even if it means changing bed pans by herself.

 My daughter has her shades on

because it's time to hit the road.

 

We stayed the first night in Chapel Hill

with my second cousin Jean (pictured below).

You will love my photos of our visit to

Sarah P. Duke gardens in Durham.

After the gardens, we took a trip to Ollie's, a discount store in Cary, and loaded up on some fascinating books for about $4 each.  We got out of town so late, and there were some major car accidents and heavy rain, so I had to drive late at night in the rain to get to our motel in Walterboro, SC.

Next morning, I got up early, slipped out of our motel room, and reorganized the van.  Whatever loose "stuff" I found floating around, I either threw away or tucked into any available bag or bin. It fit. Somehow.

After the kids were all up, we drove to the next parking lot for breakfast at WAFFLE HOUSE! The kids had never been before, and I figured a road trip was the perfect time to introduce them to this yummy experience.

Breakfast big enough for my 6 foot tall son... 

And then the final leg home...

We drove and drove and drove some more. I stopped at McDonald's in Georgia so I could use wi-fi on my iPod to see how much longer our trip would be.  My goodness!  Nearly four more hours?  Homestretch, Mama, homestretch!  

So sleepy! I dosed up on caffeine, and cranked up the country and Brit pop music on my iPod, piped through the van speakers with a cassette adapter that kept popping out of the player like a projectile missile. When we finally got home at 5 PM, I took a nap, took a shower, put away some stuff and went out to dinner at Olive Garden with my husband.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig!

I think we figured it out at about 2,700 miles. Six states and Washington D.C. Lots of fast food. I don't even want to know how many pounds I gained. Oops.

Here are the links to all of my Traveling North posts, a visual (and non-fattening) feast to be sure.

• Ft. Pulaski
• Tybee Island
• Historic Savannah
• Chapel Hill
• Luray Caverns
• National Zoo
• Visiting Great Grandmother
• Swimming in the Patapsco River
• Water Balloon Fight and Lacrosse Game
• The Fourth of July and Smithsonian in D.C.
• Celebrations of Birthdays and Recovering
• Our Road Trip and a Little Care Giving 
• Hiking at Catoctin Mountain Park 
• Cunningham Falls State Park
• Sarah P. Duke Gardens in North Carolina

P.S. If you think of it, 

say a prayer for my mom, whose name is Mary,

for complete healing and the ability to go home.

She is where my story began. 

Mom with orchids from my daughter Julia.

Grace and peace,
Virginia Knowles
www.VirginiaKnowles.blogspot.com


Please pray for us. My mother passed away last night, on Friday, July 19.  Mom had been scheduled to be released from the hospital to home yesterday.  Instead, she was released from her body and went HOME to be with Jesus.