After a visit to the ENT doctor on Tuesday, we received the green light for me to travel.  My ears are still a bit clogged/hearing is muffled – but I can hear, have no pain, and am ready to try this!  We left College Station on Wednesday, May 4 with Bill in the lead and me driving the chase Fiesta.  It was definitely NOT a party in the Fiesta!

Our goal was to drive north of Fort Worth, and we made it – but in all honesty, it was a struggle.  A bit of advice here:  listen to your body, and don’t be afraid to ask for help or change the goal.  Travel-wise things weren’t too bad – fair amount of construction, traffic, the usual.  Betty-wise – things were a different story.  I have been fiddling around with the ears (both) being infected since the end of March.  3 clinic visits and 2 ENT visits later, I am on the mend, but am thinking it’s going to require more patience that I allotted.  2 courses of antibiotics, 2 courses of steroids, and 2 sets of ear drops later, it’s been an adventure.  I just finished the last course of steroids yesterday.  Have you ever been on them?  Not something I look forward to…particularly the jittery feeling they induce.  It took me until yesterday morning to realize that I needed to not start my day until after noon.  Between the natural cortisol level rise in the body, and the boosted effect from the Prednisone, I was a bag of nerves.  Add to that the tinnitus (exacerbated by the ear thing), the traffic, the muffled hearing….it was ugly.  Wednesday took us forever to make it to Sanger, Texas.  We did eventually make it, but Bill needs lots of sympathy and a halo for that journey.  I slept for 12 hours and felt like a new person.  I was able to actually put the pieces together and talk with Bill about leaving later, taking short breaks more frequently and we actually made a plan.

The journey to Edmond was much easier.  We arrived yesterday (Thursday) in the afternoon in a much better frame of mind.  Since it was dinner time, and we (I) was hungry – we celebrated by ordering burgers from a wonderful local restaurant courtesy of Uber Eats.  Bill’s brother Mike had a berry pie ready for dessert, and cheesy garlic bread for an appetizer.  Pure heaven! 

While we are here in Edmond, we park in Mike’s driveway.  He has lovely huge shade trees, so we are treated to breezes and sweet shade.  I love being here with the brothers – it took me a while to get used to their banter and picking on each other – but it is really a treat to watch them.  Whether they are politicking, watching old westerns, working on a project, or just reminiscing, it is pure joy.

This morning, they went to lunch.  I stayed here with Piper and indulged in simply sitting outside in the lovely breeze, knitting, and just being.  I haven’t done that in a very long time. 

Summary of College Station visit to follow…I’m not sure how to adequately capture our Texas adventures.  My memory “chest” is overflowing with smiles and happiness.

Total miles traveled from College Station, TX to Edmond, OK – 406 miles.