BACK IN SAN ANTONIO

Well, it's been a few weeks since I last posted here. In that time I flew to Syracuse, New York, to see my mom while John drove the RV from Clarksville TN to Fort Sam Houston TX. The 3 mutts travelled with him and probably did not even notice I was gone. (We still have an iffy relationship!) Mom's not her usual spunky self. She's coping with the diabetes and Parkinson's, but 35+ years of heart disease is wearing her down. My sisters are terrific! They are always there for her. Me? I fly in. I got on the bus for NYC at the Greyhound Station at 18 and have never looked back. Spent the days with Mom at Forest View, her "independent" living facility; I read; she napped; we played Yatzee; I won; we played Shut the Box; she won. My sisters, Mom and I went out to lunch on Saturday and then visited with my nephew Jim and his gal, Mary Kate. It was a nice visit! No rush; no fuss; just nice visiting.

Mom was the 1st to sign up for Forest View which is a beautiful 1 year old facility with space for 15 residents and has 24-hour care. Jack, Norm, Sylvia and Mom were the 1st to move in and the 4 sat together at mealtime for a year. Jack, Norm & Sylvia were all in their 90's. Sylvia passed shortly after her 99th birthday a couple of months ago. Jack and Norm died just since the New Year within a week of each other. Mom has taken the losses hard. I took her to Norm's wake. She really wanted to go, but it was hard on her! Getting older is not for the faint of heart!

Meanwhile John made it to San Antonio; got the RV all set up and the pups settled in and picked me up at the airport. Definitely warmer here than it was in Syracuse or at Fort Campbell. We'll be here for several weeks. Then we head back to Fort Campbell to see my son Hans prior to his late March deployment to Afghanistan.