Safe and Sound Amidst Thunder Boomers

I arrived safely in Washington DC this afternoon. And, fortunately, it was nice out - in the mid 70s! I really lucked out weather-wise since I am worried about how well I will do in the summer's heat this year. I wasn't sure how well I would do traveling - I was nervous about getting nauseous from the chemo med Xeloda. So, I didn't take my morning dose this morning and then made sure I kept a small bit of food in my belly for most of the trip and I drank lots of water. It seemed to help. There was a bit of turbulence as we descended into DC and I started getting a bit motion sick, but I hit those acupressure points near the wrist that help with nausea and it worked! So, I'm relieved as I have a big trip to Greenland in August and wasn't sure how well I was going to travel.

Once I got into the taxi, my former sister-in-law (Darlene) called and she offered to pick me up at my hotel and then we went to dinner with my former mother-in-law, Pat. There was a brief thunderstorm, hence the term thunder boomers - they get some really powerful thunderstorms here and I'd kinda forgotten about them. The first rumbles I heard sorta sent chills down my spine. When we picked up Pat, there was an absolute downpour! We haven't seen it rain like that out west in a long time. But then it was over. Just like that. And, the sun came out.

It was fun - we went to this really good bread/soup/sandwich/salad place on Duke Street called Panera's. I gave them pictures of Eddie and showed them some of the stories he wrote in school this year. Pat was tickled to see the stories. We're all proud of him and it shows! We also ran in to the hair salon next door - the woman who owns the place is partners with an old friend of my ex-husband. She saw Eddie's picture and said, "he has a lot of you in him". That was kinda nice to hear. After dinner, we went to Pat's house and visited for an hour or so with my former father-in-law (Bob) and former brother-in-law (Rich, Darlene's husband). We reminisced about Eddie's baby/toddler days, so it was a good visit - got caught up on all the news.

I must say - I feel very fortunate that I'm still able to enjoy a cordial relationship with my former in-laws. My family, for their part, get along fine with Tim, too. I just think that maintaining friendly relationships like this is better for all concerned - and especially my son. So, thank you very much, Bates family. I appreciate it. I also appreciate you all reading my blog, too.