If feels like it has been months since I was able to stay out and do as much as I did today; plus I had such a blast!!! Go grab a cut or glass of whatever, because this is probably going to take a while. Gratefully when I woke up this morning I felt strong enough to go do something with my friend Betsy. We didn’t know what we were going to do or how long I would last. Little did I know what a fun adventure it was going to turn out to be. She picked me up at 11 and delivered my favorite thing that she makes…I know it has spinach and rice in it and it is a soup/stew. I have enough to last quite a while. We went to Michael’s to get some stuff for the kids at the hospital since I haven’t been able to get there in a while. Gratefully my favorite person was there. I sucked it up and went in the electric cart. As much as I didn’t want to, the last 2 times I walked around and had to go home afterwards…It wore me out. We were there 2 hours. It was a blast and Megan, the lady I love that works there was a tremendous help in finding great deals plus I had a coupon. Betsy was generous enough to help pay for everything. By the time we left I was starving from not eating earlier (not a great decision). We went to Yelp and found Greenwoods. I remember my friend Lauren told me about that place. When we got there we couldn’t figure out which one was the restaurant because there wasn’t a sign. Anyway, we pulled into The Swallow at the Hollow. I asked someone standing near the car if the food was any good. She said she worked there and it was great. She also said Greenwoods was across the street and they were both owned by the same person. I have been wanting good bbq, and the last place I went sucked. We decided to go for bbq. I promise I’m trying to make this story short, but it’s hard. The waitress was amazing. You can get anything from the bbq place or Greenwoods. They walk across the street and bring it back. We had awesome bbq brisket and homemade veggies. At the end of the meal Stacy, our waitress asked if we like wings and of course said yes. She said she ordered 6 for lunch and they gave her 12. She proceeded to bring us each a wing. I don’t think I ever had anything that good…they were smoked with an amazing sauce. Of course I asked to speak to the manager afterwards. I make a habit of telling management when I have a great experience. We chatted with her for a good 10 minutes. When she found out it was our first visit she asked us to come back soon and we promised we would. Even the customers were friendly. It is a shabby chic atmosphere. With our tummies full we drove down to the hospital to deliver the load. My heart sank as soon as I walked in. I miss that place soooo much. Not long after we walked in I ran into one of my favorite nurses who gave me a huge hug and made me feel so special. We unloaded everything and put it away. I really hope I am able to return the beginning of October…if I’m really lucky, maybe the last week of September. It all depends how I feel after my September 18th surgery. I felt pretty emotional leaving. The valet remembered me from Christmas Day…I dress as an elf and give out gifts to the ER kids. It is quite a sight for sore eyes. I am 5’11” and not small by any means. We left there and went to a consignment store in Marietta. They had a little bit of everything…clothing, housewares, furniture, etc. Betsy met the owner at a part and that is why we went. Of course I found a few things I absolutely couldn’t live without! After that it was on to Big Lots…I love that store. The managers know me and the staff is very friendly. I haven’t seen the assistant manager for about 6 weeks. When he saw me he told me how happy he was to see me and how great I looked. I didn’t think it was true, but I really felt like he did. We had a nice chat. I am so grateful I am my father’s daughter in that I have never met a stranger. By this time I am getting hungry again. I tell Betsy I’ve love to go back to the same restaurant and have wings and banana pudding, a special of the house. The funny part is I had leftovers from lunch in the car on ice. We dropped them of at the house and unloaded the rest of the stuff I bought for myself. All this time I can’t believe I am still standing. I’m a little tired, but I had to eat dinner. We went back to the same restaurant for wings and dessert. They have yummy veggies as well that we had. Every person that was working and saw us in the afternoon, including the manager, came up to the table to say hi. It was so neat. Oh, before I forget, we were sitting outside waiting for a table and saw this lady with a beautiful outfit on. When she came closer I commented on it and, what a shock, we began talking. A man joined her a couple minutes later but didn’t say a word. Understand, between this lady, me and Betsy, the guy didn’t have a chance of getting a word in and I guess he was smart enough not to even try. Yet another long story short, they were on their first date. They met online. When I remember the last time I met someone online and what a cluster f__ck it turned out to be, I was happy to see her with someone who, well, showed up, had a gentle aura about him, and knew how to dress. That is all I could gather in that short time. BTW, when we left the restaurant they were still sitting and talking, deep in conversation. I really hope it went well. She seemed like such a nice lady. Dinner was great. Betsy and I went thru a travel book I picked up earlier in the year when I was in Asheville to see what kinds of things we were interested in doing when we go at the end of the month. We were sitting on the porch and somehow began chatting with two ladies that were waiting for a table. They told us about the party they went to that afternoon. I forget what it is called, but the idea is to announce the gender of the child their son and daughter-in-law were having. These ladies were great…they were actually the grandmother and great grandmother. You would never have known it. When I commented to the younger of the two about how beautiful they both were she said “I tell people I am 10 years older than I really am so they think I look good for my age”. I thought that was pretty smart. I may try that. Our waitress from the afternoon Stacy came over to our table to chat. She went on to say she and her family own a dance apparel store. She showed us a picture of tu-tu’s with danskin type tops that they custom make. Betsy, in her infinite wisdom gets the idea that we need to get some made for us for our trip to Asheville. We are going on a purple bus one night for a city tour and it is a comedy show at the same time. We are getting these outfits made to wear on the tour. I, of course, am getting a multiple purple toned tutu with sparkles and a blingy butterfly embroidered on the top. I’m not sure what Betsy is getting. It will be knee length and I will wear my sequence sneakers to top off the outfit with my tiara. What outfit would be complete without a purple feather boa? I can’t wait to go get measured for it this week. It is just ridiculous enough for me to do it. Oh, before I forget, I’ve been playing phone tag with my partner in crime Grace. We made the video at our last chemo treatment with our chemo poles to the song Happy by Pharrell. Hopefully I will be able to get a copy of it this week along with some pictures her Dad took and post them. The video should be pretty funny. By the time we finished dinner and finally walked out it was after 9. Betsy has a 45 minute drive home. We stopped for gas, she dropped me off and I walked in the house a little before 10. That was an almost 11 hour day. Last week I ran 2 errands and had to take a nap. What a difference a week makes. I have so many awesome memories from today. Oh, the hostess even came over and chatted with us. It turned out her Mom is fighting brain cancer. My Mom had the same thing. I was 24 when it happened and this girl is 19. We really bonded talking about how tough it is watching our Moms being so helpless and having to talk on so much responsibility. When she was leaving for the night she came over to say good night and we hugged. She is also in college, the same as I was when my Mom was sick. The only difference is she goes to school about 2 hours from home. Tonight was her last night at the restaurant. She is taking a few weeks off to be with her Mom before returning to college. I can’t begin to tell you how inspiring she was talking about how her Mom’s illness was bringing the family together. I know how hard it was for me to go thru that at 26…I can’t imagine how much harder it would be at 19. I feel blessed to have met her. I may pay the price tomorrow for everything I did today, but it was well worth it. I have to work tomorrow and have art therapy at 2. Right now I am going to bed…I may well fall asleep before my head hits the pillow. I found out this evening that the lady that sent my July gift received it back as undeliverable today. They posted it on our group page to confirm the address was right in the hope that the person whose address it was would respond. She had the right address…I have no idea why they wouldn’t deliver it other than because it said Pinky Sister rather than my name. I suggested she go to the post office and tell them what happened so they would send it again for free. I hate being a bother. It turns out she lives 1 ½ hours from Asheville. We are going to try meeting when I am up there. If we meet halfway it won’t be a long drive for either of us…I really hope it works out…that would be awesome. OK, if there is anything else I am just too tired to post it at this point. I hope everyone enjoyed their day at least as much as I did. Hugs!!!
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 02:47:19 +0000
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