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From Atlantic To Pacific, Gee, The Traffic Is Terrific
Well, that was a whirl-wind of a holiday visitation: nearly 600 miles on Big Red in four days travelling. Visited my mom, two brothers, two 90+ year-old Grandmothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. But, man-oh-man - all that driving!
Day One: Seattle-to-Longview
Day Two: Longview, Kelso, Lexington, Castle Rock
Day Three:Longview-to-Gresham-to-Portland-to-Beaverton-to Longview
Day Four: Longview-to-Seattle
My Grandma in Portland (my dad's mom) is doing better than I expected. Although she's pretty much confined to a wheelchair, and her eyesight is almost completely gone, her hearing is still reasonably good (with aids of course) and we spent two hours chatting. She insists she's going to make it to her 100th birthday in 2015, and I have no doubt she's going to get there.
My other Grandmother in Kelso just turned 90 last month, and even though she had to move out of her house and in with my aunt and her husband, she actually looks - and sounds - better than I've seen in quite a few years. I think having the pressures - both physical as well as financial - of maintaining a home has taken quite a load off her, and she seems healthier, more alert and responsive, and just more energetic than she's been in ages.
(This means three of my four grandparents have lived into their 90's: so, I think I've got a pretty good shot at hitting that mark myself.)
Except for the white-knuckle trip across the Columbia River in 40 mph gusts on Saturday and the traffic accident on I-5 just south of Seattle that took over an hour to get through on Sunday the various drives were uneventful. But still, when you're the one doing ALL the traveling, it does get a bit wearying.
And aside from sitting in the driver's seat for hours on-end, that's about all I did for most of the rest of the time; I don't think I walked more than a 1/4 mile at any stretch during the time I was down there. And of course, the diet was completely thrown out the window - my mom's side of the family are strictly mid-western meat-and-potato types, and with the exception of boiled carrots with dinner on Friday and a canned fruit cup with breakfast on Sunday, I saw nary a vegetable for the entire four-day weekend.
So, needless to say, although I do enjoy getting together with family for the holidays, I'm really glad to be back home where I don't have to go anywhere that doesn't involve walking, and where most of my diet doesn't consist of dead animals and tubers.Labels: Family, food, Holidays
Posted byCOMTE
on 1:18 PM
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