My son's long awaited visit and more
Well, I guess I need to fill y'all in on what happened. First of all, on Weds (July 18), we drove to Kingsport, TN to see my Rheumatologist. He says that I don't seem to have Lupus and that my tests were all good. I *do,* however, have severe arthritis all over my body, and my knees are especially "severe." He has assigned me to a nurse practitioner who specializes in fibromyalgia, who I will see on a regular basis. He also believes that I have sarcoidosis, which is what I was diagnosed with several years back, and this concerns him a lot, as it can attack ANY organ in the body. I've already had granulomas (little tumors) in my lungs and one big one in my eye.
We went to Hobby Lobby that day, as well, as we don't have anything like that in our area. I miss having a place that sells craft items, though we do have a small JoAnn's in the next town. My husband is wanting a slightly larger lap quilt out of material that he picked out, so we got six country-style fabrics there. It will have a bit of a different pattern, and has some music fabric that will be featured in it. I'll call it "Country Song." So, that was fun. We ate at our favorite restaurant (that we have only found in Bristol, VA, though we think it is a chain), Logan's Roadhouse. Peanuts in a bucket on the table and you are supposed to just toss the shells on the floor. EXCELLENT food. We love that place!
After we got home (exhausted), we ended up having to wait up really late (nearly 2 AM) for Em to come home from a trip to Wet and Wild in NC. In the end, Sasha had to wait for her to come home so we could get to sleep, as we had to get up early the next morning to go to the airport in Roanoke (about 2 hours away if the tunnel is not closed) to pick up my son, Aaron, and his long-time girlfriend, Meredith. They were flying in from Houston. Their flight was delayed about 2 hours, so we went to eat at Fuddrucker's, which is another favorite restaurant that isn't in our area. Yum! A waitress took our photo, which you can see
We went to the airport, which is much smaller than I thought it would be. We stood around awhile, and then, we saw them coming down the hallway.
It was just wonderful to lay my eyes on that man! (He is 29 now, which blows me away). That hug was the best hug I've had in a long time. Meredith was very shy and not a hugger (but by the time they left, she often hugged me or snuggled up to me on the couch!I am "mum" to her now, or even "mommy" and I love it!).
Aaron's hair (kept in a pony tail) is nearly as long as mine was before I got it cut, and it is the same blonde color as mine was -- blonde and caramel color-- We all thought his hair looked just like mine from behind! He has it very short on the sides, with a long ponytail that comes from the front of his hairline. I'm sure there is a name for the style but I haven't a clue. And he has a moustache and goatee! Now he wears glasses and they are small ovals -- he looks like a very hip college student. Very cool.
Meredith has had multiple medical problems here entire life. She nearly died when she was an infant, with scarlet fever, spinal meningitis, and something else that I've forgotten, all at once. It left her terribly impaired, with dystonia which causes her right arm and right leg to be mostly paralyzed (the whole side, actually). She talks with a pronounced slur, as half of her face is also affected, but she is a beautiful young woman (28). When she was five, she was diagnosed with stomach cancer. She has really been through a lot. Although it is sometimes difficult to understand her speech (it got a lot easier as time went on), she is very bright. Extremely thin, and has dark hair with Indian and Italian features. I think she is gorgeous!
Click on the cut to see her photo:
During this visit, Aaron and I had some very serious discussions about the past, and about previous misunderstandings. He thought that I didn't really love him, that he was an outsider in his own family, and thought we didn't care about him. Nothing could be further from the truth! This was why he shut me out for over two years-- no contact whatsoever.
It was wonderful and healing to talk. He was so open minded and full of regret over things in the past. He didn't defend himself, or try to blame me at all.He kept apologizing for holding a grudge against me over something that didn't even happen. I was able to tell him the truth about certain events, and it really broke his heart. He hugged me often, and came up behind me and put his arm around me or kissed me on the head many times. So very affectionate. I've never known him to be this way -- and he was so respectful! Really, he has changed like Night to Day.
By the way, He loved the quilt Bear and I made for him (I pieced the top and hand made the binding, and bear quilted it), which was blue with yellow and called "Night and Day."
Click on the cut to see a photo of the quilt, that has Alice, our cat, testing it
I named it that because of his work shift, but he said "Did you call it that because I am a different person, like night and day?" I was blown away. Yes. Indeed!
The next day, we took my two daughters and Sasha (my "daughter in love") with Aaron and Meredith (7 of us in all) to see Hairspray at the theater. Bear and I didn't realize that they'd all seen the original movie (we didn't even know there WAS one!) and they were rather disappointed with it. However, Bear and I just LOVED it, especially John Travolta! After the movie, we took everyone out to eat at Cracker Barrel. This visit cost us an arm and a leg, but it
was what we were going to spend on a vacation to Houston to see him so it evened out, I guess. It was so much fun for us all to be together again!
We ended up having to go to Wal-mart several times (Aaron doesn't live near one, and misses it!), which was funny. We bought him a pair of pants for work (only had one pair!), a new belt, and on a trip to the mall, we bought him a pair of Crocs (shoes. He was so
appreciative! He really lives at just above poverty level, and it is so good to help him. I tried to buy Meredith some of the lotion she likes at Bath and Body Works, but she said she didn't want to "break" us!
We had a wonderful time when all of us were together, just sitting in our living room talking. There was an enormous healing that took place between my oldest daughter and Aaron as well. By the time they left, the two of them were like best friends and they are still texting each other and talking on the phone two or three times a day. They had had a huge rift between them prior to this visit and now it is all resolved. That in itself is quite a miracle.
We took them all over the mountains here, and showed them a lot of
beautiful sights. We went to East River Mountain to the lookout, which is just gorgeous. Here are a couple of pictures of our scenic trip...
Also took them to a very Appalachian little restaurant that is
part of a drugstore called "Randy's Gateway Deli and Drugs", and they enjoyed that a lot. They love the accent here! They kept calling us hillbillies. We bought them a few presents there, too, as well as lunch. Their burgers are out of this world!
We had hoped to go swimming at their motel (which was horrible, but the only thing really close enough) but it was in the 70's the whole time they were here. They tried it one morning and about froze their tails off -- we decided to pass.
It was a jam-packed 6 days (really more like 4, as two days were travel days) and so much happened both in event and emotionally. Bear cooked a brunch for everyone the day we went to the movie, and grilled out hamburgers and hotdogs one evening. Aaron is especially taken with Bear, and is so glad that he has gotten to know him. He really loves him, and keept saying how happy I was now. "You don't have all that weight on your shoulders anymore, Mom. You are so happy! I've never seen you so happy! It's about time!"
We have a ton of photos from our visit, and Sasha took some great ones the night before they left. Family photos -- first time, with all of us together. Individual shots, and couple shots. They all turned out beautifully!
There are a few shots here, at the cut:
This is Bear, Em, Me and second row is Sasha, Adie, Meredith, Aaron
Bear and me with our beagle, Spencer
Whew. I know I'm leaving a lot out, but there is the gist anyway. Since Aaron left (we both cried), we've talked on the phone and sent pictures and text messages on our cell phones.
Whew! Congrats if you read all the way through this saga!