Escape for a Day

Carrie spent the night. By the time she got to my house, it was almost bedtime. I was tired and ready to crash and Carrie was worn out from spending all day in the pool.

This morning we headed for Baton Rouge. I packed a small suitcase in the event that for some reason we might not make it back. I like to be prepared. Carrie might spill something on herself or for some other reason need a change of clothes. I packed my meds and a change of clothes for me. Did I mention I like to be prepared?

We sailed down the highway, Carrie in the back seat writing in her journal. She had her iPod and plenty of entertainment. Her Poppy had Sirius radio tuned to a kids' program and she sang along, high and off key.

"Did you see that?" the husband questioned.

Just as I looked away, my brain recorded something on the highway, white and elongated. We passed by quickly before I could get another look at what lay on the shoulder of the interstate.

"It was an alligator!" the husband said.

I have NEVER seen a dead alligator on I-12. In all the years I have lived here and traveled that interstate, this was a  first. I still don't know what to think about this. What is going on in the swamps? We moved on....

Our first stop was to see Tiger Mike. He didn't want to cooperate and get up and walk around in the heat. He hid himself beneath a rock ledge and took a nap. Who are we to argue with a Tiger. We whistled and sang out his name. He rolled his eyes, swished his tail and ignored us.

The mall was our next stop and what a nice mall it was. It is so much bigger then the one here. Free face painting for the children, cookies and food samples, and a carousel that was another freebie today. The mall was packed. Doesn't anybody work anymore?

Our first stop was Sears and only because it was the closest store to where we entered the mall. Carrie wanted to shop for shoes. WOW....Sears had all their shoes on sale! Not only did Carrie buy a pair of shoes but her Poppy found a pair of sandals for himself.

Carrie had to wear her shoes out of the store so we boxed up her flip flops and let her prance along in her wedge sandals. Did I mention the large clear glass medallions that decorate the front of the silver sandals with the wedge soles? I thought she might be encouraged to get something a little more practical but I was wrong.

Carrie had a ride on the Merry Go Round and then.....

Lunch! Carrie and I shared a Mandarin plate while the husband had pizza. Eating at the mall is great. Everybody can have what they want for the price of a small walk around the food court.

There is a store called Brookstone that caters to adults and toys. No, it's not that sort of adult store.

It's full of neat gadgets, electronics and foot massagers. Ok, not full of but it does have things you won't find anywhere else. This is the store where the husband buys his helicopter toys that Carrie so loves. Remote controlled, he chases her around the house with the helicopters until he crashes into a wall or a sofa or the ceiling. Today he bought a case/keyboard for his mini iPad. He thought I should have one too for my full sized iPad but I had to decline. I like the keyboard I have and it's all I need.

Carrie and I wandered around and found ourselves at the massage chairs where another apparatus sat in front of them. A foot massager. Three different models and we tried all of them. One massaged only the feet. It was the cheapest one, while the other two did foot and leg massages. They were 400.00 and 600.00 respectively. When the husband found us, we were adamant about him trying them. He slipped off his sandals and took a seat. The three of us sat there and oooooed and ahhhhhhhed. It was great and later Carrie said it was her favorite thing we did that day. I asked her if we could return her sandals then. She grinned and walked away wearing her sandals.

A good time was had by all. The ride home was more of the kids' channel on Sirius. Poppy caters to Carrie's wants. He is the "fun" person while I'm the one that gets to do all the "unfun" things...clothes, cooking, baths, etc.

Tomorrow is chemo day. I dread it and it's not because of any adverse effects or reactions. It's a big reminder of what is going on with my body and it's a depressing day for me. The following three weeks I can usually put it some where back in my brain and carry on with living.

It's part of the diagnosis I suppose. It's always there and the worry is always there waiting to crowd back in to one's thoughts.

I'm off to visit the daughter. She is cooking. I'm eating. Sounds fair to me!