Saying Goodbye

On Thursday June, 5, 2014 we celebrated our departure from the Houston area.  We invited friends, work colleagues and neighbors.  What a fabulous mix of diversity, one of our favorite things about Houston. Seeking a happy hour location on a Thursday can be a difficult endeavor but the Amazon Grill was a great central locale with fast food service that allowed us to run a tab, eat plantain chips and salsa gratis, and had plenty of room the 20+ of us who gathered together.  The menu offered yucca fries, hamburgers on yummy buns, empanadas, fajitas, and even chicken tinga.

Kathy had friends from UH as well previous positions. Our precious neighbors chatted with Kathy's flight instructor and our bowling  teammates regaled us with tales about their lives while they listened to me tell them how to make a moose leave you alone by holding a stick up like an antler.  We had a great time although a few tears fell.

Joy's last day at school was very emotional!  Frustration lead the way as it seemed all the work would never get completed.  Students were excited to see her new haircut as she cut off 10 inches to donate to Locks of Love, which was her tenth donation. Students received a copy of the book they had written, published and named Bring Peace Everywhere, named to represent BPE, the school's initials and to recognize our upcoming adventure. It was hard saying goodbye to such great kids.  They will be successful in whatever they do because Joy instilled the knowledge that if you can read you can achieve.  The day dragged on until 7:00 pm, spoiling our plans for a final rematch of tabletop shuffleboard at Lakeview RV park.

Getting the RV inspected was the final hurdle before leaving Houston.  With that completed, Kathy hooked up the toad while Joy bought tacos for breakfast.  First stop was Union Grove Park near Stillhouse Lake to say our goodbyes to Kathy's mom.

So, all is great and we are off on our adventure.  We hope we can share this in a way that is entertaining enough for you to continue to follow.

April's Options

March came in like a lion and now goes out like the lamb of March walking to slaughter when the call came back that it was malignant.  Kathy's mom has cancer, or not, follicular lymphoma, lessons to learn about medical terms and treatment options.  First thought, no Alaska this summer!

A price drop on the house and two offers came...we chose the young doctor and nurse.  Our house is near the medical center in Houston and our house is perfect for a young couple.  Back and forth and an additional $500 to end an option three days early.  No more house, time to pack, time to leave, close the door on the Houston chapter.  But then they ask for a foundation inspection to ensure the warranty is transferable and I get scared.  Scared the sprinkler system will void the warranty because it's too close to the house.  Scared the flower bed or French drain or crushed rock is seen as an alteration.  Okay, at least I have something foolish to direct my fears towards.  Kathy's fears much more real.   What if her mom needs treatment and they refer her to M. D. Anderson here in Houston?

Back working on the plan to prepare to move either to Killeen or hit the road.  Then Kathy noticed a seam on the RV overhang separating. Sure enough after an inspection, water infiltration!  Now the RV is under extreme maintenance with an expensive front cap rebuild.  Our options were either trusting a passionate new guy or taking it somewhere else. Wanting to be friendly and generous and struggling to walk the right path as it seems to be falling apart under our feet, I figured the new guy is still trying to prove something so he'll do a good job.  Overall PPL has been good to work with.  Much better than where we bought it.

We also have to prepare our toad (aka Jeep.) We've asked our neighbor, Cesar, to help put the tow plate on the Jeep.  Reading the directions made it sound easy but 4 hours drilling 4 holes doesn't sound easy. Option two means taking it to PPL to have it done for $400+ or to Meyerland Auto repair shop. With a difference in the quote of more than two hundred dollars, decision made, Meyerland auto collision center. Quick fix and check over gives the Jeep two thumbs up and ready to go except for the need of a spare and a new lug nut.  Too many options for one month.

Our first option seems to be taken care of with the diagnosis.  If treatment is needed, Kathy's sister Karen will move to Killeen and we're headed to Alaska to fulfill our commitment.  The second option is money can save sanity so we paid Meyerland Auto Collision to install the tow plate.

Purging, packing and donating finally gets us out of the house and into the RV full-time.  Less than a month, now.  How many more options will we have before then?

            on hearing it was Cancer
            J.L. Wright

            plans are not Real
            they are a pretense
            we wish to live in

            ours were to be fluid
            LIFE is a breeze
            plans should have been frozen

            instead, we are frozen
            waiting in time
            for information and other peoples' plans

            we feel a shift
            Change causes a reaction
            after a year on the previous plan

            like the frozen skin of a river in spring
            malleability versus flexibility
            eventually everything breaks

            plans are not Real
            ours were to be fluid
            instead we are frozen
            we feel a shift
            like the frozen skin of a river in spring