Do we smell like fish yet?

Feb 15 ~ Mary Sims

Kimberly and I started out this adventure planning to stay with Ron and Maggie from Friday afternoon through Monday. That would be three full days of cards, visiting and eating. I think everyone can agree that that's a good amount of time. Unfortunately Mother Nature had different plans. As many of your experienced personally, a huge winter storm swept through the southern United States. If we left Tuesday as planned we would have driven right through snow, freezing rain and on dangerous roads. So we knew that we would have to extend our stay. To truly avoid any bad road conditions we ended up leaving on Saturday. That was 4 additional days.

The GOOD: 4 additional days!!! That's 4 more days of playing cards, going to restaurants, and visiting with Ron and Maggie and some of their extended family. We were able to reach our 1,000 points in Square Nines; Maggie was the gracious loser. I think I was the humble winner. We got a bonus trip to the U.S. Army Aviation Museum. That was all great.

The BAD: 4 additional days!!! That's four more days worth of food and other supplies that can't be replaced at Wal-Mart. My main concern was food. Kimberly eats about 50% of her calories by mouth and 50% through her feeding tube. Through her feeding tube she receives a formula that requires a prescription. I did not pack enough for those 4 extra days. I contacted Lincare, the company we get all of Kimberly's supplies from and as expected, they couldn't help me get any in the time that would be helpful. I did buy some Ensure to help supplement Kimberly's feedings but they did bother her stomach a little. So, in the end it did work out, just not as comfortably as we would have liked. I now know to pack extra-extra of those things that can't be replaced very easily.

The BEAUTIFUL: 4 additional days!!! That's a lot for any host to take in, especially when their company comes with so much baggage. Ron and Maggie were able to continue to make us feel welcome and comfortable the whole time. I wouldn't be surprised if they were relieved, if not happy, to see us go, but we would never know it. Thanks guys, for all that you did to make us comfortable. We love you dearly and miss you already!