WOW! Time Passes So Quickly!

We arrived in the St. Louis area on May 12, 2022. I canNOT believe that it is already July of 2023. Where has the last year gone?!?

If you read my previous post, you know that we moved in with my 93 year old dad, who doesn’t need much caretaking. He has a big house, and the finished basement is “our home.” After going through A LOT of my parents’ stuff, we finally got settled in and feel right at home.

In 2013 my mom was diagnosed with dementia. She was doing ok until she got West Nile disease and had a severe reaction. She survived it, but she was never the same. After battling this devastating disease valiantly for six years, mom passed in August, 2019. My dad has lived independently since then.

Dad has done really good adjusting to having full time “roommates.” Jack and I have also adjusted quite well. All in all, things have gone as smoothly as possible. Dad’s daily routine involves going to McDonalds for breakfast, walking at the church walking track, reading his newspaper, watching TV, and reading books. He loves to play a card game called Three Thirteen. We try to play at least one game every day. He also enjoys watching our two Shih tzus, Ricky and Lucy, chase each other around the house and play. Sometimes one of them will even nap on dad’s lap as he snoozes a little, too.

We haven’t visited any more of the states we haven’t been to yet. As a result, I don’t have much to blog about. Hopefully we can visit one or two of those states soon. I will post about that when it happens.

Oh, yeah! I had right knee replacement surgery March 9th this year (something to blog about! 🤣). I had put it off for many years so we could travel. By the time the surgery date arrived, I could barely walk. I know this will sound weird, but the surgery pain was almost a welcome relief from the CONSTANT pain of bone on bone. I have done really well, but that’s because I’ve followed doctors orders and worked REALLY hard in physical therapy. Everything looked good at my three month checkup, so I’ll see the doctor again at six months and at the one year mark. Then I will be officially released.

I just have to include a couple of pictures of Ricky and Lucy. The one with them resting on Jack’s back is a very frequent occurrence at our house!

I have missed traveling, and I’ve missed blogging. I don’t really have anything to blog about now except doctors’ appointments and what I’ve cooked for supper. 🤣 I’m sure you don’t want to hear about that!

I’m not sure how to close this post. I guess I’ll just say …

So, for now … UNTIL we’re “On the Road again!

Betty

WE’VE GOT NEWS!

Several months ago, while in Nevada, we were discussing our future plans. Where should we go this summer? Can you believe how much gasoline and diesel fuel costs are skyrocketing? Where should we go this summer? Can you believe how much food prices are rising? Where should we go this summer?

Can you tell we were having a hard time deciding where we should go this summer? We even considered setting up a Go Fund Me account to help us pay for gas to get back to Missouri! 🤣 Just kidding about that!

After MUCH consideration, debate, and sleeping on it several nights, we decided that we are going to stop full time RVing. Noticing how much our parents have aged over the last few years and diesel prices rising so quickly were BIG factors in our decision. Also influencing our decision was the fact that we only have six more states to visit to meet our goal of seeing all 50 states (Oregon, Utah, North Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware). We decided we could see those states taking several car trips pretty easily.

Once we arrive in the St. Louis area, we will start unloading the RV and moving into my dad’s house (at least temporarily; maybe permanently; who knows 🤷🏼‍♀️). Then we will begin the job of SUPER cleaning the RV and getting it ready to sell. Hopefully we will be able to sell it quickly and get close to what we want for it.

I will definitely keep blogging when we visit those six states, however, it will not be as frequently. There are also A LOT of interesting things to see and do in St. Louis and in Springfield when we go visit Jack’s mom. I will also blog about those places.

Before I go, I thought I would post some random pics just for fun.

This is a picture of my mom and me from several years ago (BEFORE we started RVing). Mom passed away in August 2019 from that dastardly disease, dementia. Here is a link to a poem I wrote about dementia: https://realliferealfeelings.wordpress.com/2014/03/29/the-dastardly-demon-dementia/
Lucy (L) and Ricky (R) sitting next to me on the bench seat at the table in RV.
Lucy jumped into the basket holding all the blankets and made herself right at home when we visited the grandkids on OKC!
Ricky making himself at home in Finn’s bed in OKC. “It’s kind of a tight fit Mom!”
Jack and me eating pizza at a small casino in Pahrump, NV.

So, for now ….. “On the Road Again!”

Betty

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