A Day For Forgetting

Granny, Daughter, and Granddaughter

Ready for School

Up at 6:30 in Darien, CT and both Beth and Rami are already awake, both sitting at their computers waiting for first Marisa, then Mitch to come downstairs to breakfast.  It's a rainy morning, what else in this part of the world, though it should clear up later and for the weekend.  Marisa came down, dressed in pink, to remember those who have had cancer.  She's perky and fun in the morning, and I drove her rather than walked her to the bus at 7:30 because it was raining.  Cody was upset because I was not taking him for a walk.  Mitch didn't have to leave for school until after 8:00 so Beth made him some eggs for breakfast.

Yesterday was a miserable day for a long drive but we did it.  We left Rockland around 8:00, to wind and rain but by the time we got to Interstate 95, just north of Portland, the rain began in earnest, pelting our windows, making it difficult to see and it continued like this, on and off, until we got well in to Massachusetts, almost to Connecticut, not fun.  And it was so blustery we just passed right by the New Hampshire Liquor Store, so you had to know it was bad outside.

When we got to Darien, Evie's rash had spread, the itching continued to be bothersome, so we stopped at a Walk In Doctor's office, only to be told he did not know what the rash/hives were but his office made an appointment with a dermatologist in Norwalk, 15 minutes away which was great.  So we drove there, an hour early for the appointment but at least we got to see a doctor. As we were sitting waiting to see the dermatologist, we tried to figure out if Evie had done anything different in the last two days and could only think of our hikes and staying in a Bed and Breakfast, or perhaps the lobster she ate. We waited over an hour in his office which was fine since we did not have an appointment,  and after 15 minutes, he came up with a diagnosis of prickly heat, a strange outcome.  It was a a relief to know it was not something contagious like chicken pox or measles.  Both the doctor and nurse were amazingly friendly and helpful.  Why can't all doctor's office be this way?  We then went to the pharmacy in Darien, picked up sixty bucks worth of creams, salves, rubs, and bath salts.  Because we left Evie's Medicare card at the first doctor's office, we had to pay full fare.  Once we get the card back this morning, we can go back to the pharmacy and get a refund.  This, however, is an example of the kind of day it was.

We arrived in Darien at 2:30, at Beth's around 5:45, with great relief.  Beth had instant panaceas ready, a cold bottle of white wind and two cheeses and crackers.  Just the kind of picker upper we needed as well as seeing our grandchildren, Mitch and Marisa.  Beth then had to drop Mitch off at a driving course, then came home and put chicken marinated in yogurt and spices in the oven for a half hour, made rice and a salad as we sat in the kitchen and talked.  She is taking a course in aromatherapy and by next year, will be certified.  So she got out all her oils to show us, let us smell various kinds and their purpose which was interesting.  I even used one, lavender, to spray on my pillow which is supposed to help you sleep and I did not wake up at 4:00 like I have for the past week.  Maybe there's something in it.

Dinner was great, just the four of us because Rami was flying back from Chicago and Mitch was at his lesson.  We finished around 8:00, just as Rami got home, so Beth heated him up his dinner and we sat around the kitchen island and talked until it was time for Marisa to go to bed.  Both Evie and I followed soon after, around 10:00, very tired from our drive and doctor's appointments but happy to be with our grandchildren once again.

Today Beth goes to the hospital for the day, where she volunteers to do Reiki (a kind of healing developed in Japan in the 1920's), for patients who are interested in having it done.  She has had great success in alleviating many of the patients pain and anxiety, which is gratifying.  Rami works from home today and Evie and I will most likely take a drive to Stew Leonard's, a grocery story we love in Norwalk, to pick up dinner.