Week 1 – May 1 thru Saturday, May 6
Monday was the first of two travel days for me. We stayed in a hotel just a few miles from the airport in Portland, Oregon, overnight Sunday/Monday. Saying goodbye to Mat and Lindsay, Edward and I took the hotel shuttle to the airport and boarded our mid-morning non-stop flight to Orlando. After taking another shuttle to our off-site parking, Edward drove us back to his home in Ormond Beach (arriving about 9:30 p.m.) In my Tuesday travels, I drove from Ormond Beach to Sun City, Florida, for a quick visit with Dad. I had encountered so many bugs coming across the state that my next stop was a car wash. Finally, I stopped at the grocery store before heading home. The rest of the week was spent mostly “resting up” from my vacation with the exception of an annual exam with my eye doctor in his Parrish office on Friday.
Week 2 – May 7 thru Saturday, May 13
This week I got back into my “sorta” normal routine. Dr. Mackie wanted to run more tests on my eyes, so I went to his Bradenton office on Monday to have those done. He has now referred me to a specialist. I did my volunteer work on Tuesday and Friday. On Saturday, I got together with several ladies from church to go see Christian Comedienne, Chondra Pierce in a movie titled “Roll With It.”
After the mid-afternoon movie, we went to Der Dutchman for supper. dhgroup.com
3713 Bahia Vista St, Sarasota, FL 34232
Week 3 – May 14 thru Saturday, May 20
Sunday, 5/14, was Mothers’ Day. I took both granddaughter, Emma, and her friend, Brooke, to church with me and then we went to visit Dad in his memory care center. When I got home, I found a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my son, J.P., along with a lovely card.
I also joined J.P., Kellie and Emma, that evening for supper. It was a very nice day.
On Monday, 5/15, I had an appointment with a retina care eye specialist. He tells me that I have an occlusion in my left eye.
There is blood leaking into it, causing extra pressure within it. This could be caused by diabetes or high blood pressure. He wants to see me again in a couple of months to see if it resolves on its own. In the meantime, he is sending a letter to my primary care physician in case he wants to change any of my medications.
Back to my regular schedule on Tuesday, after volunteering in the church office, I had lunch with Jackie at Caddy’s on the Manatee River in Bradenton. www.caddys.com
801 Riverside Dr E, Bradenton, FL 34208. On Friday, 5/19, I worked in the yard for a couple of hours in the morning, then at the church’s food bank (in 90-degree weather) in the afternoon. These activities helped me to decide to stay in the house and rest most of the day on Saturday.
From Sunday, May 21 through Wednesday, May 31st, I did all my routine things: church, volunteering and visiting Dad.
Our journey has been inspired by Joy and Steve Fredrick. You can see more of their story at