DECEMBER.....the Prelude

My last entry was in early December.......just before I left for my journey back to the United States to be re-united with the family and to prepare for the move to India.

It was a blessing in disguise to leave a week earlier than I was originally scheduled to leave......obtaining the Visa's for the family was the reason to speed up the trip. It allowed me the additional time to help Linda.....making some last minute repairs around the house, the packing of the household items, the packing of the items for India....two separate days of the moving company at the house.....what seemed like thousands of boxes....by the 20th of December......reality set in. The house, although not empty, didn't feel like home anymore....my comfort/confidence of leaving Parker was fading...not because of him....it was simply the reality of knowing I wouldn't be close if he needed anything. Spending time with him during these last few days was a joy.....but December wasn't as depressing as I have made it sound.....we had some good times as well.
By December 20th, we were on the road to Louisiana, and we had a stopover in Lafayette to visit our friends....and to personally deliver the "Prizes" that Erika won from correctly identifying the "TONGUE CLEANERS" in an earlier blog entry. Our night in Lafayette was just what we needed after two weeks of preparing for the move. The food was outstanding, seeing our friends was LONG overdue, and catching up and planning for future house guests on visits to India quickly got us excited again. Erika and Ms. Pauline, Sue, Jimmy and his family, Erin and Perry....and a last minute encore presentation by Doug with more good food. It was the highlight of the trip for us.....and a night we will cherish forever.
Then it was on to New Orleans to see our family and spend time eating more food and having more fun and celebrating Christmas with them. We left Houston unprepared for the freezing temperatures in New Orleans. Even though we made it to the French Quarter for Christmas Caroling, we didn't venture out of the condo.
By Monday we were on our way to meet Linda's mom in Mobile to deliver Murphy to her for safekeeping while we are in India. It was sad for all of us......leaving the "Murph" with MiMi.
We had at least a few more highlights before leaving Houston.....we felt safer leaving Parker behind with a more reliable vehicle, so we traded in our Ford Expedition......Parker retired the black Jeep that I handed down to him (it has 213,000 miles} and we took the plunge and he is now driving the "Silver Bullet". My promise to him was that if he gets straight "A's" this semester, I would help him with accessorizing. AND IF YOU READ THIS....please be safe and stay on the pavement!
By Sunday the 28th, we were all packed.....six very large and heavy suitcases (minus the Murph) and a total of three carry on bag's....nine suitcases in all......and the adventure truly begins!