Place all metallic objects in the bin and step through.....

I've been trying to figure out how to make these posts easier to write in terms of referencing the people in my life without always saying "my wife...", "my son....", etc. I want to make the tone more conversational - even if no one else is reading this - without losing the semi-confidentiality of who's exactly who. So, I'm gonna try initials. It may or may not work, but we'll see. I'll maintain a legend somewhere or another providing a key to who the initial applies to. Since no one is reading this - or at least is leaving comments - I have some time to work it out. Here goes.

Howdy, Howdy, Howdy. Been busy here, how 'bout y'all? D is on her way to KC. Last week was finals, her last one being yesterday. We moved her out of her dorm room last night. Today was her exit inspection and then after I got off from work we drove her and a friend of hers to the airport. D's friend's (DF) mother (DFM) had come down a few days ago to move all of her stuff out of her dorm room. DFM came down early because she is in college too and her finals are today and so couldn't make the trip to pick up her daughter. So when DF heard D talking about flying to KC she asked for a ride. So she rode with us and took MARTA from the airport. D was a bit nervous about going through airport security for the first time herself. And the last time she flew it was pre-9/11 and there weren't so many rules. The bit about taking off your shoes kinda threw her for a minute or two. (Maybe she was worried about knocking out the screeners with foot odor. When she was living with my mom - during her first semester in college - my mom approached me gingerly and in a real hesitant way suggested that we get D some foot powder as her shoes stunk up the upstairs!) I explained also about taking her laptop out of her backpack, emptying her pockets of cell phone, change, etc. I watched her disappear into the x-ray machine and left. She called a few minutes later to tell me that she had no problems with security and that she had found her concourse. I don't know if you've been through Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, but it's huge! The train is about 3 stories underground, so you ride these never-ending escalators up and down from the concourses & ticketing levels. Also, there's a moving sidewalk between concourses. One time I wasn't going to wait for the train and decided to use the moving sidewalks. I'd done so in other airports and no big deal. I left concourse C heading for baggage claim. Even with moving sidewalks, I'd bet it was half a mile at least! It took forever.

Anyway, D's flight left 50 minutes ago. I'm waiting to hear that she's arrived. W is meeting her there, and WS1 (one of W's 4 sisters) is going to be there too. MCI (KC's major airport) is over an hour from W's folks, so D still has a good bit of trip left.

This past weekend I got to spend some time with my parents - the first time in about 2 months. They've been traveling some and I've been yo-yoing between KC and here since the middle of March. It was great seeing them, it brought a little normalcy back into my life. Dad has a new hobby and is REALLY EXCITED about it - he couldn't wait to tell me about it. He now does geocaching. This is, in it's most simple form, a technological hide and seek. Someone hides a container - sometimes small, sometimes large - and posts it's location using lat/long coordinates on certain web sites dedicated to this hobby. The cache usually contains at least a log and a pencil/pen. The larger ones contain little doo-dads. The seeker (Dad) programs these coordinates into his GPS and then takes off to find it. When the cache is found, the seeker opens it and signs the log. If it is one of the larger caches, then the seeker can take a doo-dad replacing it with one brought along for the purpose. The caches are usually cleverly hid. He took me on a search Sunday. This cache was a small one - a military match case. It is a cylinder of about .5 inches in diameter and 3 inches long. The GPS led us to a mall, in an area with a gazebo, some benches and some greenery. We searched for about 45 minutes - pawing through the bushes, looking all over the gazebo and benches, everywhere! We were about to give up when two guys came out of the store next to this area and asked what we were doing. Dad explained about geocaching and one of the guys said he thought that was what we were doing, he'd seen other people doing the same thing. In addition - he knew where the cache was. So - being hot, sweaty, and ready to give up anyway, we asked for hot/cold clues. Even then it took 10 minutes before Dad found it. It was velcro'd under a slat in the bench. And we had both look over those benches several times! These caches can be anywhere. I think they started out in the woods - like in a state park - somewhere publicly accessible but where the cache wouldn't be accidentally found and/or removed. From what Dad told me about how other caches have been hidden, the CIA should hire these guys. Talk about sneaky.

MIL seems to be holding her own. She isn't any better, but she isn't any worse either. She still isn't speaking but from what W is saying MIL is moving a bit more than she was. Maybe its just taking some time for her brain to sort itself out from the last stroke. In any case, since she's stabilized and since W's FMLA is almost up, W is making plans to come home. She's documenting all of the care she's providing so that FIL and sisters can take up where she will be leaving off. So, barring any negative events, W will be home by the end of the month!!! It will be interesting to see how we will work out subsequent trips. W had to burn all of her vacation/sick time during this time so she won't have any time off for quick trips up. She'll still have a few weeks of FMLA available for emergencies though.

S and I will be going to KC this weekend to visit and bring D back home. I'm looking forward to the visit but I'm damn well not looking forward to the drive. I'm also trying to hook up with BF. I haven't seen him in a few weeks and I'm trying to keep in close touch. With his mom gone now and his dad having passed last December he's had it really rough and I worry about him. I guess one good thing to come out of this, in addition to seeing him much more, is that it seems to be bringing him and his girlfriend back together.

And that is a story for another time. I am going home and going to bed.

Later days.