Monday, December 19th - It was an emotion filled weekend

 

 

Conditions at 5:15 am: overcast and -6' with a light covering of snow on the ground, heading for a sunny day with -1 - it's looking like it might be a white Christmas after all

It was a very busy 4 days, and I will fill you in on them one day at a time throughout the next couple of days.

I arrived in Toronto as planned at 9:20 and was picked up by Lloyd right on time, although it was closer to 10:00 by the time I got to the luggage area and retrieved my bag. I didn't have any specific plan for the day, I was just going to see how it worked out. I had the good fortune of flying first class from Charlottetown to Montreal on first class so I did enjoy an early breakfast - fresh fruit, a yogurt, a croisant with ham and cheese, juice and tea. But by the time we got back to Guelph it was after 11:00 and Lloyd had waited for me to eat breakfast as he thought I might be hungry. So we went to Cora's and had something else to eat. Hence began the four days of non-stop eating!
I got a message from Scott that they were meeting with the doctor and could I come to visit at 2:45 until 3:30. So we had some time to kill. We went back to Lloyd's place where I dropped off my suitcase and packed a smaller bag to take to Patti's as I was staying over night. Lloyd had a couple of little errands to run so we did those, poking around a bit at Chapters, Pier I, all in the pouring rain and 11' temperatures. I wanted to see my friend Kay but she was pretty tied up most of the day although she was filling in at one of the buildings from 2:00 to 5:00 so I arrived promptly at 2:00 and waited for her but she was a bit late and didn't arrive until 2:20 so we only had about 10 minutes to visit but it was still nice to see her. I left there at 2:35 and Lloyd drove me to the hospital to see Jana. I was a little nervous about it as I didn't know what to expect and I really didn't know what to say to her. I arrived, cookies in hand, with a  photo of the two of us with Jesse Cook, (taken last year) and it was okay. We cried together for a bit and she was not having a great day. But she did sit up a bit and had a cookie. She's been receiving all kinds of things that people bring but a lot of it she can't eat. But she did have a cookie and asked me to put them in her closet so no one would find them. They will keep quite a while and they're something she can just nibble on when she feels up to it. At one point she had to go to the bathroom and I helped her on with her brace, that she has to wear to support her back with the broken vertebrae. She has a very long road ahead of her but she's a fighter and if anyone can do it, she can. She's very positive and optimistic but there's still a lot yet to find out. There will soon be more tests done on the biopsy they did previously and that may give them a better idea of what type of tumor it is and what the prognosis is.  In the meantime she's coping as best she can. I was only to stay until 3:30 as per Scott's instructions but it was much closer to 4:00 when I left. We laughed a couple of times and cried a couple more but in the end it was a good visit. I'm so glad that I made the time to go. She doesn't know that the trip was planned to see her.

Lloyd picked me up and we went back to his apartment and had supper. Then it was off to see the newest production of GREASE. And what a production it was.They didn't allow any flash pictures during the show so we'll have to wait for the video. Tristen and Meghan didn't know I was coming but they were little troopers and didn't miss a beat. At one point though, Tristen did give a little wave. As soon as it was over  and everyone had finished taking pictures, they raced off the stage and I was surrounded by hugs. It made ME cry. It had been an emotional day for me up to that point and I was so happy to see them. They've grown up so much. Especially Tristen - he's not our little baby anymore. They all did a great job in the play and the costumes were great, as usual. At the end when they presented Patti with flowers, she got quite emotional and thanked her daughter Meghan who was a big help. Apparently Meg can now run a serger. Patti would sew the costume then pass it on to Meghan who would serge the seams. Patti's friend Katie from her high school days (Katie was in graphic arts and Patti was in dance and theatre) did the background scenery (the grease sign) and some other items that were on the side walls as well as painting the back of all the T-bird  jackets. Her son also helped as well so they've decided they can just hand it all over to the two kids next year!
All the kids did an amazing job and I can't wait to get the video after Christmas.
It was nice to see Greg and his mom and her friend Wendy. Wendy says they miss me on their excursions to Buffalo and wondered if there was a flight from Charlottetown to Buffalo. I told them no, I've already checked. They suggest that when Lloyd moves he can fly me down for the two shopping trips a year!

When all was over, Patti and the kids and I went to the grocery store to shop for Friday's big feast. More on that tomorrow.

I must add though that  when I got home Sunday I was welcomed by a blazing fire in the wood stove and a warm and cozy kitchen. I had called Brenda to see if she needed me to wait around to pick up Caitlin but she said they were going into town anyway. Guess I surprised them by arriving so early so they really had to boot it to get here and get it started before I got home. I really appreciated it when Cooper and I got back. I am truly lucky to have such good friends.

To be continued........