Kate got up somewhat later yesterday morning, about 8:45. We were at Panera just before 10:00. She worked quietly on her iPad until a little before 11:00 when she was ready to go home. This is a time when she usually would work outside until lunch, but she came inside and lay down in bed. I think she was still a little tired from our trip last weekend. In addition, she had gotten to bed a little later the night before. The weather has improved but is still somewhat cool. That may have also played a part.
I wondered how long she might rest. I didn’t want her to take too long because we had planned a trip to Nashville for a late afternoon visit with Ann and Jeff Davis. Fortunately, she got up at 11:30 and was ready to go. Originally, we had also planned to see Ellen, but her daughter sent me a text the night before saying that she was sick. We hadn’t seen the Davises since before Christmas; so I decided to go ahead.
We both enjoyed visiting with Ann and Jeff. Our relationship goes back to Madison when Jeff and I were both grad students in sociology. Later, we both joined the faculty at UT. Both couples had daughters the same age, and we used to get together very frequently until they moved away. We have continued to enjoy periodic visits with them either in Nashville or Knoxville. During the past few years, I have tried to be more deliberate in arranging visits because it means a lot to Kate and to me. I realize that it won’t be much longer until our visits are much different than in the past. Of course, they aren’t the same now. Yesterday, Kate said very little, but she was comfortable. It appeared that she was getting along well. On the way home, she confirmed that it had been a nice visit. I agreed. It had been another nice day.
Kate’s recent decline in memory has increased my motivation to arrange other visits with the Robinsons and the Greeleys. Both couples live in Nashville as well. As I look to the future, I am unable to predict just how Kate will change and how that will impact our activities. I do remember that my dad took my mom with him wherever he went except his Kiwanis meetings up until her last week or so when she was bed ridden. In his case, they were not traveling out of town. My plan for us is to continue taking it one day at a time. That has worked for us so far. I hope it will serve us well in the months ahead.
