... miles on Saturday, in addition to making that cookie recipe before leaving at first light to drive to Florida, and get back home in the dark. Driving south to Tallahassee to visit friends, have lunch and see the youngest grand baby, who has some of the sweetest wee little baby teeth that ever appeared in a chubby little mouth.
Across the panhandle on the interstate and back up into Georgia to check on the auntie near Valdosta. I spent about an hour with her, visiting and looking at old photographs reminding her of who people in the pictures are, and how they connect to her. She probably could not search her failing memory at this point and provide the name of her mother: even though she was named for her mom, and they have shared that same name all of her eighty-odd years. She likely forgot I was there before I got to the end of the hallway where she lives, to say nothing of her retaining any thought of my visit long enough for me to get out the front door. This family curse has taken so much, gradually causing personalities and memories to go foggy, fade and eventually disappear.
I went by her house to get another load of stuff that will be donated, recycled or discarded. Some things that were already boxed up, ready to travel, need to be stored until an opportunity to recycle occurs here. City services here provides for disposal of haz-mat. a couple of times each year, so those boxes of old cans of paint, bug spray, lawn chemicals, nearly empty gas cans will have to sit and wait until that day comes around again. Plenty of room to store, and even though my few boxes of chemicals won't make much difference in the face of climate change/global warming, my conscience will know I did the right thing.
There is still some stuff there I need to get out of the house before the estate auction occurs. Some items of family history to be donated or passed along to the oldest male heir. Hopefully accepted at a local museum/historical facility, where they will be agreeable to receiving several things I don't want, and convinced no other family member cares about either. I will contact them to ask if I can bring it, with every intention of leaving it, just walking away and letting it go. Plus there are some binders, filled with who-knows-what accumulated over the years that contain bits of genealogy I plan to pass along to the cousin in Denver. Maybe I should not be sharing this info. as it gives an opportunity for him to start dreaming up excuses, inventing reasons for not accepting the weight of this 'gift' to pass along to the next generation.
After an hour with the auntie and a brief stop by her house, I was ready to finish the 'Stay-and-See-Georgia' tour. Bought some gas at the relatively cheap price of $2.19 and got back on the road, ready to do the 189 miles to get back home. I knew before I left at the break of dawn, I had no business doing all that traveling in one day, putting that many miles on my 'sitter'. As we all know, no other bed sleeps quite like that one you are accustomed to, familiar surroundings, and comforts of home. Into my own warm space for a sound night's rest, one of the many things I am thankful for...
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