Since arriving in Louisville, I’ve experienced…a lot. A wide range of weather, locales, emotions, and wellness.
The travel day Wednesday was long – delays in San Diego led to arriving later than expected. I came into town expecting to go to eastern KY on Thursday to visit my very ill stepmom one last time and start making arrangements for her inevitable passing. As it turns out, she died while I was somewhere over Missouri, about an hour before landing. So with a heavy heart I made the trip to Ashland on Thursday to begin the post-passing cleanup of accounts and possessions.
The weather in Ashland was gloomy and cold. Scottish weather without the golf, the single malt or the salmon. With the help of some generous friends and family, we managed to clear out my stepmom’s apartment – a huge task, complicated by two things. One, she was a hoarder, and every available space was crammed with stuff. And secondly, the assisted living facility staff somehow decided it would be a good idea to go into her apartment and sort through everything in search of items they might want, with no family there. I still can’t believe they did this, and I’m considering what action to take. When I arrived at noon Thursday it looked like a crime scene – clothes, shoes, purses and knick-knacks all over the floors and bed, just tossed around. I had to set aside my outrage and stay focused on the tasks – empty the apartment, get rid of the trash, sort through things that family might want to keep, and donate the rest to a women’s shelter. And make all the funeral arrangements.
It was a long, morose day, made more difficult by my weird lingering symptom – inability to control body temperature. Just a little effort and I’m sweating buckets. Tossing a couple of dozen heavy bags of garbage into a head-high dumpster would have been tough on a healthy day, so that was a challenge. But we got through it all – again, thanks to friends and family who helped – and I made my weary way back down the highway to Louisville.
The day after, Friday, could not have been more different. A nearly perfect day. Perfect weather and a trip to the St. James At Fair with brothers, Emily, Greg and the grandsons. What a great event. We walked and gawked for a few hours, bought a few things and then decided to find a good place for a late lunch. Greg took us to Monnick’s in Schnitzelburg, a nondescript brewpub with excellent beer and even better food. Plus they had a shady back patio where we could eat outside and the kids could run around. It was a happy day.
After a nap, I returned to E&G’s house and spent a great couple of hours just playing with the boys. They love the attention, and their joy is infectious. Just what I needed, and I left worn out but happy.
That was yesterday. After a mostly-sleepless night, today appears to be my reminder that I’m still not 100% well. Overdid it yesterday and today I simply want to rest and get rid of the something’s-definitely-wrong feeling. I don’t think this is a full-blown recurrence of Covid, but…it’s definitely a residual of some kind. If I feel bad again tomorrow I’ll get tested.