This appointment was made and it was said my uncle could get in within a week. That was back in early to mid April. There were no cancellations to be switched in to get him in early at all. It had been way over a month of waiting for this appointment.
The night before we had a plan in motion when we were to leave the house by a certain time, and grab breakfast on the way up. My uncle decided to forget about our plan and for once instead of going by that plan he ended up eating without us kind of screwing up the trajectory of the day. That was already a kink to my day, maybe I should have heeded that more than I did at the time.
Honestly I didn’t take the time to really think about being on Interstate 70 again. It’s probably a good thing it’s not like I am an amateur I have driven on this road many, many times. Although I don’t think I have personally driven since my introduction to Fresenius back in July of 2022. That was probably the last time I drove on any interstate.
On our way to breakfast we decided to head to Burger King for their biscuits and gravy. We needed our nourishment and I had to take my morning meds with food like always. I got an orange juice, but I was going to get a second drink for more caffeine for the drive. What shocked me is that my brother got my second drink for me. We had to call him as soon as we left the house because Mom forgot her Sugar reader device. It’s supposed to be within 3 feet of her always. Yet she forgot it that morning and didn’t realize it so we had James meet us at BK to give it to her. Thankfully that worked out fairly well.
Still we should have gotten started sooner it seemed we also had to wait until after 8:30 to call the Clinic to get my appointment scheduled. We waited on that I guess but I needed to get that done and on the books and it worked out well to get it for Wednesday morning. However, there was also the question of were there still closings on the way up through Lone Tree Road or the other route past Jasonville up to Clay City. Since both my Dad and brother work for Great Dane they have had to deal with road closures or lane closures and it hadn’t dawned on me to ask about those before our trip that morning.
Fortunately I used my GPS on my phone although I really didn’t need to until we got to Plainfield since I knew the way like the back of my hand with all of the times I have driven there even in the raining like dogs and cats with one eye open and one closed shut in pain early in the morning. That was quite a feat and by the way homeward I had two eyes open. I had accidentally left a contact lens in my right eye all through the night it was extremely red, but the guys were needed in the field and Mom had an appointment I had to be her driver. We were both praying for safety the entire way up there and back.
Nothing like that happened this morning though, thank goodness. We had been at the Dermatology Center once before for my uncle, but it had been years ago probably when Grandma Rosie was still alive. So once we arrived it looked almost exactly the same maybe even busier. One thing I do remember while in the office was that my uncle set down both his phone and his glasses case, but then I didn’t think anything about it when we left. After the appointment we all went back downstairs and to the bathrooms before leaving. I had a plan, Mom and I had a plan to get straight to Terre Haute from there and eat and then hit JoAnn’s before heading home.
Having plans though when God has other ideas is another thing altogether!
In the bathroom I had to remind Mom of her purse on the floor before we left the room. When we got in the car I noticed for certain she had her phone because I could see it. I forgot about the wild card in the back seat though. I had relief from seeing her phone, but I had forgotten to keep track of my uncle’s phone. So I got back to the interstate and had been on it for at least 5 minutes when I heard the words… where’s my phone!
This is where I remember oh no he forgot them in the office. Why didn’t I make sure they both had their phones! Of course you can’t just turn around on the interstate we called his phone and didn’t hear it. Plus there were actually Police cars on the road for once and this would be the time I would get caught if I tried to make a sneak around. So eventually I had to take an exit and get back to State Road 40 to go back north east. Our plan was just blasted into pieces. Now we went probably 10 minutes away from Plainfield needing to go backwards and it actually cost us an hour and a half longer because we then ate at Plainfield.
My GPS took us for a ride into the countryside, actually it was a beautiful day for a ride and it happened so after I got past my fuming I had to just own that we were having to backtrack on our plans and now create a new subject to change plan. This little snafu really wasn’t as painful as I thought it could be and we got to see Plainfield in a different light coming to the Dermatology Center from the south this time. It allowed us to see a different side of the city.
While we were driving back someone found his phone. Ironically it wasn’t in the office he had left it in the men’s bathroom and someone took it to another office they called my Mom’s cell and were able to tell us where the phone was and where to pick it up which is opposite of where our appointment was in the northern part of the center. Talk about relief that was within being 15 minutes of being back to the parking lot. That was another God thing and we were extremely gracious someone found it and turned it in.
We had discussed where we wanted to eat now that we needed to eat somewhere in Plainfield. One of the places that came to mind was Chili’s we don’t have one close by anymore it closed up in Terre Haute years ago. I have some cherished memories about the Evansville restaurant in Newburgh where I would eat there with Aunt Margaret. While I was at college she would take me there when I visited with her and she would take me out to eat. Those were priceless memories when I was learning how to get around down there. It had been quite a while since we were in this specific Chili’s though a few years. The menu has changed a bit even since the last time I was there with a coworker during our training in Mount Vernon Illinois. That was the last time I was in a Chili’s. Another memory that was sweet getting to know her even for that short time was special.
After already driving on the interstate that day my arms were tired and I felt physically exhausted. However, it was time to get back on the interstate for Terre Haute again. Oh my goodness… I have been on this interstate quite a bit through the years but nothing could have mentally prepared me for the continuous semi line on the right side of the road almost the entire route to Terre Haute. I had to go faster just to keep up normally my range is 60 to 65 I blasted that and was nearly at times going 80. I have never had to go this fast to keep getting ahead of the next semi. I was literally and emotionally exhausted that I was so happy to get JoAnn’s and get out of the car and walk. We ended up also going backwards to Hobby Lobby before leaving, but I was still so worked up from high intense driving I was back up to 80 right before I got to Sullivan way, way too high for that state highway.
When I got home I almost immediately took an epson salt bath to soothe my nerves and relax. Unfortunately I couldn’t read a book during this soak so I turned on my news videos and found the Gutfeld clips with Bill Maher. I laughed which also helped with the relaxation, but I never thought listening to Gutfeld and Maher together could be soothing to watch and I pleasantly found myself feeling better. If those two men of different backgrounds and opposite sides of the aisle could stand each other for an hour long show how knows what else could happen. It was fitting to get to watch this right then. I had been really excited to see how it went. I needed the laughter to help energize my spirit in order to get some projects done or at least some progress made. Thankfully it allowed me to make some Graduation cards so it did come together and allow me to gain some functionality for at least one more project that night.
I didn’t think my appointment the next morning would be much of a story… but I guess we shall see next…
Jewells of Thought 
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