After spending five months in Texas, Hubby and I are home again in South Dakota. Our last week in Texas was a full one. We traveled along wildflower-lined roads to College Station again. This time we went to a lecture by the CIA director, Bill Burns and a lecture by a woman who works at NASA and the Webb telescope. Hubby and I really enjoyed them. We stayed for a third lecture about physics and entropy. By then, we were hungry, tired, and bored, so we were rude and left in the middle of it.
The next night we went to a baseball game between Texas A&M and Missouri. The temperature was perfect and only a soft breeze blew. We did the usual Aggie fight song and swayed back and forth while we cut horns off. The traditional chants could be considered bad sportsmanship, but they were fun. We watched the Aggies have a 9-run inning. During the seventh inning stretch, they sang The Eyes of Texas are Upon You. After that, we left. It was almost eleven p.m. by then and we had a big weekend coming up. Before we left town, Hubby and I hit a sale at the A&M tee shirt warehouse, so we’ve got all the gear to declare ourselves Aggie fans.
We drove to my folks’ house and spent a couple of nights. My siblings and I had been planning a surprise birthday party for our mom for months. Saturday was the day, and it was up to me to take Mom away from everyone while they went and set up in the park. I told her I wanted to get a gift for our neighbors who’d taken care of our house for us while we were gone. I should have picked a better cover story. The dinky little town of Clyde had little to offer in terms of gift shops, so it was difficult to keep her occupied long enough. When I had no excuse left, I took Mom to the park. We walked around the end of the pavilion and she saw everyone gathered: Dad, her kids, several grandkids, and a bunch of great-grandkids. Mom was completely surprised. We enjoyed the visit, the kids playing, the fried chicken lunch, and the delicious cake. A lot of visiting and laughter went on as memories and funny stories came out. By mid-afternoon, the kids were tired and so were the adults. The party was a roaring success.
Hubby and I returned to Amarillo and spent a day packing the truck and cleaning the house. We drove all the way home in a day. We unloaded that night, but that was it. Since then, we’ve unpacked and I’m getting reacquainted with my house and the town. I can’t find things in the cabinets and turned on the wrong streets. By the time I get it figured out, it’ll be time to go back to Texas where I’ll have to get reacquainted with it. Confusion has become a common companion.
Hubby and I are glad we spent the winter in Texas. The Black Hills had the second snowiest winter on record, and we were happy to have not been in it. It’s still cold here, no wildflowers, and the trees haven’t budded out yet. I’m ready for warm weather which I have faith will come sooner or later.
Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase. Psalms 85:11-12