San Antonio - Day Five (and Final)

A day without brutal heat and humidity! Woo! Hoo! Another fabulous breakfast by the pool (crab omelet) and then a day spent being with people I love, starting with Berinda.

We went to church, where after an hour and a half I pulled the plug because it didn't look like it was going to end anytime soon. I had forgotten that there were denominations that focused on quantity rather than quality in that department. Berinda likes going for the music and singing. That was the first 45 minutes. Then the preaching commenced. I just wonder how long the sermon would have been without all the additional syllables added to the ends of words (Jesusah, churchah, etc.) and the frequent requests for congregational responses to silly overhead questions. I'd have stuck it out, but when I caught Berinda settling into her seat for a nap I figured she was ready to go, too. And so she was.

We came back to Chicken Paradise, where Anne (the proprietor) had set aside some chicken feed so that Berinda could feed the chickens before we hunted eggs. She enjoyed that very much, as she did the picture taking afterward. Here are a couple of them, taken by Anne who is a very accomplished photographer.

I was then able to take my next two meals with old and dear friends and simply relax and talk about old times and what came after. The conversations sure run a little differently these days than they used to! I don't think we ever used to spend much time cataloging our physical disorders and pharmacy orders. In the old days we'd have been bragging about something or other that we wouldn't even consider doing anymore!

Of course, Bill's name came up many times in conversation, on both sides throughout my stay here. It has been therapeutic to be able to share stories, memories, and a few tears. A lot of healing has taken place over the past five days, and I leave here grateful to all who have helped me take these steps. I'll be back next year -- with my golf clubs!