Cross-Country Road Trip! Day 48-51, Mile 7520: Why We Drive.

After leaving Boston on our way to North Adams, we stopped for lunch with another dear friend, Gail. She lives in New Hampshire, and drove down to Leominster, MA, to see us. We ate at a sweet little Vietnamese restaurant and enjoyed a brief, but delightful visit. 

The impetus for our extended cross-country trip was to visit my eldest brother, Rudy, who lives in North Adams, Mass.  About a year ago, he had a stroke, could no longer live alone and was moved to the home of one of his granddaughters who lives nearby.  Over the course of the past year, he has become increasingly immobile and is now confined to a wheelchair.  While his granddaughter took excellent care of him, he started to require more assistance than she is able to give, so a few months ago, he was admitted into a long-term care facility.  

When he was first admitted, he was not doing well and we all feared he might be entering his last days.  Thus, the reason for the trip.  I am relieved to share that he is doing much better than I anticipated!  

The facility he is in is quite lovely and clean, the staff is very attentive and caring and he seems to have acclaimed nicely.  As can be seen from the photo below, the trees were all in bloom and sitting out on the front porch was delightful.

We enjoyed a very emotional meeting.

Enjoyed the silence.

And found much to laugh about, too.

Then the second day, we said goodbye.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to visit with this dear brother of mine.

After much planning and rearranging of schedules, we were able to drive to Ithaca to visit my dear friend Ellen.  We met in grad school in the early 90s and have remained friends. What a treat to see her again!  Can you tell we love each other?

O.