Both Clara and Robert had a long Easter weekend - Friday through Monday - so Dan and I took advantage of that and went to visit them. We drove to Houston on Thursday. It was a beautiful trip, with all the spring wildflowers covering the roadsides!
It was a pretty relaxed family-time visit. We played a game or two, and had lots of good conversation. We went to church on Sunday at Memorial, and they had an outdoor service. We were on the church property, beneath some big trees. It was quite comfortable in the beginning, but got pretty hot before the end. I'm not complaining, though, because it was a really nice worship service.
On Friday we met up with Dan's race-buddy and friend, Lindsay, and his wife, Kathy, for lunch at Longhorn Stakehouse. I had never met Kathy before, and found her to be really dellightfu ... just like Lindsay.
The only downside to this visit was the lower back pain I was experiencing. It came on rather suddenly a week or so earlier, and was still painful and limiting my mobility. But I wasn't going to let it keep me from taking part in everything with the family. When I got back home, I realized I needed to consult with my doctor, as things were getting worse. Since then I've been messaging with Dr. N, and with her Nurse Practitioner, nearly daily. I had an in-person appointment on Thursday, and they took x-rays which showed moderate arthritis (no surprise there!) and a compression fracture in a vertibrae. They couldn't tell if this was new or an old injury. They have given me meds to help with the pain, and have made an appointment for me with an ortho-specialist. This whole thing wouldn't be so troubling to me, except for my upcoming trip to Alaska with Clara. I MUST be back to normal by then.
