My parents gave me 10 pounds of sweet potatoes

Only two updates (so far) (including this one) in October? I'm sorry. That's terrible. The trip, you know. And the aftermath of the trip. And the stuff preceding the trip. Not necessarily in that order.

Son C is now taking 10 mg of Lexapro. If miracles exist, I think this drug is as close as we're going to get. It has been AMAZING for him. His base level of anxiety has decreased by several degrees of magnitude, and yes I do know what that expression means, and no I am not exaggerating. In the past couple of weeks he's been able to attend a marching band exhibition in a big stadium with tons of people (he was a spectator, not a participant), go for a bike ride with a friend on some trails near our house, and go to an open mic night at another friend's church, which included riding an hour there and back in a car with this friend's family. These are things that would have been impossible for him a couple of months ago when his anxiety was so crippling that even leaving the house for therapy appointments was a massive ordeal.

When his anxiety is low, his misophonia is so much easier for him to deal with. I still would never eat or drink or chew gum around him, but I can talk to him now. His father can talk to him, sometimes, a little bit. His sister still can't talk to him but he CAN stand to be in the same room with her most days. This is HUGE, both for him and for our family. I am stunned and amazed and so very, very grateful. I am so glad we found something that works for him and I pray that it continues to work.

In other news, it's definitely fall here now. It still doesn't look like fall, but all my sneezing and wheezing and the fact that I need to run the heater in my car while taking the girls (H and her friend; we carpool) to school in the morning tells me it's so. We turn the clocks back this weekend and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I can't see to drive in the dark and this gets worse every year, which makes driving the kids to after-school activities in the winter sort of interesting from a possible sudden death standpoint.

I'm in a reading slump right now; ordinarily I'd be reading spooky stuff this time of year but I'm just not in the mood, so I'm re-reading Louise Penny's Still Life, the first Chief Inspector Gamache book. It takes place near Canadian Thanksgiving so it's relatively seasonal. 'Twill do, 'twill serve. I've got A Fatal Grace, which takes place around Christmas, all queued up for December.

New seasons of some of "my" shows started up while I was out of town, most notably The Walking Dead and American Horror Story. Thank goodness for DVRs and online episodes. I've been catching up this week and so far I'm liking both okay. As far as The Walking Dead is concerned, I'm glad that little shit Carl is finally making himself useful re: zombie fighting and I still kind of hope Lori dies in childbirth (I'm terrible, I know). American Horror Story isn't quite the same without that fabulous creepy old house, but I do like the new storyline and I think it's clever the way they've used some of the actors from the first season as completely new characters in the second season. And also I have a pervy old lady crush on Evan Peters. So yeah. I think I'm in.

I worked out this morning for the first time in three weeks. That's going to hurt later. I've somehow managed to maintain my weight loss for the past month-plus through diet alone, pretty much, but now that it's getting colder and darker I'm craving comfort food and that never ends well. I've cut back a lot on grain and refined sugar but I haven't gone full Paleo because that didn't end well either, so while I think I have Thanksgiving under control I'm not sure what to do about Christmas cookies. Because Mama definitely needs some Christmas cookies, y'all.

I've been looking back at my trip photos and realizing that with Hurricane Sandy slamming into the east coast, all of those lovely colorful leaves I drove through in the mountains will be history soon if they aren't already. I fervently hope that all my friends and family in the path of the storm and all the lovely people I met in my travels stay safe and whole and well.

And you, too. Wherever you are.

I've been everywhere

I've been off on a bit of a solo adventure this past week, driving alone from Texas to Ohio by way of Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky to meet up with my brother and parents and visit some extended family.

  

 

And then on the way home, I decided to take the scenic route. I drove through West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama before finally crossing through Mississippi and Louisiana again, and then home to Texas.

I drove through 12 states and slept in five of them.

I saw my parents and brother, four cousins, six first cousins once-removed, all my uncles, all but one of my aunts, and my last remaining grandparent.

I saw autumn leaves for the first time in 12 years.

I drove through the Appalachian Mountains.

I crossed the Mississippi River twice.

(Ditto the Ohio River.)

I shopped at Tamarack in West Virginia.

I climbed the tower at Big Walker Lookout in Virginia.

I ate pulled pork with four different sauces at Tom's Barbecue in Greenville, SC.

I put more than 3,000 miles on my car.

I finished reading The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch and liked it very much.

I drank many tiny plastic bottles of wine.

For 5.5 of the eight days I was gone I was completely alone with my thoughts. I didn't have to worry about what anyone else wanted or needed. I didn't have to make anyone's dinner. I didn't have to clean up any messes I didn't make. I didn't have any appointments to keep.

I had a lot of fun.

HOWEVER...

I missed my kids and husband. And even the stupid dog.

I missed the water pressure in my shower at home.

I missed my bed. And my pillow.

I even missed my own cooking.

I learned that while I am a total antisocial misfit loner and proud of it, some things are just more fun when shared with one's favorite people.

And I am SO GLAD to be home. Where my people are.