The trip had been arranged months ago - before I found out radiation would be delayed. Cancer has messed up enough of my summer that I didn't really even consider not making the 6-1/2 hour drive. Some lunches are important!
I did concede it, perhaps, wasn't wise to attempt doing the actual driving part myself, especially since the reunion was Sunday, and I had to be back in town early Monday morning for my next radiation treatment, which means I couldn't break it into stages.
Several weeks ago, as I was mulling over the list of people I thought I could ask to drive up with me, I happened to mention my predicament to my friend, Rhonda, from yoga class. I quickly discovered she's the sort of person who is willing to take a chance that an all expense paid, 36 hour trip to Decorah, Iowa, for lunch might actually be fun. I guess she couldn't resist the opportunity to choose anything she'd like from the extensive menus at Subway and Starbucks??
Unlike me, she actually likes the part where she sits behind the wheel guiding the car along the road; turns out she's a good driver. I enjoyed the hours we had to learn more about each other's lives - it's been decades since I took a road trip with someone whose stories I wasn't already familiar with.
I am so grateful for her assistance. We left Saturday morning in time to join my brother, Tony, and his wife, Susan, for a delicious hamburger and sweet corn dinner in Waterloo, where we also spent the night.
Sunday morning, we got up bright and early to drive on up the road to my cousin's house in Decorah, where the family was to gather for a potluck lunch. We had a good turnout, and I enjoyed spending the next few hours swapping what's-up-with-your-life stories with those gathered.
Bonus, lunch was amazing. The older I get, the more I appreciate the chance to enjoy two big bites of most of the offerings at a good potluck. (Even limiting myself to two bites, and filling my plate twice, my stomach, sadly, didn't have enough room to sample all the deliciousness. *sigh*)
We got back on the road shortly after 2, talked our way back across Iowa and northern Missouri, and arrived home around 8:30. I slept pretty well, and while I am tired today, I am also content. Given the way radiation has been zapping my energy, if I hadn't gone, I'd have been tired anyways, AND I would have missed all the fun!
I figure I win when I don't give cancer more of my precious time than I must - and this weekend definitely counts as a win in my book!
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