I’ll just pick up where I left off on the last post. My stay with Amanda a couple of weeks ago was all too short, even though it was 6 days. I tried to coordinate and get a few things taken care of while I was off. Working as much as I am back home, I have no time to do anything that involves an appointment; that’s just the railroad life. So, I got my teeth cleaned at a dentist near the apartment I went to last year.
I also had an appointment to see a dermatologist. It was about 45 minutes to get to the dermatologist; it was the only location that could fit me in. I drove all the way there to find out the appointment was in June, not April! I had made it online, but even called and talked with them about the appointment the day prior, and I’m not sure what happened. It was in Shelbyville, I took the interstate down, but the back roads coming back. It was a pretty drive dotted with horse farms, something I hadn’t seen in Tennessee yet. When I made it back to the apartment, JJ and Lauren were already there. They were going to stay with us while JJ went to a basketball coaching conference.
In the mix of things, I took Tank to get his yearly shots. The last time we were there, it was after he had a fainting/seizure episode, and we just saw whatever vet was available. This trip, it was his regular vet, so he was catching up on things. He was much more thorough and went into detail about the episode. After he showed me a video of what a seizure looked like, we determined it was likely just a fainting episode, which was more than likely linked to a heart issue.
As he gave him his shots, all 3-year vaccines, he said he’d love to see him back in three years, but he’d likely not get another round of those. We talked about Tank and how we would treat things in his old age. He referred to him as a geriatric dog, poor guy! He is doing well for his old age, but did have a few skin issues and an eye that could be melanoma. I just need him to hold on till we are all back in Texas. We don’t have the funds to go chasing a diagnosis in a 12-year-old Boxer, which is a few years past a Boxer’s life expectancy anyway. The vet understood and said we would just treat symptoms as they pop up to keep him comfortable. I don’t even want to think about losing him while I’m not there with Amanda. He gets what he needs, the vet said. After that news, Tank got a sausage biscuit on the way home!
We got the news back on the biopsy. It was a zero R, the lowest level of rejection, and no antibodies. The cardiologist who did the cath said the pressures were really good, too. Things are looking good for the heart. We just need the kidney to shape up now. It has been a little crazy with how quiet things have been for a call. A ton right up front, then silence for months. I told Amanda, “Maybe we need to call and make sure they still have your number!” The sooner the better, Amanda is ready to get this all over with.
Saturday, while JJ was at the conference, Amanda and I took Lauren with us on our usual Saturday run, the farmers market, both of them. At first, which is in the parking lot of a big church, we spoke with a lady from a goat farm. They had various goat milk products, from soaps to cheese. I recognized the name of the farm; they have an event called goats and guitars. They just open the pasture up to people to come hang out and listen to live music amongst the goats, including all the baby kid goats! She mentioned that they are always looking for artists and asked if we know of any to let them know.
Brett, my aspiring artist/bartender friend, popped to mind, so I texted him. He responded, puzzled by the goat-cuddling poster pic I sent him, but said he’d check it out. Also that if we were still in Franklin in the afternoon he was playing a gig at a winery. We checked with JJ to see when he’d be out and if we could make it work. I lined up well, and after we hit the second farmers market, we met JJ for lunch at one of our favorite sandwich shops, then we all went out for a little live music. The winery was situated on a creek in Leipers Fork just outside of Franklin. The drive is beautiful amongst some gorgeous small multiple-million-dollar horse farms, the kind of places you drool over! The winery was a cute, quaint place we popped into to get something to drink, and then made our way outside, finding some open chairs. It was good to see Brett and listen to him play. Although we only heard a few songs before the rain picked up, he had to shut it down. We caught up for a bit, then made a run back to town when it did look like things were going to let up.
We needed to get back anyway because Amanda needed to do dialysis. Her life revolves around that schedule. After I dropped her off and she got hooked up for a session, I made a run to the grocery store to grab some groceries for dinner. I held off on dinner, waiting until Amanda was finally done. Her sessions take about four hours, including hooking up and disconnecting. We had plenty of time to chat with JJ and Lauren; it was good to see them and catch up.
They left Sunday morning to head back to Texas, and Amanda and I got ready and went to church. It’s always good to see everyone there, and it almost feels like our home church. Everyone is always glad to see me back in town and is wondering how long I will be staying. At first, when I went, it was odd after service, because I didn’t know anyone and never stayed to talk. Now it’s just like back home, we are talking with everyone!
We left for a new spot to eat lunch after church. We ate at a chain place we frequented in Houston after church a few months ago. Next door was a local place that had us intrigued by the crowd coming and going. Mostly black folk who seemed to be coming after church service, like us. When we saw that crowd, we knew we had to try that restaurant! So, this Sunday we hit it up. We sat outside on the porch in the nice weather, and lunch was good.
On the way home, Amanda expressed that she really didn’t want to go home. She spends so much time in the apartment that she really doesn’t want to go back and hang out there. We did go back for a bit to change, but hit Bev up. We checked whether they wanted to go on an ice cream date. We still had not tried an ice cream that many in the Nashville area rave about. We weren’t disappointed. It was a good time; we spent more time in line than eating our ice cream. Behind Sam, Bev’s husband wasn’t the place to be while he tried a sample of almost every ice cream they had in the case and changed his order about five times! I had fun picking on him afterward. And I thought Amanda was indecisive!
The night before, I’d laid in bed after Amanda fell asleep. I was contemplating my return. It’s always a hard decision. Number one, it’s not cheap; airfare can get expensive, especially if I don’t plan far enough in advance. With gas prices now, it’s cheaper to fly most of the time, with a round trip in fuel running about $600. Of course, we drive tanks, and mine are getting sub-20MPG numbers! Number two, it’s hard to plan to be off work and lose the income. Things aren’t getting any cheaper with bills at home and in Nashville. This has, by far, been the most financially taxing time for us. I also didn’t qualify for vacation at work, which was a bummer because this was the year I moved from 4 weeks of vacation to 5. So, I have only limited compensated time to take, and I’m hoarding it for a rainy day. Well, rainier than right now at least!
I settled on coming up for Amanda’s birthday on May 16th. It will be a short trip, I fly up on Saturday and back on Tuesday. I’d accumulated enough points to get a base fare ticket up and picked up a cheap ticket back. Turns out Tuesday and Thursdays are the cheapest days to fly to and from Nashville. Not a surprise, it is a party town. A southern Vegas, if you will, but don’t say that to the locals! Maybe that’s why all locals hate the Broadway scene downtown. I got us reservations at the rooftop restaurant Bev recommended and tickets to the next door Ryman for a show by Ellie Holcomb, a Christian artist, and her husband for Amanda’s birthday night. She still hasn’t seen the Broadway scene, so we may go look for a second. That’s really not our scene, so it’ll be a been there, don’t act, got the t-shirt kind of pop in and out! Especially on a Saturday night, crowds really aren’t my thing. I’d really rather sit and watch the crowds than be a part of it, mostly so I can mentally make fun of those passing by!
We are nearing the year mark with our lease. We have to provide a 60-day notice of move-out. Today is that day. If Amanda were to get a call now, we could provide such notice. Yet, without a call for a kidney, who knows? I received a lease renewal for a discount back in March, but we really thought we’d be out by the end of our lease. The discount was still more than our current rent, even if we signed for another year. No matter what, our rent is going up by at least a few hundred if we choose a three-month extension, the maximum additional months I really want to commit to, or over double that increase if we go month to month. What was already expensive is getting even more expensive. I remember fretting about signing a one-year lease right after Amanda had her transplant, going apartment hunting while she was in the ICU, and barely even conscious. What a time!
I feel we are in the same spot, damned if you do, damned if you don’t kind of scenario. I’ve been praying about the best solution. I’ve joked with Amanda that the minute I sign a lease extension, she’ll get a call about a kidney, and if I don’t, the phone will be silent. Of course, I imagine she is thinking, ” Well, go ahead and sign the dang new lease so that we can get this over with!” At this point, I’m waiting things out. I have the option to extend the lease until our contract ends, so that is my plan: wait and see. Surely we’ll get a call soon, and I’ll have a better bead on things. However, we have been thinking “surely soon” for a couple of months now!
Tank did have another episode while I was gone, Amanda said. The hacker, as he had before, then got off the bed. We trained them to get off the bed if they cough or scratch. So it was instinct to get down for him. This time, he should have started putting. Instead, he decided to jump down and face-plant into the wall, causing a cut on his eye and, I’m sure, a black eye if he didn’t have hair! He didn’t convulse like last time, which, after taking him to our regular vet, made me think it’s more heart-related than a seizure, as he’d suspected. With my Google foo abilities, I’m suspecting early stages of heart failure or valve issues. No other symptoms, so I think he’ll be around for a while, but we do need to keep a closer eye on him now. Just part of his geriatric condition, the doc would say!
I was asked to step in while YJ was gone and preach to the kids at youth last week. It has been a while, years, since I have preached/taught with youth. It was like old shoes. The young faces may have been replaced by new ones; they seem to look younger the older I get, though, but the message, the gospel, is still the same. They were going through a series on the pressures of life. As you would imagine, I had some illustrations for that, many I have lived and some I’m currently living through! The focus scriptures were from 2 Corinthians on how God’s grace is sufficient and how He uses us, imperfect, flawed people, “jars of clay,” as Paul says. It was a lesson right up my alley. I could have thought on that longer than those young ears wanted to hear for sure! It was good to get back in the saddle, if only for one lesson.
When it rains, it pours. We’ve had some car issues with both of our vehicles, my Suburban and Amanda’s Yukon XL. When I was on my way home from Austin after my last trip to see Amanda, I thought the steering was a little hard, but I wasn’t sure, since there were no hard turns on the interstate. Once I took the exit overpass in San Antonio, I was like, “Yep, no power steering!” I proceeded to drive the remaining 130 miles home without power steering. Let’s just say my arms got a workout. After taking a look at things, I ordered an entirely new power steering system, rack-and-pinion included, on the way home. I had a local shade tree mechanic work on it. He found a few more issues that had caused the original problem, which only made the parts list longer and the labor higher. I’m glad we caught the issue, and it is running better than before. I need it in tip-top shape to be able to make it back and forth to Nashville if needed.
This weekend, Amanda mentioned the engine fan was running after she shut the Yukon off. I was asking questions and trying to diagnose the issue the best I could from a thousand miles away. I narrowed it down to a bad thermostat and temperature sensor. I ordered parts to put on while I was there over the weekend, and told Amanda to drive it minimally until I could get there to fix it. Sunday after church, Amanda mentioned to a friend she was having lunch with how loud the car was. Her husband works on cars, and I think he was volunteered to check on the Yukon! He did and diagnosed the same as me. His was a little more thorough than mine at a distance. They double-checked things and agreed on the parts I had already ordered. He was then volun-told, by his wife, to do the repair, I think! So later this week, she is going to put on the part I already had ordered. It’s so good to be in a church there that is full of loving friends like back home. It’s how a church is supposed to operate, in love. With so many who are eager to help, even if their spouses volunteer them!
I have been doing nothing but working, staying on the rails as much as possible while I’m back in Texas. I was looking for number there other day in my call log. The calls were almost exclusively to and from Amanda and Union Pacific Railroad! That showed how little else I have going on! I am excited to get up to see Amanda this weekend and spend a little time with her over her birthday. If anyone would like to send her a card, I’m sure she would appreciate it. Our Nashville address is 370 Oakey Dr, Apt 704, Nashville, TN 37211.