So taking a few days off posting blogs in order to get my thoughts straight on this. I don’t want anyone to misunderstand me: this trip was in no way a bad trip. There’s just a lot of things that I learned on this trip. That makes me more aware of the situations my other family members are in at this time.
When we first went to Alabama, the very first place that we stopped was at my aunt’s. I’m going to tell you right here and now that, especially when it comes to animals, she is one of the most loving and carrying individuals that I have ever met.
When Covid was going on, she unfortunately caught it and it was a lot harder on her than it was on most people. One of the things that it did significant damage to was her memory, both short-term and long-term. I had noticed that she would start talking about a specific subject and kind of fade out of that subject and into a second subject completely forgetting that she had started the first conversation.
That kind of verbal stumbling was something that she simply never did before Covid. She is very much aware that she is having these memory problems. She tries to make light out of the situation many times, but I can tell that it’s really bothering her at its core. She has an appointment with her doctor soon to get a scan on her brain. I really hope that everything comes back well and she will be able to get the help that she needs in order to be able to have a lot more productive life.
After visiting her, we loaded her up with us and went out to see some of the places that they knew about growing up. Their old home place is in an area that is currently being strip mined. Unfortunately the area where their home was is now in a blasting area and we weren’t able to go past the gates in order to be able to see if anything there was still standing.
After this we went to my other aunt’s house. I got to see some of my cousins that I’ve not seen in over 20 years. Yes, there were tears, but they were happy ones.
After having pizza and long conversations, we said our goodbyes and made our way out to the van to start the trip back home. I took my aunt home and hated leaving her there. She lives alone, and because of her memory, I really worry about her.
All in all, a great time was had by all. Maybe I’ll write more about this little escapade later when I have more details that I’m ready to share. Until then, be well. I’ll write more later.