Dancing The Night Away!

Yep, that's what I should be doing tonight - dancing and dancing and then dancing some more too on top of that. Only problem here is I have two left feet. Besides, if I tried to dance even if I could do a half-way decent job at that, it would be killer time on my back -then my legs too. See what happens when you get old, gray and senile to boot?

But really, I am celebrating tonight. Yes indeedy, I sure as heck am!

Mandy and I made it down and back to Pittsburgh today for my wonderful appointment with my most favorite surgeon -best looking one too, I MUST add -and I am really pleased with the way the day went. Yep! I most certainly am!

Even though we arrived at Dr. Hughes office at UPMC (Presby) a little late -oh, about 8-10 minutes late -the lateness was caused not near as much by my missing the exit we should have taken to cross one of the oodles and oodles of bridges across the lovely Allegheny River as it was by having to drive around and around -and around some more -in what seemed to be never-ending circle in the parking garage in our quest to find a place to park Mandy's buggy!

She asked me about mid-way down to Pittsburgh if I had printed out any directions from Mapquest or whatever map site I could have found and used on the computer but I'd never even given it a second thought this morning that maybe, just maybe, printing out at least the route numbers, just in case the senility factors happened to kick into gear on me. Na! Tarzan no need road map, ya know!

However, karma wanted to put my excellent sense of direction skills to good use today. Yep, sure did give that aspect a workout on me, it did.

We missed the exit for the first bridge (don't have a clue as to the street name or the bridge name but I do remember from previous trips the bridge we should have taken is painted either blue or green and the one we ended up going across was yellow. However, I told Mandy never fear, mother is here and I can get us there! I got us through from wherever it was that we were lost, down to Forbes Avenue, then to Atwood Street, hung a left there and up to Fifth Avenue and presto magic, we were a mere block away at that point from Lothrup Street -which just happens to be the street where Dr. Hughes office at Presbyterian Hospital (UPMC) is located in the Digestive Disorders region of that place! I was happy! Mandy was happy too! We weren't lost -just slighly misplaced for a little while, ya see!

Although it had been close to 18 months since I last saw Dr. Hughes, gotta tell ya'll this - he doesn't look any the worse for wear, not a day older! Just as nice looking, handsome, low-key, great personality and the ability to tell a fat old lady just the very words she wanted to hear today too!

NO SURGERY RECOMMENDED! YAY~! YAY~! Totally made my day!

He said since at this time, the hernia is not bothering me at all and since the colostomy is functioning fine and dandy too, it was his opinion that we should leave well enough alone then! He really feels to do a reversal of the colostomy, with the damage that has been done over the past five years to my pelvic floor, he wouldn't recommend that at all. And, his advice -besides to come back and visit with him in another six months -was to be cautious as to my actions and if I start having a lot of discomfort and nausea, to NOT treat it as just the flu but to call him immediately and then, head out the door for Pittsburgh! Cause then, surgery would be necessary but until and if that ever happens, I am one very, very happy camper with his theory tonight!!! YES. I. AM! Can you tell?

We left his office about 1:25 this afternoon and headed down to Forbes Avenue and I was sure I knew how to "exit" that area of Pittsburgh, get us back to finding Route 28 and heading back east to home. Yeah, sure I did!

Once again, my sense of direction or memory of what turns to make -not sure which -intervened here and this time we did get lost! But, in the process of finding our way out of the city, we did manage to drive along Beechwood Drive and saw loads and loads of beautiful, mostly brick, homes and plenty of really pretty landscapes and flowers, blooming trees too -even passed by Frick Park! Which was definitely a tip-off to me that we had gone awry in our travels then!

We drove around, trying to find our way and I told Mandy to just look for any routes that pointed they were heading north and when we came across one, to take it in the northerly direction cause I knew, sooner or later, it would lead us to a Route number I knew and most likely, one going east too!

And yes, in fact, that is exactly what happened too. Although it took us about 30 some miles of wandering around until we stumbled on Route 837 North, then Route 51 north and finally, thank the Good Lord above, we saw a sign that said ROUTE 79 North! Man, we jumped on that one!

Up at Grove City exit, we stopped at the Country Fair store there to say hello to my ex-sister-in-law - the kids good old Aunt Lou Ann - who was just going into work when we arrived there. Probably scared the living daylights out of her as Mandy kind of barreled across the parking lot, tooting the horn and she was probably wondering then too, who the hell were these crazy rednecks that seemed to be driving right for her -until she finally recognized Mandy and started laughing!

After visiting with her for about 10-15 minutes, we had to -yes, I mean we HAD TO go over to the Grove City Outlet Mall. That Carter's (kid's clothing) store there was just beckoning to us, calling our names to come in and visit. We bought the kids some clothes, much needed (Ha, that's a joke as Mandy has enough clothing socked away for these to yardbirds that as long as they stay this size for the next 2-3 years at least, she could probably wear a different outfit on them almost every day. Ok, maybe not quite THAT many outfits but sometimes, looking at the piles of clothes in the laundry baskets, it does kind of seem that way. But we dropped a few coins at the Carter's Store as well as down at the Oshkosh place too and then, headed for home.

But, along the way home then, since neither of us had anything to eat all day and the one cup of coffee I was able to get before leaving this morning had long since worn off, we stopped in Brookville then and had a very nice, leisurely supper at the Buffet restaurant there -Pyler's -before then rushing to get to the Walmart in Clearfield before the pharmacy closed there so I could pick up my prescription and Mandy could get the prescription the doctor had called in today too for Bill -his meds for his migraines because, shock of shocks, can you imagine this but spending the day with Kurtis -quality Dad to son time ya know for about 6 hours, then the rest of the afternoon and evening with this sweet, innocent, so very well-behaved and definitely quiet four-year-old, he who has been saying it is a piece of cake to stay with these kids all day and night had suddenly after only four hours with his son, developed a severe migraine! Can you believe that? I mean, really? Hmmm. Me thinks the next time he gets a wild hair up his butt about what a piece of cake it would be to watch these two and try to get anything else done, Mandy and I should just conjure up a doctor's visit to Pittsburgh and leave him here alone again -all to his very own devices!

Yes, I know - we are evil, oh my yes, indeed that we are, for sure!

And you know what, we laughed and laughed about that very thing too much of the way home!

But the topper for the day was when Mandy called her Dad out in Nevada after we left the Walmart in Clearfield to fill him in on my doctor's visit and such and she gleefully told her Dad about how much fun she and old Mom here had, with our "Outing" (which is a term old Dad likes to use for events like this -especially ones in which you get lost traveling but end up making a good time of it all after all.) And can you believe this but her Dad said that she deserved a day to herself, away from the kids, getting out of the house and such cause these two hooligans can be such a handfull ya see.

Funny thing though -he must have always thought our kids were total angels cause he never thought I needed a day away, a break from them!

See what aging and maybe a dose of senility does for a person!

Certainly does change one's perspective, doesn't it?

After he said that, I then told Mandy her dad was still a "peckerhead" - one of my favorite descriptive words.

Yeah, it fits!

But I'm still basking in my good news for today regardless.

Hope you all had a day even half as pleasing as mine was today!

An early Mother's Day present, for sure!