Catching up on 2015: Visiting Scott, Amanda, and Naomi

Photo by Amanda

I had just been hired at a luxury apartment community in Bellevue. I was able to complete two days of training before I went on a planned trip to Alabama to see my brother, sister-in-law, and niece. I spent two weeks from March 18-31 on this trip.

The first day was a bit of a disaster. I was scheduled to fly from SeaTac, Washington to Birmingham, Alabama. My first flight from SeaTac to Houston was delayed at take-off for a mechanical reason. Once we landed on the ground in Houston we were delayed again because another plane was in our gate still, and then we had to be towed to the gate. As a result I missed my connecting flight by minutes.

My airline provided free accommodations that evening at a local hotel. The shuttle that picked us up seemed to go in circles about five times around the gates, picking up more people, before it actually went to the hotel. An hour later, we finally made it and I was able to relax a little.

The following day, I flew from Houston to Birmingham. Fortunately this flight was uneventful and I arrived in Birmingham in the morning. As I waited for my brother Scott to pick me up, I noticed that most of the cars were reasonably new. I saw Scott's old red pickup truck in the distance and I waved at him so he could see me. In response, I heard a very loud, "Awooga!" Scott's such a redneck!

I had lunch with Scott, Amanda, Naomi, and our good friend Josh at a local barbecue restaurant. That afternoon, Scott showed me around his property.

Funny enough, I found out that Scott doesn't react to poison ivy. I wonder what my reaction to it would be. It's funny though that if Scott touches poison ivy, and then someone else touches him, they're in trouble! Apparently only 15% of the population in the United States is not allergic to poison ivy, sumac, or oak (American Skin Association).

Over the next couple of days, I learned how Naomi, being not quite two years old at the time, needed to have a regular routine.

Naomi is ready for night-night.

When she woke up on March 20, she wanted a hug from me. It was the first hug she and I had since she was born.