JE Day 6: Goodbye & Return Home
I'm getting on my first flight home as I start this blog entry on my PDA. I'm listening to Loreena McKennitt, which is a favorite of Chester's, and which he gave me this morning.
Chester has a chest cold. Intermittently last night he would saw off a branch, then stop and cough.
I slept like a rock last night. The only remembrance I have of any dreams is a fragment. Chester and I are outside somewhere. I have some holy beads around my neck. We begin ascending a stairway--I see not where it leads. Chester warns me that it is not the proper time to be wearing the beads. As though he would get in trouble. I take them off stealthfully. We continue to ascend. The dream fades.
Oddly enough, I remembered that only now--I haven't even discussed it with Chester yet. (THAT'S the level of customer service we offer here on the Healthy Chester blog, gentle reader.)
Last night Chester said he wanted to get up at 7 or 7:30. I set the alarm for 7:15. I slept like a stone until 7, then heard him moving around. He was going to the bathroom. He looked as tired as I felt, and said he wanted to sleep for another hour, so I set the alarm and lied down again. Well, he was doing more coughing than snoring, so five minutes later I went out and asked if he wanted to get up. Yes.
I did the now-familiar routine of turning on the lights and putting the kettle on to boil. Well, I know I was tired--I put it on the stove after rinsing it out but still empty! Luckily I looked at it a minute later and realized my error. I had to wait a few minutes for it to cool down before I could fill it and try again.
I quickly moved through my preparations for showering and packing. I was half done packing when I just stopped. I realized I wanted to say my goodbyes before others arrived. I pulled up a chair next to Chester's. It's a bit challenging to give someone a close hug in a wheelchair, but we figured it out. We talked about highlights of the week, my preliminary plans for my next visit, and some other things. A tearful hug sealed it.
Our timing was perfect, as Gil and JD arrived just then. Chrys arrived shortly thereafter, and I filled her in on a few things that had changed during the week. I said goodbye to Chrys and thanked her for her efforts in giving care to Chester. One last tearful hug and a kiss to Chester, and I walked out of the apartment. Big breath.
A pleasant ride to the airport with Gil and JD and then another goodbye. I thought I'd be a blithering mess, yet that's not exactly the case (yet). Part of it was just dealing with the logistics of the airport. I've also had a very animated conversation with my seat neighbor on the plane (longer than I wanted, and she didn’t catch my cues… oh well). I'm now once again listening to Loreena McKennett as I write.
…
I napped on the plane, got something to eat in Detroit (yeah, I had to overshoot Madison to get home), and called my friend Barb there. I can tell I’m probably going to cry every time I talk about this for the next week or so. So be it.
I’m back home now and said hello to my cats; one is on my lap and one is on the desk. They hover around me when I get back from a trip. My heart was full while in California, and now I realized how much I missed them. They are also great teachers of mine, and it pains me to be away from them (I know, another gay man and his cats…).
By the way, it occurred to me the times on my blog entries might be a bit confusing – the timestamps are Central Time, and I was on Pacific Time when writing them—two hours difference.
Thus ends my trip. I’m happy to be home, and sad to have left California. I hope to have some time soon to talk about some of the things I said I’d describe later. However, it may take a short while as I get caught up in my life back home.
Gentle reader, please drop Chester a note to let him know you are thinking of him. This is my request, not his. It need be nothing big or fancy—just a ‘hi.’ I would also appreciate hearing from some of you, as I like to get a sense for the caring that surrounds our Chester. Go to the forum and send me a private note or send an email to jay at healthy chester dot com.
Thanks!
Jay
P.S: oh, one note: I'm going to be putting pictures and other treats into the blog entries below where they fit. When I do, I'll post a new entry saying they're there. Stay tuned!
Chester has a chest cold. Intermittently last night he would saw off a branch, then stop and cough.
I slept like a rock last night. The only remembrance I have of any dreams is a fragment. Chester and I are outside somewhere. I have some holy beads around my neck. We begin ascending a stairway--I see not where it leads. Chester warns me that it is not the proper time to be wearing the beads. As though he would get in trouble. I take them off stealthfully. We continue to ascend. The dream fades.
Oddly enough, I remembered that only now--I haven't even discussed it with Chester yet. (THAT'S the level of customer service we offer here on the Healthy Chester blog, gentle reader.)
Last night Chester said he wanted to get up at 7 or 7:30. I set the alarm for 7:15. I slept like a stone until 7, then heard him moving around. He was going to the bathroom. He looked as tired as I felt, and said he wanted to sleep for another hour, so I set the alarm and lied down again. Well, he was doing more coughing than snoring, so five minutes later I went out and asked if he wanted to get up. Yes.
I did the now-familiar routine of turning on the lights and putting the kettle on to boil. Well, I know I was tired--I put it on the stove after rinsing it out but still empty! Luckily I looked at it a minute later and realized my error. I had to wait a few minutes for it to cool down before I could fill it and try again.
I quickly moved through my preparations for showering and packing. I was half done packing when I just stopped. I realized I wanted to say my goodbyes before others arrived. I pulled up a chair next to Chester's. It's a bit challenging to give someone a close hug in a wheelchair, but we figured it out. We talked about highlights of the week, my preliminary plans for my next visit, and some other things. A tearful hug sealed it.
Our timing was perfect, as Gil and JD arrived just then. Chrys arrived shortly thereafter, and I filled her in on a few things that had changed during the week. I said goodbye to Chrys and thanked her for her efforts in giving care to Chester. One last tearful hug and a kiss to Chester, and I walked out of the apartment. Big breath.
A pleasant ride to the airport with Gil and JD and then another goodbye. I thought I'd be a blithering mess, yet that's not exactly the case (yet). Part of it was just dealing with the logistics of the airport. I've also had a very animated conversation with my seat neighbor on the plane (longer than I wanted, and she didn’t catch my cues… oh well). I'm now once again listening to Loreena McKennett as I write.
…
I napped on the plane, got something to eat in Detroit (yeah, I had to overshoot Madison to get home), and called my friend Barb there. I can tell I’m probably going to cry every time I talk about this for the next week or so. So be it.
I’m back home now and said hello to my cats; one is on my lap and one is on the desk. They hover around me when I get back from a trip. My heart was full while in California, and now I realized how much I missed them. They are also great teachers of mine, and it pains me to be away from them (I know, another gay man and his cats…).
By the way, it occurred to me the times on my blog entries might be a bit confusing – the timestamps are Central Time, and I was on Pacific Time when writing them—two hours difference.
Thus ends my trip. I’m happy to be home, and sad to have left California. I hope to have some time soon to talk about some of the things I said I’d describe later. However, it may take a short while as I get caught up in my life back home.
Gentle reader, please drop Chester a note to let him know you are thinking of him. This is my request, not his. It need be nothing big or fancy—just a ‘hi.’ I would also appreciate hearing from some of you, as I like to get a sense for the caring that surrounds our Chester. Go to the forum and send me a private note or send an email to jay at healthy chester dot com.
Thanks!
Jay
P.S: oh, one note: I'm going to be putting pictures and other treats into the blog entries below where they fit. When I do, I'll post a new entry saying they're there. Stay tuned!
posted by Jay Edgar at 10:10 PM
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