in Texas, doing fine

Yesterday's flight out to Texas went as smoothly as we could have hoped for. Sean arrived at our house early; he was the designated chauffeur. We got to the airport and Dad checked us in with plenty of time to spare. One of the morbid benefits of Mom's condition is that we're now among the folks who get to board the plane early, so we took full advantage of that to amble on down the jetway before anyone else did.

The flight itself was comfortable; we arrived in Houston early. Finding the baggage claim area and retrieving our bags took only a few minutes, and our relatives were outside waiting for us when we stepped out of the terminal. The drive to my aunt's house was shorter than I remembered it, and Mom was comfortable the whole way. Dad drove my aunt's car, however; she was crying too hard to drive.

Since our arrival, we've had the chance to see my aunt, my cousin Mark, my (second?) cousin Darrell (well, he actually saw me sleeping yesterday; I didn't see him), my cousin Marie, as well as my uncle John and his wife, my aunt Deok-hui. Since our arrival, my aunt has fed us far more generously than we deserved (her cooking puts mine to shame), and we've spent our time just relaxing. My aunt's house is large enough to accommodate all of us comfortably, though Cousins Marie and Mark have been bumped from their usual billets and are sleeping on the floor and on a cot, respectively.

Tonight, our second night in Texas (and my brother David's final night), we took Mom out for a walk when it got dark. The air was humid, but far cooler than during the day.

I've been having fun catching up with the relatives, lounging around, driving briefly about town, and getting to know the three dogs. More important, though, is that Mom seems happy to be here. That's what counts, both for her, and for her big sister.


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