I think this has been the busiest day we've had in a VERY long time! And it was an especially long one for me 'cause I woke up at 4:00 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep!
Randy and I left the house about 8:30 this morning, heading to the first of our stops of the day, dulcimer practice. Randy's hanging in there with the psaltry and enjoying it. That's all that counts, right? We played music from about 9:15 until almost noon. Then, it was on to our next stop.
The Pickers had two gigs today. The first, at Catherine's Place, an assisted living facility, was scheduled for 1:30pm. However, the staff of Catherine's Place is so kind to us; they serve us lunch before we play! Isn't that nice? And it's not just a box lunch, it's a sit-down, serve-you-on-china lunch. Actually, it was more like dinner. We were served pork loin, sweet potatoes, mixed vegetables and cheesecake. Not too shabby, huh?
After that delicious lunch, Randy left to drop off prescription refills at WalMart and the rest of us, all eight of us, played for the residents for about an hour. It's always wonderful playing at assisted living facilities and such because these folks are a great audience. They sing along with us and applaud no matter how we play!
From there we walked next door to the Alzheimer's facility. During the next half hour we played for them and encouraged them to sing and clap along with us. Most of these residents were very coherent and engaged with us, but there were a few the staff had to be very aware of at all times. Again, the folks were thrilled that we were there and it makes me recognize how blessed I am that my parents are still healthy and able to enjoy their lives on their own. If I could have, I would have gone around to each person in our audience and hugged them and sat with them for a few minutes. It truly is humbling to know that those 30 minutes brought joy to their lives. I can't wait to go back!
Once we were finished with our gigs, it was almost 3:30. Randy had gotten back during our first gig and we took off for our next to last stop of the day - the eye doctor's office. I had to have the pressure in my eyes checked to see if the drops were doing their job. And, I'm glad to report, they are! The pressure in my eyes have dropped 7 points in one eye and 9 points in the other. That's very good news. Now, I just have to go back two more times before I leave here to go home. Apparently, once it's been determined you have glaucoma, you need to have pressure checks every 3 or 4 months. Yay, more doctor's appointments!
On the way home from the doctor's we stopped at WalMart to pick up the prescriptions and a few other things to tide us over until the first of the month. We finally got home a little past 5:30 this evening - about nine hours after we'd left!
Dinner was a fend-for-yourself deal. Now we are both a little less than comatose in our recliners watching some shows we'd DVR'd and listening to the rain. I'm hoping to sleep good tonight!
Until the next time . . .
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