August 5

I think I've mentioned this factoid before but I am not a morning person, so getting up at 5:30 to take my mom to Baltimore for her next round of chemo was a bit of a shock to my system. But I persevered: we began with a run through the Mother Ship drive thru (duh, like I'd drive a 70-mile round trip at 6 AM without caffeine) and I got her there right on time.

As we passed by Camden Yards and along a succession of streets, I remembered how beautiful Charm City can be. And I felt a sense of gratitude.

I spent most of the rest of the day at Bobby's house napping (because 5:30 AM) and watching old game shows on Buzzr. 

Then this evening, after mom's friend dropped her off post-treatment, I ordered and picked up dinner from the Hornet's Nest. While I walked along main street, I noted that though a lot has changed in this town over time, it still felt much like it always did. And again, I felt a sense of gratitude, this time for nostalgia.

Fortunately Mom --who looked pale and said she was very tired when she got back-- felt better after eating, so we decided to work on a 1,000-piece puzzle. She's still sitting at the table next to me wrestling with the tiny little pieces. I'm... taking a break. (Mostly because there's one single piece of border that we can't find and it's making me nuts.)

All in all, it was a pleasant enough day. And I'm thankful for the hours.