Arrived in Columbia, MO

On Tuesday, October 12 we left Selina, KS; we stopped in Kansas City to visit our friend Joe. Joe is a college friend of hubby so we had a lovely lunch in KC before hitting the road to Columbia. It was great to catch up with an old friend. Joe is a film maker and has been promoting his film about the Cowtown Ballroom in Kansas City. It was a hopping place in its day. Here's a link if you're interested:

http://www.cowbr.com/live/

One of the great things about traveling across the country is that you can  pull out your Christmas list and see who might be along the way. We all seem to have regrets that we don't keep in touch with valuable people in our lives, but we're trying not to have that regret.

I am so excited at the prospect of seeing someone very special this weekend. When I lived in Columbia from 1980 to 1985 I went through a major transition. I came to the town as a married woman and within a year I was a single mother of my two girls away from home. I look back now and it I should have been scared out of my wits and maybe should have run for home in Indiana; but I didn't and I'll never regret that decision.

One reason I stayed was that I had a steady job at an insurance company; Shelter Insurance. I was receiving child support, but it certainly wasn't enough on it's own to take care of us. Corrie was going through stages of evaluation for her disability at the University of Missouri and we had established the girls in school.

One of the things that held me together here in Columbia was my wonderful infrastructure of friends. To this day they are dear to me. I'm staying with my very good friend Brenda who still works for Shelter. I also met hubby here, so Columbia has always held a special place in my heart.

As luck and fate would have it, in the first duplex my first husband and I lived in here, our neighbor was a young medical school student. We became friends and after I moved into an apartment we remained friends. Then one day we decided to adopt each other as siblings. I highly recommend this informal procedure. He didn't have a sister and I didn't have a brother and we loved each other in that way. So I have a brother who is a pediatric cardiologist; who says you can't pick your family? I also have a son, but I'll tell you about that informal adoption at some other time.

With a good job and a chance to advance with my career, with my new brother and friends who helped me live and laugh, Columbia became home for 5 years. They are cherished years because I was able to manage in a pretty tough situation.

My brother lives in Wisconsin and as you can imagine is one busy person. Through the years my brother and I email, but we haven't gotten to see each other for at least 20 years. He did come visit us once in Oregon.

So again, as fate would have it my brother will be in St. Louis this weekend for a class reunion. We are trying to set up a day and time we can see each other. I'm prepared to have him too busy visiting friends and 'other' family to see me, but that's okay because I know we'll connect someday.

So today I will work on that connection with my brother and try to find some things around Brenda's house that I can do to make her life better. Bren had a rough summer due to health issues and I would like to help her if I can.

Wish me luck with the connection with my brother.