Goin' to Carolina

Leaving Pawley’s after a visit with Mark’s Mom was always hard, but this time felt more final, knowing it would be some time before we returned. Going to Durham to see Matthew made it easier. The drive was so much less complicated than meandering to North Carolina after Hurricane Florence, when we met one roadblock after another on the flooded roads. Evacuating Mom had been an ordeal in itself, driving the packed car with her and Latarsha, David following behind with thirteen oxygen tanks in his truck bed. We were lucky we found a hotel with availability since we decided so last minute to leave Lakes at Litchfield. The last ones to evacuate, we were the first ones to return. It turns out that we could have stayed put all along, but who can take such a chance? In the end, we were just relieved that we were there to take care of things, and so was Mom. Matthew had dealt with his own worries about flooding during the hurricane, but at this visit in January, we could relax with him and visit with our friend, Lynn, and even with Jean and Jack who coordinated a stop in Durham/Chapel Hill with ours. Mark and I also wanted to visit Duke Chapel, where we prayed for his mom and for Stephen. It was a bright, brisk winter day, and inside the church, a quiet time for reflection.