Chuck’s Home World

It was good to see everyone and I was able to see all my nephews & nieces and their children (with the exception of one nephew who was not available).

I broke the trip down into two pieces and was able to spend a good bit of the day visiting sisters before heading over to the beach. I first made it into Florence, SC around 10:15AM and met up with sister Joy. We had a Shoney’s breakfast, which was very tasty. It was my first real break away from the diet. After visiting with Karen (momentarily because she was off to work) I spent the afternoon visiting with John & Chris, then Rhonda and family once she came home. This was Wednesday. I was at the beach sometime around 6:30 PM.

Thursday, I made it back over to see Karen & Rhonda again – going a bit earlier so I’d have more time to spend with Karen.  After Karen went to work, Rhonda and I made our way to the store to pick up a few things for our Saturday dinner. I wanted to get a bit more healthy so we picked up fruits and veggies along with the other things we needed.  I was able to return to the beach again around 7PM or so.

Visited with Jim and Ann, Jessica, Larry and Christian at the beach on Christmas eve and Christmas morning. Had lots of food and saw Uncle A. B. and Aunt Bonnie before heading over to Joy’s for Christmas night dinner (yummy steaks) and presents exchanges. Slept pretty good that night as I was a bit tired.

Saturday, Joy, Bill, Ashley, Derrick (or Darrel as I called him!), Kelsi and DJ headed over to Karen’s for our Christmas time together.  I drove on while Joy met up with Ashley and entourage. We had a wonderful time and even Jessica, Christian and Ann came in for a while. It was good to see everyone (only wished Jim would have come too).

Anyway, I made my way back to the beach on Saturday arriving sometime around 9:30 PM. On Sunday, I saw Lester, Zac and Michelle, my favorite cousin Donna, and left around 3PM to head over to visit with Karen, Rhonda and family once again. Around 7PM I was on my way home again. I in the night in NC a few miles south of the VA border and made it home on Monday around 12:30 PM. (My car’s navigation thought it would be fun to take me through DC, on 395, but it wasn’t fun at all!)

Anyway, it’s good to be back home! And even though the scales provided bad news when I got on them today it was worth visiting and eating all that wonderful food.

I didn’t take that many photos, but took a few and will posts some when I get the chance.

I’m heading home a little bit later today. For now, I’m having some coffee, waiting for other to awake. I’m so glad I was able to come home for the weekend; I just wish it would have been for more time! I was hoping to find the time to visit Jessica and her family, but its just not working out that way. (Jessica, we’ll just have to visit more on Facebook.)

The car has behaved great. I’m definitely loving it. On average I have been getting around 53 MPH, but I have been trying to drive very conservatively. Today, as I drive home, I’ll see how it goes.

My sister Joy and I were able to visit my other two sisters and their families on Friday. It worked out great because Joy was able to take off early. Rhonda fixed some hamburgers and Joy and I picked up a few items at the store. It was great seeing everyone. I missed seeing Rufus’ kids, but hope to see them at Christmas.

My nephew Chris is still in TN wrapping up his Masters in Chemistry. He’ll be heading to Syracuse, NY in a few weeks to work on his doctorate. I’m so proud of him and can’t wait to see him at Christmas.  His parents will be helping him move in August so it looks like they may be stopping by for a night on their way. My house is not far off the interstate and is about 2/3rds to Syrucuse from where they live, so its a convenient place to stop.

My diet has really been blown, but not too far out of proportions. Its been tough to follow my own schedule of eating, but that’s OK. I’ll be back on the tight schedule starting Monday. For now, I’m having tastes and a few things I won’t let myself have regularly.

This trip has really been a great self-moral booster. Everyone can see the weight loss that I’ve been able to acheive and even though I know I still have a ways to go, its been great getting the feedback. By Christmas, I hope to be in even better shape and pretty much in maintenance mode.

…very enjoyable! I was able to spend some quality time with all my sisters and family. It was nice to be back in SC for a few days, but I’m glad to be back home too!

This year, my Uncle Jim traveled with me. It was nice and we chatted most of the time on the road. It really made the 7 1/2 hour trip go quickly.

I just got on the scales this morning and I’ve gained about 3 pounds. I’m going to work very hard this week to get them off before I go in to see the doctor again. I tried to be good, but didn’t try that hard. We had good food from day 1 to yesterday and I really enjoyed it!

I’m not quite done with my shopping and I hope to wrap that up this weekend (pun intended). I need to pick up some gift bags as I think that will be the easiest thing to do for most of the things I’ll give out.

Uncle Jim is coming down on Sunday and we’re going to be taking a trip to SC on Tuesday. I think we need to head back up on Saturday as I need to get back to my girls.

The trip was short but very enjoyable! I was able to see and spend some time with all my sisters and their families. I made sure that I had my camera with me, but I didn’t take any photos. There were several digital cameras about so I’m sure that some will be sent my way so that I can post them up.

My traveling isn’t over though. I’ll be heading over to Hanover, PA on Saturday and then it looks like I’ll be heading over to Philadelphia for the New Year’s Eve and Day.

I’m back to work today and while I’m waiting on the system to do some stuff, I thought I’d write a quick bit.

I wrote about John on January 2nd of 2007 stating that he was going through some rough times and that he was in critical condition. A few weeks later he’d improved quite a bit and we were all relieved to hear he was doing better. Now, a few months later, he’s gone.

The image shown here is of my Mom and John and was taken sometime in the 1990s. I think it may actually be a capture from a video. My mom died in 1997.

John apparently had a heart attack and probably died sometime on Saturday. I’ve not heard any more details, but my sister Karen was able to go to the funeral on Sunday.

Obituary from the Lumberton Newspaper

John William Small, 45, died Sept. 19, 2007, in Lumberton.

The funeral will be 3 p.m. Sunday at West Lumberton Baptist Church, the Rev. Glenn Grant officiating. Burial will follow in Floyd Memory Gardens in Lumberton.

Surviving are his parents, A.B. and Bonnie Coleman Small, both of Lumberton; a sister, Tammy Small Cox and her husband Ronnie, both of Lumberton; a nephew, Stevan Cox; and a niece, Kensley Cox.

Memorials may be made to Shriners Hospital for Children, 950 W. Faris Road, Greenville, S.C., 29605.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Floyd Mortuary & Crematory Inc. in Lumberton.