Between my discomfort in the car and Tim’s “exhaustion” we were a pretty big mess. We found a starbucks in Raleigh (decaf for me and highly caffeinated for Tim) and got on our way to Tazewell to meet his grandparents. I adore Tim’s mom and was really looking forward to an afternoon with her.
We arrived in Tazewell exactly on time and I met his grandparents, his Aunt Peg, and his uncle. We were expecting pizza delivery (so his grandmother didn’t have to put herself out), but she instead cooked up a feast for us. We had country ham, mac and cheese, salad, creamed corn, cabbage, biscuits, and banana pudding (I know there was more, but I forget what it was). I was SHOCKED to see Tim eat the ham, but weeks later he’s still talking about it. We chatted for a bit and were surprised when his mom brought us some gifts to open! She knitted turner a beautiful baby blanket and also presented us with the blanket that Tim’s grandmother made for him when he was a baby. It is in such perfect condition I can hardly believe it is 37 years old!
She also gave us an AMAZINGLY beautiful rattle. Hand carved out of wood by an artist. It just goes to show how perfect Tim’s mom is. She really “gets” us and knew that a rattle made of beautiful wood would be so appreciated by us. I hate to let our little muffin get his hands on it and want to just display it, but if I know Eunice, she’ll want him to play with it.
We got to go on a tour of Tazewell and see all the places she had lived, the churches, schools and visited the Tazewell museum. Tim was starting to look a little funky at this point but didn’t want his mom to know and I was starting to melt as well. We went to a little park and ate early birthday rum cake (SO GOOD) and chatted before we had to drop off his mom for her three hour trip back to Knoxville.
By this time we headed out again on an hour long trip to his dad’s house in Narrows, VA. His dad’s house is like a vacation wonderland (I can imagine renting a house like this for a weekend in CA would be hundreds of dollars). We had a great dinner and snuggled into bed. Tim looked horrible at this point. In the morning after a night of me worrying and Tim groaning through the night, we took his temp and it was 102.6. I decided it was time to go to the hospital.
Long story short: We were told after blood tests and xrays that Tim either had a blood clot in his lung or pneumonia. After additional testing, we found out it was pneumonia, got some IV antibiotics and left.
It was a long day and with my pregnant self and Tim’s illness, we spent the rest of our vacation in bed.
The three hour drive back to Raleigh was tough. We were both pretty sick, but I got to finally stop at the Cracker Barrel and if I could have I would have just eaten their biscuits forever (how do they make them so fluffy and magical in the South?).
The plane ride home was the longest plane ride I’ve ever had. Tim was SO sick on the ride home and we had to switch positions for the first time in seven months. I was the caretaker and he was the patient. It was good to know I could buck up in times of need, but you better believe we both needed DAYS of rest after this trip.
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