3 weeks in OK, 5 months ago

I was planning on skipping over Oklahoma in my blogging, but I got to typing and just couldn't.

What I left off of the end of the last post is that on my way to the Bilbao airport to catch my flight to Oklahoma, I broke my ankle! I was going down the stairs in Bryan's apartment building, and I was in too much of a hurry and carrying too many things to worry about hitting the light switch. Big mistake. I fell, and more worried about the wine bottles in my suitcase breaking, I didn't think fast enough to fall in a more graceful position. My ankle was smashed into the corner of one of the steps. I had left my keys upstairs where everyone was sleeping, and I had a flight to catch, so I figured I'd just duke out the pain.

Worst. Travel. Experience. Ever.

Twenty-four long hours of travel on three different planes. Twice, I had to get off the plane, wait for and recheck my baggage, and then wait several hours for the next segment of my flight. All with a throbbing leg on which I hobbled as little as possible. When I got to Dallas, I called Mom to give her an update and make sure there'd be someone to pick me up in OKC. When I arrived in OKC, Monica, Meredith, Mom, and Malory (too many M's!) were waiting for me. Seeing my pain, they found me a wheel chair and we had several giggles as they took turns wheeling me through the airport.

pushed by my niece, Malory

It was great to be home, but it sucked to be in pain. I thought I'd wait a few days to see if it was only a bad sprain, but when it didn't seem to be improving, we went to the doctor for an x-ray. There was a hairline fracture on the cuboid bone, and they assigned me to wear a walking boot-cast for 4 weeks. The boot, though bulky, kept me from moving the ankle, so it was actually a lot easier to walk with it, but it was still a little difficult to get around.

I was able to spend quality time with my whole family. The younguns were bigger and knew more words. Malory was just as sassy as ever. I bought a new and less grabbable camera, so I was able to document some. Mark was also in town, so it was cool to see him again and hear about life as a 14-year-old.

Me with all my nieces and nephews: (L2R) Mark, Ashlyn, Weston, Malory, and Presley

I got to see a lot of Mom and Meredith. At some point, Cambria, Kendra, and Lacey from OBU, drove to Moore to visit me, and it was great to catch up. I also saw several friends from church who I'd missed. Mere got to show me off to her work buddies, and we went to the Mont with Becca. I'm sure there's much more, but after all, this was five months ago.

The highlight of the trip was spending the 4th of July with my family in Springfield, MO, where Val and Jamie live. We went out for creps, saw the "Guggenheim of Springfield" AKA the Bass Pro Shop, chased chickens, tracked down a watering hole, lit up fireworks, and many other shenanigans. On the night of the 4th, we went to watch the fireworks, and we made complete fools out of ourselves, on purpose, which is the best way to make a fool out of oneself, by oo-ing and aw-ing at each firework, among several other utterances.

Malory in the top middle, then L2R Monica, Meredith, and Valerie

The four of us agree that there's no one who makes us laugh more than each other.

Soon after the 4th, it was time to head back to Spain. This time, I had a walking boot-cast to help me out. I didn't have to recheck my baggage a single time, and I slept the entire trip from Chicago to Frankfurt, waking just in time for breakfast, thanks to two little presents from the best grandma ever.

Best. Travel. Experience. Ever.

My friend Alberto picked me up at the airport, and I ended up spending the night with him since I couldn't get into Bryan's house. More about adventures with Alberto in the next post.