Oh my god, what a long trip this has been.  We started by leaving the house at about 10:30 yesterday morning, and had lunch at Gordon Biersch at the airport.  We then went to meet Alison and her family, and give her the key to Wayne’s car.  Alison is watching the house for us until the 5th (the whole family is here while her husband is training).  She actually said that my cats were beautiful and sweet and attentive.

I wonder if she got the wrong house.

Grant will start on the 6th until our return on the 16th.  In the meantime, wheels are turning, brains are churning (well, mine) as we start out on this trip.  The Judge in our CASA case amended her findings of fact, and made them more in alignment with In re: AS, which means we don’t have an argument.  We emailed back and forth quite a bit over the course of the day today, and it looks like we are retracting the appeal.  It was a gut wrenching decision, but I couldn’t see the practicality of moving forward - the program needs to maintain its credibility, as do its attorneys.  Insert sad face here.

Anyway, here we are in Kentucky!  And don’t even ask me to describe the leap in logic it took for me to go from court to Kentucky.  You don’t want to know.

Our first flight was to LAX, and we were scheduled for a roughly two hour layover.  We were upgraded on the Houston leg, so we felt it wouldn’t be too bad.  Unfortunately, our flight attendants were coming over from another flight, where they had to take care of a passenger (who knows what the emergency was), so we departed quite a bit late, but made up time in the air.  We arrived at Houston, got to take a shower in the United Club, and had some breakfast before heading to B terminal.  There, our flight was delayed again because of problems at the point of origin.  I wasn’t too worried, after all, Faye’s retirement ceremony was scheduled for 3:30 pm.  And we got in to Louisville in plenty of time, checking into the visiting quarters, grabbing a hasty lunch, and prepping for attending her ceremony.

There was a lovely detailing of the ceremony as a whole in the program you see to the left.  And it mostly followed the schedule.  Except for the fact that the retirement party was preceded by a bagpiper both at the beginning and the end of the ceremony!  Amazing gift that her colleagues shared with her.  Plus the Army Band.  How much more could a girl want? Her host of the ceremony knew her so well, and coordinated his commentary with so very many of those she has touched in her past.  I can honestly say, with no hesitation, Faye Brown is a woman of integrity, precision, and love.  And it flowed back at her 1000 fold today at the ceremony.  I was really just so happy to be able to be here to share in it, and both Wayne and I were surprised to be recognized, but certainly not overly so.  Faye touches everyone with her heart.  It was particularly heartwarming to see so many of her family here at the ceremony today, and to see the cadre of professionals who came forward to pay their respect and show their love and support.

After the ceremony, we were all brought in to a dinner where there was a partial roast by hubby, Skipper (aka Roger Brown), and a bit more from all others who came forward to speak.  I think Faye’s day was a lovely day, and it’s one that I will remember for a very, very long time.  

Wayne and I left at about 7, and had a nice stroll around Fort Knox for about an hour in order to finally get our ducks in a row and get some sleep.  He certainly got his fair share last night and today on the plane rides, but I had a rough night of it.  The turbulence we experienced influenced my dreams, I think, and caused me some unpleasant dreams.  At one point, I think I woke up with a bit of a scream coming out of my throat.  Not reassuring to others, I am sure.

Tomorrow looks like it brings the zoo and perhaps a bourbon tasting session, but definitely lunch at a place called Mussel and Burger Bar.  I can’t wait to see what it brings.

Night, y’all!