Stuff (life) just keeps happening and does not seem to slow
down. Good things. Bad things. But too much at once. And lots of zucchini to cope with.
VBS came and went with little effort on my part but much
enjoyment with grandkids in the house.
Elijah was at our village church three Sundays recently, and I loved
hearing him sing. I loved having him and
Brianna with us as we studied Job in Young Adult Class. (And it was fun having Mary Ellen visit last
Sunday too, and then really nice to have her invite us all to lunch!)
The day before I had a wonderful unexpected treat when my
brother Jim and wife Vivian come down from Mattoon .
Frankly, they have had serious health problems that have made me wonder if
they’d be able to come for awhile. But
Vivian’s sister in nearby Vienna
was celebrating her 80th birthday, and they came down for the family
get-together there despite the tight medicine schedule they have to keep for
the time being. Jim called me the night
before, and Katherine insisted I leave for an afternoon break so I could see
them when they dropped by the farm on their way home.
Adding to our pleasure was finding out their daughters Judi
and Jane (Beth) were with them. I
relaxed thinking one of the daughters could drive if Jim got tired—but he left the
farm in the driver’s seat. Come to find
out when I called him today for his 85th birthday, he drove all the
way down (with a traffic jam that slowed them considerably in Marion ) as well as all the way home. Although Jane would have been glad to drive,
he enjoyed making the long drive. I do
not think I could not make that trip
there and back in one day. And with
Katherine so sick, I haven’t tried to go up for an overnight visit as I used to
do. So it had been much too long since I
had seen them, and I was very grateful for their visit. Elijah and Brianna came in while they were
here, and I liked that they were able to see relatives they had not seen in
years. Vivian was especially pleased to
see Elijah because he received the first of many many baby blankets she has
made down through the years including ones for all of our grandchildren after
Elijah.
Another joy has been having Gerry and Vickie in the house yesterday
and today. They came by way of Dallas where Gerry had
helped in a softball clinic that our granddaughter Erin was having there. Then
they had driven all night and stopped at the farm for some sleep before coming
over and joining Mary Ellen and me at the hospital in Carbondale , where Gerald was having a
pacemaker implanted. They had to return
to Georgia
this afternoon, but Gerry retrieved his dad from the hospital this morning and
took him to breakfast at Cracker Barrel. I had a mite of trouble the first time
I saw Gerald in a hospital gown before the procedure, but he looked the picture
of health, and I felt confident that all would go extremely well and it did.
He had never spent a night in the hospital during our
marriage, and I’d planned to spend the night with him although I figured he
would protest. However, it turned out
that he was in a large ward with very
tight quarters, and they would not allow anyone to stay in there through the
night. I saw no point in trying to sleep on a
hard chair in a waiting room. So
I carried out the little bag I had
packed with a tooth brush and meds and came on home at the close of visiting
hours. It had been rewarding to watch the screen above his bed recording
dots every time the pacemaker helped his heart rhythm. We have to appreciate the modern miracles
that researchers and physicians have created for us. I have a feeling Gerald
will have more energy than ever now despite the fact that he already works more
than anyone his age ought to in his wife’s opinion. The big worry now is how we
will keep him following the doctor’s orders until the pacemaker settles in and
the incision heals.
Before this, Gerald has
been busy mowing the yard since he is not supposed to do so now for awhile and getting his garden in shape
and picking zucchini. On top of that, he
has been getting estimates and talking to insurance folk because last Friday I
needed to go to Herrin on an errand and I stopped by to leave zucchini and to
share a few Union County peaches that Bill Tweedy has brought us. I invited
Mary Ellen to go with me as I thought it
might give her a needed break from all the hard work they are involved in right
now with crops and kids and moving stuff down from Waggoner. Mary Ellen is an excellent driver and likes
to drive, and we followed our usual pattern of my handing her the car keys.
Just as I expected, we were having a good time talking and
laughing, when suddenly as we were driving along on the main street of Energy
we were rear ended with great force. I
never understood why, but a man had rammed into us. (The policeman said this
has kept happening but the man kept passing his driver’s exam and he did have
insurance. We sure hope.) We were shook up both physically and
emotionally, but we knew we came out of it with a minimum of damage considering
the jar we had. Dark bruises show where
my seat belt saved me from serious injury.
Otherwise, Mary Ellen and I were ok, and the car can be fixed.
Before Gerry and Vickie had to leave today, For our lunch I
made a zucchini casserole for a veggie to go with out baked pork chops and
instant mashed potatoes. I’d been
wanting to make a peach pie with the peaches so I did that for dessert.and used sweetener
instead of sugar as a welcome home gesture for Gerald. It was successful.
All in all, there is just too much going on right now and I must
take a break from blogging. I process
life by writing, and it is both relaxing and distracting for me to keep from
thinking of problems I cannot control.
All my life when I see something beautiful, I have wished I were an
artist and able to capture it permanently on paper. Instead I have to use words to try to make transient things
more permanent. But right now, maybe I need to save that writing time for more
important things. Maybe I should be the
one to start picking the zucchini.
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