My Dad

My Dad fell and hit his head on a Monday at about 8:30 AM. He died Tuesday night around midnight. I had a terrific cold...coughing, sneezing, runny nose. Monday morning when I called the nurse answered and told me he had cut his head but otherwise was doing fine. I talked to him an hour later. He said he was not feeling very good. He had a terrific headache. I asked him if he had taken anything for it. He said he didn't know. I checked with the nurse and she said she had not but she would go give him some tylenol. Little did I know that would be my last conversation with him. Later that day he was walking his dog and took another fall. I packed a bag to go and stay the night in his apartment with him. When I arrived I was told he had been sent to the ER. Upon arrival at the hospital I was escorted to a "consult room"...not a good sign. Dad was in a deep coma and the remaining conversations that I had with him were one-sided. Yes, I know he was 90 years old and had lived a long life...but he was my Dad. I know he was up and going before his latest fall. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner with his granddauhter and four great grandchildren. He joined in the conversation and was not even anxious about getting home to his apartment. I miss him very much. I am so thankful that his last year he was only 30 some miles away compared to the 950 miles he had been for the last 25 years. We had so many opportunities to be together this past year. I wake up every morning ready to pick up the telephone and check up with him. I will miss him for a long time. I am glad we always ended our conversations with "I love you".

Pity Party

Today would be my 42nd wedding anniversary. I seem to be the only person in the world that remembers it. I just discussed at our grief support meeting that we allow ourselves to get depressed about things. If we would not dwell on certain facts and think about more positive things it would be better for us. I just remember the excitement of that day and the knowledge that we were going to be together for the rest of our lives. Sometimes it is difficult to think through all the scenarios that enter our lives. It was a great 28 years before he was "taken home". I am ever so grateful that God put him in my life. As a result of him in my life I have a wonderful daughter, son-in-law, two granddaughters and two grandsons. What blessings they are in my life. Now I will stop the pity party, close this post and think about how much God has done for me.

Ancestors

Okay so I've succomed to the advertisements on TV...I've gone to ancestry.com. I have found all kinds of documents of interest to me. I have a copy of my grandfather's World War I registration card from 1917-1918. I have seen a census when my mother was three years old. I have found a lot of information on my paternal great-grandmother. I have found her on another tree from someone in Michican and from someone in California, as well as two others from I don't know where. I have heard back from the person in Michigan saying it was through Issac Shoemaker which was my grandmother's brother. Dad and I were talking and he reminded me that Bud Abbott (and Lou Costello) was related to us. That may be the connection with the person from California. Time will tell if I can find the connection. I have not looked up information on my Dad yet. I will attempt that today and see what I can find to share with him.

You Make My Heart Smile

I was informed the other day that I have not posted in a long time. I checked and it has been over a month. Where have I been? Nowhere and everywhere! I have been spending time with my precious grandchildren and daughter as well as my Dad. I have princes and princesses playing at my house. I am amazed at their imaginations. Some days they have completely different names. Some names I have never heard of before. It must be the language from some imaginary place they are visiting. The youngest (6 Months) is now down on the floor with them... crawling around, sitting up, trying to pull himself up. being an obstacle for all the travels from kingdom to kingdom going on. What a delightful way to go nowhere and to be everywhere with them. As Apple said to me the other day when she kissed me good-by to go home to rest..."I love you GB. You make my heart smile." Yes, but my heart is smiling, too.

Questions For the Very Wise

Traveling back and forth to Columbia to visit my Dad is becoming a routine activity in my life. Try taking grandchildren with you and the drive becomes much more fun. GB has to watch for the llamas and "tell me when we are close so I can find them, too". We watch for deer, wild turkeys, wild birds(?), stunks(this is not a mispelling this is how all 3 pronounce skunk),cows, and horses to name a few. AND we answer endless questions. GB, should girls marry cousins or friends? GB, is so and so a good boy? Why are you planning on marrying him? NOOO, I am marrying Samuel. GB, are you a girl or a boy? GB, did you bring any snacks? Did you run over a stunk...I smell one that has been runned over? Are we going the right direction...the map says we should be going left? Look at that cloud does it look like a ...? I think my daughter feels I cannot drive safely anymore. (I made one mistake looking at something once while she was in the car with me and I think she feels I have gone senile.) As my grandchildren tell me "everybody makes mistakes sometimes". I know what very precious cargo I have with me and I pay very close attention when they are with me. Always be prepared to answer the unexpected, however. Grandchildren keep you on your toes.

Traveling

My sister and sister-in-law left for Ireland yesterday... a three week cruise. I spent the day at church and with my family. Great messages and great time to spend with all the third through fifth graders in my class. They are responding so well to this curriculum. They seem to like being "time travelers". Monday I got to spend time with three grandchildren while one got to travel to storytime at the library with Mommy. The girls and I did a craft project together. We made a mosaic picture with craft "fusion". Today I kept the two boys while the girls traveled to storytime with Mommy. "Speep" and I did his first finger painting during this time. He created quite the masterpiece. I also got to travel to Columbia to help find my Dad's dog "Jackson" that pulled the leash out of dad's hand this morning. He was picked up by animal control officers and we had to pay twenty-five dollars to get him back. I don't think Jackson enjoyed his travels since it was 97 degrees today with a heat index of 105 degrees. I doubt that animal control vehichles have a lot of air conditioning in the back. I may not be traveling overseasbut I bet I am having just as much fun (maybe more) than they are. Enjoy your travel time where ever it may be.

Reflections on Life

I have been thinking about all the phases one goes through during a lifetime... I've been through a few. I am in the reflection stage right now. What have you been doing with your life GB? When you are young you don't take the time to think about things you just GO...GO...GO! My oldest granddaughter told me that an exclamation point means in an excited way. (She came running over to tell me that she had seen a beautiful black and white and yellow butterfly - exclamation mark.) Kids work so hard at playing that it is a full time job. Teenagers are just into themselves... they don't have time to reflect on anyone except themselves. Unfortunately some never grow out of that stage. Young adults are caught between trying to think about others and themselves. What should I do with my life. I am suppose to have goals and objectives. Then there is the young married life... wrapped up in each other. Wow, that was a great time. After that comes the children... could you be any happier? But that sure puts a change in your lifestyle, doesn't it? Now you barely have time to think of yourself. I only had one child to nuture, I don't know how one keeps up with multiple children. It keeps you running all the time. Retirement comes along...it's not supposed to be by yourself but that was what was in God's plan for you. The greatest part of this time is the time you get to spend with your child(ren) and those precious grandchildren. You have the time to just spend the time with whatever they want to do... well, within certain parameters. You realize how quickly life passes by and you need to pay attention to what is happening around you. Life is good... thank you God, for all the blessings you pass on to us.

My Step-Brother Twice Removed

I have a step-brother who is the step-son of my step-mother... get the connection? Skip has always introduced my Dad as his step-father twice removed so it just followed my sister, brother and I were introduced as stated above. Skip is eleven years older than me. He has lived in Montoursville, PA most of his married life. After losing his "Mom" in September a month later his wife died. They had celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary a few years ago. Skip came out to visit Dad today. Well, not just Dad. His Grandson graduated from college last week-end and then he visited his daughter and her family who live in Peoria, IL and then came to St. Louis county to visit his son Cliff. Skip and Cliff came to see TigerPlace today. They were impressed. Dad had a good time showing it off. They walked all around the interior and exterior of the building. Dad told them, "Now you understand why I am not homesick for Pennsylvania". His memory loss was quite apparent while they were there today but all in all their visit was good. God is so good. It is great to be able to visit face to face with Dad rather than just talking to him on the telephone.

Just Can't Come Up With Those Cute Titles

Try as I might I just don't seem to have the creativity necessary to come up with those catchy titles everyone else seems to come by I am guessing easily. That is not my only problem but I just go through life as if I know what I am doing. I have not been in contact with many of you because I seem to be able to receive e-mail but cannot send any. I have read the troubleshooting information but when I go through the steps I don't seem to get anywhere.
I am facilitating a grief support group for ecumenical ministries. This is a wonderful group of ladies who have come so far in the time I have known them. We have new people starting all the time. We had a new person join the group last night. In sharing stories with her one person talked about cleaning her windshield while getting fuel. In the process the windshield wiper came off in her hand. She said she drove to her son's house for assistance...he wasn't home but her grandson assured her that he could fix it. He tried but couldn't quite get it. She drove on home and her neighbor was out in the yard. He came over and fixed it for her. She said a year ago faced with that scenario she would have just gone straight home gone into the house and stood there and screamed at the top of her lungs. See we can cope with God's help. (I'll eventually figure out what is going on with this computer)
Another thought that was shared last night was regarding an article that someone in the group had read. It was entitled "Are you just filling the day or living a life?" Isn't that a great question. Hopefully we are all doing more than just filling our day. I have so much to be thankful for. I remember telling my daughter after my husband died..."Please, don't let me turn into a bitter old woman". She is helping me by keeping me entertained with my wonderful grandchildren "Peach", "Pumpkin", "Speep", and "Buddy" (all nicknames subject to change at any time). Today we made brownies, blew bubbles, drew, pictures, caught bugs, watered plants, ate brownies ...just to name some of our activities.

Mothers

Mother's Day has come to an end...also my husband's bithday. It was a very good day. It started with a telephone call from my granddaughter wishing me a "Happy Mother's Day". Later everyone met at church. Two of my grandchildren sang with their Sunday School group in church. That age group is just so cute. I will be looking forward to "A Girls' Night Out" with my daughter ( she is awesome as a daughter and a mother) and her mother-in-law ( the pastor's wife and good friend). Of course, two little ones insisted they were girls, too. I doubt that mother will consider them old enough to go with us.
The Mother's Day banquet at church was excellent. Excellent food and camaraderie. The decorations were great and the program had musch to say to mothers and grandmothers alike. Thanks for your thoughts and words of inspiration, "Oh Great Speaker". Our chef had a great meal as usual. It is so much better than going to a restaurant.

A Good Day

What a day...it was beautiful today. Not only weather wise but that I got to have special time with each of my grandchildren as well as my daughter. We did not do anything special but play, did some craft projects (everyone has a new crown), and had lunch together. We read several books together. I have one that will be reading to me soon instead of vice versa.
We all were all at evening services tonight. It was a very good sermon that gave you much food for thought. God is giving the associate pastor (my son-in-law) some really good topics to pass on to the congregation. We do need to dwell on the higher ground. It can be so tempting to fall into the pattern of the world.
Tomorrow I will spend part of he day with my Dad... ninety years old and going strong. He just has problems with his memory. It is so good to have him so close now that whenever you can hop into the vehicle and see him within thirty-five minutes. It is so good to watch him with his great-grandchildren. It is so nice to see their relationship growing. He may not always remeber their names or even that they have been there... but they will remember him. It used to be that they only got to see him once a year since traveling 1000 miles with small children is no easy matter.

Second Attempt

Well, here I am trying to do this again. I have had two responses that my first message was in a another language. I said in my first blog that I could not believe that I was actually trying to write one of these. I might have to re-think this if this one does not work correctly.
First of all I had to repair my internet access before I could even do this. I have been off-line for ten days. I was waiting for someone to help me but I finally decided I would research and try to do it myself. Did you know that some laptops have a switch on the side of the computer that turns off access to the wireless network? Well, I certainly didn't. That just goes to show that cute little blond haired, blue-eyed boys are smarter than me about some things. Well, I know how to turn it back on now.
I also decided that you didn't need all the personal information in this since I am sending it to people who have already heard all that. I'll keep this one short until I find out if anyone can read it.