November 23, 2013

Hearing Friends

November 23, 2013

Today was COLD!  Cold for South Texas, anyway.  It was in the mid-40s here today.  The rain stopped during the night and the winds weren't too bad today.  There were times the winds picked up, but mostly they weren't a problem.  Part of the reason they weren't really a problem is that I was not out in them much.  I started the day by sleeping late!  Yea!  That doesn't happen often, but I was up late last night sewing. 

These immature Black-bellied whistling ducks were here early looking for a handout, wandering through some downed tree branches from last night's storm.

The birds were glad I took care of the feeders and the fountains.  Since it was so cold I was surprised to see so many of them on the fountains and waterfalls.  There were huge bunches of sparrows that quickly descended on the feeders as soon as I had filled them. 

After doing that, I returned to sewing.  I am working on a new project.  That doesn't mean the others are complete, but I needed a break.   I am having fun with this project with 1930s reproduction fabrics.  I have been collecting them for a while, waiting for just the right pattern for them. This is just blocks on the design wall.  I will probably add something additional to them.

This afternoon I went to a graveside service for a lady who passed away recently.  She was one of my teachers at church growing up.  She taught the mission class for the girls, called Girls' Auxiliary - GAs for short.  She was so kind and encouraging.  Her three children were all here for the service from scattered locations.  Their father passed away over 50 years ago and was buried here, so they wanted the burial for the mom to be here, too.  (She had moved away many years ago.)

The children are all grown with children of their own, and some with grandchildren.  We had grown up together in church activities.  The son and one daughter are older than I am, and I grew up looking up to them in our youth group.  One daughter is younger and she and one of my sisters were best friends growing up.  It was SO GOOD to be able to HEAR them all.  Hearing voices I had not heard in many years can be stressful.  Funny thing happened, the son came up and called me by name and started talking to me.  At first I wasn't sure who he was, and it was his voice I recognized.  That was so amazing to me since I have trouble recognizing voices most of the time.  The oldest daughter now looks so much like her mom did in years past, but also with her, I quickly recognized the voice.  It is hard to explain what that meant to me.   The youngest daughter's voice also was familiar sounding.   Now, if I had heard them on the phone, with no hint of who was calling, I doubt I could have guessed, but it was still so special to be able to converse with them and to put the voices with the faces.  The brother-in-law of one of the daughters was also there.  He and I had been friends and again, to hear and recognize the voice was a treat.  Since it was very cold, we did not stay for long visits, but I am so glad I went. 

The missions minister from our church led in the service and I thought because of the love the lady had for missions, it was a good choice.  I was able to hear all he said.  I can't understand why some days and some situations I hear better than others.  This evening our youngest son called and I heard him well - it was a little struggle, but I rarely had to ask him to repeat.  Then our oldest son called and I struggled with hearing him.  Later his wife called and I couldn't understand her at all.  So we reverted to the computer typing.

This afternoon after the service, I started sewing again while watching the Aggie football game on TV.  There were parts of it I didn't want to hear - they lost badly.  Then I spent time sorting and preparing candy for a project our Sunday school class does each year.  We prepare gift bags of candy, apples, small toys, etc. to go to children in Matamoros, Mexico in poverty areas.  One lady in the class does mission work over there and she will deliver then all.

 

It has been a busy weekend already and more to do tomorrow, but the day will include time of worship with friends and family at church, as we begin to really focus on the upcoming Thanksgiving week.  I have much to be thankful for this year!