January 4, 2015

Sweet Sunday Afternoon

January 4, 2015

 

 

Mom is 91, her great granddaughter is 11.  They sure do love each other!

Had a nice morning at the house before leaving for Sunday School.  We had a good bunch in class, but a few were out of town or unable to be there.  I left a little early to go pick Mom up for church.  When I arrived at her house, she was dressed for church and just finishing breakfast, but said she was feeling a little shaky.  We talked about it a bit and decided it would be wisest for her to stay home today.  She hated to miss and church is the high point of her week, but it seemed the best decision.  I told her I would check on her after church.  Her helper was ready to leave for her church service and offered to stay, but we both told her she could go on. 

Our church service was very good.  As the music director told us, it would be the best sermon we had heard all year (the 4-day old year).  He was correct, and despite his joke, it really was a very good sermon.  Two of the grandchildren and my daughter-in-law sat with me in church.  Ron usually works in the vestibule during the service, Jeff happened to be helping on the sound board today as his oldest son does most Sundays.  The second oldest grandson helps in children's church, the oldest granddaughter attends children's church, and the youngest two were in extended care.

After church Barb and I discussed lunch plans and I asked her to call Mom and see if she was up to having us all bring lunch to her house.  Mom was delighted and had been trying to send me a message to  tell us to do just that. 

Barb picked up Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Ron and I came to the house and gathered Dr. Peppers, cookies I baked last night, ice cream, and some things I had bought for Jeff and one of the kids a few days ago.

Plain Chachalacas (3 in photo)

Jeff took most of the children and went on to Mom's.  Barb arrived right ahead of us and we took all the food in and set up for lunch.  Everyone had a great time.  Our grandchildren love to be at Mom's house.  She has a toy closet and a pool table.  What more could kids want?  She had a new toy that kept several of the kids fascinated.  The back yard was full of Chachalacas and some Green Jays.  The helper said she had seen a fox in the yard earlier.  What a wonderful yard.  A fox?  I asked Jeff and he said yes, there is a huge natural area just a couple of blocks away.  We will be on the lookout!

If you are not from this area, you may never have seen or heard of a Plain Chachalaca.  They are about 22" long, gray and brownish.  They are fast runners.  They fly, but spend a lot of time on the ground or jumping about into trees and bushes.  They were raiding Mom's bird feeders.  There has been a nice sized flock of them around her yard the last few days.  Basically the only place in the United Station you will see them is in this part of deep south Texas.  They are very noisy!  In fact, one of my bird books says they are secretive, but highly vocal.

We greatly enjoyed the meal, the visiting, the laughter, and the family time.  There is always so much to catch up on when we are together.  Jeff and Barb continue their house hunting and showed Mom pictures of the houses they are currently considering.  We had the cookies I had made last night, some brownies Mom had made and some ice cream.

Ron kept falling asleep on the couch after lunch, so I finally decided to bring him home, except he needed me to take him by the office first and then by his mom's house.  We picked up a bag of ice on the way home and he headed off to rest or sleep - not sure which.

Hearing at the table continues to be a challenge, but was better today.  Maybe the arrangement of Mom's layout of the kitchen/dining room/family room area helps.  I did miss several of the funny stories, but some of that had to do with distractions.

When Mom's helper, Carmen, came back, Carmen had a real scare.  She arrived out front and saw all the cars, and knowing Mom wasn't feeling great when she left was so afraid something had happened.  So sorry we scared her.  She soon had her lunch from the abundance of food we still had left.  Carmen is so fond of Mom and Mom really likes her.  We are so thankful for God's provision of Carmen's help caring for Mom.

Oh, Ron was sharing one story at lunch about me and my hearing.  Often as I head to bed or to take a bath, I will think of something I need to tell Ron.  I will have already taken off my sound processor, so I will go in his study and tell him I need to tell him something, but that I won't be able to hear his comments because I took off the processor.  He says that is not fair.  He can't get his 2 cents in.  I have to have some advantages in this situation of deafness.