Time to say Good-Bye

Celebrating his 95th Bithday

I'll be making a solitary journey tomorrow to the plains.   Pappy passed away last week and we will celebrate his life with a memorial service in Lubbock on Saturday.  He was cremated and we plan to scatter his remains in a canyon where many stories of his youthful days occurred.  Sister has been left to follow through on the plans we made for him several months ago.  My heart aches as she struggles to sort through details that would normally fall automatically into place. Brother is named executor of the estate, so my work is done.  I will be alone in the car with my thoughts.  Ol' Abner and Son will travel with Grandson and his girlfriend on Friday to join me. Daughter and her family will come in late Friday.  

I feel the need to be there now.  I'll tell you more about the man we have lost later. Cheers!

Bad Story

Have you ever felt as though you fell short through no fault but your own?  I did that this weekend.  Several weeks ago, I was approached by our church matriarch.  She requested that I tell my story at our annual women's retreat.  MY story...MYYYYYY story, not much to tell, but she seemed to think younger women in our church could benefit from hearing...yes MY story! I asked the question and she assured me a few short minutes was really all that was expected, not a sermon, just a few words.  I moved it to the back of my brain, it was several weeks away and I'd give it some thought when the time was nearer.

A couple of days before the event, I attempted to pull some thoughts together, wondering if I could think clearly long enough to articulate my story in a manner worth hearing. My plan included quoting relevant scripture proved true throughout my life. The morning came to go; I was packed and ready to load the car. I knew the verses I wanted to use, but wasn't sure of the exact location. No problem my procrastinating brain offered, I pulled out my Kindle to be sure it was charged and ready.  It was not, in fact it was totally dead.  Plan B, grab the heavy edition of my NIV study Bible. It went in the bag and I quickly tried to get a beginning charge on my electronic version. As we began our journey, no opportunity presented to compile the notes I would need.

That evening as the activities wound down, I escaped to my room to jot down a few notes. Ten minutes or so should be sufficient to locate the passages I needed. Perhaps my memory was from the KJV Bible, or perhaps my memory was seriously flawed.  I could not locate the verses I craved.  As ladies stopped in to visit, I casually inquired if they knew where to find various scripture, but my search was in vain.  

The morning came and I was forced to open my remarks with an apology for poor preparation. I admitted that no scripture would be quoted verbatim.  I launched into my rather disjointed story and knew that relevant verses should be bookmarking each event.  At the end of my talk I shared the experience of Ol' Abner's transplant.  

Afterward, several told me they had enjoyed my story, and one woman approached me to say her twelve year old daughter had died in a terrible accident four years prior.  She said they had never heard from any of the recipients and my story had given her comfort. A story badly told sometimes has favorable results. I was later introduced to a woman whose husband suffers from the same condition as Ol' Abner.  He is being evaluated for transplant and they are working through the doubts about this course of action. I wish I had prepared better. 

Setting Sail...FINALLY!

Beware of flying pigs! Inhabitants of the underworld should watch for icicles forming in plain sight! Ol' Abner has been booked for a cruise.  Of course, I'm going along, too. That is not part of the miracle, I've been planning this trip in some variation for twenty years or more. Three good friends, two women and one man, with a history as playmates can be traced to Ol' Abners elementary school days.  One of the women graduated high school with him and the other man and woman graduated the following year.  All three of their spouses have been following the same script for years.  Finally, these stubborn Westerner's realize the time has come.

We gathered over the past weekend and set our plan.  Excitement has been burning the phone lines, social media, and internet. We'll enjoy a four day tour of Denali National Park in Alaska, followed by a seven day southbound cruise. Two couples have never cruised, and the other shares our experience, one has cruised, one not! With my limited (only one cruise) expertise, I relied on a wonderful travel agent.  Ol' Abner is looking forward to the beautiful scenery, but finds stories of giant mosquitos a bit forbidding.  I'll stock up on insect repellent before we go!

It's Getting Tedious!

Our days are full and it seems lately that every single weekend involves a major event or several little gatherings.  We should both be participating in regular exercise, yet the trip to the curb with the trash and recycle receptacles seem to be the extent of our fitness activity. Aging creates it's own new set of responsibilities.  I recently completed my annual check-up series with all the usual driving around to specialty facilities for preventive evaluation. Who has time for illness? It seems a full time endeavor just staying on top of the little things that might go wrong with teeth, eyes, hearing and of course "let's take a look at that skin tag". Ol' Abner still has ongoing levels of multi-level body check-ups, but he's better at this invasion than I. He's several years ahead of me in body degeneration skills.  A transplanted organ further heightens his medical staff's vigilance.

Now I realize this tedious discussion of medical visits doesn't sound like a busy social calendar.  It just complicates the scheduling of things more fun. We spent two days of eating to celebrate our wedding anniversary (so many choices, we found it necessary to indulge several times) Daughter had a birthday this month and Ol' Abner will celebrate a milestone year next month.  The day prior to his birthday will be my Pappy's 95th, and sister has declared it should be celebrated in his new assisted living accommodations. Our February began with a trip to Houston, with the news that a return will be necessary soon.  Trying to find a weekend suitable for celebrating Ol' Abner's birthday, given that Pappy is several hundred miles away, has involved a struggle. The Friday and Saturday before are already committed for me elsewhere off in South Texas. Daughter and her family cannot come on the Sunday before. Four other couples from Transplant City are attempting to coordinate a dinner get-together. Three of them live near the Capital City of Texas, while the fourth will be traveling to or from Houston from the capital of that state across the Red River. I have been charged with locating a restaurant in a central Austin location where ten people can be seated and allowed to visit for an extended evening. It's not so difficult, I have made the arrangements twice only to change locations and times, and now we have been forced to postpone again. We will meet with three couples from the past this weekend to plan a cruise later in the year. These are people we enjoy and the weekend is happily anticipated, but we have work to do.  That groundhog may have determined that we will have six more weeks of winter, but I can foresee at least six more weeks of constant movement here. Of course, we'll need to make a trip to Houston when they call, there's always that!

Shop!

Why is the love of shopping considered a female trait?  I'm female and I cannot say I truly love shopping.  Well on Black Friday, I do. It's not so much the "shopping" that I enjoy as opening the gate for Christmas shopping.  I may be the only human stubbornly waiting until the day after Thanksgiving to purchase that first precious gift. That experience has always been more about the excitement of the crowds, the special offers in every store, and the hunt through a temporary obstacle course.  I prefer to shop only when I have a specific need to make a purchase.  In fact, since the new year has begun, I have purchased nothing except groceries. My house would certainly benefit from some reverse shopping i.e. donating huge volumes of "stuff", or a garage sale to sell huge volumes of other "stuff".

At our house, the man is the true shopper!  Ol' Abner has purchased everything from dog treats to tools, shoes and oh yes, a car. His playhouse is delightfully full, so full that the latest car must be stored at son's house until he can do a little rearranging. For that purpose, he just finished assembling his car-moving dolly (after all, it was on sale).  If you doubt a man's love of shopping, just turn on the Barrett-Jackson Auction on television and watch him be instantly mesmerized. I have never enjoyed the Home Shopping Network, but the ultimate version of the same is the multi-day parade across the screen of collector cars.  A friend was able to attend the actual event a couple of years ago. Just hearing him recount his day in the bidding box had my man drooling.

I'm thinking I need to start the hunt for my next cruise.  He's finally agreed to go, so I better get it booked now!  That's shopping I can enjoy.  

Too cold, too sweet!

What is it about cold weather that sends the appetite for indulgent foods into a frenzy? Luckily I don't keep many of those temptations in the house.  Never fear, this old bird is resourceful. As temperatures dropped I snuggled under my new warm blanket in the recliner in front of a good movie. Ol' Abner came in and watched for a minute, then headed for the kitchen to prepare some chips and queso.  I resisted.  He ate a sugar free popsicle after that. I declined. Hot coffee was all I needed and since I like it black and unsweetened, my self righteousness was intact!  Key word here, WAS..! Movie ended and I decided a nice glass of peppery syrah with some high cacao chocolate would be a soothing way to finish off the afternoon. We had a couple of little rib-eye steaks thawed but it was too cold to spend anytime on the patio.  I cooked them on the stove top griddle, along with some potatoes, onions and peppers.  Ol' Abner loves an iceberg wedge with all the goodies piled on top.  I prefer a tossed romaine.  Still feeling somewhat righteous, I added some of his bacon and cheese to my salad...a few olives couldn't hurt the result either. No bread for us, we are watching our calorie intake!  A little more of that nice syrah, and I was set for the evening...NOT.  In my search of the extra fridge, I noticed a half container of pistachio gelato. My mind's eye kept reviewing it's positon...thinking it would probably have freezer burn by now. It didn't.  I probably saved it just a few minutes shy of the dread slimy freezer scum.  It was quite tasty. A few chocolate chip cookies (found in the back of the pantry, soon to be stale) followed.  Another glass of wine and I slept well, but the next day I felt the need to overload on carbohydrates.  No resistance there...today I must pay the piper.  No treats for me!