Grateful

New Floors

Several months ago, the toilet overflowed in my mom’s bathroom. It was a mess. Even more so as the whole master bathroom area was carpeted. The restoration company came and ripped out a big swath of the carpet, cleaned out the water, sanitized the space, cut a hole out of the ceiling below, and set […]

Blessed Family Friend

Yesterday I went to visit our friend who would come play piano duets with my mom. I don’t think I had seen her since my mom’s funeral, though we talked on the phone a couple times. She asked about going to the cemetery, so we made the trip out there. On the way we stopped […]

Surprise Massage

I was excited to have booked a massage for today. My daughter-in-law-to-be knows just how to get my muscles loose and how to put me into a deep state of relaxation. When it came time to pay, she said it was taken care of already. A friend of mine and her sister had decided to […]

The Big Switcheroo

Yesterday my brother and I vacated the cabin and came to the city. At the same time, my son and his wife went to the cabin for a little getaway to celebrate their anniversary. Also yesterday my brother in law flew out to be with my sister after having completed everything that needed to be […]

Back Outside

After a rainy day yesterday, I was happy to see the sun shining this morning. I was still at the cabin, which makes it even more beautiful. After breakfast, my brother and I went out and did a little work on the gravel driveway. There were some pretty deep ruts that the rain had worsened, […]

Getting Stronger

I went outside this afternoon and was somewhat surprised to see my neighbor out walking. I had not seen her in a couple weeks, but had seen her husband who said she was slowly recovering from her surgery. She reported that she started in home therapy today and introduced the physical therapist that she was […]

Simple Beauty

As part of my new routine, I have decided to walk every day. This evening I walked as the sun was low in the sky. The Black-eyed Susans, which look like mini sunflowers, grow wild in the fields and were in full bloom running right along the sidewalk. As I was enjoying them I caught […]

Supportive Relationships

Recently there have been some situations that I have really been struggling with. I was blessed today to meet with my counselor, visit with a friend and priest, and pray with my prayer group. I didn’t really intend for that all to be on the same day, but that’s what happened. I guess God knew […]

Best at the Time

I still struggle with thoughts that I could have done better for my mom and my dad. Today, a friend sent me a reflection that said in part: I have acted in the best way I could at a given time, and many times it was more than anyone could reasonably expect. In fact, some […]

New Headstone

Last night I suddenly became aware that I hadn’t been to the cemetery since the day after my mom was buried. And that was about 6 weeks ago. She was buried with my dad at the National Cemetery. The original headstone for my dad was removed and a temporary placard was in it’s place. I […]