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Incredibly Grateful

Posted by eph21920 on May 7, 2024 in Birthday, Connected, Family, Food, Friends, Fun, Generosity, Grateful, Love

As I have been sharing my mom’s birthday celebration with others and reflecting on the past few days, I find myself incredibly grateful. First and foremost, I am grateful that my mom was here this year to celebrate. When she entered into Hospice Care several months ago, I honestly didn’t think she would be. I am grateful for family who came and for the ability to connect with those who couldn’t come. I am grateful for neighbors and friends who took the time to visit or write thoughtful notes and cards. I am grateful for supportive and kind caregivers. I am grateful for the food that was provided. I am grateful for the fun and laughter. I am incredibly grateful for this love that has been shared by so many people and for God’s generous love who is at the heart of it all.

I Found God today being grateful for  generous love.

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Birthday Celebration 5

Posted by eph21920 on May 6, 2024 in Birthday, Family, Friends, Grateful, Love

Today my mom’s friend came over for a happy birthday visit. They hadn’t seen each other in weeks. Our friend took a fall a while back and fractured her hip. She had surgery and got right into home therapy. Thankfully it was not a bad break. She is a tough woman, so I wasn’t too surprised when she made a full recovery. I was, however, somewhat surprised when she drove herself over and walked in  without a device. She did bring her cane – just in case. They had a nice visit with laughter and birthday cake. This visit wrapped up our ongoing celebration of mom’s birthday. It has been a whirlwind and I’m grateful for all the people, intentions, and love for my mom.

I Found God today in a visit from a friend.

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Birthday Celebration 4

Posted by eph21920 on May 5, 2024 in Baby, Children, Family, Friends, Grateful, Joy, Laughter

I went to Mass this morning and brought home Holy Communion for my mom. Then our friend came by with her daughter and grandchildren. She cared for mom for quite a while until she was no longer able to and wanted to share birthday wishes with her. We missed her. We were introduced to the new baby boy who is just 3 months old and has the same name as my dad. He gave my mom a big smile when she chatted with him. We had met the toddler some time ago and now she’s walking and talking. It didn’t take her long to warm up to everyone and made herself at home. When my mom needed to go to the bathroom, she wanted to help out. We told her thank you, but she could go by herself. A little later, she wanted to climb into my mom’s lap in the wheelchair. My mom tried with all her might to pick her up, but she needed a little help. Once she got settled, she wanted to go for a ride. My sister obliged and took them for a ride around the house. There is just a certain joy and laughter that only little ones provide. My mom was delighted and so were we.

I Found God today in the joy of friendship and babies.

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Birthday Celebration 3

Posted by eph21920 on May 4, 2024 in Birthday, Family, Food, Fun, Grateful, Love

Today was the big family birthday party for my mom. Unfortunately, my younger sister has been sick, so she was unable to come. My other sister’s son called from California and chatted with my mom a bit, so that was nice. Mom got a gift from her sister in Wisconsin and loved the handwritten note that was included. The rest of us celebrated here at the house. We knew that going to a restaurant would be overwhelming, so we ordered food from mom’s favorite German restaurant. My daughter in law made a small stein for her with an outline of Germany and a heart. It was super cute. We even managed to sing Happy Birthday to her in German and did the chicken dance. Since it was Kentucky Derby day, we made some hats, chose our favorite horse and watched the most exciting 2 minutes in sports. It was also May the 4th so it seemed fitting to make some Star Wars snacks. Honestly, the day was quite overwhelming for my mom. My family was gracious to indulge me in my over planning of the day. But I had fun doing it and I think they had fun participating. Even with all the excitement, at one point my mom said that she thought my dad would have liked the party. I told her I thought he was right here celebrating along with us. It was a big day, but my Mom certainly had a lot of love showered upon her.

I Found God today continuing to celebrate my mom.

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Birthday Celebration 2

Posted by eph21920 on May 3, 2024 in Birthday, Family, Friends, Generosity, Grateful, Love

Today my travelling brother came to the house with his dog. They have been away for 6 months. They were both happy to see our mom and she was happy to see them. It was like they never left. He told us some tales of his travels. Also today, one of the caregivers came over and brought my mom a big bag of goodies with all her favorites, including board puzzles, colored pencils, coloring books, and a bright pink T-shirt. She also wrote a heartfelt card. It was so sweet. As difficult as it has been to get steady caregivers in, we are truly blessed with the people who help care for my mom.

I Found God today in my brother and a thoughtful caregiver.

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Birthday Celebration 1

Posted by eph21920 on May 2, 2024 in Birthday, Family, Friends, Grateful, Love

Today was my mom’s 92nd birthday. It started out rough as she didn’t sleep much last night. She’s been battling several bouts of UTIs and several different antibiotics. All of it has been taking a toll on her. So, it was a late, slow morning. All during the day we gave her cards and presents. When she was asked how old she was, her answers were anywhere from 37 to 200. It was pretty funny. There were a couple times during the day when she seemed to feel a little better. All week when asked what kind of cake she wanted, she had the same answer – angel food. So, I made her an angel food cake. When asked what she would like for dinner, however, we never got a clear answer. She always liked the Chinese place up the road, so we ordered from there. She enjoyed it just fine. Our neighbors came over for cake after dinner. By the time she was getting ready for bed, she was a little overwhelmed. In all, it was a nice beginning to what will be several days of celebrating. I feel blessed that she is here to celebrate and for the love that is being showered upon her.

I Found God today celebrating my mom’s birthday.

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Brothers Arrived

Posted by eph21920 on May 1, 2024 in Birthday, Family, Grateful

In anticipation of my mother’s birthday, both my brothers have arrived in town. One came to the house this evening. It was good to see him. My mom was a little surprised. Then she didn’t think she should go to bed because he was here. We assured her she would see him tomorrow. We are all looking forward to celebrating the next few days.

I Found God today in my brothers.

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Future Love

Posted by eph21920 on April 30, 2024 in Answer, Hope, Life, Love, Present

As I was listening to the radio today, I heard a beautiful statement, “God doesn’t love your future self more than your current self.” In other words, God loves us individually, perfectly, at all times, in all circumstances of life. That gave me comfort and hope.

I Found God today reminded that He loves me perfectly right now.

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God Picked Reading

Posted by eph21920 on April 29, 2024 in Answer, Connected, Family, Love

This afternoon as my mom and I were sitting at the table, I picked up the friendship book that was there. I told her I would just open it and read whatever page I landed upon. Our caregiver noted that she loved to do that and let God choose what she should read. I opened the book and read this to my mother,

“You, my friend, are the rainbow of my life; the pastel, the bright; the pot of gold; the promise after the storm; the reminder that God loves me.” Conover

“It is right for me to feel this way about…you, since I have you in my heart.” Phillipians 1:7

These were beautiful, relevant, heartfelt messages from me to my mom. God made a good pick – as always.

I Found God today in a beautiful reading to my mother.

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She Did Remember

Posted by eph21920 on April 28, 2024 in Birthday, Connected, Family, Life, Present

This is typically celebration season in our household. During about a 2 week period is my parents’ anniversary and both of their birthdays. My mom’s is coming up in a couple of days and everyone has been making a big deal about it. This morning when she got up, she thought we were going to celebrate it today. After lunch prayer, she made sure to include “Happy Birthday!” The interesting thing is that today is actually my dad’s birthday. I had been wondering how and/or if my mom would react these couple of weeks. We didn’t say anything to her about their anniversary or Dad’s birthday because we didn’t want to upset her. At the same time, it felt unnatural and sad not to. According to her, he is always around. She asks where he went since he was “just here”, or she figures he’s downstairs, or out running errands. I sense him here as well and, of course, he was on my mind all day. Later in the evening, she saw the date on the TV and said, “It’s dad’s birthday!” My sister and I said she was right, it was, and held our breath. I could see her pondering, but she didn’t say anything else and we just moved on. I was glad that she remembered and that she didn’t get upset. It was good to be able to acknowledge the day with her.

I Found God today remembering my dad’s birthday with my mom.

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