This week’s entry is basically a single theme – the visit by grandchildren Alexander and Abby while their parents were on a combination business/pleasure trip to San Francisco. Pictures of activities will follow the text, since some of the collages have photos from different days.
Wednesday, June 23
This morning we went through the normal routine of getting everyone up and running. Mother had a rehab session at 10:00, so we took her to that, picked her up when it was over, had a little lunch, and then Barbara and I headed north to Sulphur Springs to do some shopping before driving to Lavon, a little community between Mineola and Richardson, to meet Heather and the kids at the local Sonic.
After picking up the kids, their clothes, and their toys, we said our goodbyes to Heather and returned to Mineola to set up housekeeping in Mother’s house for the next week.
Alexander and Abby are wonderful travelers and are able to entertain themselves without a whole lot of adult guidance, and we all had an enjoyable trip back to Granny’s house.
The week was packed with excitement for the whole family…motorcycle rides with Gramps nearly every day…when we got bored with just riding around the neighborhood, we went down to the civic center for longer rides and a change of scenery. Alexander, because he was old enough, even got to ride from the civic center back to Granny’s house on the back of the cycle a couple of times!
Thursday, June 24
First day activities, in addition to the cycle rides, included a trip to Grand Saline to see the Salt Palace Museum and visit the peanut butter shop.
After this experience, we drove a little way out of Grand Saline to see the Morton Salt plant that they had learned about earlier in the salt museum. Barbara and I decided that next year Abby and Alexander need to be with us in June when they have the Salt Fest…then Abby could be in the parade dressed as the Morton Salt girl…wouldn’t she be a cutie holding an umbrella and a box of salt!
On the way home, we stopped at Lake Holbrook so the kids could wade into the water for a bit. They’ve visited us before when we stayed out at Lake Hawkins a couple of years ago, so Lake Holbrook was okay, but definitely a couple of steps down from Lake Hawkins! This did not hinder the kids from enjoying every wet moment!
This evening we went over to cousin Ladd’s house so Abby and Alexander could meet more relatives and see Ladd’s horses.
Unfortunately, Angela and Madeline weren’t home, but Ladd was, and he had just brought in several bales of hay, so the kids were just in time to help with the feeding. As the pictures show, they had a grand time.
Another photo of the horse feeding at Ladd’s joins the collage of this day’s activities. Each morning, as soon as the kids awoke, they were ready to hit the door and go for a cycle ride…only a pretend one this early in the day!
Activities with the kids included more motorcycle riding (can you tell by the photos that Alexander and Abby are having fun?). This afternoon we took the kids out to the Holiday Village clubhouse to swim in the pool. We considered going to Lake Hawkins, but that seemed too far and too involved. Besides, the kids could have a lot more freedom in the swimming pool. We called David Bagwell to see if any of the girls wanted to swim and he brought his youngest daughter, Amber, to the clubhouse to join the group.
Saturday, June 26
Because we had big plans for the evening, we just took it easy this morning. Alexander and Abby watched Saturday morning cartoons and worked on their journal while Barbara and I took care of the daily routine around Mother’s house.
June 26th has been marked on our calendar as an important day for weeks! This was a huge night at the Holiday Village clubhouse as Josh’s sister, Amy, and her band put on a free concert for residents and their guests. Amy and the band were fantastic, putting on a great show and delivering Amy’s stylings of classic country songs. 
Tonight was the first time for us to meet most of Josh’s family, so of course there were plenty of photo ops to show off Josh and his wife, Christy, his daughter, Kaylee (Actually Josh and Christy have four children, but Kaylee is the one we saw the most of this night as she invited Abby to join in on the dance floor), and his brother Jake.
Center Left: Bob and Mary Royar on the dance floor
Center Middle: Christy, Josh’s wife, dances with their daughter, Kaylee
Center Right: Christy and Josh Setser (Josh is the sales manager for Holiday Villages of Lake Fork
Bottom: Amy belts out another tune
It wasn’t long before the joint was jumping and even Abby and I got into the act by moving to the dance floor for a few dances.
Brittany, Josh’s sister who also works in sales at Holiday Village, was a big hit with the younger children as she got them out on the floor for some of the faster dances.
Around 8:30 Alexander and I called it a night and returned to Mineola, leaving Barbara and Abby to share a “girls’ night out” at Big V. While Alexander and I began our “batching” experience at the house, Barbara and Abby remained at the clubhouse until the dance/concert was over. Barbara said later that it was almost impossible to get Abby off the dance floor because she was having so much fun. Before the evening was over for them, Abby even got Grams out on the floor for a couple of slow dances by looking up with those big eyes and lamenting she didn’t have anybody to dance with since Gramps left. Then with a big smile she said, “You dance with me, Grams!” How could Barbara turn her down? Thankfully though, on what we call the “fast” tunes, Brittany saved Barbara’s bacon by letting Abby once again team up with Josh’s daughter, Kaylee, and a friend.
Barbara and Abby finally called it a night around 9 and walked across the street from the club house to Big V. She said that she barely got the bed made for Abby and her pajamas on before Abby was out like a light! That child had had a really fun, active evening!
Sunday, June 27
Alexander and I got Granny up and about this morning and got ourselves ready to go to Big V to pick up Grams and Abby; then we all headed for Yantis and First Baptist Church for breakfast, Sunday school, and the morning worship service.
Abby attended children’s church, but Alexander joined Barbara and me for the worship service in the sanctuary. Both of the kids seemed to enjoy their experiences of the morning and there was only one bad moment when someone in children’s church opened a door that Abby was standing behind and she got bumped in the head. Still, it didn’t take long for the tears to subside and her cheerful smile return.
We left the church and drove back to Big V for lunch, a short rest, and then an afternoon of swimming at the clubhouse. I left everyone at the pool and went back to the church for choir practice and the monthly business meeting before returning to send Barbara and Abby back to Mineola while Alexander and I started our “guys’ night out” in Big V.
As soon as Barbara and Abby drove off, Alexander and I went inside. I didn’t notice where his hand was as I closed the door and ended up shutting the door on his thumb…it was a huge ouch (I could even feel the crunch), and then the tears started flowing.
I could tell that this night out thing wasn’t going to work tonight, so I called Barbara, told her what happened, and she turned around and came back to pick us up and take us to Mineola for the night. We did get ice and some ointment on the area that got hurt, but I knew from looking that it must be very painful for Alexander.
I think the worst part of the experience for me was calling Heather and Andy and telling them that we had damaged one of the kids. They wanted to know if we needed to take Alexander to the hospital, but I said I thought he’d be okay with some children’s aspirin and ointments. Alexander tried to talk to his dad, but that just stirred up more tears, so I talked to Andy and said I’d let them know if there were any problems or complications.
After that, there was nothing for any of us to do but head for bed and get the best night’s sleep possible.
Monday, June 28
We all woke up feeling much better than we did when we went to sleep last night. Alexander’s thumb, while not very pretty, was much better and he wasn’t having any problems with it…what a relief!
The day was filled with our usual activities, taking Granny to rehab, going to the post office, taking a trip to Walmart (where a pair of ruby red shoes and red dress for Abby and a shorts and shirt set for Alexander miraculously appeared in the basket (actually, it wasn’t all that miraculous, as Abby had found the shoes and dress on a previous trip and Alexander picked out the outfit he wanted; but, it was fun).
This evening we returned to the Holiday Village clubhouse for another swimming session. After swimming, Barbara and Abby returned to Granny’s house while Alexander and I took another shot at our special night out in Big V. This time everything worked perfectly and Alexander and I had a great time together…snacking and watching Ratatouille, one of Alexander’s favorite movies.
Meanwhile, back in Mineola, Abby and Grams caught a movie after they took care of Granny’s blinds, medicine, etc. Once again, in no time Abby was out and it was time to call this day over!
Tuesday, June 29
Alexander and I awoke to the quiet sounds of a peaceful morning at Big V. Actually, I woke up much earlier than Alexander did and enjoyed a couple of cups of coffee out in the sitting area under our new awning.
After doing a little work around the place, I was joined by Alexander, who learned the fine art of handling the leaf blower. Alexander is a good little worker and was very handy to have around this morning as we finished the outside jobs and then went back inside to straighten up Big V and pack our things to return to Mineola when Grams and Abby came for us.
We then returned to Granny’s house to spend a busy day of the usual chores and activities in addition to washing clothes and getting the kids’ clothes and toys sorted and packed for their return home tomorrow.
Thankfully, Abby and Alexander have a wealth of imagination (as well as energy) and they are pros at keeping themselves entertained while Barbara and I attended to “adult” chores.
Speaking of naps, Andy seemed surprised that the kids were willing and eager participants in naptime. We didn’t clue him in to our grandparently secret…just promise another motorcycle ride after nap time and you can take as many naps as you want!
We got Granny up and around this morning and then left for the day to return Alexander and Abby to their daddy. We had made arrangements to meet Andy at McDonald’s in Greenville, about an hour north of here.
With the car packed and the goodbyes said to Granny, the kids hopped in the Vibe and we took off for the final leg of our great adventure of the summer.
We got to McDonald’s a little early and then found that Andy was running a little behind, so we let the kids play in the indoor playground, bringing back memories of the first time we took care of them for a day and went to a McDonald’s in Carrollton…an experience that reduced everyone to tears except for those who found it unbelievably laughable. Let it be known that we have practiced our grandparenting skills since then and are MUCH wiser!
Since TJ was going to take care of getting Mother to rehab and lunch today, we just declared it to be a “date day,” and went off to enjoy a day alone together.
We got back to Mother’s house around 5:00, fed the puppies, and the three of us settled in for a quiet evening at home.
Collages we just can’t leave out!
What a wonderful time we had with Alexander and Abby this week! Heather and Andy have done a beautiful job of rearing two beautiful and delightful children. Not once did we ever hear a question about when mommy and daddy would be coming back or when do we get to go home.
Both children helped around the house. Abby, once she learned to walk around Bonita, opened Granny’s blinds each morning and Alexander helped with the trash. Both kids were very good about getting dressed, keeping their things organized and in the right places, and taking care of their baths, showers, tooth brushing, etc. In fact, we bragged on them so much that we later heard from Andy wanting to know if we could keep them again in August while he and Heather do in-service activities at their respective schools.
“What a bargain grandchildren are! I give them my loose change, and they give me a million dollars' worth of pleasure.” - Gene Perret
At home in Mineola with lots of memories,
Jim/Dad/Gramps & Barbara/Mom/Grams
ADDENDUM
June 30, 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
Mercy! It hardly seems possible, but tonight marks the end of the fourth year of our retirement. The first three and a half years of the journey covered a multitude of both miles and experiences, nearly all of them documented through the journals that we started writing and the blog that friends inspired us to set up a little more than two years ago.
The last six months has seen a distinct change in our life and living. On January 22 we gave up our long journeys, church-building, and other volunteer activities to become fulltime caregivers for Mother. It wasn’t something we saw coming, at least at the time it happened, but because of a series of “God moments,” leading up to and following that day, we have never in our lives been more certain that we are where God wants us to be and doing what God wants us to do.
We didn’t even bother to calculate the miles traveled during this six months, since Big V has remained parked on Our Little Lot in Holiday Villages of Lake Fork and we’ve had only a couple of short day trips on the motorcycle. Trips in the car have mainly been to Lubbock to take care of family business there, and then only when Aunt TJ can be available to watch after Mother in our absence.
Still, our lives are very rich. We have a church home that is extremely supportive and that has welcomed us into their fold. Of course, the experience was made even richer when the church called our former pastoral family at First Baptist Church of Liberal to be their new pastoral family in Yantis, Texas. For that, we give God ALL the credit!
We have learned (and continue to learn) about Parkinsonism, a disease that is almost as insidious as cancer, as it creeps through Mother’s body and mind. She is still physically healthy and has a sound mind, but a lot of the “connections” are breaking down. There is no cure for Parkinsonism; it will always get worse and the best one can hope for is to stave it off a little longer, and that is our mission here in Mineola.
We continue to be blessed with new friends and old friends and family who stay in touch with us and enrich our lives with their own stories…we are blessed by each letter, card, email, and phone call. We thank each of you for your caring, your prayers, and support and we want you to know that each of you, as our “adopted and extended family” is in our daily prayers.
Thank you for joining us on this journey…you are truly a blessing and a comfort to us.
Jim & Barbara
Mineola, Texas
