Sunday, August 15
Happy Birthday to our good friend Gary Whitaker in Houston!!!
This may have been one of the most unusual and busy Sundays we’ve had in a l-o-n-g time.
To begin with, we got Mother up and ginning around, fed her breakfast, and got ready for Sophie to come stay for a couple of hours so we could get to church in time for the fellowship breakfast. Mother told us last night that she was planning to go to church with TJ this morning, but when we woke her up at 6:30, she said she was hurting too bad to go and would just stay home. Since we don’t want to leave her alone for more than two hours at a time, we arranged for Sophie to come in at 8:15 and stay until 10:15. TJ would then be in at 11:30 or so to get lunch ready (Barbara had everything ready to put into the oven) and then we’d be back around 12:45 to join everyone for lunch.
Sophie arrived a few minutes early and we explained Mother’s change of plans, but also told her that her own schedule would remain the same and she could leave at 10:15. Barbara walked Sophie through the morning procedures and got her better acquainted with the layout of the house and where things were. After a quick tutorial, we were off to our Sunday morning activities.
We had a great crowd for breakfast, Sunday school, and church this morning. Today was the kickoff day for Vacation Bible School which will begin tomorrow morning. Special guests this morning were the ladies of Grace, a southern gospel group from a church in Amarillo (the singers included David’s mother).
Grace led all the music and sang some specials and then David gave another wonderful sermon from John, Chapter 3. The music, sermon, and a full house of more than 120 in the congregation all made for a stirring and inspirational morning.We left as soon as the sermon was over to return to Mineola for lunch and a little rest before the big afternoon and evening activities. Over lunch, Mother, TJ, Barbara, and I got caught up on the activities of the morning and then cleared the table, started the dishwasher, and headed off for our afternoon nap.
At 3:00 Barbara and I left to go back out to Yantis to prepare for the night’s activities. Our job during the Western Daze kickoff for VBS was to dish up snow cones and popcorn…something that is much easier said than done!
First, we had to stop at a large ice dispenser to load three chests with 140 pounds of ice and take them to the church. Since the temperature was already standing at 104 degrees, we moved the ice chests inside the family life center and then started to work figuring out the snow cone machine and the popcorn machine.
Of course we had to test the snow cone machine to be sure it would shave the ice properly, and then we had to sample the syrups to be certain they were okay (we certainly didn’t want to serve bad snow cones and have someone get sick).
By the time we returned to the church, we were already having folks come by asking for either snow cones or cups of the shaved ice…it was evident early on that we were going to be popular concessionaires!
We were about ten miles from Mineola when we realized that we had once again left the camera behind, so we turned around and drove back to Yantis, hoping against hope that we could find the camera before it got lost. Luckily, one of our Sunday school members found it and gave it to someone who took it to the office, so we were able to lay hands on it pretty quickly and then hop back in the car and get back to Mineola around 8:30.
The work and the heat had worn us down to the nubbins…we each took a shower, declared it to be the best shower we’d ever had, and headed to bed to crash for the night .
Monday, August 16
Today was a fairly slow day for us…something we needed after all the excitement of yesterday. (Actually we were supposed to work in Vacation Bible School, but we opted to both stay home for the upcoming meeting with Comfort Keepers, a private health aide company.)
We got breakfast over with, did a little straightening around the house, and then sat down to interview Kirk, a representative of a healthcare service out of Tyler and Lindale. We are very pleased with Sophie, but also recognize that there may be times when we will need a higher degree of service than she will be able to provide. We were particularly interested in what Comfort Keepers could do for us in terms of personalized care for Mother if we needed to be gone for several days.
Kirk was very personable and we were impressed with what he had to tell us. We emphasized that we were only getting information at this point and weren’t ready to sign on any dotted lines, but he still stayed with us through all of our questions and requests for clarifications.
This afternoon TJ and I had a long meeting with the local Edward Jones agent to talk about Mother’s financial holdings and how to make the most of them. Again, we are in an information-gathering mode at this time, but Leon was very helpful.
When we weren’t meeting with someone today, we were working on the journal/blog for last week. With Abby and Alexander here during the week, no text got written, but a ton of pictures were taken. So, I started with the text and, after downloading over 200 photos from the week, got them in files and turned them over to Barbara to edit them and create collages.
Tuesday, August 17
We had originally planned to go out to Yantis this morning to volunteer with the Vacation Bible School, but once again had to do a u-turn when we found that Sophie could not come sit with Mother this morning after all; therefore, we decided we’d stay around town and take care of several pieces of business.
The first thing on our list, after fixing breakfast and getting Mother settled in for the morning, was to go to Walmart and buy some school supplies and youth-sized clothes. We got an email from Holiday Villages last night letting us know that there had been a fire in the park and one of the families lost everything they had in their mobile home. There was a 14-year old girl and an 11-year old boy, and they are only a few days away from starting school and have nothing left. So, we bought some school things and some clothes and drove out to our lot and while I did some brief maintenance work on Big V, Barbara took our purchases to Linda, our closest neighbor, who is going to deliver them to the children’s grandmother.
We hurried back to Mineola and I dropped Barbara off at Walmart to begin shopping for groceries and supplies for the house while I went back to check on Mother (who was having a good day today and was doing quite well…she was getting clothes out of her closet and preparing to take her shower) and then I went to the post office before heading back to Walmart to help Barbara finish the shopping.
This afternoon I went to the vet’s to recycle a big basket of newsprint and buy dog food for Spike while Barbara stayed at the house and worked on collages for last week’s edition of the journal/blog. I had the much easier job, as Barbara had to cull through at least 200 photos to find the shots she wanted.
This evening we sneaked across the street and decorated John and Wanda’s house for the second time in a week. Tomorrow is Wanda’s birthday and we wanted to have a surprise for her when she comes out tomorrow morning.
Tonight I worked on text for the journal and Barbara finished the collages…Mother’s living room and dining room is beginning to look like a big-time editor’s office with all the files and photos we have flying between us!
As we were working, Barbara was baking a dessert and I was baking a loaf of bread to take to the church tomorrow for a funeral meal…seems like there’s always something to keep us occupied. Luckily, the dessert and bread were finished in time for us to get to bed at a decent hour.
Wednesday, August 18
Happy Birthday to our dear neighbor Wanda Garrett!!!
This morning we ginned around and got Mother through her morning paces before we left to go to Yantis and help with the Vacation Bible School. Sophie was coming in at 9:30 so Mother wouldn’t be alone very long.
Our efforts with VBS are primarily in the kitchen, helping put together the morning snacks for the three different age groups that are taking part in the program. Several of us worked in the kitchen, so there were always a number of conversations going on.
Barbara was in charge of the popcorn machine and I just helped as needed with putting plates or bowls of snacks on the tables before each group of kids came in. A lot of my time was spent at the sink, washing baking pans and getting them ready to be used again.
When we got back to the house, Barbara got lunch going and then we went across the street to see John and Wanda and wish Wanda a happy birthday. John and Wanda are really nice people and just about the greatest neighbors anyone could ever ask for. The front of Wanda’s card read, “Four score and seven years ago…”, and the inside page said, “But don’t worry, you’re not that old,” to which Wanda laughed and said, “Well, I’m getting closer!”PS…The weatherman got it all wrong…no rain in sight, but the yard looked really nice.
Thursday, August 19
Happy Birthday today to Cousin Sarah in Graceville, Florida!!!
This morning was pretty much a repeat of yesterday with getting Mother up, fed, and ready to face another day. Again, we left before Sophie arrived to watch after Mother.
Our VBS duties at the church were much the same as yesterday…Barbara had a formula determined for cooking the right amount of popcorn and I pitched in and helped fill and distribute the plates for each of the three feeding sessions.
We have to admit (and we’ve told David and some of the other regular workers and teachers) that this group of kids has been remarkably well-behaved. We guess we were expecting something like school cafeteria behavior, but the kids are reasonably quiet and considerate of each other and those around them…what a nice surprise!
While Barbara did some cleanup in the kitchen and dining area, I helped David shave a container of ice for the end-of-session snow cones and then Barbara and I headed back to Mineola for the afternoon.
We were tired and so was Mother, so we took our rest break before lunch. After lunch, Barbara stayed with Mother and did some work here at the house while I went downtown to take care of some of Mother’s business. As I was leaving the house it started pouring rain…it turned out to be very short-lived, but every drop was welcomed, even though in the end it didn’t do much more than raise the humidity.
Later, we headed off to Walmart to pick up some things that didn’t make yesterday’s list. Then it was back to the house for a quiet evening of watching TV, eating supper, working on the journal/blog, and getting Mother and ourselves ready for bed. In short, it was just another quiet evening around our place.
We did get word from our friend Mary that Bob’s back surgery went well today. He is in the hospital in Tyler and we will try to get over there tomorrow afternoon to see them.
Friday, August 20
This morning was pretty much a repeat of yesterday…we got up and ginned around; Mother came to the dining room for breakfast, and afterward, when we got her settled in her recliner in her room, we turned her over to Sophie for a couple of hours while we went to VBS at Yantis.
On the way to the church we stopped at Holiday Villages so Barbara could check on something at the clubhouse. While she was doing that, I went across the street to Big V and saw that the rain gauge had 1.1 inches of rain in it…we may have missed the storm in Mineola yesterday, but our lot got a good soaking.
While I was at Big V, I noticed that the freezer needed defrosting, so I turned off the refrigerator and opened the freezer door before heading back to pick up Barbara and continue to the church.
The duties at the church were pretty much the same as yesterday except that Barbara decided I needed to learn how to run the popcorn machine. Barbara coached me through a batch and then left to make a couple of phone calls and I made a batch on my own. We’ve been feeding around 50-55 kids a day, so we got through quite a bit of popcorn, cookies, and other snacks pretty quickly.
The reason Barbara wanted me to learn how to operate the machine today is that I will be coming out alone tomorrow to prepare popcorn for the crowd that will come to the church to pick up the bags of school supplies that Alexander and Abby helped us pack last week. We’re finding that in Yantis, the church is every bit as much the center of the community as the school is.
When I finished my turn at the machine, Barbara took over the cleanup and helped with the feedings while I returned to Big V to finish the freezer defrosting. I was hoping that the warmth of Big V would speed up the process, but huge chunks of ice had formed all around the ice-maker, so I had to put a little extra effort into getting it cleaned and dried before returning to the church.
While I was working with David, Barbara took the opportunity to photograph Lisa the coordinator of Vacation Bible School. Lisa doesn’t do any job she tackles half-way as is demonstrated in her Western Daze attire for the week.
We got a phone call as we were getting Mother ready to come to the kitchen…or friend Heidi, the dessert chef at the Georgia Baptist Conference Center in Toccoa, where we’ve done volunteer work, has moved to Lindale with her family. Heidi was passing through town today with her children and they decided to come find us…what a wonderful treat it was to see Heidi, Hannah, Jerrod, and Olivia again; and, to have them only 20 or so miles away from us!
As Mother got into the living room, Barbara grabbed one of the kitchen chairs and we got Mother in it and just slid her to the table…for once these laminate wood floors were very handy!
When lunch was over, we got Mother back to her room by having her sit on a rolling office chair. We got her into bed, then went outside and said our goodbyes to Heidi and her kids.
Around 3:00 we left the house again to drive to Tyler to visit our good friends Bob and Mary at Trinity Mother Francis Hospital and TJ checked on Mother for us. Bob had back surgery a couple of days ago and is still recuperating. We had picked up some prescriptions for them at the pharmacy and then stopped at Brookshire’s for a couple of other things they needed.
The trip to Tyler, which we never care for, was okay today except for the sweltering heat that sometimes overcomes even the best of air conditioners. We did find the hospital okay and had a nice visit with Bob and Mary before turning around and heading back toward Mineola.
On the way through Tyler we saw the At Home Healthcare building, the same place where we got the personal alarm button for Mother, and Barbara decided to call them, explain what was going on with Mother, and ask about Medicare assistance for home health care. The folks she talked to were friendly and helpful and said they will contact Doctor Bankhead, Mother’s primary physician, on Monday to get the process started.
When we got home, TJ called to say that she had arranged for the loan of a wheelchair from the Medicine Chest until we can get one approved and ordered next week. As much as we hate to see it and say it, Mother’s condition seems to be spiraling out of control at this time.
Tonight we took time to watch some TV and then did a little work at the computers before calling it a day and heading for bed.
Saturday, August 21
Today was the day that our church distributed school supplies to kids who needed them. Barbara stayed home to watch after Mother while I left early to go to Holiday Villages and mow and trim our lot. Since there hasn’t been much rain lately, we haven’t mowed for about three weeks; but, the place was looking kind of scraggly and I’ve wanted to do some work out there anyway, so this was a good opportunity. Working out there at 6:00 am is definitely the way to go!
I left Big V around 9:45 to go to the fellowship hall and begin making popcorn. No one seemed to know how many people might actually show up, so I churned out as many bags as I could and then found out that I was way behind from the beginning. The missions committee distributed more than 40 packages of school supplies, but each kid who came also brought a family, so we ended up feeding popcorn, chips, and hotdogs to more than a hundred people between 10:00 and noon. I was slinging butter (well, fake butter…about the consistency of gear grease for a tractor) and popcorn all over the place trying to keep up…even had to double up and pour Kool-Aid when we ran out of it.
By 11:30 I was finished with may part of the morning, so I cleaned up the popcorn machine, washed down the cabinets, swept the floor, and said goodbye to the group.
Barbara: While Jim was at the lake and in Yantis, I stayed busy with the regular morning chores…getting Edith up and running, fixing breakfast, getting Edith settled back in her room, starting the laundry, doing some basic house cleaning, and then beginning lunch so it would be ready by the time Jim got home. Believe me, there is no shortage of activities around Edith’s house! And, today another item was thrown in the mix when Roger, TJ’s handyman, came by to see about taking out the door and panel of Edith’s shower. It is getting very, very difficult to help Edith get in the shower with such a narrow space. I thought Roger would just take a look and leave after giving an estimate. Instead, sensing the urgency of the job without any prompting from me, he had that section of the shower dismantled, hauled out to his pick-up, and the shower cleaned within an hour!! Yay!!! Only problem was that Edith couldn’t enjoy it yet since it still wasn’t usable without rails, etc.
Jim: We rested a while after lunch and then made the day official by going to Walmart to buy the things we needed to remodel Mother’s bathroom, at least the shower section. We figured we’d only find a shower curtain at Walmart and then have to go to a hardware store for handrails and other accessories, but surprise of all surprises, Walmart had everything we needed…hand rails to mount to the shower walls, shower curtain and rod, and a nice accessories basket that will be very handy for Mother to use.
“Kids go where there is excitement; they stay where there is love.” – Zig Ziglar
From Mother’s house in Mineola,
Jim/Dad/Gramps & Barbara/Mom/Grams
