Judy. We’re coming to the close of our Georgia stay, which has
probably been the most active and, in some ways, stressful, of our previous
stays. But between annual doctor visits, attempts to catch up with friends
we’ve not seen in many months, and further downsizing the storage unit (we’ve
gotten rid of all the furniture and moved from a 10‘x10’ to a 5’x5’, with
mostly clothes and “when we’re in town” needs), we’ve had some precious family
time.
When we left
Toronto, we flew to Denver to celebrate Ted’s dad’s 88th birthday.
Andy and his special companion Barbara have birthdays close to each other, so they
threw themselves a big dinner and invited as many of their children,
grandchildren, and great-grandchildren as could attend. It was held in the
private dining room of their independent living facility, and about twenty of
us gathered to get to know each other and to honor Andy and Barbara.
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| Celebrating with Andy and Barbara |
A few days later,
we were in Athens, Georgia, celebrating my birthday with our kids and
grandkids. Leslie, Parker, and I went thrifting in the morning, and Stefan,
Sarah, and Oliver surprised me by driving the two or so hours to spend the
afternoon. A couple of days after that, Ted and I spent Leslie’s birthday with
her family.
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| Birthday dessert with grandson Parker |
And the following
weekend found us driving to Memphis to surprise my older brother Billy on his
eightieth birthday. His children had arranged a family dinner and a memory book
for him. My younger brother, I, and our
spouses came in to be a part of it. We played a trivia game of Billy’s life,
sang to him in sign language (Billy has been deaf since birth), and reveled in
being with family from Maryland to Georgia to Tennessee.
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| Judy's family |
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| With my brothers Billy and Chuck |
Precious moments
in a hectic visit, they remind us of the importance of family and the love we
have for each other. While Ted sees his dad several times a year and we see our
kids each time we head to Georgia, my brothers and I seldom get together. Chuck
travels with his business, Billy is a minister to a deaf congregation (and
sometimes travels on missions), and, obviously, Ted and I are out of the
country most of the time. There are vast age differences among us, and we all
have different interests. Still, I adore my brothers, and cherish time we spend
together.
Last Friday, in
honor of Grandparents’ Day, Caedmon invited us to attend his school’s “Coffee
with Grandparents”. We had breakfast, took pictures, read books together,
talked about the history of our names, and worked on crafts together. Since we’re
usually gone on his birthday, it was great to spend time with him alone.
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| Grandparents' Day with Caed |
We’ve had the two
older grandsons over to spend the weekend, spent afternoons and nights getting
to know the youngest, and gathered with the family as much as possible.
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| Ted with Caed, Stefan, Parker, and Ollie |
Thanks to Becky
and Marty for setting up Billy’s birthday party. And thanks to Andy and Barbara for your family gathering, and to
Leslie, Daniel, Parker, Caed; and to Stefan, Sarah, and Ollie for finding time
to be together with us. How wonderful to celebrate life and family. These memories carry us while we’re away from you.
