Family Reunion
Last weekend we mananaged to pull off Moms wish - the one she had requested while she was in the hospital - we got 5 of her children here for a family reunion - a weekend of sharing, reminiscing, laughing and yes crying. In all we had 21 here on Saturday between children, spouses and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Various members of the family were here from Thursday thru to Monday giving Mom a chance to spend time with different ones on an individual basis. I personally have not seen Mom so happy in a very long time as she was last week. Between Ruth and I and numerous phonecalls, e-mails and co-ordinating schedules we were able to pin down a date when the most would be able to come. It was so wonderful to see our babysister again - Pauline if you read this - don't make it so long between trips back east again - you know you have several places where you and Eric can stay ;). Lots and lots of pictures were taken and Tom will be posting them soon.
The main thing that I personally enjoyed about the weekend was we were all able to 'enjoy' the visit. So many times families only get together when an elderly relative dies and there is alot of 'wish we could have gotten here sooner' type of thinking. Our prayer of course is that we can have Mom around for years to come and have her be able to enjoy more visits but if she is called home we all know she is ready and at peace with her life and all of us were able to help grant her last main wish/prayer.
On a sad note - Tom and I had to put our oldest cat, Simba, to sleep two weeks ago. Old age (18 years old) and an inoperable tumor were just to much for him. We kept him and loved him for as long as we felt he was comfortable but finally had to make the decision. Jenn our DIL was so very gentle, caring and supporting in our decision. Thank you Jenn for all the loved you showed our Simba over the years. I know he was a very special part of yours and Kevins life too.
Spring while in some respects has been a very sad time for me it is also a time of rejoicing and rebirth. The gardens are coming alive - most plants did survive the drought of last summer and have been drenched with much needed rain the last few weeks and puttting on their spring growth. Bluebirds are nesting in Mom's bluebird house. We have yet to spot our first hummingbird of the season but did see our first firefly the other night. Nights are getting warmer and sitting out on the porch after hours is becoming the activity of choice. We have a new visitor to the yard on a pretty daily basis now - a rooster from somewhere in the neighborhood struts his stuff for the better part of the day. He is a right handsome gent and there is a mutual respect between him and the cats - i.e. they all keep their distance of each other. Our wintersown baby seedlings are looking healthy and strong waiting for the soil to warm up just a bit more. All in all - Life is pretty darn good here at HeartlandGardens. Thank you all for stopping by and for signing the last blog - your thoughts and prayers for Mom were/are greatly appreciated - until next time
Lynne ~~he who plants a seed - believes in tomorrow~~
The main thing that I personally enjoyed about the weekend was we were all able to 'enjoy' the visit. So many times families only get together when an elderly relative dies and there is alot of 'wish we could have gotten here sooner' type of thinking. Our prayer of course is that we can have Mom around for years to come and have her be able to enjoy more visits but if she is called home we all know she is ready and at peace with her life and all of us were able to help grant her last main wish/prayer.
On a sad note - Tom and I had to put our oldest cat, Simba, to sleep two weeks ago. Old age (18 years old) and an inoperable tumor were just to much for him. We kept him and loved him for as long as we felt he was comfortable but finally had to make the decision. Jenn our DIL was so very gentle, caring and supporting in our decision. Thank you Jenn for all the loved you showed our Simba over the years. I know he was a very special part of yours and Kevins life too.
Spring while in some respects has been a very sad time for me it is also a time of rejoicing and rebirth. The gardens are coming alive - most plants did survive the drought of last summer and have been drenched with much needed rain the last few weeks and puttting on their spring growth. Bluebirds are nesting in Mom's bluebird house. We have yet to spot our first hummingbird of the season but did see our first firefly the other night. Nights are getting warmer and sitting out on the porch after hours is becoming the activity of choice. We have a new visitor to the yard on a pretty daily basis now - a rooster from somewhere in the neighborhood struts his stuff for the better part of the day. He is a right handsome gent and there is a mutual respect between him and the cats - i.e. they all keep their distance of each other. Our wintersown baby seedlings are looking healthy and strong waiting for the soil to warm up just a bit more. All in all - Life is pretty darn good here at HeartlandGardens. Thank you all for stopping by and for signing the last blog - your thoughts and prayers for Mom were/are greatly appreciated - until next time
Lynne ~~he who plants a seed - believes in tomorrow~~
posted by Tom | 11:26 AM
2 Comments:
Nothing like a visit from the family to cheer your Mom up. You both are just wonderful people and I will continue to keep you in my prayers.
Jan
Lynne, I'm so glad you had the wonderful visits you did. I hope you're blessed with many, many more.
And I can't believe you have fireflies already. We've managed to kill them all off in Orlando, and I don't remember them before Memorial Day at home.
Connie
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