Visit Wrap-up

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When brother Bob and Beth went home, they left my house in much better shape than before. Bob cleaned one bit of the bathroom ceiling that was discolored, balancing on a ladder while doing it. I was holding the cleaning solution, so I was glad I didn’t look at him. That would have been nerve-wracking.

Bob volunteered to trim the Wicked Wisteria, and I accepted with alacrity. That wild vine is always reaching out for me and running shoots underground in every direction. He made short work of it by putting his trimmer on a pole. John would have been amazed, because he and the grandsons used a ladder and loppers for the job.

I took a photo of them just before they left, needing to show that they seemed unscathed by all their hard work here. What you can’t see is their very smooth exit. We sat on the front porch for a few minutes, waiting for the proper time for them leave to meet their granddaughter. She had just started college in Asheville, and they visited her before driving home. Bob and Beth simply got up from their chairs, hugged me, walked to their car and drove off. Do you realize what was missing? There was no visible packing of suitcases, numerous trips to pack the car, last check for missing items, mad dash to get something from the bathroom, or calling a cell phone to locate it. They must have packed, loaded, and stripped the bed while I was dressing or putting breakfast on the table. Amazing!

David and I were going to our church via computer. We’ve done it many times, but this time it didn’t work. We could participate with the live chat feature on the side, but the rest of the screen was blank. David quickly whipped out his phone with no better luck. He tried to hook up with our former church in NY, but that service was already over. Missing only the first hymn, we watched St. Thomas on Fifth Avenue. It felt like homecoming. When we lived in NY, we’d go to evensong there five or six times a year. It was marvelous to hear that glorious music again, as well as a good sermon. Something we wouldn’t have seen in person was a view of the organist’s hands and feet. We sat on the porch with the waterfall quietly splashing in the background and birds and butterflies flitting about. Worship sometimes happens in ways you never imagined.

Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

Published

31 thoughts on “Visit Wrap-up”

      1. Yes, her too……and maybe you could come along and watch them with me…..How lucky you are to have such a devoted family …..I believe that God has a way of getting us where we need to be at certain times in our lives…..you are there now…..❤️

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  6. I like your term, Wicked Wisteria. No better name for them. I’ve never been to church online, but to see your old church live would be something worthy of note. Will you attend again?

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    1. David and I have gone to church every week since John died. It has been a struggle for him, since he usually is a closer at work and doesn’t get home until the wee hours on Sunday morning. He used to nap as John drove us to church.

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  9. What kind and useful visitors. I like how they left so peacefully. I think attending church online is one of the pluses of the Pandemic. ( as long as the technology works!)

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  11. Online worship meeting are great. Worship sometimes happens in way you never imagined. But now together in church. I everyday going my prayer hall meet all. Very well doing brother cleaning bathroom ceiling and you holding colour solution. Good blance ladder doing it. Nice video for timmer. Beautiful photo with brother.
    God bless you 🙏

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    1. It isn’t a secret, but you were not active here 2.5 months ago. Things were changing drastically for me. Thanks to people’s prayers and kindness, I’m doing extremely well. Husband John died suddenly as he was coming home after a lovely weekend at the train club, doing what he loved to do. He was having chemotherapy for light chain amyloidosis, and he had congestive heart failure. We found out later that it was a lethal combination. His heart stopped, and they couldn’t get it going again. God took him at the best possible time for him and for me. He wouldn’t have wanted to go downhill and sink into death. I didn’t have to get someone to drive me to the train club four hours away. Everything was taken care of by phone, computer, and scanning. Daughter Lise came from Denmark and stayed two months, arranging a lovely memorial service and helping me with all the paperwork. You just read about my brother’s coming, and daughter Kate will be here for a week later this month. See? You missed all the details and went straight to the happy ending. Thanks to so many people, the transition to widowhood was made smoothly.

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