Goodbye One Year Later

A full year has passed since John died. I was aware of the date (June 11) and felt it should be acknowledged, but how? While I wondered what we should do, family, friends, and neighbors took care of it. They sent texts, e-mail, e-cards and flowers. I never expected others to remember the date, much less to notice it. I was touched, feeling cared for and loved.

Just as neighbors Shawn, Bob, and Logan were first to be with me last year, their family came over this year. Their daughter Brittainy brought fresh-picked flowers, and Shawn gave me a cardinal charm. She and I share a love of birds, and this one is most charming.

The next day daughter Kate drove back to New Jersey, and I took a last photo of her with David. This goodbye was an ordinary one, because I fully expect to see her in the near future. We’ve already put a tentative date on the calendar for her next visit. Although I have not set a tentative date for my death, I fully expect to see John when Jesus takes me to the place he has prepared for me. With God, there is always something to look forward to.

Vacation Activities

Daughter Kate petted CAT several mornings, a welcome interruption on the way to the creek.

Here are shots taken at or near the creek.

Getting the waterfall ready for summer was a big job. Kate was the cheering squad, while David removed dead leaves and muck. They used their phones to coordinate filling the pools, since the spigot was out of sight. I intend to get the broken pipe replaced to make things easier.

They trimmed the Wicked Wisteria, even cutting it back where it had reached out to the evergreens. I don’t like it when those plants collude, trying to tie off the back yard.

They took a few minutes to enjoy their work, watching and listening to the waterfall.

An Outing on the Parkway

After our small family reunion, we settled into a routine for daughter Kate’s visit. Each day began with a walk to the creek, with the obligatory photo on the first walk.

David took the week off to be with his mother and me. Some days were warm enough for us to eat lunch on the porch. The dog loved this, because she had entertainment watching birds while waiting for us to be attentive to her again.

All of us enjoyed stopping at Sunburst Falls, my favorite in this area. David took Kacey out on the rocks where she found a place to step in the water.

Here is a shot of the family on the bridge over the stream.

Going further up the mountain, we drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway. True to its name, the road is on the very top of these old rounded mountains. It was a chilly day, so we wore wraps while eating our picnic lunch. A very light shower threatened us, but we fought back and finished our meal peacefully. This was the most vacation-looking day of our week together.

Sunday Visit

The first full day daughter Kate was here, her son Nathaniel and girlfriend Sarah came to visit. What a marvelous day we had! We celebrated David’s birthday at the end of a late lunch.

Nathaniel had sent his mother a jigsaw puzzle for Mother’s Day, and they began working it. The the puzzle picture was a photo of Kate and her two sons. Kate has continued working on it, and I’m waiting for most of it to be done before trying to find a piece.

I asked them to pose under the old oak tree. I think everyone was satisfied with the result.

The amusing video from the day was Kate’s directing people to sit up, but not that straight, and Nate’s lighting the candle with a flourish.

David’s Birthday

June always starts with celebrating grandson David’s birthday. He had to work that day, so we began with a birthday candle in a breakfast donut.

The next evening David and I had his celebration dessert, lemon pie.

The third day daughter Kate arrived from New Jersey, another cause for celebration. I like this photo of Kate with her son and grand dog.

Kacey accepted Kate quickly. Kacey wouldn’t know that Kate was terrified of all animals when she was young. She has come a long, long way since then.

Logan on his Trampoline

Neighbor Logan has had a trampoline for months, and I had been longing to see him use it. Stretching it a bit, I said he made my dream come true. Another first that day was his calling himself to see if he could stay with me rather than go with his parents to an appointment in Asheville. I was pleased, so it worked well for everyone.

We had quite a bit of time to fill, so we began by playing games. It took me 8 minutes longer to work the Set puzzle for the day, and he finished Wordle in a very short time. I didn’t figure it out until that night, probably four hours after he did. It’s not that I’ve slowed down so much, but he has an extremely bright mind.

Logan’s favorite sport these days is basketball. After lunch he went out on the street to dribble a ball and use up some energy. I took a few videos, mostly of things I had already recorded. When I asked if I could see him on the trampoline, he kindly agreed. As we walked down his steep driveway, he suggested I might like to use the steps instead of walking in the grass. His thoughtfulness and good manners are amazing.

It was so much fun to watch him jump and turn flips. I had no idea he could that.

After we came back to my house, he shared videos of some of his favorite basketball players. One did a running jump, and he was high enough that he could have landed on my shoulders! I was editing the videos I had taken and shared them with his household before Shawn and Bob came home. It had been a most satisfying afternoon.

No Weeping for the Cherry Tree

Shrubs and trees needed attention – heavy trimming or removal. The property was in very good shape when we moved here almost nine years ago, but the weeping cherry tree got away from us. John cut a few large limbs over the years, and David removed one last year. Every summer I hacked my way through the dangling branches so that people could walk along the gravel path. Despite several trimming sessions each year, I couldn’t keep the walkway clear. Before the tree got a nasty name like the Wicked Wisteria did, we decided it had to go. I watched Jeremy’s deft movements and heard the saw do its job. As the tree fell, I had not one regret. The rhododendron and lilac bushes had been bullied and overpowered by the cherry, and they certainly had reason to cheer.

With great pleasure, I saw Jeremy use his nifty machine to pick up the tree, parade it around the house, and put it gently on his truck. His wife was standing by me, and you may be able to see his two-year-old son in his lap. Young Hudson loves to “work” with his dad.

This photo shows the stump, the path, and the two plants that are now relaxing their limbs after years of crowding.

The Wicked Wisteria is in the center of the photo. Doesn’t it look like it is sticking out its tongue at me?

Two-step Monday

I took two steps forward, and now two steps backward. The good news is, I’m back where I started about two years ago! When my retina leaked I went for an injection once a month. I advanced to six week intervals, then eight weeks, but I couldn’t hold it. I went back to six weeks and now four again.

Three days before my regular appointment, my vision was a bit blurred. I excused it as an allergy. The next day I blamed dirty glasses. A dirty windshield was the next excuse, only the glass wasn’t dirty. The retina scan showed my vision went from 20/30 to 20/40. If I had only that eye, I could still function, but I would be limited to reading poster-sized materials. Center vision is useless at the moment..

There is a funny story to the day, though. When I booked the bus ride, the scheduler said I should be ready for pickup at 11:45 for a 1:15 appointment. I wrote it down and still had that note on the kitchen table. I had also had two reminders from the office that I was due there at 1:15. Luckily, I showered right after walking and ate breakfast with David. He heard the bus honk and thought it was the lawn service truck leaving. It wasn’t. It was the bus waiting outside for me!

I ran out and told the nice driver that there was some mistake. He called the dispatcher, and she said I was down for a 9:45 pickup before an 11:15 appointment. It was her word against mine. Thinking quickly, I decided to go immediately. I could wait in the doctor’s office as easily as I could at home. My phone was charged, meaning I had hours of things I could do. Reading was possible if I closed the right eye.

We had gotten as far as the highway when the driver said he didn’t have another pickup until noon. I said, “If I’d known that, I would have offered to cook you breakfast.”

He said, “We could turn around, but I guess we’ve gone too far.”

It was gratifying that there was regret in his voice.

I Didn’t Wave

Every year I was caught off guard. Riding along with John at the wheel, I’d see a person waving at me, and I’d wave back. I did catch myself the last two years, and lifted my arm only half way when I realized it was neighbor Warren’s scarecrow. This year I saw the scarecrow on my way to the creek the day after he was put up. Since his clothes are quite faded, he doesn’t make the same impact he once did. Clothes do matter!

Isn’t the garden neat? Weeds don’t stand a chance. The main crops are yellow squash and tomatoes. The contraption in the middle is a sprinkler, getting water from the creek running alongside. I will enjoy watching the progress as the plants grow, the squash splashes out with yellow blooms, and the tomatoes turn from green to red. The garden will look good until Warren plows everything up in the fall and puts the plastic covers and sprinkler away. The bare plot will rest again until spring.