Andrew, Victoria’s house, job news

Yesterday Mama and I went to the hospital here in Decatur to visit Andrew. He is the special needs son of one of the families in our church; the one we have picked up for church on occasion when the parents are out of town. He had a very severe seizure Monday night – the first one in almost a decade – which has left him with a struggling cognitive ability. He knows that he knows things but has trouble getting them to come out; names of people, places, dates, etc.

His father was pleasantly surprised and his mother absolutely elated that he not only remembered Mama but remembered his pet name for her – Cutter. When Mama and I walked into his room he was very happy to see us, although the feeling seemed to have taxed him a bit. But when Mam asked if he remembered what he called her, and he did, at least at that moment, even Andrew was very pleased with himself.

So far, she is one of only two people outside of his immediate family that he could immediately place a name with. Later Mama asked about him remembering me and I reminded her that he has never been quite sure how to address me. Most of his interaction when he is with us has been between him and Mama and Victoria.  Andrews mom made to make sure Mama was aware that she is on a very short, very exclusive list.

When I got home yesterday afternoon Mama and I went to Victoria’s to collect the mail and plant the two blueberry bushes she bought at Lowe’s Wednesday night. They were $1.74 each so if they do not survive it is not a huge loss but I think there is a very good chance they will do well. Considering how well the pomegranate trees are doing, I have high hopes.

Mama is jealous of the variety of flowers Victoria has at her place, bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, tulips, lilies of a dozen sort, etc. It will be hard for me to compete with since that landscaping has a thirty year head start. Whoever owned the place for the last generation did a great job placing flowers and trees on the small plot of ground. We only have to make a few improvements.

Meanwhile, our garden and the beginning of an orchard are doing very well at our place. We have come to the conclusion that the second old tree we have in the orchard is an apple tree. Time will tell but it is definitely not a pear tree – we are sure of the one that is a pear tree because of the fruit – and it is not a peach tree; the leaves are not right for a peach. We will know pretty soon as the fruit begins to develop.

I sent a note to the hiring manager for the Licensing job yesterday morning and had a reply in the afternoon. In response to my inquiry he told me that there would be some announcement late next week as to who would be offered the open positions.

It was a fairly standard answer – so we will continue to wait.