The weekend, the call, the heat

As usual, we have a full weekend ahead of us. Mama and Victoria are going to some store in Arlington to order a mattress and box springs so she can upgrade her bed – she has needed that for some time. (It is frightening what mattresses cost.) Plus, we have a wedding to attend Saturday afternoon. It does not seem like much but when those two items are added to the normal weekend routine, it can get hectic in a hurry. One of the hassles of having to attend to chores or events in town is having to change clothing to do so. When Mama and I have been working outside in the heat it takes a few minutes to cool down sufficiently to ensure that the clothing we are changing into does not get immediately soaked. Mama routinely changes several times a day during the week to get into dry cloths once she gets back into the house from feeding and watering chores, but if we have to leave the farm for an errand the change is more significant for her. We manage, but it adds a certain dimension of inconvenience to the requirements of daily life.

Mama has a bag packed for the trip to Brittany’s. She had had it ready to go for several days. The Lord has blessed Brittany with a very uneventful pregnancy so far so Mama is waiting until Brittany’s appointed delivery date. The fact that there are twins growing in Brittany’s womb has not seemed to affect her noticeably – which is a huge blessing since this was considered a high-risk pregnancy. We are excited about finally meeting the babies. Neither Brittany nor Andrew are fully aware of how significantly their life is about the change. They have planned carefully and set up the house as needed for the twins, but none of us can know the extent of the impact that the infant twins will bring to daily life. Will they sleep well? Will they eat well? Will they stay well? Will there be special dietary needs for either of them? Will they be pleasant or cranky babies? Those and a thousand other questions linger, but the overall expectation is that this will be a lifelong blessing – constantly bathed in prayer.

In an attempt to be instantly available should Brittany call and say they are on their way to the hospital, Mama has been keeping her phone on the nightstand every night. Or course, the volume has to be left on so she does not miss the call – even though I think the phone vibrating against the nightstand would wake her. So far, the only thing that has disturbed us is the gong that sounds with the notifications she receives; from Facebook, Marco Polo and weather or Amber alerts. It has not been too bad through the night but the mornings have gotten noisier than I am used to. Maybe it is my age.

Mama’s main concern for being gone is leaving the care of all her animal charges to me and Victoria. Intensifying that concern is the fact that I will turn those duties over to Nate when Victoria and I go up to meet the twins. She is worried someone will be forgotten and die of thirst in this intense heat. She takes her ministrations to the pigs, chickens, goats and rabbits very seriously. As thankful as I am for her dedication and diligence, I believe all the animals will survive her absence for a short time. They will not be as pampered but hopefully, they will not be forgotten.

The heat is brutal right now. The temperatures are near 100° F and the humidity is below 40%. The plants are in the usual summer stress mode and Mama and I are watering carefully and thoroughly three evenings per week – if not more often. As is typical for the summer months, my concern is centered on the fruit trees and the berry bushes. Mama focuses on the garden and animals. So far, we are keeping everything alive, but even our best efforts can be thwarted by long periods of severe heat. – especially in the garden.

Two months to go before we have to start setting up for cold temperatures.