Cabinet rescue, a truck delivery, great news

 I worked from the office for a few hours yesterday after we got our COVID tests done and I managed to get a lot of little things done. It is so much easier to have multiple screens as I do the spreadsheet updates which requires gathering information from multiple sources. While I was working, Mama called to tell me about some cabinets she saw sitting by a trash can at one of the homes on FM 1810. She said they looked pretty good to be discarded and that they looked like upper cabinets. I am in need of upper cabinets, so I was interested.

On my way home a few hours later, I stopped to look them over. It was two complete units of upper cabinets, solid wood, mostly oak. They were wet from the rain we had the night before but did not look worse for the soaking. They were heavy, so getting them into the bed of the truck took a lot of effort, but I managed because they were too good to pass up. One unit was over seven feet long. The other was shorter but deeper with a wine rack build into the lower half of the cabinet. I have places in the shop that seemed to be set up for the cabinets, but I will have to wait until I get back to mount them. Obviously, mounting them will take more strength than I can provide on my own. I will have to call for help. Just handling the cabinets yesterday – into the truck and from the truck into the shop – required me to use the TENS unit on my back as soon as I got up this morning.

Mama had arranged for us to get the truck to Grandma and Grandpa yesterday evening. Victoria will then swap her car for the truck on her way home tomorrow night. The car is far easier for Grandma to get into. So, after we fed and I took care of putting a larger water trough in with the heifer, we headed to Bowie. Mama had Rosalee with her in the Sequoia and I drove the truck. I had the truck parked in her way to unload the cabinets, so I had to pull out first. As is typical, it was not many miles later that she passed me up. Mama drives the “allowable” speed limit versus the posted speed limit. Anyway, we visited with Grandma and Grandpa for an hour or so before we headed back to the farm.

Grandma is struggling mentally but Grandpa is aware of her decline and is managing it well enough. For her part, Grandma is sensitive to his guidance as he abruptly halts her conversation when things do not come out right or when she goes off on a tangent that will eventually result in hurtful things being said. It can get awkward, but we spend as much time with them as we can. In my father’s mental decline, I never saw him get angry or lash out, but my sister, who was his primary caregiver until he needed fulltime care, says it happened a time or two. Not often. So it goes as the person who is struggling to speak, to remember, to interact, gets frustrated at their recognition of that inability. Rosalee provided the right distraction last night and we had a good visit. Grandpa sent about five pounds of fudge with us to carry to Nate and Cori. They do not understand the weight restrictions we have to deal with, but their heart is in the right place. They give what they can.

On the way home, Mama got an email alerting her that her lab results were available. She was very frustrated because she could not open the pdf on her phone. She would need a computer to do so – especially since a password was required to access the report. She tried not to be too obvious peeking at the speedometer as we drove home, but she did not coach me on my speed. She called Victoria and Cori as we completed the drive back home even though I cautioned her that it was a bit premature. When I accessed and opened the document it revealed a negative (Not Detected) result. Now we can get excited. Victoria opened her email and found the same results. I had to search for my notification but finally found it in my Junk folder. I also got a negative on the test. That major hurdle is now behind us. Praise the Lord! For those of you who prayed along with us, thank you for your prayers.

We can now do all the final packing. Grandpa will take the truck this morning and pick up the feed we ordered. We needed only a few bags to ensure we had enough for Brittany, but Mama and I were struggling to find the time to make the trip. Grandpa volunteered and we gladly accepted. All the little thing we need to happen are falling into place – along with some other unexpected blessings.

God is good!