A full week, fun interactions

 Last week I was allowed to take off the entire week to spend time with family in bereavement of our loss of Rebekah and Bridgette. It was very generous of my employer to do so. We did, in fact, take time to be together and try to figure out just what to do to memorialize that loss. Our original plans of traveling to Hot Springs during last week were thwarted by scheduling constraints required to allow the local volunteer fire fighters to attend the service. They considered Becky one of their own since her husband, Mike, is part of that first responder group.

However, also lost in the accident was the wife of another fire fighter in that department. Her funeral service was last Saturday and since the services needed to be scheduled for a Saturday, Becky and Bridgette’s will be this coming Saturday. Unfortunately, only Mama and I will be able to attend, because everyone else used their time off already – not realizing there would be a significant delay in the service. I understand the thinking behind the scheduling, but it really put a damper on our plans as a family. Sadly, our desires were not part of the overall consideration given on to how to say goodbye to our child and grandchild. Perhaps, that is as it should be. We are Becky and Bridgette’s relatives. They are her friends, and their close relationships should be respected.

Nate, Cori and the kids will fly back to Honduras tomorrow. Joshua and Alicia spent the majority of the day with us Saturday and have already returned home. No one else was able to make the arrangements to spend time together to observe Rebekah and Bridgette’s homegoing.  For those of us who were together, it was a sweet time of sharing childhood memories of growing up with Becky, some long forgotten. For Joshua, the trip was more aimed at visiting with Grandma and Grandpa. Their time with us is growing very short and that face-to-face time seemed important for him and Alicia – whom they had not met yet. When I announced Saturday evening that I was going to walk to the end of our road and back (about a mile walk) everyone decided that was a great idea, even Grandma who rode her scooter the entire distance. Joshua hung back and got to spend about forty uninterrupted minutes with Grandpa. It was a sweet visit he will remember for a long time.

Anyway, it was a great week with Nate, Cori and the kids and we are thankful they came. It was a very expensive trip for them to make, so we tried to make it worthwhile for them in spite of the fact that there was no funeral to attend. As is the case for most things in life, we find a way to do those things that are most important to us, regardless of the obstacles. Conversely, we make excuses to avoid doing those things that we do not consider important enough to make the extra effort to accomplish. Sadly, those decisions overlook the opportunities we forego, and all too often come to regret. For instance, Becky was begging Mama to come over to watch Bridgette in one of her gymnastic competitions and we did not make the effort to do so. We could have probably worked out the time and money to do so, but it is an opportunity forever lost to us.

With the chickens, ducks and eight new baby goats, our grandchildren had plenty to distract them through the week. I do not know if the baby goats will be happy or sad to see them go. Several times a day the kids would go out and try to catch the goat kids. More often than not the goat kids won the game and repeatedly avoided capture. Some were caught and held for a time – they are very soft – but many never got to feel the loving our grandchildren wanted to give them. Each time, the routine was hilarious to watch, but I could not tell if the goats were enjoying the play as much as their pursuers. Once caught, the little ones would settle down and calmly endure their captivity, but when freed, they would do their best to avoid getting re-caught.

So, this week we will go back to normal once more. I think Grandpa has enjoyed having the kids in the house, but I am wholly sure that Grandma has enjoyed the company. That is, whenever she has not frustrated them and herself by trying to make them do exactly what she tells them at the instant they are told to do so. For the most part, it has been an enjoyable visit despite the circumstances. Cori’s kids do well handling Grandma. Saturday afternoon as Grandma was trying to get Savanna to listen to her, though Savanna was doing nothing wrong, there was a perfect illustration of those exchanges. Savanna just happened to be the only other person in the room and Grandma felt the need to instruct her in some fine point of life. So, as Grandma raised her voice and called Savanna’s name for the umpteenth time adding “Why won’t you listen to me?” Savanna’s response was classic. “Grandma, I’m trying to read but you won’t stop talking?”

That pretty well summed things up.