Babysitting, travel, longing for home

Friday night, as we were leaving the RU meeting at church, we met with Erin Echeveria to take her two youngest children home with us. Their older child, six year old Luke, was being taken to the hospital because he could not move his right leg. There were fears that it could be the virus that has been sickening children in Colorado but it turned out to be a much less virulent strain. He was eventually sent home and Victoria returned the children to the parents while Mama and I were traveling back from Chappell Hill Saturday afternoon.

Saturday night he was taken back to the hospital so the doctors could surgically remove the water that had accumulated on the hip joint causing a paralysis of sorts. We took the younger children home after the morning service at church Sunday morning and they are still with Mama and Victoria at the farm. They will go back home sometime today - after their brother is released. Until then Mama and Victoria are having a blast.

While we were eating lunch yesterday, as Mama was feeding the baby and herself, she playfully scolded the ten month old for accepting a bite of food while he still had food in his mouth. “You still had a full mouth you little toot-butt.” was what she said but the four-year-old laughed and asked, “Why did you call him a tulip?” Mama could barely finish her lunch – and we called the little one “Tulip” for the rest of the day. If her scolding words were going to be heard in any way, that was the better outcome.

Mama and I traveled to Chappell Hill on Saturday so we could be there for Grandma Kline’s 85^th birthday. (It looks like we will have to go back in late December for Grandpa Kline’s’ 90^th.) As it happened this was the weekend for the Scarecrow Festival in Chappell Hill and the town was packed. Main Street was closed to vehicle traffic so we had a challenge getting to Mom and Dad’s but we eventually wove our way through.

Seven of her eight children were there for the celebration and Mama and I had a good time. I am always taken aback by how very loud my brothers and sisters are. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves especially Mom and Dad. It is getting to be more and more obvious that Dad is having trouble keeping up with conversations due to his memory loss, but he tries. He does not seem to get too frustrated when he has to be reminded what the topic of conversation is currently.

Mom is, like her mother before her, is longing to go home. It is a spiritual selfishness that all of us will wrestle with at some point, but God is in control of that timing. I have always told Mama that it is my hope to live until I die rather than to wait until I die. I have seen too many healthy people waiting around to die rather than living through their days as effectively and actively as they are able. My Mom is not quite in a holding pattern but she is close.

It was a good visit and I am happy to be close enough to make these celebrations.