Mama’s setback, Brittany and the twins

After a good beginning with the physical therapist, Mama was back to where she started by the second visit for therapy. On the first visit following the second manipulation where she got to 116°, she was only able to get to 85° on Friday. She is very discouraged. So, every evening Victoria or I are massaging her leg to try to tame the stiffness in the quad in the hopes of regaining the bend we know is possible. Where she is right now, sitting on a plane will be nearly impossible. At the very least, it will be horribly uncomfortable. We are trying to get to the point where she can not only enjoy the flight to and from Honduras but enjoy the activities there as well. Three steps forward, two steps back.

We enjoyed our time with Brittany and the twins. Brittany and the girls got to the farm Thursday evening. Mama and Victoria got to enjoy them in different stages on Friday. Brittany and the girls met Victoria for lunch Friday while Mama met me in Decatur after her physical therapy appointment. Victoria had not gotten to see the twins until that meeting. They were already in bed when she had gotten home Thursday night and she left Friday morning before the girls were up. We all got to make up for it Friday night because Brittany left the girls with Mama and met Andrew in Dallas for her first night away from the twins. We had a great time with them and they did not seem overly concerned that their mommy was not there through the evening. With Victoria’s help we kept them busy. It was pleasant outside Friday evening so while we were letting Mama sit on the tailgate of the truck to swing her leg – somewhat – the girls played in the very dirty bed of the truck. The ridges in the bed did not bother them at all. Nor did the coolness of the metal. They acted as thought they were in their own private playground. They got dirty enough that we had to bathe them before putting them down for the night, but they were thrilled with the experience – both the truck and the bath. Mama, Victoria and I enjoyed their exuberance.

Brittany was back Saturday afternoon and Zoe was excited to see her. I was holding Sophia when she came in and when she tried to get Sophia to give her a hug Sophia turned herself back into my shoulder and buried her face in my neck. That quickly turned into a game. Brittany playfully scolded her daughter as we played. But she was thrilled to see how attached Sophia is to me. It is always more fun to be loved than to be tolerated. Sophia was fascinated by my facial hair – and I made sure to keep it to only a day’s growth so that it was not too scratchy on their baby skin. When I nuzzled her or kissed her neck she would shy away at first then lean into my face for me to do it again. She would rub her hand on my whiskers and try to scratch them off my face. I have the scratches to prove it. Mama enjoyed watching the interaction.

Saturday evening, we met with the church at a remote location just outside Chico. For a couple weeks we have been trying to get a picnic scheduled and the weather finally cooperated. Earlier in the day there was skeet shooting, football, volleyball and horse shoes. But we did not go for any of those activities. We showed up for the wienie (hot dog) roast. They were cooked over an open fire which at first was way too hot – resulting in about half the hot dogs being burnt beyond the point where they could be eaten. After we made some adjustments, the next batch came out perfectly. Mama made chili and slaw for the occasion. Almost all the slaw was eaten but she made ten pounds of meat into chili. Only about a third of the chili got eaten so we had a lot left over.

When we got to the picnic area we set a blanket on the ground for the twins thinking that the moist ground would discourage them from venturing too far. We were wrong about that. Once Zoe was down she crawled off the blanket and across the ground in pursuit of something only she knew about. Victoria and I followed. Sophia was not far behind, but she was following me more than anything of a personal directive. Brittany was okay with the excursion, so we let them go where they wanted. We were on a fifty-acre spread, so there was plenty of room.

We stayed until it was nearly dark. Got the girls ready for travel as we packed up our stuff and left as the flood lights were being turned on for those who were hanging out for the music. Mama wanted to stay but was just about at the point where she needed to get stretched out somewhere comfortable to rest her leg. We had said our goodbyes to the twins at the picnic. By the time she drove from the picnic to the farm – about three miles - the girls were fast asleep. We said our goodbyes to Brittany back at the farm. She left from there and we went back into a quiet house.

It was a good weekend.