My dad had recently undergone knee surgery to replace his
left knee. So things were a little
different than normal at my parent’s house.
Dad had a rough go of things following surgery, so we were very anxious
to see him for this holiday. He improved
by leaps and bounds right before our very eyes while we were visiting! He went from barely ambulating to walking the
house with a cane in a matter of days.
The kids weren’t sure what to think of their “Poppy” in his
condition. D kept asking how his
knee was doing and J wanted to check on his “boo-boo”. My mom was doing a wonderful job of running
the house (of a sorts) and keeping up with Thanksgiving traditions. Thankful for their 35 years together!
One of our stops along the way was to visit Tim’s widowed grandmother,
affectionately known as “Granny”. Our
kids had a wonderful time at her house.
It is an old Alabama country home, but it is so much more than that to
my husband. As a missionary kid, it was
one of the few “constants” in his life. The
place is full of things to do and tinker with.
Stuff of a boy’s childhood dreams.
And now Tim is getting the chance to share it with his son. On our visit they
explored the upstairs of the “apartment”, shot 2 kinds of BB guns, went to the
wood’s edge, and told tales of nearly-legendary motorcycle jumps. D’s fascination grew until he was
hooked. He cried when it was time for us
to leave. J, too, had fun living
vicariously through her brother’s adventures, though most of his exploring was
done during her nap. As I laid her down
to sleep in Granny’s room gently warmed by an antique gas heater, I too rested
my head for a bit on the king-sized bed.
For a moment, all was quiet and it gave me pause to think. My heart felt grateful for the chance to be
so full of things to be thankful for, for holidays, and silence, and
family. For old houses and deep
memories. For things that change and things
that do not. For a sleeping baby and an
adventure-some boy. For the man whose
Army medals hung across the bedroom on the wall. For his service in Korea to our country. For the life he lived and the love he
shared. For the time my son had to know
him. For the soldier we welcomed home
this year and his selfless service too.
It was on our travels that I really took time to notice what
great playmates our two little arrows have become. They prefer each other’s company and the
number of fights I have to break up is beginning to decrease. They seek each other out for play and she can
do JUST about anything he can. At three
and a half years apart he is old enough to look out for her but still young
enough to play her kinds of games. My
prayer is for a life of peace and friendship between them.
As I blog, our family is making its way back to our Army
homestead, traveling this long stretch of rainy highway. This week will no doubt be filled with
decorating for the great December celebration.
I love that Thanksgiving (which our family DOES celebrate as a separate holiday-entity
unto itself!) ushers in the Christmas season each year. What more perfect way to ready our homes and
our lives for the greatest, most needed gift to humanity than with thankful
hearts?! Finally I can say it…Merry
Christmas to all!
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