TUESDAY

What a special time Mary and I had having Matt and Sarah spend 5 days with us.  Every man who has a daughter like Sarah is extra blessed.  Her expertise as a nurse and care giver brought a special touch to Mary’s needs this past weekend.  They left yesterday, so Mary is back to being stuck with me.  (Actually I think she is quite okay with that). 

We had a wonderful time together on Mother’s Day.  Bryan, Beth and the boys came over after church for a special dinner together.  It had been quite a while since Mary had seen the grandboys.  They are special.  Along with a great meal Sunday, (cooked by Sarah), we had a scruptious dessert provided by Beth’s mom, Donna. 

To increase the goodness of those days together, our friends Deb and Dale in Michigan, called Dorothy Lane Market and put an amazing box of goodies together for us, things for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, midnight snacks and post snack snacks.  If any of you are familiar with DLM’s Killer Brownies, how does 12 of them sound.  That’s right, 12!!  We have been a bit overindulgent.  The running shoes await.

Mary continues to surprise us at times.  Though her leg strength fluctuates she has not been able to get up the stairs to our bedroom for well over a week now.  But Saturday night she wanted to give it another try.  In her own special way, and with a little help from Sarah, Matt and I she made it.  We had the joy of sleeping on our own bed once again.  She tried the next couple of nights but alas, not enough leg strength to pull it off.  (The wheelchair experiment to get Mary upstairs didn’t work.  Sounded like a great idea, but we have too many stairs.)

Our reality right now is this.  Mary continues to fluctuate between good leg strength and very week leg strength.  She also needs someone helping her with her balance, as she is unsteady on her feet right now.  I thank the Lord that she is still able to stand up and get from the bed to the bathroom or to the living room, though most of the time she needs help getting to a standing position.  Her mental functions continue to be more challenging.  Thoughts are very hard to put into words, which is very frustrating for her, and she fluctuates between understanding what is being spoken to her, to not understanding.  Some confusion surfaces from time to time and her short term memory is very undependable.

So we take each day at a time, continuing to make the best of each day’s reality.  Bryan and Beth are close by, and they are available any time night or day if I need help.    Our nurse friend, Liz, talks with me most everyday, to help me with the unexpected or new things that surface.  So we are well cared for.  I have had so many offers from church friends who live close by as well, so I know I can get ahold of someone at any time as needed.

Your love and prayers are cherished.  Thanks so much for caring.

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