Nexus

We had a KidPak Zoom meeting today, just three of us, but it was pretty productive, laying out ideas for activities going all the way to the first Sunday in March.  Along those lines, I have to get busy on the visuals for an idea for this Sunday upcoming.  It should be fun!

Along those lines, I was getting some ideas down for another ministry too, something new for the next year.  We'll see how that goes, as it's all very early.  In fact, this is that blurry week between Christmas and the end of the year, this sort of nexus that comes each year where some completely forget what day it even is.  It's the end of 2020, a rather historic year.  Although the word "historic" has been way overused lately. It's been used so often that it really doesn't have the impact it used to.  But this is in fact a historic year.  In our own personal lives, it wasn't necessarily the pandemic that brought us challenges and difficulties, but rather the same old word that kills, steals and destroys:  cancer.  

We're making due though, and we're keeping busy - because if we don't, Nana's default setting is tears.  Seriously, you stop distracting her, and sure enough, the grief sets in again and there is the muttering and the crying and all the things we've been hearing all day long for four months now.  Putting ourselves in her shoes, particularly with some amazing memory lapses, we can't get upset at her so much.  But it does wear on all of us, and we have these little moments of confession together when she's asleep, moments where we just sort of talk about the day and how we're holding up.  There are things that are repeated every day, and those crack us up:  the water has to run a little before the hot water comes on.  The neighbors across the street there have moved with their two dogs.  These are just a few of the things we say each and every day, and we say them with that patient smile, the three of us nodding pleasantly as if we hadn't said this thing every single day for the last four months.  

The weather wasn't so bad today, so Nana went for a walk.  One of our kind neighbors let us know that Nana made it all the way to the pool, where she was spending her time talking with Ba-Ba.  That is what she does every day and night.  I drove down there just to check on her, but she was fine.  She walked back on her own steam, and that's good.  She goes through these phases where she doesn't eat though, and today was one of those.  Tonight, we sort of had to confront her about it.  It wasn't yelling or anything, but we had to be a bit more firm.  Please eat.

Mom made a splendid dinner, one made from the prime rib this past Christmas.  She made these Philly cheesesteaks that were easily one of the best things I've eaten in a while.  Nana enjoyed some of that, but also the sweet potato casserole that was there too.

We went to the chiropractor today, all four of us.  It was busy there, but that was okay.  I was having some blood pressure issues up until then, and was relaxing in the waiting room there, just seated with my eyes closed, and legs not crossed.  It was as if I was meditating or something, and we were joking about it later, about making a redneck sort of meditation video.  "Welp, med-tation is purty easy.  You just sit there and don't do nothin'!"  Doc Williams' wife there took my blood pressure a little later, and it was down to 113.  It was greatly encouraging.  Maybe I won't die soon after all!

There was some grocery shopping today - we were over at Aldi's again, all of us.  We made short work of that grocery list fairly quickly.  Another thing that started today was the de-Santafication process.  Yes, there are some things starting to come down, getting packed up.  Mom has spent a good bit of time working in the basement, straightening it up down there as we prepare to bring things down.

We've had a log in the fireplace each night, as we all gather for a movie.  Tonight's feature was "National Treasure," which is such a great movie.  We'll probably watch the sequel next, although we did drop by the library earlier today to pick up another old movie.  We dropped off the other movies, and the completed jigsaw puzzle.  Yes, we got another puzzle, so we'll start on that one soon, I'm sure.

Tonight we finished "The Magician's Nephew," the sixth book from Narnia that we've read.  Tomorrow I think we're starting "The Last Battle," which is a more somber book, one that concludes the entire Chronicles.  It just feels great reading the classics, spending time in Narnia too.  We said our prayers, and were in bed a little later tonight.  No matter - tomorrow we sleep in.  But each night, Madison is now hiding the groundhog somewhere for me to discover unexpectedly, and it's been a fun new addition to the nightly routine.  Tonight, it was under the covers of our bed, so that between Mommy and I there was this groundhog!  Some times it is on a post just outside the door, staring at me when I walk out.  Sometimes it's on the ground on the steps there, and one time it was greeting me as I walked out the door - it was wearing a cape!

We said our prayers tonight, prayers for good health and a good night's rest, and were asleep fairly quickly after that!