Day 1325: Down to two

It was fifteen years ago this week that our family gathered to say goodbye to mom.  In her last days, she took control and met death on her own terms.  She and her sister Jane were especially close so now Jane is almost like a mom to us, even though she's only eight years older than I am. I think Mom would have been very proud to see all of us together this weekend enjoying each other's company and helping each other through the challenges of life.

At dinner Saturday night, we raised a toast for each success: All of our sons are happy healthy, employed and insured, Alex's graduation from HS, Andrew's citizenship, Jerry's partial retirement, Mary's new car, Caitlin's approaching college graduation, Colin promotion and their move to California, Steve's retirement from the EMT class, and our 44th anniversary.  Then, there were the birthdays, Nancy's mom's 93rd, Steve P on the 13th, Caitlin, Jason and Steve C on the 24th.  And dear Glenn would have turned 60 and retired on the 13th.

And we paused to pray for our cousin Michael, Jane's son, who will undergo a kidney transplant tomorrow.  His 20 year old daughter Rebecca will donate a kidney to save her father.  It is an incomparable gift.

Uncle Jerry tapped on our door at 6:30 to say goodbye.  He'd been awake since three, while Jane and Dan had been up since 5:00 so they figured they'd get going early.  Nancy left at 9 and then there were just two of us where there had been twenty.

Recovery and resupply began immediately with a trip to the grocery store.  The cupboards were cleaned out of everything from toilet paper to eggs, butter, and cookie mixes.  The menu worked out very well, except that it involved too much time with the oven on.  It's a good thing the turkey did not defrost in time for Saturday's dinner, because it was so small it never would have fed everyone.  We went through one turkey, twenty chicken breasts, sixty meatballs, sauce, three pasta salads, baked potatoes, several pounds of ham, salami and cheese, four melons, five dozen ears of corn, squash, tomatoes and cucumbers, several packs of bagels and muffins, waffles, french toast, lots of eggs and bacon and more.  Everyone pitched in to help, but my husband's performance was heroic!  He washed a mountain of dishes!

Every day I am reminded of how fortunate we are and how very precious each moment is.  Over the weekend, two more of my classmates died of cancer.  We've had our share of grief, but during the past week, we swam, laughed, shared stories, played dominoes, redecorated a bathroom, visited the family plot and feasted. We'll do whatever is necessary to keep these happy reunions going so we're not just pulled together for funerals.

Beautiful nieces

Jane and Dan

Bobbie's trifle