This is what I see from my BarcaLounger easy chair from the living room of our new house. It is one of those gifts that come along serendipitously every now and then that the chair Lorena picked out for me as an easy chair to use for reading books and just relaxing in the living room. It is truly serendipitous that it is a BarcaLounger. That was precisely the one luxury my father, Grandpa Milo afforded himself with the full complicity of Grandma Sarah even during the most difficult of times. It saddens me that he never got to see where Lorena and I ended up. None of his kids really aspired to have a place like the one he developed from literally a bare patch of dirt with a late 1800’s farmhouse on it (forged square nails and full-size 2×4 rough lumber framing) into a destination location called The Water Oasis–truly a showcase. We never expected to be at a place like this, but here we are–a smallish (2¼ acres) lot with a house built in the 1980’s we are slowly (as we have resources) upgrading into a place of which Grandpa Milo might have been quite proud. We are sorry he is not here to give us advice along the way, but having his signature BarcaLounger is a small help and an inspiration. Even though we know we will never arrive at the sublime level of Milo-ness that turned into The Water Oasis, this is definitely a nod in that direction.
Tag: Grandma Sarah
It was a little bit of a melancholy night last night. Grandpa Milo’s Alzheimer’s progress slowly but surely.
I told him last night, “Dad, you know we are moving to Texas in a couple of weeks.”
He said, “You are? That is disappointing.”
He had completely forgotten from when we told him last Sunday and a week ago Wednesday. Fortunately, he is in very good hands with my siblings all close by and friends from church willing and able to get him to Sunday morning meeting, the Wednesday night Bible studies and the various gospel meetings. Still it is a hard thing. It is getting harder and harder for him to get in and out of the car. He insists on doing everything himself still, but is less able by a great deal than when we got here. It is hard to see because he was truly a great father
Grandma Sarah’s mind is good, but she really finds it difficult to leave home now for anything other than doctor’s appointments. I just feel very, very grateful for parents who had my best interest at heart and, much more than that, have loved and depended on God for so long in their lives, it is now a habit that consoles them and all of us in their old age.
Betty Blonde #487 – 06/17/2010
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Lorena and I pick Grandpa Milo and Grandma Sarah up on Sundays to take them to church. It was nice to see Uncle Doug and Aunt Jean there at the assisted living home when we arrived yesterday. Aunt Julia had come a couple of days earlier because she went out of town this weekend. All of us kids, of course, brought food, the last thing any of us needed–including Grandpa Milo.
It is not an easy thing to navigate the issues associated with Alzheimer’s disease, but I am very grateful for siblings how are all fully engaged. Aunt Julia really carries the brunt of it. She is the one who gets called for the day-to-day issues, but she calls the rest of us whenever she needs help. Lorena and I visit two or three times per week for church. Doug does all the bookkeeping which takes a significant effort. Jean visits a lot and is Julia’s right arm.
The good news is they are in a good place and are happy. They are obviously eating quite well.
Betty Blonde #386 – 01/07/2010
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Grandpa Milo and Grandma Sarah, my father and mother, currently live in a memory care unit in the Portland area. We live just a little south of Portland and have been meeting with a different church than them. They have declined to the point where they now need us to come and get them to go to our meetings on Sundays and Wednesdays. We got permission from our ministers and will look forward to having more time with them. It is the reason we are in Oregon so we are thankful for the opportunity.
Betty Blonde #292 – 08/31/2009
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Day 880 of 1000
Grandma Sarah and her twin sister, Aunt Janet celebrated their 83rd birthday on January 18, 2014. A lot of the cousins got together. I think there were only two or three missing. My cousin Neil was kind enough to send us some old pictures and a few of the event. It sounds like they had a great time. Here is their picture when they were in first grade:
Here is a picture at the birthday party on Saturday (that is Aunt Jean on the right):
Betty Blonde #46 – 09/18/2008
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This picture arrived by email this morning. It is from the Cottage Grove Sentinel newspaper in Cottage Grove, Oregon. Grandma Sarah is the one on the left in the front row with the pink blouse. Grandpa Milo is two her right, behind her. The 65th Cottage Grove High School reunion took place last month. For those who do not know, Grandpa Milo was the student body president his senior year in high school.
Day 609 of 1000
We live a long way from Grandpa Milo and Grandma Sarah. Every day I have reason to be thankful for my three siblings who have done all the heavy lifting in getting them to where they need to go for the care that they need. They are in a memory care home now home which was a big change. Some people do not understand so well. Memory care is different from other kinds of assisted living, but often necessary. Dad and Mom are in a place close to all three of my siblings where Dad can work in the garden and still get around quite a bit.
I am also very thankful for friends. My childhood friend, Curt and his wife Rhonda had a potluck after meeting last weekend and invited the folks over since that used to be their meeting. They had a great time. There are other friends who pick them up and take them places. We appreciate it all a lot. Hopefully, we will be out there a little closer as soon as our kids graduate from college in the spring of next year.
We had a great Thanksgiving dinner. Here are a few photos:
First the guests of honor. We were profoundly humbled that Gladys was able to spend Thanksgiving with us.
Also my old boss Andrew and his (soon to be) veterinarian Sara. We were especially thankful these people were so gracious to listen to Grandpa Milo’s and Dad’s stories. We are hoping they make this a tradition with us!
It does not seem like it is Thanksgiving if Grandpa Milo is not taking charge of the cooking.
Lorena cooked, too!
Grandma Sarah is her usual joyful self.
Kelly gives instruction to Kiwi about not bothering the guests while they are eating.
We all have a great time. This must have been during one of Grandpa Milo’s “true” stories.
We sat at the table from about 2:30 PM to about 8:30 PM. It was an awesome Thanksgiving!
Update: Warren (who is often with us for Thanksgiving) has a wonderful Thanksgiving post here.
Day 94 of 1000
Last night, we had a wonderful dinner of French onion soup, french bread, cheddar cheese, and pizza. It sounds a little odd writing it, but it tasted great. We all sat around the table and talked for a couple of hours after dinner, then made our way to the couch and continued talking until about 1:00 AM this morning. We got the turkey in at around 9:00 AM. Andrew and Sara will show up just in time for dinner. I will put some cooking and eating pictures up later.
Day 93 of 1000
My plan was to take some pictures of our visitors–Grandpa Milo, Grandma Sarah, and our dear friend Gladys–and post them here on the blog last night. Grandpa Milo lost his luggage (it came to the house later that evening), we came home through heavy traffic, ate Lorena’s amazing Kung Pao Chicken for dinner, went to Gospel meeting, ate some chocolate chip cookies, and talked until midnight. None of that should have prevented me from posting a few pictures, but everything was SO interesting and we were enjoying ourselves SO much, it just slipped my mind. I will try to do better tonight.
It is GREAT to have them here. I have decided that we really need to buy a mini-van for these kinds of visits. Our total automobile capacity right now is eight people and that is just not enough.
Day 92 of 1000
Grandpa Milo, Grandma Sarah, and Gladys (also a Grandma) will arrive at the airport this afternoon to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with us. I am running hard right now, but life should slow down by later today. I will have plenty of pictures to take and posts to write over the next few days. I am really looking forward to it.
Day 65 of 1000
We were amazed back in 2008 that a Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit came to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences with tons of artifacts. Duke University loaned some old, old bibles from their collection to add to the exhibit. That was one of the highlights of our homeschool year. Then, last spring Christian and Kelly were both required to go to the North Carolina Museum of Art as part of their Art Appreciation class at the community college. Lorena and I took them one Saturday. The collection their is amazing. Now, the Art Museum has brought Rembrandt in America to Raleigh for a three month stay. Grandpa Milo, Grandma Sarah, and our dear friend Gladys are coming for Thanksgiving this year, Maybe we can all go see Rembrandt together. Another hat tip to Andrew. We do not know how he finds all this stuff, but we are glad he does. Maybe we can get he and his bride to tag along with us. Just sayin’.
We also love the North Carolina Museum of History. Our favorite visit there was about North Carolina’s rich pirate history–Blackbeard and all that. We need to start watching all of these museums a little more closely for these types of opportunities.