Tuesday, March 01, 2005
NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER....1987
November came in quietly. Becky, Jennifer and I did a lot of stitching together on week-ends while Warren watched TV and mom watched our progress. It was cozy to work together and enjoy our meals together. We were saddened to hear our local veterinarian was hit by a train at a crossing south of town. He was on his way to vaccinate some cattle for a farmer and apparently didn’t see or hear the train. He left a wife and two small boys…..and a town that cared for him.
George called to tell us he wouldn’t be able to come for Thanksgiving this year but would be coming for Christmas. I slow cooked a turkey all night the day before as Becky, Jennifer, Jonathan and mom were going to join us. The noon meal was better for mom so she wouldn’t be “out” after dark in the cold when it was time to check back in at WC. After a traditional meal we did a lot of stitching for the holidays.
Uncle Roger called early in December and said he and aunt Phyllis would like to come see us and to visit mom in a few days. Warren’s brother-in-law called to tell us Warren’s sister, Dee, was failing fast. The cancer was all over her and she wasn’t expected to last much longer. The following Monday, uncle Roger and aunt Phyllis arrived with mom in the car with them….they had gone straight to the nursing home to visit until I came home from work.
When I came in the house, Warren told me that Dee had died that afternoon (December 7th) at home, in Jim’s arms. Of course it made us all very sad. She left Jim and four beautiful daughters. I fixed supper for all of us, Becky and Jennifer came to join us. We had to make the most of the visit because Roger and Phyllis were leaving the next morning and I had to work. They spent the night with us and we all said our goodbye’s in the morning……..
On the 14th we had a weather pattern move in and bring freezing rain, sleet and snow….it came slowly so that it stuck on everything and bent the trees down and coated everything outside. It is always beautiful but destructive. We made our way slowly to work but quit early to insure getting home safely…..the road crews had been out all day on the major highways but the back roads we traveled were dangerous.
We were able to sing our cantata at church but had to forego the traditional choir party after as the sewer had backed up in the church basement and everything was understandably a mess. Professional cleaners had partially cleaned the worst of it up but it was in no shape for a party. The rest of the month was spent racing with the clock to finish Christmas projects, get the cards sent, packages mailed, the baking and candy making………but……..somehow I always met the deadline.
I had to work on the 24th over at Van Buren….a good hours drive from home. The weather was still not good and the Court House closed at noon so we were done for the day as well. I arrived home before George, who drove in around 4:00pm….that evening we gathered around the tree lights, drinking eggnog and catching up on each other’s lives. The next day we had a full table of traditional food, Becky and her family, mom and George were our guests and we enjoyed our gift exchange and each other.
We had freezing rain for three days and the yards were like an ice-rink……..the damage to the trees and foliage were astronomical…… they had twisted and frozen into grotesque shapes representative of another world. George made the drive back to Shawnee safely and we DE’s worked in wicked weather to finish the year out. Warren spent his days feeding and watering the poor bird population…..and the new year slipped in while we slept…………
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
George called to tell us he wouldn’t be able to come for Thanksgiving this year but would be coming for Christmas. I slow cooked a turkey all night the day before as Becky, Jennifer, Jonathan and mom were going to join us. The noon meal was better for mom so she wouldn’t be “out” after dark in the cold when it was time to check back in at WC. After a traditional meal we did a lot of stitching for the holidays.
Uncle Roger called early in December and said he and aunt Phyllis would like to come see us and to visit mom in a few days. Warren’s brother-in-law called to tell us Warren’s sister, Dee, was failing fast. The cancer was all over her and she wasn’t expected to last much longer. The following Monday, uncle Roger and aunt Phyllis arrived with mom in the car with them….they had gone straight to the nursing home to visit until I came home from work.
When I came in the house, Warren told me that Dee had died that afternoon (December 7th) at home, in Jim’s arms. Of course it made us all very sad. She left Jim and four beautiful daughters. I fixed supper for all of us, Becky and Jennifer came to join us. We had to make the most of the visit because Roger and Phyllis were leaving the next morning and I had to work. They spent the night with us and we all said our goodbye’s in the morning……..
On the 14th we had a weather pattern move in and bring freezing rain, sleet and snow….it came slowly so that it stuck on everything and bent the trees down and coated everything outside. It is always beautiful but destructive. We made our way slowly to work but quit early to insure getting home safely…..the road crews had been out all day on the major highways but the back roads we traveled were dangerous.
We were able to sing our cantata at church but had to forego the traditional choir party after as the sewer had backed up in the church basement and everything was understandably a mess. Professional cleaners had partially cleaned the worst of it up but it was in no shape for a party. The rest of the month was spent racing with the clock to finish Christmas projects, get the cards sent, packages mailed, the baking and candy making………but……..somehow I always met the deadline.
I had to work on the 24th over at Van Buren….a good hours drive from home. The weather was still not good and the Court House closed at noon so we were done for the day as well. I arrived home before George, who drove in around 4:00pm….that evening we gathered around the tree lights, drinking eggnog and catching up on each other’s lives. The next day we had a full table of traditional food, Becky and her family, mom and George were our guests and we enjoyed our gift exchange and each other.
We had freezing rain for three days and the yards were like an ice-rink……..the damage to the trees and foliage were astronomical…… they had twisted and frozen into grotesque shapes representative of another world. George made the drive back to Shawnee safely and we DE’s worked in wicked weather to finish the year out. Warren spent his days feeding and watering the poor bird population…..and the new year slipped in while we slept…………
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
