We had a different kind of a week-end for a change. Becky was gone and wouldn’t be back until Sunday evening but some of Rocky’s family came and we did lots of gabbing and laughing.

Rocky’s son Michael and wife Julie arrived on Saturday around ten o’clock. They brought along their three-month-old baby, Quintin, and Julie’s oldest son, Levi. Little Quintin has grown like a weed and is pretty as a picture. He almost looks like he’s been laying in a tanning bed……beautiful skin color, pretty little head and happy as a clam. The only time he fussed was upon waking, when he wanted a clean diaper and when he was hungry. Otherwise he was sleeping or contented.

I was intrigued with the change in baby apparel since I had my three children. I had to laugh at some of the slogans on the rompers……”Automatic sprinkler” “Instructions not included” and “I cry over spilt milk.” Some of you young mother’s or grandmother’s who are around more babies than I am are probably more informed but it was educational for me.

During the afternoon Rocky’s sister Marie and husband Harold drove down from St. Louis. It was a good time for all of us to catch up with each other. Michael and family left around six-thirty and Marie and Harold left around eight-thirty. They had a motel for the night and came back in the morning to visit a little before leaving for home.

Rocky did fairly well during the visits but nodded off a few times and left to take a nap once. Some of his medication makes him sleepy and the cancer robs him of energy and strength. Even so, he looks very good for all the chemicals he has ingested and I dare say he’s stronger than most seventy-five year old men. It is good for his family to see how well he looks and experience his determination. My hero!!

Becky made it home safe and sound after her rush trip to Kansas City on Friday. She had a nice visit with George and her dad, along with her best friend, DiDi, all of which was her main reason for going. I understand what she means about hating to leave because finding time to go back is always hard. No matter who we are or what our situation is, time is always in short supply. It’s something we have to utilize to our best advantage or it‘s gone.

Now we are looking forward to his brother Richard and wife Helen who will come on Thursday afternoon. That morning we have an appointment with Dr. Morgan, the Oncologist, who will chart our next course of action. We can only hope the CT doesn’t show up any adverse results.

For you Napoleon enthusiasts, I have a funny story. He came by the window where I’m writing this blog and heard the keys clicking. He gave me an indignant look and let me know he’s ready to eat. In the meantime, Rocky came in from mowing and I stopped to talk to him a minute…….then forgot Napoleon and came back to the blog. Time passed. Pretty soon I heard this hair-raising screech which evolves into a honk……and I remembered that I didn’t feed him.

I rushed to the front door (which was open) and he was laying down on the flagstones next to the walk where I always feed him. Wish you all could have seen the look I got. So now he has become so smart he is ordering me around….I think he has me pretty well trained. I took his canned cat food and an oatmeal cookie to him (that bird loves cookies) and he ate with gusto. He is such a hoot!! Always entertains us one way or the other.

Our weather is perfect. Clear, sunny, not too hot……everything is in bloom. I forget from one year to the next just how fragrant those blooms are. When I walk Mandy past the honeysuckle or lilacs it’s almost intoxicating. Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote a poem that always comes to mind……she talks about how beautiful the world is and that she cannot hold it all close enough, how the sheer beauty of it almost rips her apart…..then writes a phrase that always describes my feelings…….

…… “Lord, I do fear you have made the world too beautiful this year.”

Until tomorrow, I am,
Essentially Esther