CARMEN LEE--LIFE IS NOT A VACATION, IT IS A JOURNEY

Day 76, "Every picture has a story"

The day was August 21, 2009 and it was Henry's birthday.  Mary/John invited us over for his party.  Gail really did not want to go as she was not feeling well but she said she would go for a short time.  It was the last time she went out of the house.  Today, December 30, she would have been 73.  I am sure the Lee family, in the Twin Cities, is remembering Mom/Grandma today as they enjoy life but remember the past as well.  

It is Thursday, December 26th, 1957.  I can hardly wait to get out of bed.  Dave and I had an entire day planned as Christmas was over, we had new games and there was no work to be done.  Well Dad had said we needed more hay for the cows so maybe we had to take the hay rack down to the alfalfa field by Rollof's and get a load of hay but that actually was not all that much work and it was kind of fun to pitch the hay into the hay barn through the north doors.  However most of the day could be GAMES.  We already had most of it planned.  We would start out with Monopoly as that could go all day.  If someone went bankrupt we would just lend them money.  Kind of like real life, right?  Then there was Touring which was our favorite card game.  That usually did not take a long time but we could play as many games as we wanted.  Of course there was Parcheesi which included NO skill but was a lot of fun.  We also knew that we could talk Mom out of the kitchen so we could play ping pong on the kitchen table.  Then there were the 30-06 empty shells that Dad no longer used.  With each of us having 10 we could use the kitchen table leafs and make a backstop and then line up the shells any way we wanted.  We would then throw marbles on the linoleum living room floor and see who could topple the others shells first.  Oh my, it was going to be a grand day.  No school for another week and a half so it would be day after day after day of FUN.  Dave and I both woke up about the same time and we knew Mom was already up.  We debated if we should try to talk Mom into breakfast before we milked the cows or wait until after.  Sometimes Mom was kind of a push over!  As we dressed and hurried downstairs we reached over and broke a piece of hard lefse off and carried it down for a pre breakfast snack!  Mom encouraged us to milk first and promised she would have pancakes, chokecherry syrup and venison for breakfast when we finished milking.  That sure sounded good to us.  As we opened the entry door to venture out to the barn we realized that it was kind of stormy so we knew we would not have to get the hay.  After feeding the cats and getting the cows milked we came in ready for Mom's feast.  She did not disappoint.  Such was our day.  It was games and more games and we even got in a march around the kitchen table as Mom played the piano.  Dad was, as usual, sitting in his chair with his nose in a rifle magazine.  A self taught gunman for sure.  The day went quickly and the games were the best.  Such was a day in the 2 week stretch of Christmas break.

As I sit at the computer and sip my Kona coffee (2018 now) with Irish Cream in I think back on 2018.  We are now enjoying the second to last day of the year and the very last Sunday.  Among the many many happenings for me here are some:

• I wrote in my calendar on January 9th that I needed to arrive for surgery by 9:15.  My hamstring was detached from my pelvic bone by about an inch or so.  Dr. Joyner said he would have to put screws in the bone and then reattach it.  It should have been about an hour surgery or maybe less.  I came out of the 2+ hours surgery around noon I think.  Dr. said the leg was a mess.  It had been injured a month earlier and there was much scarring and in general it was a badly in need of repair.  There was an hour or so cleaning things up and an hour or so putting things back and reattaching.  Before surgery Dr. had said, "If you want surgery just know that the rehab will be long and difficult".  He was so smart!  After 30+ PT sessions and 12 weeks I could kind of walk normally and I was on the mend.  Today I can say my left leg is good to go for whatever I would like to do.
• January, February and March were tennis months and it was agony to head the team as I healed.  By the end of the season my team was getting better and I even got out on the court for a couple of times in May before we headed north.  This fall I started playing tennis in October and presto, in mid December, all of a sudden my game was back and maybe better.  The Dr. said it would be a year and I do think it was 11 months.
• Terry and I did not do a lot of traveling this year but the highlight of the little travel we did do was our trip back to MN.  We spent a night at the Grand Ole Opera Hotel in Nashville which was fun and then traveled to Memphis to take in Graceland.  Those two events were very fun.  
• In terms of fun for the summer, spending time with my siblings in September was IT.  Judi, John, Joan, Ron, Marlys, Dave and Helen, we all gathered in Jamestown ND and had a wonderful Friday night-Sunday morning.  Good food, great stories and great conversation was enjoyed by all.  We missed Glorine who could not make it.  With our ages ranging from 68-82 there was not a lot of running and jumping but oh my it certainly was entertaining.  Can one tell I am getting a bit old?
• In terms of what was 2018 like nothing compares to the house projects on Niles Ave.  Most of the summer was devoted to fixing, making, changing and upgrading.  The biggest thing was putting in new stairs from the first to second floor.  That changed the entire house.  We also installed 2 fans in the ceiling of the living room/dining room.  Terry and I painted the living/dining room which changed the house in a good big way.  The living room floors were redone which made them look very nice.  The sun room and bedroom upstairs were finished and the floors redone.  The list could go on but the end of that story line is 2094 Niles is becoming kind of a nice house.  I will make NO comment about the kitchen yet!
• On our way back to Naples in the fall we had a great time in Madison with Amy/Aaron and kids and then in South Bend the entire Lee clan took the day off to spend with us in Amish country.  Very special.  We bypassed Terry's family in GA as they were out and about traveling to different places.  We missed visiting Josh in his first year of college BUT we will make up for it in 2019.
• There were many many more moments in 2018 but enough for now.  I am looking forward to 2019 to see what comes our way.

So I rest for the year of 2018.  Tomorrow Terry and I will have Carmen and Betty Seats over in the afternoon.  Terry has mentioned about going to the Naples Pier for New Year's fireworks but I am not sure.  It starts at dusk and the paper this morning say one should arrive by 5 for good parking and they are expecting up to 10,000 people!!!  We may not make it as my limit for crowds is about 10 or so!  We will see.

My FP just went the way of GONE so I will close.