A day to reflect

I feel like this is a day to look back on life and what it is.  Why?  Gail's mother Marian Saunders is in her last days.  I received an e-mail on Friday where Allen said she had not had anything to eat or drink for 2 days.  Well that means she will enter into eternal life any time.  I actually googled about near death and it says a person can live up to 8 to 10 days after having nothing to eat or drink but on average death comes within 3 days.  Well it looks like Grandma is above average as she approachs end of life.  This brings me to remember events I have been part of as people leave this life for another.  In some cases I was very close and in others not so much but:

• Perhaps the first recollection I have is of Mom's dad, Grandpa Sampson.  It was always fun to visit him in Veblen as he lived with uncle Jim.  I do not know what year he died but I do remember how sad Mom was.  I thought she must have really loved her dad
• Uncle Jim died not too long after that.  He owned the land "down south" that we farmed.  many of my memories are of Jim coming down when we were harvesting his crops.  He would climb up on the end of the truck and take a small handfull of wheat and chew it into gum!  When we harvested it was the first truck load to Jim and the the second to home.  It went that way until we were finished with harvesting.  I remember Jim moved in with his sister Aunt Bertie after Grandpa Sampson died.  Jim was a life long smoker and I remember in his last days he struggled with emphysema as he could hardly walk up the stairs at Berties.  Of course I remember Mom getting a small amout of money from his estate and buying lamb rugs for all her children.  Of course she did not spent any of the money on herself.
• One of the most tragic deaths was of course cousin Robert who died in the hunting accident.  Oh my goodness the memories of that are still fresh.  It was not a good thing for a boy of about 7 or so to be in the home where the body was for a couple of days!  Robert was a freshman in high school. 
• I remember the death of Grandpa Lee while Grandpa and Grandma lived in Cayuga.  Dad was so very sad as he pretty much looked up to his dad.  I believe I was in the 6th grade.
• Sometime when I was in high school our neighbor was killed in a jet crash right on the bank of the lake.  He had taken a flight over his parents farm near the lake and for some reason his jet crashed.  Oh my but the talk of the areas was BIG.
• Of course the most devastating death in our family for me was Ronald.  That late dark Friday night as I drove home from a football game.  The next day, about mid day Mom and Dad came home and they were almost in a trance.  His death hung over our home for many many months.
• Grandma Lee went into the hospital in Veblen about the time I graduated from high school.  I wish I still had the $20 she pressed into my hand the last time I saw her.  I spent many many school nights at her home in Cayuga when it was so late and Dad did not drive to get me.  Memories that are still fresh.
• Then came February of my freshman year in college when sister Joan called and asked if I could baby sit Esther and Bob as Janet had the flu.  After letting some air out of the tires of my bike as it was icy and snowy I biked to south Fargo and spent the day there.  Ron and I did take her to the hospital that afternoon as she was not getting any better.  She died shortly after that.  Memories for sure that are still fresh.
• There was taking care of Grandpa Saunders at our place as he suffered from ALS.  From late January to the first part of April was heartbreaking.  One night his body went into convulsions and all he could do was scream.  We called 911 and when they came a shot was given.  He was taken to the hospital and clung to life for several days.  THEN it was Allen, Grandma and I transporting his body to Lidgerwood in our van.  Oh my how times change.
• I received a call as family was at a meeting.  Dad had called and Mom had died in her easy chair as she sat in front of the TV watching her favorite show.  It was a Sunday.  I drove to Veblen that evening.  We will not get into the state of mind that Dad was!
• It was the spring of 1997 and Dad had been put into a different wing of the home he was in.  I had gotten more than one call from him saying he was a prisoner and wanted to get out.  The call came from Joan that Dad had died.
• February of 2009 changed my life forever.  Gail was diagnosed with recurring cancer and we had to make decisions.  Treatment or not.  She went in for her first treatment and it put her in bed for 3 days.  She said "no more.  I want to be healed BUT if that is not God's will I want to feel as good as possible for as long as possible."  As the months went by her health declined and by late August she was pretty much confined to bed.  She entered eternal life September 14th.  I maybe could write a book about growing wheat grass!

So life comes and life goes.  As Grandma Saunders enters her last days it also is pretty much the end of a generation.  I have no uncles or aunts living and not many cousins on Mom's side as Mom was the baby of the family by many years.  AND my generation is kind of gettin "long in tooth" too as among my brothers and sister the ages are 69, 72, 75 and 77.  John M. and Glorine both will be 84 this year.  Enough said, right?

No tennis yesterday or today and that is good.  I got word yesterday that one of my best players will not be able to play this week.  That changes much of my lineup and I am not sure how to do it.  I will put out the changes today but as of now I am not sure just what I should do.  We are playing a team that we have won against in the past so it would be nice to win again!  I may just leave courts 2 and 3 as I put it out a few days ago and then add a player to be with me on court #1 and see how that works out.  

We have one more 80 degree day and then we may be in the 60s for 3 days.  No swimming "for sure".

FP is almost gone but it is now cold so need to warm the last couple of sips up.