Back Home Again

Can you hear John Denver singing? In my head I'm hearing "Gee, it's good to be back home again." But we had a good weekend with my mother in Oregon. We arrived about 5:00 Friday evening, after a long drive with heavy traffic. Mom was waiting for us, so I could open a can for her, so she could get dinner started. That turned out to be a pretty interesting affair, with the casserole not getting done, which delayed everything, which gave us plenty of time to put out the grease fire that started when I turned on a burner to cook the vegetable. But we all survived, the meal worked out, and a friend of Mom's stopped by, and since we were having a late dinner and she hadn't eaten, we fed her too. Afterwards, we laughed about it all. What else can you do? Last time we were there she flooded the kitchen when the sink ran over. She wasn't sure if we should come more often, or maybe less often, since disasters seem to strike when we are there. Of course I could start to really worry about all the potential hazards she faces daily, since her hearing, eyesight, sense of touch and mobility are so impaired. But that would drive us all crazy. She's not about to let us put her in assisted living yet. So we laugh and TRY not to worry. On Saturday we took her for a very short walk down the street a block to show her a new coffee shop that had just been built where before there was a junky old "antique" shop. Just simple things like having someone do that with her make her so happy. Although she raised seven children, five still living, none of us lives closer than two hours away. Thank goodness she has many friends, a sister, and a senior center all near by. Saturday afternoon we took her to the Mohr/Hofstetter Family picnic. My sister Ilene and her husband were there too. Mom was so pleased to have some of her family with her. With her hearing so bad, it's hard for her to know what's going on in a large group, but many of her cousins and her brother and sister made a point of having one on one conversations with her. She was well taken care of. Everyone loves my mother Violet. Here she is with her cousin Julius. I had a good time visiting with my cousin Susan and my Aunts and Uncle. I didn't take many pictures, but Ilene has more on her blog. We shared family history stories and photos. Talking about the "old days" makes me glad I was born in the era of modern conveniences. I don't think I would have been sturdy enough stock to make it back then. Not that my early days were that easy. Even I didn't live in a house with indoor plumbing until I was about six. Now that I'm back home, in my quiet, peaceful, convenient house, I am catching up with everybody else via Facebook, email and blogs. What a life.