by jphilo | Sep 15, 2008 | Family
Sunday was different than we expected. My mom’s been dealing with health issues lately, staying at my brother and sister-in-law’s off and on for the last six weeks while she doctors and tries to regain her strength. Yesterday, Hiram and I went to their house for lunch. After lunch, we planned to visit an assisted living facility with Mom, then discuss with her what she wants to do for the next six months – go to the facility or stay with my brother and sister-in-law.
We got down there, and Mom had already decided to stay with them this fall and winter. A look at the calendar told us we’d better move clothes and furniture immediately while we had the chance – the next several weekends are booked and busy. So we canceled the appointment at assisted living, loaded Mom in the truck with John and followed them forty miles to her house, with a brief stop at our place to exchange our car for Hiram’s pickup.
Three hours later, we were done loading, driving and unloading Mom’s car and two trucks full of Mom’s stuff. Whew! When we were done, we celebrated this new stage of Mom’s life with ice cream sundaes.
Mom won’t make final decisions about her house until next spring. Her health has improved somewhat in the past few weeks, so by next spring she could be ready to live there again. If you’d like to celebrate this temporary move with her, email me and I’ll send you her contact information. She’s had lots of changes lately and many more to come, and she’d love to hear your familiar voice on the phone.
by jphilo | May 30, 2008 | Reflections on the Past
Wednesday morning, my brother and mom picked me up at 6:15 to attend my uncle’s funeral. We spent most of the day on the road. In the course of the trip, we realize a dream that would make most seven-year-olds salivate. We ate three meals at McDonalds.
In our family, this accomplishment is earth-shattering news. My siblings and I spent most of our childhoods begging to eat at McDonalds. Since the closest one was 25 miles away in Sioux City and money was tight, our pleas fell on deaf ears. Except, of course, when Mom had saved up for a big city shopping trip. Then, if we were also running short of the straws for Dad, we ate lunch at McDonalds with strict orders to save the straws, ketchup packets, plastic spoons, extra napkins and anything else not nailed to the floor.
Our taste buds have changed in the intervening years, so we weren’t thinking of Golden Arches when we started out Wednesday. Later, my brother said he did have the Clear Lake McDonalds in mind since his mother-in-law would be there with her breakfast gang. She was, and we had a nice visit. My yogurt cup was delicious.
We arrived at our destination around noon. With the post-funeral light lunch three or more hours away, we decided to get something to tide us over. Pipestone, Minnesota’s dining options are limited. Once again, we chose McDonald’s. Their side salads are pretty good, I discovered.
At the church, Mom had time to visit with her sister-in-law before the funeral. The service was sweet and touching, a good end to my uncle’s life lived long and well. The cemetery was beautiful with dozens of fern peonies buds opening to the warm and welcome sun. During lunch back at the church, we chatted with relatives more than we ate and didn’t leave until after 5:00. By 8:30 we were close to Albert Lea, hungry as bears. Mom suggested we stop at the travel plaza that housed several fast food places. We agreed, but we weren’t hungry for Pizza Hut. We were hungry for Cold Stone Creamery ice cream, but after quick waistline checks we shook our heads.
Our third option was – you guessed it – McDonalds. I ordered a salad with grilled chicken, then caved and added a large fries to split with Mom. As we carried our food to the car, my brother said, “I think this a new record. Three McDonalds meals in one day.”
At that moment I realized we are getting really old. Forty-years ago, a day like this would have thrilled us. These days it makes us green around the gills. No doubt about it, we’re slipping. I have proof. We didn’t even save our straws.
by jphilo | Sep 18, 2007 | Daily Life
Since I launched this website, many of you have commented on the photography. Deciding to use my own photos wasn’t an easy decision. But since I come from frugal German stock, two facts tipped my decision: the photos are free, and I face no copyright issues.
Recently my hobby led me in an unexpected direction – pet photography. In May my brother asked me to take some pictures of his new hunting dog, right after she was diagnosed with cancer. “I want some pictures,” he said, and I thought I saw a tear in his eye. “Just in case. You know.”
What was I supposed to say to that? So on a lovely spring day, I took lots of pictures of Maggie Mae and learned something more experienced photographers already know. Dogs don’t stand still. That makes getting a good picture hard. My brother made the job a little easier, because Maggie seriously adores him. When he stood in front of her she stared at him with big, moony eyes. (See photo above.)
My next foray into pet photography took place at my cousin’s house this past summer. An accumulation of three rowdy red dachshunds begged a picture. You will notice that none of those pictures made it to this page.
This Sunday, I face my biggest pet challenge to date. I’m taking senior pictures for my daughter’s best friend. When Rachel called to set up a time, she reminded me that she wants her horse in some of the pictures. She’d told me this before, but I’ve been in denial.
From what I remember of my last ride on a horse, which took place when I was 13, horses are somewhat bigger than dogs. And they don’t stand still, either. Plus I really don’t like horses much. OK, I don’t like horses at all. Which makes me think Sunday’s photo shoot might turn into a unique blog entry.
You might want to check in next week and see. Just to clue you in, the blurry picture beside the blog entry? That’ll be the horse.
And one more thing, Maggie Mae is doing fine.
