A cool, rainy day. Just as I was going to bed last night I heard the first big crack of thunder. I am guessing we got up to two inches of rain based on the size of the pond in my yard. It continues to sprinkle this afternoon. I have the furnace on to warm up the house. It only reached the mid 50’s today. My blood is still summer thin and my body has felt cold all day.
Kathy and I drove to Olpe at noon to meet our two brothers for lunch. It had been a long time since just the four of us were gathered for a meal.
After lunch we drove to Hartford and went to a beautiful spot to scatter Gene’s ashes. They made the most beautiful pattern as they were scattered. The pattern remained for the longest time. It was quiet and peaceful. I think we all felt his presence with us.
Before we left the house for our trip to Olpe and Hartford, I opened the box that Max’s friend had packed his cremains in. Oh my goodness were they well packed. It took me about ten minutes with a knife in hand to get to the bag of ashes. I’m grateful I did that before I left and didn’t just take the box they arrived in unopened. Not sure I would have been able to get to them without a knife.
Kathy and I took the scenic route home and drove past our childhood home. We took the backroad to Emporia after that. It was a drive down memory lane.
Phil was here today working on plumbing. Next up is electrical and then I think he can start putting up insulation and dry wall. I have to go to Emporia Monday and will stop and pick out flooring while I am in town so it will be ready for him when he is ready for it. Maybe by the time I get back from India the addition will be done.
The mail man either skipped by us today or the mail is running very late, I put two thank you notes in the box to be picked up and they are still there with the flag up. Maybe the mailman got flooded out.
The lights just went off for a bit. They weren’t off long and came back on. I’m grateful they didn’t stay off.
No plans for the weekend. I need a couple of stay-at-home days. This week was too busy for my liking and I need to stay home for a bit. Thankfully, next week is fairly quiet. I have to take care of signing papers for the sale of my last rental property and I need dog food so will make a trip to Emporia Monday. Other than that, I don’t have anything on my calendar for next week.
Two weeks from tomorrow I leave on my trip to India. Oh my! Not sure my head is in the game so to speak yet. I do need to give some thought as to what clothes I want to take. I think Kathy and I are going to Wichita one day next week to visit our Aunt. I will stop at Costco and get the rest of what I might need.
Thanksgiving is the week after I get back and I still haven’t done anything about Thanksgiving yet. Found out today my brother that usually comes won’t be coming this year. If I want a full house I need to find some people to come. It takes as much time to cook a meal for 12 as it does 24. I love having a full house at Thanksgiving. Better get some invitations out if I want that to happen.
I realized too that Christmas is two months from tomorrow. Yikes! Better let that start hitting my radar too. I love Thanksgiving but really could bypass Christmas altogether. The kids usually all come home and we do a fun afternoon together. We stopped giving gifts years ago. The two grandkids are getting big enough that they really aren’t fun to buy for any more. There is a time and season for everything and my small family is moving into a new season. I need to give some thought to it and see what we want our Christmas to look like this year.
Sitting with lots of memories today of days long gone by. Being with my remaining siblings and scattering the ashes of our oldest brother tends to dredge up memories. I am grateful I had a mostly pleasant childhood with parents that did the best they could do with the limited resources they had. I have such a weird relationship with time these days that memories feel differently to me now than they used to.
Grateful for the life of my oldest brother, grateful for the day with my remaining siblings, and grateful for the gift of memories.