So Many Special Things

Two days ago, we made the familiar trek over the mountain to the airport to send our dear Grandma Fisher on her way back to California.  One last quick group shot in the airport...

...and then she was gone...

...making her way through security as we watched until she turned for her final wave and then was out of sight.

"This trip has gone so fast!" she exclaimed many times during her last few days with us.

And so it had--especially the last week--rushing by in a swift river of special moments.  Moments like...

The day before Jeff's mom left, I took her and our friend Doris (who now lives in the retirement community where my mom lives) out for lunch.  Benjamin came, too...

...and while the ladies chatted on after lunch, Benjamin and I strolled around the market...

...and admired all the interesting things.

The day before that, I had taken advantage of Grandma's Free Babysitting Service and had left all the kids at home while I had traveled to Richmond to speak at a MOPS group organized by my friend Miriam.  It was a huge honor to be there, and I loved every minute of my time with the women.  I was having so much fun that I completely forgot to take any pictures, so you'll have to take my word for it that the event actually happened.  ;-)

Two days before that, Jeff took his mom and the five older kids to Washington DC because that's the day he was able to get tickets to tour the White House; I hope to do a post about that at some point, using the pictures David took.  Meanwhile, I stayed in town and had the great fun of accompanying Sarah, a violinist I've known for the past decade or so, in her senior recital.  

She did a beautiful job, playing so expressively; it was such a treat to be part of that!  In addition, she introduced each piece herself, giving a brief bit of background about it or her reason for choosing it or some other tidbit of interesting info.  Her poise in speaking and in playing was impressive.

Afterwards, I sort of glowed all afternoon as I remembered the wondrous thrill of making music together with her...and the flowers her parents gave me brightened my heart, too.  :)

Two days before that, I had slipped away one evening to go to a Ladies' Tea at a nearby church with my friend Diana; and that was a delightful break from my normal routine.  The physical food was outstanding--such special, unique combinations of flavors--and the spiritual food was, too.  Once again, I forgot to take any pictures, but fortunately my friend Tess took this one.  Thanks, Tess!  :)

To have four out-of-the-ordinary, out-of-the-house events in six days is a little unusual for me, but I enjoyed each one thoroughly and was especially grateful for the presence of my mother-in-law during that time so that I could run off a little more than normal and not worry about things falling apart at my home during my absence.  ;-)

Besides the noteworthy extras, Grandma Fisher's time with us was filled with many ordinary activities...

...like feeding Benjamin...

...and playing Settlers of Catan with Jeff and the four oldest boys.

The picture below shows Grandma Fisher during her first game, and I do think her initial reaction--like so many other people who are just learning that game--was slightly bewildered.  ;-)  But she sure picked up on it quickly and got hooked.  I don't remember exactly how many times this crew played Settlers of Catan while she was here this visit, but it was a lot!  :)

As I look back over the last 11 years since Jeff's mom's first visit to us in Virginia (that visit occurred in March of 2006), I am so thankful for her good health and her ability and willingness to come and spend these extended vacations with us.  While she's been with us, we have "gone and done" interesting things and also stayed right here at home and enjoyed the simple parts of life together.

We have shared many, many, many special moments; and I am quite sure that as we look back on these years, we will marvel over the blessing of having so much time with her.  Certainly my children will remember the anticipation of knowing "Grandma Fisher is coming!" and will have precious memories stored up in their hearts of the days and weeks and months we've shared with her.

We're already looking forward to the next time!

What's Significant about 2017's Easter

So, last month, Easter happened.

It zoomed up to me, said hello, then dashed away again, almost before I knew what was happening.

It's not as if we normally make a big to-do out of Easter.  Growing up, our celebration of it was more along the lines of "holy day" and not "holiday" (which is arguably how it should always be), and so we didn't do Easter baskets or the Easter bunny, I don't remember any special attempt to always have a new fancy Easter dress, and there were no particular Easter foods that we always had to have.  Instead, we celebrated it for the significance of Jesus's resurrection (and some years, that included an Easter play with our church, and sometimes a sunrise service).  

My upbringing continues to influence me heavily now, and so our family observance of Easter is similar to that of my childhood and does not usually require extensive preparations.  But this year seemed even more low-key than normal.

Oh, Moriah had a pretty dress to wear--a new-to-us one that Grandma Fisher had found at a yard sale for her--and it was fun to snap a few pictures of her in it that afternoon.

We had a church service that morning (and I was in charge of music for it).  We ate food for lunch (although what it was, I can't tell you).  I probably took a nap that afternoon (a customary Sunday afternoon delight for me).  But it wasn't until that evening that Easter became especially significant for me this year.

Why then?  Because of a visit to this dear lady.

I knew I wanted to see my mother on Easter, but her condition has worsened so much that she isn't really able to get out and about anymore, so her Sundays of going to church with my dad, then having lunch at our house, are sadly ("tragically!" my heart cries) over.  But we can still go to see her, and so we did.

Since her walking has deteriorated along with the rest of her abilities, we helped her into a wheelchair and were able to use that to take her outside her building.  It was a gorgeous evening, and the children played while us older adults watched.

It was pleasant to be outdoors and fun to watch the kids--an easy way to spend time together.  But more than that, being with my mom finally helped my heart to grab hold again of the significance of Easter.  Here's why.

My mom is dying.

All of us are, of course--only, we don't think about it so much.  But with my dear mother, it is obvious.  Her mind is shutting down, and her body is following suit.

I don't mean to imply that she only has a few weeks or months to live--not at all.  People with Alzheimer's sometimes linger...and linger...and linger, and that very well may be the case with her.  But it's impossible for me to spend much time with her without being aware of the decay that is happening in her.

That decay is happening in all of creation and has been for thousands of years.  (I think the Second Law of Thermodynamics has something to say about that?)  But one event pierced the "natural" (since the Fall in the Garden of Eden) order of things and reversed that.

The resurrection of Jesus.

Because of that, not only did His body come back from the dead, we also have hope of that.  And this year, my hope took a very specific form: my mother, whom I love more than words can say and whom I miss intensely as she slips away bit by bit, will not be that way--the way she is now--forever.  In heaven, she will be restored, and not just to her former glory, but to a celestial glory that will far surpass anything we have ever seen before.

Because of Easter, the fact that my mother cannot say my name, doesn't seem to recognize me consistently, can barely walk or talk, needs help feeding herself, and is just a shell--a fragment--of the woman I knew her to be...those facts will be wiped away.

Because of Easter, all the losses that my mother has endured--so many losses that I wonder what is left? how much more can she lose before she's simply gone?--will be returned to her, above and beyond what we can even imagine.

Because of Easter, there is a resurrection coming--not just a general resurrection in the end of time, but a very specific one for her.

And so we wait for it, with more anticipation than any child expecting a basket stuffed with chocolate on Easter morning.

Easter happened this year, and I almost missed it.  But thanks to a visit with my beloved mother, I caught hold of it before it completely slipped away.

Glory be to God for the indescribable power of the resurrection--and for the hope that it drops like dew on the thirsty ground of my aching heart!

A Day in DC {with Grandma Fisher!}

When Jeff's mom visits us from California, we always like to add some kind of trip into our time with her.  Well, this visit, the big trip was the one I took, with Josiah, David, and Benjamin, to Josiah's last speech and debate tournament for this year; but that one doesn't count because Grandma Fisher (and half of the family) didn't get to come along!

We couldn't figure out a way to get a longer trip into our schedule, but we wanted to do something, so we decided that a day trip to D.C. was the best solution for us, and last Wednesday, we set out for our adventure.

I'm not going to write much about it but, for time's sake, will let the pictures do the talking.  A few notes first though...

1. We parked at Vienna and took the Metro into the city, and the kids loved it.  :)

2. We didn't plan much of an agenda (or any!), and it was really nice to go along as the wind blew us, so to speak, without a set timetable.  :)

3. I didn't take my good camera along, so all these pictures came from either Jeff's or my cellphone.  The quality isn't great, but the memories are captured (although I will add that I certainly didn't try to do an exhaustive photo record of the day, so not all the memories are captured this way).  :)

We began at the Museum of American History, part of the Smithsonian (and can I just say that I LOVE the fact that the Smithsonian museums are FREE?!)...

...and then went out to walk on down the National Mall.

Well, two members of the family didn't have to walk.  ;-)  We dug an old wheelchair out of my dad's basement so Grandma Fisher could zoom around town without wearing out her legs.  ;-)  She and Benjamin were quite a pair (and in this photo, they both were evidently blinded by the sun).  :)

I loved seeing the old hand and the young one together.

I didn't take a picture of this, but a passing group of friendly tourists gave the kids some leftover ice cream sandwiches that no one in their group wanted.  The lady who gave us the first one said, "I know you're not supposed to take things from strangers, but would you like this?"  They looked friendly enough, so we took them.  :)

I believe this was my first time being at the World War II memorial, and I was very impressed with it.  It was elegant and beautiful--very nicely done.

Then we headed down the mall towards the Lincoln Memorial; and of course, we came across the Reflecting Pool that I had told the kids about.  They were pretty disappointed when they first saw it, however, since when you're standing right by it, you can see how dirty and non-reflective it is close-up.  They peered into it, expecting to see a pretty good likeness of themselves peering back, but saw a mucky mess instead.  But when we got to the top of the Lincoln Memorial stairs and looked out towards the Capitol and saw the Washington Monument reflected in the pool, ah!!  THEN they understood why it's called a reflecting pool.  :)

Being at the Lincoln Memorial always fills me with awe, as I think it probably does for the vast majority of its visitors.  But tonight as I sit here looking at these pictures of my kids, I noticed, for the first time, the man in the background (no, not Abraham Lincoln!), posing for a picture, too.  I don't know his story, but I try to imagine what it would be like to stand there as a black man, knowing that the man whose image dominates this space changed the world for blacks in America.  I'm guessing it's a powerful moment for those who get to experience this place.

 When I was taking these pictures, I was wishing that I had decided to lug my good camera along because my little cellphone camera was not doing a good job at all of capturing this.  It was either too dark or too light, but no happy medium could be found (by me with my limited knowledge of the ins and outs of cellphone cameras!).

 Such an amazing view!!

We found the name of the brother of a friend of ours on the Wall.

We walked back to our Metro stop, soaking in all the beauty of a glorious day as we went.

As we passed the White House, we paused for a picture...

...the kids with their hats that they got as souvenirs.

I didn't get a hat because I don't need a souvenir to help me remember this trip.  That's what this blog post is for!!  :)