Monday, June 6, 2011

Good For The Soul

What do you do when your children are driving you crazy?  Apparently, you stuff them into the truck with more gear than you knew you had and drive three hours to a jam-packed cabin to spend time with family. 

I had my doubts.  I wasn't sure how it was going to pan out.  We didn't even have enough beds for everyone who was going to be at the cabin, but we hoped to make it work.  I shared a room with Grace.  Todd and the boys slept in the hunters' quarters in the basement.  Todd's mom and dad got their room, and his sister, her husband, and their daughter shared another room.  It worked out, dare I say, perfectly. 

Todd and the boys got up early and quietly as mice they ate their breakfast, got dressed, and headed out to go fishing before the rest of us were even awake.  Grace and I slept in long past our normal time and took our time getting dressed and eating.  By the time we were ready the fishermen were back with a bucket full of perch and smiles all around.  

The rest of the day was spent the way it should be when the weather is in the eighties.  Outside. 

It ended up being an amazing weekend.  Everyone was well behaved and had a great time.  The hummingbirds and dragonflies were out, and 5 or 6 eagles constantly circled above the lake all weekend.  The weather was perfect and the bugs were few. 

We were worried about how Todd's dad would handle all the commotion but he did amazingly well with all the people around and was fairly clear for the majority of the time.  He and I even had a moment at dinner on Friday night that brought tears to my eyes.  He told me how proud he is of Todd and that he couldn't ask for a better son.  He said how happy it makes him to see his family enjoying the cabin that he built and that he is so glad that we are all so close by.  Again he said he couldn't ask for a better son, and then added, or a better daughter in law.  He commented that Todd and I are a great couple and he thinks we work really well together.  Throughout the entire conversation I had such a lump in my throat I could barely talk.  Though Alzheimer's takes away his ability to recognize his family he still comes shining through sometimes.  And it helps us to remember that even when his brain doesn't let him see us his soul always knows.  When Todd and I had a minute alone I told him about the conversation I had with his dad.  Though Todd knows his dad feels that way, hearing it means so much right now.  It was a beautiful way to start the weekend. 

It was a weekend of:

Playing and swimming in the water
 Making up games
 Fishing with family
 Playing with cousins
 Wearing pretty sandals.  And going barefoot.
 Splashing piggies with Grandma
 Brotherly love
 And nature's beauty

After this weekend I am optomistic for summer.  I know that when school comes to an end on Friday we will be able to fill the summer with good times and wonderful memories.  I'm hopeful now.  Though I had my doubts before we left for the cabin this weekend turned out to be just what we needed.

16 comments:

Lora said...

Wow, how amazing! That story of your FIL brought tears to my eyes. I hope the rest of your summer can be just as beautiful!

Rima said...

Oh, it sounds (and looks) wonderful! And what a gift to have had that conversation with your father-in-law.

Mom24 said...

So beautiful Kat. I hope you have a wonderful summer. What a precious gift with your FIL.

Cassie said...

It looks like you guys had so much fun!

Allison said...

Wow....what an amazing conversation. My best friend's dad suffers from Alzheimer's and it is just devastating. How wonderful that it was such a special weekend.

Unknown said...

I'm glad you had such a good weekend and that your FIL shared his heart with you in that way. That's amazing and such a beautiful memory for you to have tucked away.

I hope you feel rejuvenated! :)

Kelly said...

What a perfect weekend! Isn't it amazing how a change of scenery can improve everyones moods? I'm glad you had that special moment with your FIL too.

Kelly said...

So glad you had a great time. You needed it!

Jeni said...

That sounds to me like exactly the kind of weekend you - and your entire family - needed and could appreciate on so many levels too. Just think, you now have the whole summer ahead to plan and maybe do a re-run of this past weekend with your whole family around you!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like it took a leap of faith to make the trip, but it really worked out. I'm so glad for your whole family!

historygirl said...

Love the fancy flip flops! I'll have to head to Target to see if I can find any for my ladies! Glad it was a good time!

Hilary said...

It sounds like you had a perfect weekend.. and what a beautiful gift from your father in law.

Cyndy Bush said...

It sounds & looks like a wonderful weekend, in so many ways.
I have to tell you that when I read the beginning I first thought you said "Stuff the kids in the TRUNK!" lmao!

lime said...

i'm so glad that not only did the weekend work out so well but you had such precious moments with todd's dad. times like that are precious when there are no cognitive issues but so much more so when they shine through the fog of dementia.

imbeingheldhostage said...

You have a rich life Kat. Despite the unfairness of it all (alzheimer's), you have been blessed with some very special moments that others go a whole lifetime without. I love your cabin weekends and the photos that follow :-)

Anonymous said...

What a fabulous weekend!

And I completely teared up at what Todd's father said to you about Todd (and you!). It reminded me of talks I had with my Dad before I died and he told me he was proud of me as a daughter and the woman I'd become. Daddies know just what to say! I'm so happy for you guys for his moments of clarity.

Words To Live By

Be grateful for each new day.
A new day that you have never lived before.
Twenty-four new, fresh, unexplored hours to use usefully and profitably.
We can squander, neglect, or use them.
Life will be richer or poorer by the way we use today.
Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could;
some blunders and absurdities crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day.
You shall begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be
encumbered with your old nonsense.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson