August 24th-31st: Angels in my house

The final days of August have been hectic, and I’ve been scrambling to keep up.  It’s been tougher than usual because the bug I’ve been fighting is the Rocky of sick bugs:  He WON’T GIVE UP!!!  Just when I think I’ve beaten him down he rallies  and hits me with cough spasms to the chest, drips to the nose and weakness in the knees.  The anticipation of this illness ending has me giddy, but I digress.

I’m loving my house this week. A lot!  We hosted a couple of parties for my cousin who’s son was getting married on the 27th.  The evening of the 26th we had the  families of the bride and groom gather to set up tables for the outdoor reception the next evening, and to have some in-law bonding time.  Since I can’t help myself, I broke out all the in-law bonding songs in my catalogue and sang them with all the gusto I could muster between coughs.   My cousin’s son, Josh, is one of our favorite people, and his bride is gorgeous inside and out so it was easy celebrating the union…but there were challenges.

Friday morning the couple was married in the Salt Lake Temple and by 5 o’clock that afternoon the tables and  chairs were beautifully arrangeded around our yard.  We live on 20 acres of oats and alfalfa in a log home with a bit of a pond in the front.  It’s a lovely setting for an outdoor reception but when the weather gets angry, not so much. The wind kicked up in a heart beat and blew everything either into the stormy abyss or the pond.  Disaster was lurking, but then the house came to the rescue.  We moved everything inside, out of the rain and the wind, and found a way to keep everybody happy and dry and to feed a couple hundred folks who came to join the celebration AND STAYED!!!!

It was great, great fun, and the food was especially yummy.  My cousin’s family knew a sensational mexican cook who blew everyone away with her fajitas, fresh guacamole,  fresh EVERYTHING for that matter, melon water and tres leches cakes.   The winds blew and the rains came but we were all happy as clams.  (I use the expression because they were steak fajitas, not seafood)

After the newly weds danced their dance and left for their honeymoon the rest of the group moved the tables out of the great room and did some serious dancing themselves.  My Bose sound system got a work out, but filled the measure of its creation. We Rocked On!!!

About 10 or 10:30pm the clean up began.  It was amazing.  M2B:) amazing.  In less than half an hour the house was restored.  I couldn’t believe it.   But when I thought about it, of course I could believe it, and this was one of the happiest moments of the week for me.  Many hands make light work.   I’ve heard that my entire life, and it’s true, but seeing it happen warms my heart.  Reminds me of the scene in the movie Witness where the Pennsylvania Dutch gather together to put up a barn.  The whole community shows up and everyone does their part to help someone in need.  The spirit of that love and support and service was with us in our log home and it carried over to the next day when the trucks and trailers arrived to collect the tables and chairs, table cloths, plates and  center pieces, fajita grills and various and sundry adornments of the night before.  Big smiles on everyone’s faces, congratulating each other on the party of the year that almost got rained out.

On Sunday my wife’s side of the family came up for dinner and family counsel regarding my in-laws moving in with us on a permanent basis.  Turns out this week, while my mother-in-law was staying with us, her husband  had a stroke while  fishing in Idaho with my brother-law.  The tests confirm his congestive heart failure is shutting him down and he can’t be the primary care giver for his wife any longer.  The big family discussion was whether to move them in with us, and the other patients in the SCOTSHAVEN HOME for INVALID TENANTS or into a nursing home.

For those of you with aging parents, you know how these family counsels go.  The old folks don’t want to be a burden and the young folks don’t want to take away their parents and grandparents dignity.   As I listened to, and participated in the discussions I was once again moved by the spirit of the event.  Everyone around that table was not just worried about caring for the old people, but about caring for Lynne and me.  It was SWEETNESS on STEROIDS….not fake, not phony, just love and I felt it and it stirred something inside me that expanded whatever love I had there, and brought it out.  It continues to linger, and I suspect it will as we embark on this adventure.

So, we’re prepping for the move-in.  Clearing out closets, rearranging furniture, bringing the folks bedroom furniture from their home in Layton, stocking the fridge hear their room with favorite goodies, and picking up meds at the pharmacy (with a forklift)   Again, I have to say I love that my house is big enough to accomodate everyone and I pray we’ll be able to  keep the spirit of a  M2B:) palpable everyday.

You know the real test of the mission I’m on,  finding meaningful and real happiness every single day, is now.  But I’m not alone…there are angels in my house.