Many Hands Make Light Work

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help the other up." Ecclesiastes 4:9,10

Mom and Dad on the Balboa Island Ferry

My husband, Roger had many expressions but a few in particular stuck with me: "this, that and the other thing" was one of them, and "many hands make light work" was another. (I had never heard this expression prior to knowing Roger, but I have heard it a number of times since.) It seems like something a grandmother or mom might say when coaxing a reluctant child to help out with something. 😊

This expression comes to mind as I reflect on Saturday, March 25th and our family's first loosely termed 'Work Day' at mom and dad's house. A more fitting term would be 'Fun & Family Day'. My son, James kicked things off with giving mom (Nanny) a haircut. He also brought two batches of his delicious chocolate chip cookies at dad's (Poppa's) request. Naturally, mom needed to sample one to make sure the cookies were tasty. They were!

When my brother Michael arrived with his wife, Roge and their son, Rhett, we all got to work in the garage to help organize things. It was such a blessing to spend the afternoon together and it was a practical way to show mom and dad how very much they are loved. In the midst of sweeping, sorting, etc. we enjoyed looking at various photos and momentos. It gave me joy to to see how people's different strengths/skills played a part in making it such a productive time: Roge ~ organizing photos; Michael ~ researching potential values of different items online; James ~ very efficient and organized;  and Rhett ~ it was just fun to have my nephew there to hang out and help keep watch over Molly, my dog.

Dad told us that he was going to be grilling burgers for dinner. (Anyone who has ever been treated to a hamburger grilled on Joe's Weber kettle ~ knows this was quite the incentive to do a good job in the garage. 😋) Nina, Georgie and Ethan joined us for dinner and Mom thoroughly enjoyed having family over.

 

(I sure love these two!)

We stayed until around 9 p.m. and already calendared our next time to help. Our aim is to get the garage finished so we can plan a time strictly to go through photos, which is something dad and mom have wanted to do for literally decades.

Before I wrap up this post, I wanted to give a shout out to mom and dad's church family at Corpus Christi. This past weekend several of their friends from church came to visit mom and dad. I believe that one of the greatest blessings of a faith community is when the body of Christ is a tangible expression of God's love and compassion to those in need.

Updates:

• Mom had her first infusion of Avastin last Wednesday and tolerated it very well.

Prayer Requests:

• For mom to continue to respond well to infusions of Avastin (every two weeks).
• For financial provision to continue 24/7 caregiving for mom. 🙏

Thanksgiving:

• Truly grateful for family and friends who are kind, generous and loving. We are blessed!

Affectionately,

Terrie