Carla, Riley and Hol at the nursing home where Gammy resides:
Mel, Gammy and Holly:
Gam and Hol sharing a memory!
Mel and Gammy:
Carla, Riley, Ed and Hayley...Gammy shared her cake with Haley!
Gammy and Haley:
Holly and Hayley in foreground and family at the table:
Mom working hard:
Harley tuckered out:
Gracie and Hayley enjoying the sun and pets from John:
Dad and John share a laugh:
The cook team (Leslie, Mel and Ed):
Riley the cowboy...showing how to use a bow:
John and Carla outside:
Dad, Riley, and Mom:
Over the Christmas holiday, Mentis closed for a couple of days to give their employees a break and give residents the opportunity to spend more time with family members. This gave us the chance to take John out of Houston for the first time since he had his heart attack and I should mention that it was Holly's first time leaving the city as well. We decided that a road trip was in order and since their dogs are with our parents in Boerne, Texas there was only one destination that would do so we headed west on Christmas day! We spent time with our folks, Ed and Annette and Honeygal, then our brother Leslie and his wife Carla and son Riley came over and we had a fish/oyster fry and we couldn't have asked for better weather or a better time!
There are some things which have to be considered when John leaves the rehabilitation facility for even a day. There are a lot of medications which must be given throughout the day at specific times 9am, noon, 4pm and before bedtime. Holly and I have become quite the little pharmacists and use the ziplock and sharpie method to section out what gets given when and on which day. We also take Johns wheelchair and walker along just in case and Holly packs his clothing and toiletries which is really good because I am a terrible packer and rarely go anywhere without forgetting something important. The other thing is that at this point John is on a heart healthy diet so keeping enough calories coming into his body to keep him from losing any weight requires trying to get him to eat throughout the day. Planning ahead to make sure there is food in the car is important!
Another reason we chose to go to Boerne is that our paternal grandmother, Mildred Moynahan Northrup, who is 91 has been ill and may soon require hospice. I could tell story after story of how "Gammy" has impacted our lives but suffice to say that she and Holly have always been extremely close and when we were younger, they rarely went a day without talking on the phone. We spent most weekends with Gammy and with New Years around the corner I am reminded that our New Years celebration was always at Gammy's house and traditionally culminated into some great games of yahtzee, drinking root beer out of frozen mugs, and sparklers. To this day, I love sparklers and even though we learned later that when the ball dropped it wasn't actually midnight for us, we were just as content to celebrate with the folks in New York and head to bed afterwards.
During Christmas when we were kids, Gammy would stay in the room with us to keep us from getting out of bed at 3am to see if Santa had come and she was so resourceful when it came to entertaining us that I am still amazed at the memories. In these days of electronics, I am reminded that we pretty much thought there was nothing better than getting in her Chevy Nova and going to the parking garage where she worked (Frost Bank in downtown San Antonio) and she would drive us to the top of the parking garage and back down. Okay, so it may not sound like a ton of fun but this was a circular ramp and to this day, no carnival ride has ever compared to the thrill of that thing. With Gammy, life was always fun and her outgoing and friendly attitude toward the people around her and her obvious and tremendous love for us is something I will cherish for all of the rest of my life. John used to love teasing her and she loved being teased. She was at John and Holly's wedding and all other family events and they have always made a point of going to see her when in San Antonio and now Boerne.
This past year has been challenging in so many ways and yet it's hard not to feel grateful and hopeful for a better 2010. Looking out over the horizon makes all things seem possible and all things within our grasp. Although we might face hurdles, it is with gratitude and acceptance that we will continue to conquer all that we are given and our hope for the new year is John's continued success and good health along his journey. I wish to thank each of you again for your ardent support and love and wish everyone a healthy and prosperous 2010!
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