A Meal Made in Heaven

So nice to be invited out for a Thanksgiving dinner with family this year. With Dean's raging appetite these days, I was hoping his holiday eating would not get too out of hand.

We timed it right to get there when it was about time to eat. He can make a meal out of appetizers, if you know what I mean. I dished up his first plate, since it was just easier in a small kitchen with buffet-style serving. This assured that his first helpings were sensibly sized and not mounded so high on his plate.

He got his own seconds of favorites after that, but I was glad when they started offering pie for dessert. I'm sure he would have just continued eating plate after plate of food until time for dessert. We made sure he had one of the first pie pieces cut.

We had just the right amount of visiting during and after all of this, but were the first ones to head for home. I understood others soon followed who had other family dinners to attend (in-laws).

It made for a real family treat, being with our daughter's in-laws. Just one big happy family gathering.

It reminded me of the type of family gatherings we will enjoy in heaven someday. But there will be no rush there, no accommodating service, no watching calories, sugar or gluten contents either. It will just all be good-for-us food, and especially tasty. (Almost like this one we enjoyed on Thanksgiving Day.) I can't wait!

in between bites

My understanding hostess Shari--on the left!

Broken Chair Fixes Man

I witnessed a small miracle this week. Dean resurrected some of his tools, dusted them off, and set about fixing a chair that broke down when he went to get up from it one day. It was an old chair we've had for years that had a lot of memories attached, so I can understand his motivation to get it fixed.

This is what my spare bedroom has looked like all week!

I've never seen him so enthusiastic about getting something done around here. (It took him almost a year to clean off his dresser. You can actually see the top of it now, so even with more clutter there than I'd like, it's a big improvement.)

And then there was the neighbor lady across the street. When a tree was hit by lightning a year ago (see my September 16, 2013 post) and ended up in her backyard, Dean offered to cut it up for her so she could have it hauled away. Dean, who made a living at logging, was thrilled at the chance of powering up his chain saw, even though Alberta and I were trembling at the thought of him falling and/or getting hurt in the process of such a physically demanding job. Unfortunately, his success was denied because the big chain saw, which had been sitting idle in our garage for years, just wouldn't come back to life for him.

After these rare attempts at handyman work, it really looks like he has reached a milestone in the furniture repair field. If his "glue" work holds, it will serve him many more years of happy TV watching in another room. (It helps the cabin fever to have two comfy places in the house for relaxation. We can actually "get away from each other" without leaving the house, if you know what I mean.)

If only he had lost 30-50 pounds while working, I'd be more confident in the lasting quality of this repair job. But at least he's still in the handyman game and I'm glad for that.

Isn't it great how God keeps us useful, even though we feel all used up? I pray that God uses me for every ounce of service He can squeeze out of my old body too.

The finished product!

I Am Tired of Me

Most of my posts on this blog are about Dean, who's mainly the caregivEE in the family. But being November, I think it only fair that I write about myself, the caregivER, because this is National Caregivers Month in our country, state, and heh, even our city recognizes it now.

So often people want to know how Dean is doing these days. And once in a while they include me in their inquiry. I think it safe to say that I have my health challenges too. Very seldom are caregiver lines that clear, especially when it involves spouses.

We both have our ups and downs. But as we age, the meaning of the term changes. In other words, it's harder to get up, and mighty easy to fall down. Physically, that is.

Mentally is the same though. For us, it's still easy when you're up in spirits, and hard when you are down. Just the opposite from the physical. We seniors are more likely to think of the physical first, that's all. Which is understandable, since aging forces us to listen to our body more.

What my body is telling me every waking moment of every day is, "You are tired." I know this is mostly my pulmonary system talking. Shortness of breath is a byword around here with my restricted lung capacity. I find myself saying it out loud all too often, between audible huffing and puffing. It's my mantra. "I'm tired. I'm tired. I'm tired." I even get tired of hearing it myself!

Well, I must say this has been one of the hardest blogposts for me to write. I'm tired of writing about myself already. So next time you will undoubtedly be treated to another colorful episode in the life of Dean. As he was quick to remind me as he was reading my eBook (which is still available on Amazon, by the way), "Without me, you wouldn't have anything to write about!" I'm seeing firsthand today how true his statement was.

Take a look at my eBook by clicking here!