They arrived last Thursday evening, June 30th. Papa got here just before they arrived. Claude had been in Louisville for three days and had a meeting in Lexington Thursday evening so we didn't add him to our mix until about 9pm.
It was fun to chat and catch up. We fixed chef salads for dinner and enjoyed a vanilla/cheese cake pie Claude made and left for me. I had not eaten any of it so I was very happy to helpers get a start on this delicious pie.
Friday Papa came back out in time for a breakfast of cinnamon toast, eggs and bacon. We had a leisurely morning. All of us except Claude left at 11:30am for the nursing home. We accompanied Papa as he fed Mimi and Neffie and Mike had a chance to visit with her.
Papa called ahead and told them there would be three other people joining him to feed Mimi. When we got to the nursing home that lovely staff of people had set up a small banquet table in the employees break room with four chairs around it and Mimi wheeled in already. Now this break room is not as big as my bathroom. I know my bathroom is large but this was still a very full room. Papa sat to Mimi's right along one end of the table, Neffie and I sat on the side and Mike occupied the other end.
At one point the employees started to arrive for their lunches, after all this was their break room and the fridge with their lunches was in the corner. Mike cheerfully got up and moved his chair under the table so he could open the fridge in the corner and retrieve lunches. Later one of the physical therapist came in to get some equipment out of a file cabinet. Mike again cheerfully got up, pushed his chair under the table, opened the file cabinet and found the equipment. Everyone was so nice and not at all upset we took their break room.
The amazing part of the visit was Mimi. My mother has long since quit making eye contact on any kind of a regular basis. Maybe once in a great long while she might peek up and look you in the eyes but it is so rare it seems like it never happens.
Mike was almost directly across from Mom. We were in a tinier space than she is usually in. Mike also had on a red shirt. I don't know if any or all of those items were a factor in the miracle that happened. Mimi just kept looking up, making eye contact with Mike, then she would grin and sometimes laugh. The joy this brought to all of us, but most especially my father, was huge. Proof...look at the grin on Papa's face. I didn't catch the grin on Mimi's face.
This made for a particularly wonderful visit. It was just a miracle that Nef and Mike came from so far and had one of the best visits. Thank you Heavenly Father for that tender mercy.
Mike treated us to lunch at Arby's before we headed back to Sadieville.
We visited until time for dinner. Claude BBQ'd chicken on the grill, fruit salad, potato salad and crumb pie for dessert. We enjoyed dinner on the deck.
Crumb pie is a 'blast from the past' for Neffie and me. Gramma Keller was a very, very, very old lady in our church congregation in Louisiana when we grew up. She was quite fond of Mimi. She shared her secret recipe with careful instructions that Mimi was not to share it with anyone. Mimi was obedient to that. We always enjoyed this creation of bread crumbs, custard and egg whites.
Saturday morning Papa did not come back out. He was exhausted. I tried my hand at homemade buttermilk biscuits. They were not too bad. Not as good as when I made them as a kid but better than the hockey puck version I did several years ago. I even had one last little jar of crab apple jelly to go with them and some sorghum syrup thatNeffie and Chaira brought me a couple of years ago. It was a close approximation of what Mimi would have made us when we were kids.
Neff and Mike hit the road about 11am. It was a wonderful visit. Thanks for coming and bringing a ray of sunshine into Mimi and Papa's lives.
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