My Wednesday was just a tough day. It wasn't supposed to be. But it was. I was up until 2am Wednesday morning finishing off my lesson outline for Institute. The last time I looked at the clock before falling asleep it was 2:30am. I heard Claude leave and was out of bed early and knew it was going to be a day I would miss that sleep I really needed.
I had a 1pm appointment to take a friend from Church to lunch. I wanted to leave early enough to purchase flowers for my mother's grave. The rest of my day included getting my father and his musical instruments and going to the nursing home to sing. After singing, I was taking Papa with me to put the new flowers on Mimi's grave and then to dinner. Then I would come home and see what other things I could accomplish before Claude got home from his meetings. That was the plan.
I had my washer going and my dishwasher going and was feeling that at least I would be productive. I headed back downstairs to work in my sewing room until time to get my shower before leaving for the day. I waded through eMail and Facebook and weather and news on my laptop. I called another friend to see if I could visit her on Thursday as I went to Lexington to teach my Institute class. She said she was going to someone else's home for the day. We left it that she would call me Thursday if she was going to be home in time for me to visit.
I started to put some things away and finish up in my sewing room and the phone rang. It was the person I had just spoken with one the phone. She was greatly distressed and needed to talk. I told her I had some time before going to Georgetown. She poured out her heart and soul, I listened and gave some suggestions, and we talked for over an hour. I finally told her I had to get a shower so I could get to Georgetown for my 1pm appointment and assured her I would come Thursday afternoon to visit if she got home in time.
I showered and got ready as quickly as I could and hurried to Walmart to pick up some silk flowers. I was so happy to find two beautiful bunches of spring flowers with lots of pink in them. Papa's favorite color is pink and I hoped that would bring him some joy. When I got to the express lane it had a line. Another man got his cart there just before me. We stood there a minute and he said, "Would you like to go ahead of me? I have all day." I told him I would be ever so grateful if I could do that. I explained I had a 1pm appointment and really needed to finish this little bit of shopping. Feeling very blessed I took the place in front of him in line. It seems the first lady in this long 'express' line had issues and it was taking a good bit of time to resolve them. The gentlemen struck up a conversation about the weather. We exhausted that bit of chatter. Then in the course of our conversation he mentioned some about himself and used the name Varney. The Mayor of Georgetown, Kentucky is Everett Varney. I asked if this nice gentleman was related to Mayor Varney. With a deadpan face he said, "No". I am gullible and I assured him Varney was not a real common name and I just thought he might be related. Then he gave me that grin that old men do when they know they are having a little fun with you. He admitted Everett Varney was his brother. I explained Claude was the Mayor of Sadieville and he has occasion to do business with Mayor Varney. It ended up being a pleasant passing of the time.
I hurried to my friend's home and took her to Burger King for lunch. We talked for 2 hours. I looked at her and told her I needed to take her home so I could get to my father's home in time to get him to the nursing home for us to sing. Only on the way back did this friend begin to get into the things she really wanted to talk about. Several of the items frazzled my good humor. I pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex and tapped the clock in my car and told her I was sorry but I really needed to go get my father. Ten minutes later she is still pouring our her heart about things that are important to her for which I have listened and given the best advice I could many time in the past months. I kept wondering why she held this discussion in until she knew I had to leave. Goodness. Finally I just had to tell her I was leaving. She left and seemed in a huff. What to do.
I hurried to Papa's apartment and picked him and his instruments up and put them in the car and made sure Tiny was let outside. Then we were off to sing at the nursing home for an hour. I was so frustrated with all the earlier encounters and I found singing at the nursing home a healing balm. Lots of grins and waves of welcome as staff came through, hugs with residents we care about, and singing with Papa. It was just good to do that.
Afterwards we headed to the cemetery. I took the flowers out of the Walmart bag and pulled the price tags off them. I joked with Papa that if I didn't do that Mimi would have the Minnie Pearl thing going on with her marker. Papa got a chuckle out of that. If you don't know who Minnie Pearl is you will not get the humor there. She was a country music comedian and singer years ago. She was very well educated in real life. Her character for her career though was a country girl who always wore a hat with the price tag hanging on it.
Papa was so very happy with the new flowers. He loved the pink ones being in there. He took the red roses we have had on there since mom's passing out of the container and I placed the new ones in the vase.
Papa was concerned about the roses. Amazingly they had not faded at all. They were special because Mimi picked them out when I took her out of the nursing home and we walked the Peddler's Mall for an outing. She fell in love with the red roses so I purchased them for her and they were in her room at the nursing home all the time she resided there. Papa felt a connection to those roses as well. I told him I had vases at home and would fix them for him to have in his apartment if he wanted. I suggested they might make him feel like he has a bit of Mimi there with him. He was delighted with that idea so I put the roses in the bag to take back to my home.
He also shared a concern he has had as he pondered death and what happens. He said I might think him a little silly if he shared it. I assured him he could share anything with me. He said, "I know when I die what I will be buried in. What I'm concerned about is when my spirit leaves my body and my body has on those clothes...(are you ready for this?)...what will my spirit have on if my clothes are still on my body?" I almost split my sides laughing. Papa started to laugh also. We drove on to the gas station with tears rolling down our eyes at this silly scenario. I assured Papa that as much as the Church counsels us to be modest there will surely be at least a ministering angel with a robe to cover him up. Then it was more peels of laughter.
We had a great dinner and enjoyed a time to chat and eat and be together. I took Papa home after that and left him safely ensconced in his big chair end of his sofa with Tiny at his side.
I got home to Sadieville and started to unload my car. What did I find in my passenger seat? A cell phone. Papa doesn't own a cell phone. The lady I took to lunch at 1pm left her cell phone in my car. It must have slipped out of her slacks and Papa never said anything as he sat on it. It was at the back of the seat and close to the big armrest between the driver's and passenger seats. This friend only has that cell phone, no land line. I was not going to back into Georgetown that late at night. I would be back through on Thursday and leave it at her apartment then. Goodness.
I was happy to be home. And I was so very happy for the beautiful visit with Papa and Mimi.
Thursday morning I found a vase, put the roses in the vase, then filled the vase with decorative stones I had on hand. On my way to Institute I returned my friends phone first. Then I drove to Papa's and gave him the flowers in the vase. His eyes welled with tears as he accepted them. Such tender memories I just want to treasure.
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