All Aboard! All Aboard!!

Our little Hayden has enriches our lives with his love of all things to do with Thomas the Tank Engine. He has lots of train engines, cars and tracks that cover his room and spread over their home. He even keeps some at our home for when he visits. At one point he gave all of us train names. When I got an eMail notice that a "Day Out With Thomas" was coming to New Haven, Kentucky's Railroad Museum I just kept that eMail hoping it would work out so we could get our little train officienado to this most important event. When I was sure of the times that would work for Claude and me, I called Andie and she verified with Michael that it would work for them and tickets were purchased for 4 adults and 2 kids. We visited the Marx family Wednesday, June 3rd and gave Hayden and Bailey printed invitations to a "Day Out With Thomas". Hayden was fairly popping when he understood what that meant. We spent a fair amount of time going over the need to get through Thursday and Friday and THEN it would be Saturday. He knows his calendar and that really helped.

Claude and I arrived in New Haven early and found the city park and parked under the shade of some big trees, rolled down the windows of the car, and sat back to wait until time to head to the VERY crowded Kentucky Railway Museum. The Marx family would join us around 3pm at the train station. Imagine our surprise when we heard the peep, peep of Thomas' whistle. The train went in front of where we were waiting. About 2:45pm we headed to the train museum and found parking. Then we found Will Call to pick up the tickets. They gave us 2 little maps with 4 circles on them. If your child went to these 4 places (out of the many offered) and got a stamp in each one of them, they would receive a prize. This gave direction to how to spend our time. While in line at Will Call, the Marx mobile arrived. Since Claude and I had no cell service in New Haven, we were very happy to make connections that easily. We placed arm bands on everyone to verify we had entry into all areas of the event. Bailey worked all during the outing and (I believe it was during the train ride) actually removed hers from her little arm. Then it was off to see the HUGE Lego version of Thomas. Our next stop was at the location of our first stamp for our maps. It was the "Video and Story Telling". They would also put temporary tattoos of your choice of engines from the Island of Sodor. Miss Bailey hurried over to pick out a "Rosie" tattoo for her right arm. They had fun trying to get it to stick because the kids had sun screen on. Somehow they got that one on Bailey's arm. We had Hayden come over to pick out which tattoo he wanted. He looked them over and said, "No thanks, I have this." He pointed to his armband. Andie assured him he could have both but he repeated "no thanks" and was off to video and story telling again. We got the stamps for this and then headed to see the real Thomas that would pull our coach cars on our train ride. Hayden was very focused on seeing Thomas up close. In front of Thomas on the same track was an old HUGE black steam engine. We got in line so the kids could climb up inside and ring the bell. This thing had some wheels as tall as a grown man. Hayden wanted to touch it so I found a part that wasn't too greasy and let him touch the metal. Andie and Michael got the kids up the steep steps and Claude and I stayed below to take pictures thru the window of them ringing the bell.

"Imagination Station" was our next destination. This was also a spot to get another stamp. It was a tent with lots of train tables with tracks and trains so kids could enjoy playing with Thomas train sets. Bailey and Hayden both really enjoyed being under this tent, out of the sun, and getting to play with trains.

After a little time to play and cool off, we headed to the train station. It was about time for Sir Topham Hatt to make his appearance AND you could have your picture taken with him. The inside was crowded and the magician was finishing his show in the front of the room where Sir Topham Hatt would make his appearance in the back of the room. We found our way to where the line was forming and secured our place in line. This would be stamp #3 for the maps. Hayden loved Sir Topham Hatt. He held his hand and told him his name. I love Bailey's expression in this picture of amazement and wonder that Sir Topham Hatt was right there.

We had just enough time for a potty break and then outside to line up for boarding our coach car and a 25 minute train ride. Michael and Claude found great seats and Hayden and Bailey each had a window. It was such a pleasure to watch them enjoy the ride through the country on the train. I'll share my two favorite pictures from the train ride. Note how ready Hayden is with his arm band and his ticket. Then note the tender moment with Andie and Bailey. This was really a nice train ride. Hayden could see out his window all the old railroad cars of many different varieties and he was telling us what they were. He saw coal and cows and corn but he really enjoyed the different kinds of cars stored along portions of the train track.

The conductor came and took our tickets and punched them. A lady with a video camera came and spoke with Hayden. Then we returned to the station and headed for the 4th and final place to get a stamp...you guessed it...the gift shop. Aren't they clever vendors!!! Amazingly the mini-Marx's were very happy with 2 Thomas story books to add to their collection. We headed to a little local eatery and fed the kids hot dogs and ice cream (they needed to have sugar before the drive back to La Grange). We parted ways after a really fun afternoon. When Claude and I got home, there was a very excited Hayden & Bailey message on our phone to say thank you. Being granparents is just the greatest. We did learn that 4 adults to one 2 year old and one 4 year old is just about the right odds!!!

Fire Flies & Enlightened Moments...

Tonight I lay in my bed trying to fall asleep. We have not turned our air conditioning on yet. So at night we open the curtains while we sleep so the cool night air can fill our home to cool it off for another day. I finally rolled over and faced that open window. I noticed little flashes of light between our home and the trees on our hill. It took a moment to register that the fire flies have returned for this summer. These are just delightful little insects. They leave a kind of magic and peace in the summer evenings. It just feels very Southern. I realized as I lay there that I have been able to enjoy fire flies most of my life. I don't think we had them when we lived in California or in Colorado. But we have had them in Louisiana, Maryland and now in Kentucky. They made me think of other things I've enjoyed throughout my life: Homemade hand cranked ice cream Swinging on a front porch Napping on a quilt under the shade of a tree with a gentle breeze Singing along to a piece of music in my low range Homemade lemonade Sitting on top of a mountain looking across the country Hugs from my kids or grandmonsters Finishing a piece of needlework Looking at pictures of trips we have taken and remembering... The scent of magnolias Driving down the interstate with the sun roof open and good music at full volume Reading a really good book Claude & me having a soda in the car sitting at a corner parking lot Trying to pin hems in my skirts with my mom & laughing through it Grocery shopping with Jake and laughing through it When Nissa & Andie would say "I need a soda" and we had a great talk Picking strawberries in Gramma & Grampa Fisch's strawberry patch Getting a sun tan Letters from Papa with answers to my teen age questions Listening to the Eagles concert DVD at full volume on the big TV Singing with Claude or Papa when they play their guitars Talks with a good friend Watching the water tank fill during a gentle summer rain Building houses of straw in the woods & using snuff cans for dishes Jeep rides with Uncle Clifford And the list could go on. There is a lot of appreciate and really enjoy in this life. It was pleasant to pause and give thought to a few of those things and open my mind to remember more. Goodnight!!!

Oh Deer!!!

Claude and I were returning to Sadieville last night. Our home is out in the country. You drive Highway 32 for a mile or so at a speed of about 55 mph. As we were crusing down this road Claude suddenly slowed the speed down. I looked up from my Sudoku puzzle to see what in the world caused the sudden slow down. Claude started counting the deer leaping across the highway. Once they were gone, he slowly picked up speed and began that little distance to our home carefully looking for more deer. As we continued we drove by this road sign on the side of the road at this spot where the deer had been leaping across the road. Claude quietly said, "I guess they don't believe in the 'no passing' road sign." It was really funny to me at the time.

Hands...

I have hands just like my mothers. During my married years, after we would return home from a visit to Louisiana, I would be wiping a counter top and look at my hand and realize it looked exactly like my mom's hand. This last Monday, Mimi got very ill. Papa went to feed her at lunch, as is his daily habit. He called me immediately when he got home and just as I was about to go out the door to the dentist for my 6 month check and cleaning. He said Mimi had hurled her breakfast and wasn't willing to eat at lunch. She was burning up with fever, pale as a white sheet, and they weren't sure what was wrong. She was in her bed, in her room, and had not been up all day. (Usually Mimi is dressed and taken to the multi-purpose room for breakfast. She spends a good deal of her day sitting at a table there and takes all 3 meals in this room.) Mimi was also rolling her eyes and twitching a lot. Papa was very concerned. I told him I had to head to the dentist but after I would meet him to practice music for Wednesday and then we would both go to the nursing home and check on her again. He was pleased with that plan that is what we did. When we got there Mimi's fever was down a bit and she had some color. She was still not good at all. They took a culture and tested for flu. This test came back negative, Mimi did not have the flu. They called her doctor and he suggested they get a urine sample and check for urinary tract infection. This was the diagnosis they settled on. We left Mimi resting. Her doctor came that afternoon and checked her. They began giving her injections for this infection. Tuesday Mimi was still not great but did eat and hold down some food for Papa at lunch. She stayed in her bed all day. Wednesday I went in to sing with Papa. Claude took me in because we had plans to go directly from the nursing home to LaGrange to watch the mini-Marx's so Michael and Andie could have their anniversary dinner. Then to watch Bailey the next morning so Andie could take Hayden to a play. Claude dropped me off at the nursing home and headed out to complete his chore list of in-town stuff while I sang with Papa. When I entered the multi-purpose room, Papa was set up and had about 15 minutes until time to sing but Mimi was not in the room. Since she was a little better Tuesday, I somehow expected her to be sitting at her table to listen to the music. Papa told me he didn't think she would be able to come down yet. I told him I was going to sit with her until time to sing and I headed for her room. I found Mimi pale again and very hot to the touch. I raised the head of her bed and spent the next 15 minutes getting her to drink as much of the water they had for her as I could. Then I lowered the bed and headed back to sing with Papa. I stopped at the nurses station on the way and talked with Helen, telling her how hot Mimi was. She said they had taken her temperature and it was normal not long before. I assured her Mimi was burning up and that I had managed to get a lot of her water in her. Papa and I started to sing and while we were singing Lucy, the other head nurse, came and spoke quietly to us and suggested we call her doctor again and ask about getting her to the hospital for further testing. They had taken her temp again and it was 102 degrees. With the antibiotic for the urinary tract infection, it should not be doing that. We assured her that was fine. Dr. Weckman told Lucy to have an ambulance take Mimi to the Georgetown Regional Hospital and run tests. I finished my part of the program with Papa and whispered in his ear the suggestion that Claude and he give Mimi a blessing before she was to be taken to the hospital. He thought that was a great idea. I left Papa to finish his music program and get his musical instruments and amplifiers into his car. I called Claude and had him bring oil, and I went to sit with Mimi. She was reaching out into the air like she was trying to touch someone and talk with them. I would hold her hand and she would calm down. I just told Mimi that Papa and Claude were going to give her a blessing so she would have peace and calm. Claude got to the nursing home and Papa came to Mimi's room. The Ford's had come down to Mimi's room also to visit her. Doris is a resident in the nursing home and her husband, Jim, was with her. They love Papa's music and they love Mimi and Papa. Papa invited them to stay for the blessing. Papa asked Claude to pronounce the blessing. Claude gave Mimi a beautiful blessing. It was a most tender moment. The Ford's left to give us some quiet time with Mimi before she went to the hospital. Before the ambulance drivers arrived, Jim Ford came back into Mimi's room. He asked that we tell him when the funeral would be so that he and Doris could come. His voice broke as he spoke. I thanked him and assured him they would know if something happened. Jim left and Papa had me tell him what Jim said because he couldn't hear. I told Papa what Jim said. Then the ambulance drivers arrived and took Mimi away. Papa drove to the hospital to be with Mimi. Claude and I headed to LaGrange. As Claude and I were driving, I commented to him that I thought Jim thought the blessing was like last rites like they do in the Catholic church when someone was going to die. Doris and Jim are members of a protestant church, I'm not sure which one, and so they are not familiar with priesthood blessings. I made sure I told Papa about this concern so he could have a teaching moment the next time he saw them and make sure they didn't think we administered last rites to Mimi.

Papa called us when he got home from the hospital. He said the hospital found nothing additional the matter with Mimi that would require hospitalization. So they took her back to the nursing home. Papa headed home for dinner. He was exhausted. This morning Papa called and said he was sick with a stomach bug and couldn't leave his apartment. I assured him Mimi was well taken care of and that Claude and I were going to stop and visit her at the nursing home in the afternoon on our way back to Sadieville. We got to the nursing home and found one of the nurses helping Mimi walk to the multi-purpose room in preparation for dinner. Claude and I both had anticipated her being in her room. It was an absolute delight to see her, albeit a little unsteady, walking to the multi-purpose room. We stayed and visited with her for a good while. During the visit, Helen was getting the meds ready to be given to residents that needed them before dinner. Somehow Mimi and Helen connected across the room. Helen raised her hand and waved at Mimi. I was absolutely amazed as Mimi smiled and waved back at Helen. Then Helen came in and visited with us. She said that they had given mom fluids intravenously in the emergency room and also taken another urine sample. They were sure she had a viral infection and not a bacterial one. Helen figures Papa has the same thing except it is manifesting a little differently in him. It appears the fluids really helped Mimi perk up. I think Papa will stay home one more day so that he and Mimi don't re-infect each other. Mimi ate a good breakfast and lunch today in the multi-purpose room so she is on a mending trend again.

As I sat with mom and held her hand I remembered I had my camera in my purse. I got it and took this picture of Mimi holding my hand. I think it is going to be one of my favorite pictures. We can tell a lot by a person's hands. Both my mom and I have brown spots (age spots I think they are called). Our blood vessels stand up on our hands. Jake always thought that was way cool and wanted to have blood vessels that stood out like that. Mimi and I have long fingers (good for me to play the piano with). My mother always had long, strong finger nails. I remember playing with them in church as a child so that I would sit quietly. Today Bailey was playing with mine as we watched a television show. Mimi's hands worked every spare minute making things and so do mine. I enjoyed holding Mimi's hand today. She doesn't know me, she just likes my visits and trusts me. I'm grateful for being able to have her still enjoy my touch and it be a calming influence for her as she continues this long Alzheimer's journey. It is an awful thing in so many ways but it has provided me with so many tender memories and moments of acute awareness of what is really, really important in life.

A Few Favorite Flower Stories...

One of my favorite flowers has been the magnolia. It seems I have described this before but I can't find it in my book of my blogs I'm making, so I'll share the story again. Growing up in Louisiana we had a big magnolia tree down the street in the neighbor's yard. These neighbors lived about 4 houses down from our home on East Herndon. This magnolia tree was several stories tall. The branches at the bottom had never been trimmed off. This meant there were enormous long branches all the way to the ground. A kid could sneek inside these branches and not be seen because the leaves were so dense. The branches were close enough to each other and large enough that a kid could very easily climb way up in this big old magnolia tree. We loved to climb it and hide in the branches. My parents did NOT want us doing this in someone else's yard. But, kids will be kids, and we spent a good deal of time in those wonderful branches. Another magnolia tree memory has to do with Mimi and Papa. Papa worked for the telephone company at that time. The office in which he worked was a few blocks from Betty Virginia Park in Shreveport, Louisiana. This was a huge beautiful city park and it had huge magnolia trees along the back of it. Papa would take his lunch break and walk there sometimes. When the magnolias were in blossom, he would pick one for Mimi and bring it home. Mimi would put the stem of this beautiful blossom in water and set it on the mantel in the living room. The fragrance from that one blossom would fill most of the house. You had to be really careful because, like a Gardenia, if you touch the petals they turn brown. One of my requests when we moved to Sadieville was to have a magnolia tree in my yard. Claude purchased a Bay Leaf Magnolia and planted it. It just blossomed the other day and the picture with this blog entry is of my own personal magnolia tree blossom. These are smaller blossoms that the Granda Flora variety of magnolia and I'm sure the tree will also be smaller when it is full grown but I still love having my own magnlia tree to watch and enjoy. My very favorite flower has always been the daisy. I have no picture of a daisy. I just wanted to tell the story of this flower while I'm writing about flowers. Knowing this was my favorite flower when I gave birth to Nissa, our first child, Claude went to the florist and purchased a bud vase and bought one white daisy for this vase. He brought it to me at Barksdale Air Force Base Hospital. One white daisy for one beautiful little baby girl. Two years later I gave birth to Andie. Claude bought 2 white daisies and put them in the same bud vase he gave me when Nissa was born. He brought them to me at March Air Force Base Hospital, 2 white daisies for the 2nd beautiful baby daughter. Two years after that I gave birth to Jacob. Claude went to the florist and purchased 2 white daisies and 1 yellow daisy. He put them in the same bud vase and brought them to me at March Air Force Base Hospital. Two white daisies and 1 yellow one for a handsome baby boy. We moved during the next 4 years to Colorado and eventually purchased our first home. One day I was moving and cleaning kitchen cabinets and that bud vase was on the top shelf. I took it out to move it and dropped it and it broke in a jillion pieces. I sat down and cried. Not long after that I was a little over half way thru my 4th pregnancy and miscarried. I thought about the little bud vase and felt an interesting connection to it and the miscarriage. I'm not saying it was a forewarning or anything, just an interesting set of events a moment in time that gave me pause for reflection. Now, while I've spoken of Betty Virginia Park, I'd like to share a few personal history moments about that park. The city offered gymnastic classes. Mimi enrolled us girls in gymnastics and we took our lessons in a little building at Betty Virginia Park. I learned to do a back bend and I was limber enough I could put my head between my legs. NOT ANY MORE!! I learned to do the splits and lots of other fun things. I enjoyed these classes very much. Also at this park, our ward would hold a big picnic. These were always lots of fun. Somehow I remember a huge kettle of soup being made. We also used the ball fields at one end for the softball games some times. Bibbitt Pierce had been a cheerleader in high school. She was at that time a young married and she took some of us girls and taught us some cheers so we could cheer our ward on. Claude and I even stole a few of our first kisses at this park. I really liked Betty Virginia Park!!