Friday, September 28, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Vacation
Just got back from our vacation. You might be thinking, "oh she must have gone to the beach or some place warm", but no, I went to Ohio. Lovely, flat Ohio. My husband is from Ohio, the Dayton area, and he has some family out that way as do I, in the Columbus area. We stayed at his aunt and uncle's home, which was great because we didn't have to pay for a hotel. While we stayed with them, it was nice to be able to visit with family.
Since having a child, I've begun to appreciate more the value of family, which is why I enjoyed our vacation so much. While we were there, it was really important for my husband to visit his relatives whom he had not seen in 10+ years. While sitting in Aunt Shirley's (my father in law's aunt) living room, I saw pictures. Old pictures. And new pictures. Pictures of my father in law's biological mother, who died in her 30s. I saw pictures of us, my husband, myself, and my son. I had sent Aunt Shirley a photo Christmas card, and she had it displayed among other photographs. I saw pictures of my father in law as a baby, adolescent, and teenager. My husband was stunned to learn that his dad looks very similar to what he, hubby's father, looked like as a child. Perhaps that means that hubby has good genes, and he'll look the same when he's an old man.
It was really great to meet Aunt Shirley, as well as some cousins and second cousins and third cousins. Let's just all call them cousins, because it gets too confusing after the second. I mean, aren't they all just family.
While we were in Dayton, we went to the Hospice Nursing Home, where my husband's grandmother (his dad's step mom), is staying, for now at least, as she battles cancer (Please pray for her). This was the second time I've met her, yet I felt so close to her because she became family to me when I got married. It was very difficult to see her so weak and thin. She has to only weigh 100 pounds if that. We brought her a bouquet of flowers, and of course she got to see her great grandson, and her grandson. I only hope that we brought a smile to her heart and helped to brighten her spirits. The chemo wasn't working, and there's nothing else that the doctors can do except help manage the pain. My only hope is that she is saved so that she'll be going to Heaven to be with Jesus one day. It was so hard to leave her because we are afraid that this was the last time we'd ever see her. I keep playing back in my mind that very moment as I saw her face as we were leaving her room. She looked like she was trying to remember us as she was craning her neck to see us leave. I wanted to stay forever so we could be with her and comfort her, but she needed to rest and so did my son. As we left, we were happy to have been able to visit her, but were sad as well.
On a happy note, my husband got to visit where he and his dad lived when he was a child. He also got to see the home of his late grandfather and also visit his grave. I think the best part of this vacation was going to this old Jim's Dairy Shack, where my husband remembers going with his dad to get a foot long Coney. Talk about good hometown food! If you ever have seen the show Feasting on Asphalt, you'll know what I'm talking about. We also visited some family friends, whom my husband stayed with alot when we was a kid as his dad was getting on his feet after the divorce. It really made me happy because my husband was happy. He was experiencing all the childhood memories he had as a kid. He remarked how he remembered it taking much longer to get to places when he was younger. Isn't it funny how we remember things being so much bigger, yet in actuality, they weren't?
Anyway. . .perhaps it's time to end here. I'm getting tired of typing, and I hear someone calling on the monitor. Until next time. . .
Since having a child, I've begun to appreciate more the value of family, which is why I enjoyed our vacation so much. While we were there, it was really important for my husband to visit his relatives whom he had not seen in 10+ years. While sitting in Aunt Shirley's (my father in law's aunt) living room, I saw pictures. Old pictures. And new pictures. Pictures of my father in law's biological mother, who died in her 30s. I saw pictures of us, my husband, myself, and my son. I had sent Aunt Shirley a photo Christmas card, and she had it displayed among other photographs. I saw pictures of my father in law as a baby, adolescent, and teenager. My husband was stunned to learn that his dad looks very similar to what he, hubby's father, looked like as a child. Perhaps that means that hubby has good genes, and he'll look the same when he's an old man.
It was really great to meet Aunt Shirley, as well as some cousins and second cousins and third cousins. Let's just all call them cousins, because it gets too confusing after the second. I mean, aren't they all just family.
While we were in Dayton, we went to the Hospice Nursing Home, where my husband's grandmother (his dad's step mom), is staying, for now at least, as she battles cancer (Please pray for her). This was the second time I've met her, yet I felt so close to her because she became family to me when I got married. It was very difficult to see her so weak and thin. She has to only weigh 100 pounds if that. We brought her a bouquet of flowers, and of course she got to see her great grandson, and her grandson. I only hope that we brought a smile to her heart and helped to brighten her spirits. The chemo wasn't working, and there's nothing else that the doctors can do except help manage the pain. My only hope is that she is saved so that she'll be going to Heaven to be with Jesus one day. It was so hard to leave her because we are afraid that this was the last time we'd ever see her. I keep playing back in my mind that very moment as I saw her face as we were leaving her room. She looked like she was trying to remember us as she was craning her neck to see us leave. I wanted to stay forever so we could be with her and comfort her, but she needed to rest and so did my son. As we left, we were happy to have been able to visit her, but were sad as well.
On a happy note, my husband got to visit where he and his dad lived when he was a child. He also got to see the home of his late grandfather and also visit his grave. I think the best part of this vacation was going to this old Jim's Dairy Shack, where my husband remembers going with his dad to get a foot long Coney. Talk about good hometown food! If you ever have seen the show Feasting on Asphalt, you'll know what I'm talking about. We also visited some family friends, whom my husband stayed with alot when we was a kid as his dad was getting on his feet after the divorce. It really made me happy because my husband was happy. He was experiencing all the childhood memories he had as a kid. He remarked how he remembered it taking much longer to get to places when he was younger. Isn't it funny how we remember things being so much bigger, yet in actuality, they weren't?
Anyway. . .perhaps it's time to end here. I'm getting tired of typing, and I hear someone calling on the monitor. Until next time. . .
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