Family

Here is a picture of Mom with Adam's son, Chris, taking a plunge during our Italy trip, 2006. (Please send your pictures!) It is such a blessing to be surrounded by so much family. Annie, Adam and Chris all arrived around noon today. It feels so good to have Annie here, especially because I know how difficult it is to be so far away. It seemed like a good idea at the time to have Mom here so Annie could have some time to grieve her Dad and to settle matters and care for the house, etc. But she is so far away from all the rest of her family, it makes me wish we could all be together.

Another rainy day in NJ... but despite the rain, Mom wanted another walk this morning. Mercy and I even tried to convince her to wait a couple hours, wait until Adam and Annie get here so we can all go together, we'll get soaking wet... but Mom wanted to go! And we did! And we did get soaking wet! We put a plastic rain poncho over Mom and she stayed relatively dry, and even though her face couldn't tell us, I believe that she was enjoying being outside. It was a warm rain, not cold... unseasonably warm for November in NJ. We'll try to walk every day. Aunt Martha arrived mid afternoon, nice that she comes every weekend, I know Mom appreciates the family connection.

The days are tough with Mom. We make the best of each day, but she has great difficulty getting comfortable and achieving any kind of relaxation. She is so determined to make the best of it with as little medication as possible. I know every time she does take any medication, it's with great angst. It's hard to accept that sometimes. It seems like it would be so much easier for her to just get the help with sleep and with relaxation and with pain, but I can tell she feels there is honor in being stronger and toughing it out. We have to just respect that and obey it and do our best to help her. She is an incredibly strong woman, and we all continue to learn about grace and beauty from her every day.