Friday, August 26, 2016

Ten Challenging Days

The past week and a half has been hard.  We had two weeks to "push hard" before school "begins" ....tentatively set for 29 Aug. We school pretty much year round, but we've slowed down on a lot of the subjects as we've been stationary and helping Mom G all summer. We see two weeks of visitors in September, so it's wise to get a week in before Labor Day.

The 16th a dear college friend, walked from this life into eternal life with Jesus. It's good she is out of pain. I miss our communication.
Oxygen - the wonder drug
The week didn't go as planned. The 17th,  Nolan had an episode which resulted in an ER visit, lots of tests for various things...at this point we know he had one of three things. As is often the case, a concrete diagnosis may not be forthcoming unless there are other episodes. We're all praying this was a single occurrence. We DO know it was not his heart, he did not have a stroke, it was not an allergic reaction to an insect bite and there were NO TOXINS in his blood (so it was not poison, herbicides or drugs). All good things to have off the table.

I discovered during Nolan's adventure  I can drive the twisty, windy, narrow Redwood Hwy at 65 mph if needed. This is good to know considering where we are staying and why we are here.  Michael discovered some tourists won't pull over even if you have your emergency flashers on, your high beams on and are laying on the horn. He had NOLAN in the car and was forced to drive 30 mph until the hwy empties into Hwy 101. I got there soon after they arrived.
I'm guessing not even a foot underground - very little frost danger
On the 18th, while digging out Cork Elm roots, we hit a water main. It is obviously not 3 feet underground. ::snort::  This resulted in visits with neighbors and another trip into town. Things seem to be just fine now.
Why can you build a "tiny house" but not park an RV?????

Stress immediately eased around here when all accepted the realization  we would NOT be finished with work before the 29th of Aug. In fact, we ARE here indefinitely for as long as we are needed. This looks like it will be - well - indefinite. We began talking about what it means to stay here as long as we are needed....and began investigating loans, land, and houses which are for sale in Mom G's neighborhood. We found some riverfront land we could possibly build on - and park the Caboose on while we build according to local code.....

We had a few hard conversations. If you care enough about others, you will lovingly and respectfully go to the hard places. We do and did.

We've continued to work hard. A neighbor told us they took a lot of "before" pictures sometime in the past.  She says it really shows how much we've accomplished.  It's easy to lose sight of improvement - we see so much which most likely won't be done before the "rains come."

There has been a lot of good happen, too, in the past couple of weeks.

We've learned to slow down and really listen to each other and what we each need in the moment. We're not ALL about work, work, work.....

Stacia's remaining birthday gifts arrived. 
Thanks - but WHAT is it? She'd never seen a telescoping rod before.

Aha! Pull out the reel, extend the rod and she knows what it is! 

Girly tackle box
CoRielle visited on Sunday, an event deserving it's own post. 
Um was trying to center the rock between them - they weren't in 2 camps

We planned a day trip, which Mom G is excited to take, for the end of September.

We firmed up plans for visitors arriving in September - Earl (Michael's brother) and Josiah (our son).

We made plans for a parenting seminar we are leading in October.

We had lots of campfires.  The kids enjoyed many swims.

We had a "family meeting" (::snort:: be quiet, you elder Gherkins, they love family meetings - I'm SURE of it). The kids, one and all,  voiced they would prefer we not buy land or a house locally. They would prefer we continue our plan to be Fulltime RVers and see America. They know this means we will be parked locally a lot of the time. We talked about trying to get support systems in place so we can take off for a week every couple of months and plan an annual long trip. This could, of course, all change instantly if Mom G decides she wants to move or is willing to allow others to care for her.

We began dreaming of driving the ALCAN and spending extended time with JaRissa in the state we love and belong to.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

our hearts are excited for you all. We are glad there has been forward movement with Mom G. She is a neat lady! All I can say is YUCK to aging. :) :(
So glad you are getting to see friends and your kids. Nothing feels better than seeing ones kids.

Praying your school will go great this year.
PTL Nolan is fine. Praying you will all be in good health and that means we are praying for Mike a lot..... and you too.

It is not an easy thing to see ones friend pass on even when we know it is Heaven they are enjoying. PRAYED for you and the loss of your friend Beth. By now we have lost so many friends, young folks, and etc. Makes one think more about heaven when loved ones are there.

Thank you for keeping us up on what is happening. love you tons and our
l/p Dad/Mom t
hearts are full just knowing family is close by and g'LKids