We have lived at Evergreen retirement apartments for a year and a half now and starting with Thanksgiving and climbing to a climax, our thoughts have been turning more and more to family and loved ones as Christmas approaches. This year has been difficult for Phyllis as her arthritis has become more and more of a problem. She finds that she can do less and less. If she is inactive for a few minutes, just getting up again is extremely painful. She uses a walker even to get from one side of the room to the other and we must load it into the back seat of the car, no matter where we are going.
Still we had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving day with Betty Nichols and her daughter and our niece at her home here in Plano. Our daughter Donna and Jim had invited us to celebrate earlier as they were to be out of town on the actual date. This week we enjoyed an early Christmas with them and our grand children from Oklahoma and their sons. That was also at the Harkness home.
Between those two dates, we had a bad fall in the parking lot of Walmart. A wheel of Phyllis’ walker fell into a crack and locked throwing me on my face against a concrete curb. I may have broken my nose, and possibly a small bone in my left wrist, but aside from looking a fright for the first week or so I seem to be recovering. Phyllis and her walker landed on top of me which, praise the Lord, broke her fall. We attracted lots of attention! People came running from all sides. One brought a first aid box, while another called 911, so we had a fire engine and an ambulance with their crews; someone else alerted Walmart, and we got a lot more attention outside than one can get inside. Two managers, and at least three more staff, one with a wheel chair, rushed out to help. Later, the manager phoned us at home and yet again she sent a letter of apology and assured me that we must let her know if there are problems. I had refused to go to the hospital. That is why I don’t know if anything was broken, though I suspect now that something is not right with the wrist and the nose.
Phyllis admitted this week that she has fallen again in our apartment, but did not tell me.
In May, we celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary, and all our daughters and Phyllis’ sister in law Betty, and her two sisters Dorothy and Lois, were all here, as well as her adopted brother Andrew and his wife Gwenn from Hawaii. Both Ruth and Becky are now back in their homes in South Africa. Kathryn flew in from Ohio, so we had visitors from far and wide and a great time with them all at two receptions, one at Valley View Christian Church and one here at Evergreen as well as a family only reunion meal at the Harkness home. Reuben and Connie visited later after their retirement began.
We are quite happy to be settling down now and back to our routine activities if you can call the four Christmas celebrations we had to be “routine !” Forget “New Years”. I’m sleeping in.
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RESOLVE TO READ THE BIBLE THROUGH AGAIN IN 2011
(I’m reading a free Kendal version this year)
DECEMBER
26th. Sunday – Haggai 1, 2, Revelation 19:10-21, Proverbs 31:10-20
27th. Monday – Zechariah 1. 2, 3, 4, Revelation 20, Psalm 148:1-6
28th. Tuesday – Zechariah 5, 6, 7, 8, Revelation 21:1-12, Psalm 148:7-14
29th. Wednesday-- Zechariah 9, 10, 11, Revelation 21:13-27, Psalm 149
30th. Thursday - Zechariah 12, 13, 14, Revelation 22:1-9, Proverbs 31:21-31
31st. Friday – Malachi 1,2,3,4, Revelation 22:10-21, Psalm 150
JANUARY
1st. Saturday-- Genesis 1,2, Matthew 1, Psalm 1
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Shirley & Marcy
A mom was concerned about her kindergarten son walking to school. He didn't want his mother to walk with him. She wanted to give him the feeling that he had some independence but yet know that he was safe.
So she had an idea of how to handle it. She asked a neighbor if she would please follow him to school in the mornings, staying at a distance, so he probably wouldn't notice her.
She said that since she was up early with her toddler anyway, it would be a good way for them to get some exercise as well, so she agreed.
The next school day, the neighbor and her little girl set out following behind Timmy as he walked to school with another neighbor girl he knew. She did this for the whole week.
As the two walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, Timmy's little friend noticed the same lady was following them as she seemed to do every day all week. Finally she said to Timmy, 'Have you noticed that lady following us to school all week?'
'Do you know her?' Timmy nonchalantly replied,
'Yeah, I know who she is.' The little girl said, 'Well, who is she?' 'That's just Shirley Goodnest,' Timmy replied, 'and her daughter Marcy.'
'Shirley Goodnest? Who the heck is she and why is she following us?'
'Well,' Timmy explained, 'every night my Mom makes me say the
23rd Psalm with my prayers, 'cuz she worries about me so much.
And in the Psalm, it says, 'Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life', so I guess I'll just have to get used to it!'
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift His countenance upon you, and give you peace.
May Shirley Goodnest and Marcy be with you today and always.
I know you smiled!
I sure did. Pass this on and brighten someone's day!
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