"They say 'don't try this at home' so I'm coming over to your house to try it." - copied

I looked up long enough to see that we are officially in a brand new month, the last one for this year, and the one where the wife and I begin to begin to get very busy, you know, Santa and the Mrs. C., as we embrace this Thursday, December 1, 2016. We start an 8-day run tomorrow evening where we will have something scheduled every day with no break until Saturday, December 10th. That will either keep us young or make us feel even older than we are. Juggling work and the Santa enterprise is a very tedious challenge, but, I will do my very best to honor all duties as assigned. I used that one because it was the last statement included in the various job descriptions I had while working for the US Civil Service Commission. "Other duties as assigned." The preceding five pages were not adequate to cover the duties of a clerical position, therefore, they stuck that final one-liner in for good measure. I am very much enjoying the fresh cool air. As they say back where I am from, "It's about time." I announced to the wife the other evening the record cold for that particular day. They were showing it on the weather report. On that day back in 1976, it was 26 degrees. I told you it used to be colder and I didn't need Al Gore to tell me that. When I was a kid we typically needed to layer up in October to go hunting and by Thanksgiving we were dealing with ice covered puddles on our way to the deer stand. These days, it seems like most people in our area can go through the end of November in short sleeves. That's not scientific and I'm not a global warming alarmist, but, while it may be naturally occurring, it is different, and it is noticeable, and that's what I do a lot of, noticing. In case you haven't noticed.

What a blessing to have the wife's sister come back for the second time to see about her sister, and to help us deal with her recovery. When I say these girls are twins born 18 months apart, people laugh. If anyone is around them for any length of time at all, that laughter will change to being stunned. I would say they should dress alike but they've been there and done that before. While they do have their unique preferences and likes and dislikes, their sisterly union wins out every time. I've never had to embellish this story very much. Even forty years ago, before cell phones, and when long distance was pretty expensive, these two could somehow pick up where they left off even if it had been months since they had seen each other. My late brother-in-law Charles and I used to laugh as we drove up and unloaded out of the car. It seemed to us they picked up in mid-sentence. I'm not put together to have that kind of connection to another person, however, I certainly admire it and recognize it as a blessing from above. While ladies in general are more inclined to be close, these two take the cake. I've been reporting these same observations for over fifty years. And, they are still at it. They are. They really are. Some of the ways they identify with each other have changed a little over time. As they get older they tend to forget the same things. If one is ailing a little, pretty soon the other has similar symptoms. Charles and I always said that when we both were gone we wouldn't have to worry about these girls because they will always have each other.

Family ties. They are special. Speaking of that, I'm glad to report that mom, (92), and dad, (86), continue to amaze us all with their resilience and their independent spirit. Dad was explaining to me this week how he raked up all the leaves and then ran over them with the lawnmower. He just got his lawnmower back from the shop. The last time they put the blades on, the shop tightened them way too tight. Now get this, dad stripped out the bolt trying to remove the blades so he could re-sharpen them. He had them install a new bolt and he instructed them to not over tighten the blades. He explained to them how they have all the equipment to do what they do, while he has to set it on something and lay underneath it to remove the blades. I can envision dad with the mower on some little stand with him laying underneath it. Him being able to do all that he does is a blessing from the Lord God above. Mom's failing eyesight continues to be a huge burden and limitation, however, I keep her computer going and I can tell you she does get around on Facebook. She may have to use her several magnifying glasses to get an idea of what is going on, but, based on all the stuff she has open when I work on her system, she is still plugged in. At 92, she too is a blessing from the Lord God above. At the same time, I really can't even imagine me making it to their age and I certainly can't see myself doing the things they can do.  But, truth is, that would be in God's hands. We come away as offspring of their huge blended clan giving thanks to God for our parents. Amen. ....More later.