Today is my 69th birthday. Where oh were has the time flown? I was talking to my oldest greatgranddaughter this morning. She will be 12 the end of April. It occured to me that the years since I was 12 have been so very short. At 12, I was living in Kansas on an old farm. We had very little in material goods, but much in rich experiences. I spent a lot of time fishing, jigging for frogs (their legs are great fried up), spotting cotton tail rabbits along the hedge rows for dad to shoot, and helping mom in the garden. You would as likely find me upside down in a tree as much as any other position and I took up landscape painting, using odds and ends of paint left from jobs my dad had completed. He painted and remodeled houses for a living. At 12, I nearly drowned in the Arkansas River while scouting an area near the shore to see if it was shallow enough for my younger siblings to wade in. They roared with laughter when I went under, because my hair got wet. I had stepped into a 20 foot hole left from sand dredging. It was probably my anger at being laughted at that helped me get out of it. I never did really learn to swim. Yes, I remember being 12 as if it were yeaterday. Being 69 is hard. My arthritis makes it hard to many of the tasks I used to do very difficult, especially those requiring fine motor skills. Still, I have many memories and plan on making a few more.
Some friends came over on Friday night to help celebrate my special day. We sat around and talked and had strawberry shortcake and coffee. We don't do that half as much as any of us would like. It was nice. On Sunday, our church class gave me a card and sang happy birthday to me. After church Shelley and Dianna prepared a wonderful lunch and gave me flowers and tools for the garden. They will be put to good use as I establish the beds for this year's crop.
Today, I am taking it easy. Dinner will be from the freezer. I have heard from several members of my family, wishing me well and expect to hear from still more before the day is done. I love hearing from all of them. Each is special in their own way.
The bad news this weekend is that my brother-in-law, Richard's brother John, was in a horrible accident on Saterday evening. He was lighting his bbq when it blew up in his face. He is in an ICU burn unit, air medivaced some 4 hours driving time from his home. He suffered 3rd degree burns over about 25% of his body, primarily to his head, arms, and upper torso. He is facing many surgeries and skin graphs and is heavily sedated. We will know more in a few days. Please be in prayer for his complete recovery and for his family. His wife is living in a hotel close to the hospital for now. This is devestating to the entire family. John is 73. We visited with them for a week this past Sepember while on our road trip.
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