Day of Mourning

This is truly a sad day, for me but more so for my kids. "Grandma" Phyllis is moving to Westerville today. Let's all pause for a moment and wipe our eyes . . . no more trips to McDonald's, no more hide and seek in her basement with its seemingly endless nooks and crannies, no more jumping on the mini-trampoline (hey, she said she was going to give that to me before she left!), no more ice cream in her kitchen . . . what WILL they ever do???

Tyler, Darcy and Peyton actually went over to her house on two separate occasions and helped her get ready for her move, but the first time they went they thought they were simply helping her to get ready for a yard sale; the second time they went it was as though I was betraying Phyllis by allowing them to help "send her away!"

As difficult as it is to know that she won't be just minutes away from us anymore, God's handprint is all over this move so I am at peace with it. It is very difficult for Phyllis to care for Jim alone (and in fact he is currently in the hospital recovering from surgery for a broken hip sustained in a fall this past Tuesday), and by the providence of God, the apartment in Westerville that Phyllis' daughter and son-in-law own was miraculously vacated by its long-term resident, clearing the way for Phyllis and Jim to move right in. And as if that weren't evidence enough of the hand of God, Phyllis didn't even have to put her house up for sale--her granddaughter bought it! Meaning that when the whole family (and they have a big one) comes for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, they'll still have all their big get-togethers there and yes, Grandma Phyllis will still do the cooking! So it's all good.

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We had a get-together of our own last night at the home of Richard and Cherron Rinehart. The Life Group leaders and their families went over for a cookout and "Game Night" and it was so much fun! As our backdrop we had High School Musical 2 going on the TV, but the kids didn't even spend their whole time watching it--there was a gaming system upstairs that several of the kids took turns on, plus a train set that they erected (and dismantled), two Slinkies that got stretched irrevocably out of shape, and then there was Sawyer, who hit the mother lode! Richard brought up a pile of toy cars for the kids to play with, not knowing Sawyer's love for them. I think he tore himself away from them for a little while to play with the train set, but otherwise he pretty much spent the entire evening sitting in one spot, playing with them. I don't know why it continues to amaze me to see him so occupied with something for such a long stretch--I should be used to it by now.

I was the sole female to join the group of guys who played 2500--sorry ladies, but I love 2500! In fact, in retrospect it was just as well because the women chose to play Scattergories, a game which I ordinarily love but would not have played at all well with HSM2 blaring in the background (the Rineharts have an unbelievable sound system!). If you've never played 2500, I'll teach you sometime. It's so much fun, especially with several players and we had five in our group. And the best part of all: I WON!!!

As usual, I wouldn't have won any Mother of the Year contests yesterday. As we drove home at 10:30 p.m. it occurred to me that the ONLY thing Sawyer put in his mouth all day was a little popcorn that I assume he ate when Randy took him and Tyler to see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End yesterday afternoon. I distinctly recall that Sawyer hit the ground running yesterday morning, and it wasn't until Randy came to pick up the boys (he went into the office for a while) that it occurred to me that no one had eaten lunch. Of course when I mentioned this to Randy he said, "That's okay--we'll just get popcorn." And I have every confidence that Sawyer ate his fair share because he LOVES to get popcorn at the movies!

Now the get-together last night was the type where there were appetizers, there was the main course, there was dessert, and there were lots of snacks! The adults, naturally, ate at once and ate together, but we parents basically allowed our kids to eat when they got good and ready. You know how it is when a bunch of kids get together--they're having too much fun to stop and eat. I did notice that many of them stopped long enough to get something to drink--the heat has been suffocating the last couple of days. But as I say, we were driving home when I realized that although Tyler, Darcy and Peyton all finally succumbed to hunger pains, Sawyer had not put ONE morsel of food in his mouth at the party--not even junk food! And even now, this morning, he has no interest in eating breakfast. I guess this is where his baby fat comes in handy--it may be the only thing keeping him alive!