May. 19, 2005 - 22:44 MDT

OLD TIMES

All our preliminary prep work for Heather's brother's visit and a bit of Spring Cleaning was done before her brother's arrival this morning. So we had the whole day ahead of us to do our thing. Which we did.

We sat around the table drinking coffee, tea or whee (water, pure) catching each other up on what is happening in the various branches of the family.

Then Heather and brother went off to visit one of their lady cousins while I made a "place holder" entry.

On their return it was off to The Lone Star for lunch, one goodie we had was one of those, whatchacallit ? Onion flower ? Delicious but very greasy. We managed to consume that while waiting and also cleaned our plates too. We were in a quiet spot of the restaurant and managed to get in more pleasant visiting.

Then it was back home for more visiting, and brother looking at recent pictures. Memories floating around us, time sped.

Heather and her brother left to attend the high school graduation of the daughter of one of our nephews and mixed and mingled there. Fortunately I have been excused from graduation attendance because folks realized that I just could not hear what was being said by the speakers. There will be a barbecue in her honor Saturday and that will give me the chance to get one on one with the folks.

We continued to exchange memories of time gone by, mostly high school memories, I went to a different school than they did, same system though, so, many of them meshed.

Tomorrow we all will go to see their sister who is in the final stages of Alzhiemer's at a nursing home hear Red Rocks Ampitheater in Morrison, Colorado. We will get there after the residents have eaten their noon meal and stay for as long as we can.

Brother and I bonded early in Heather and my marriage. Guess it started when I began to court her. He was in high school, a good student and a worker, we talked the same language and thought similar thoughts. It has always amazed me about Heather's family, I was taken in as if I was a blood relative and Heather's brother was close. He and I had a Boy Scout Troop for awhile, he the Scoutmaster and I the assistant. I learned a lot with him and think it fitted me to be a Scoutmaster in Tampa when we lived there.

He left Denver to finish college in Provo, Utah (I think that's where the college is), married a girl he met there and they out produced Heather and I, they had six children to our five.

Every summer he would load up his family and come for a long visit. There would be picnics and family gatherings galore and of course "Sundays at Mom's" dinner at her place. Sunday at Mom's put all our kids -- the cousins -- in close contact with each other, though they all went to different schools in some ways they also grew up together. Those who could, came to Mom's, those who couldn't weren't there but would be seen next week or when they were back in town. Some worked on Sunday, came after work, or before work depending on their shift.

After more visiting the two of them toddled off to sleep a bit while I try to catch up. Have I titled an entry ("Old Times") once before ? Maybe so, anyway in between the flowers and good stuff we once again visited the OLD TIMES . . . . . . . . .

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