Dec. 22, 2005 - 19:57 MST

FROM WHICH DIRECTION ?

The odds were in our favor today, so Heather and I loaded up the family Christmas gifts for our daughter in Greeley, did a few errands around our area, had lunch and struck out for the north. Not a super sunny day, it wasn't, but warm and with only a slight breeze. There was plenty of traffic, but it was moving in a sane manner without any tailgaters in sight.

It was fortunate that we went today as we were able to see and visit with most of the residents because most of them will be taken by their folks to spend Christmas at home sometime tomorrow.

Heather and I love to be up there, as it seems that the residents and Heather and I have performed a mutual adoption of each other.

As well as spending much time with daughter and doing parental things with her, we were able to visit with all the folks, employees as well as residents. Daughter sat with us while we visited and made appropriate sounds and motions as her part of the visiting.

We lingered a bit long and made our way back to Denver area in the dark, but without trouble, traffic again sane.

On the way back we discussed calling ex-daughter-in-law's husband to see how he was doing in the hospital. A verbal coin-flip and it was up to me to make the call.

We had thought about coming home a slightly different way and stopping by the hospital to see him, but it seemed so late to do that, so we came on home.

The development of this day, I guess,is pretty self evident. After hefting the phone book down from its shelf and finding the hospital listing, and trying to choose which number to call, making the decision and calling the number the person on the other end said something to the order of, "Its somewhat unclear what room he is in, wait just a minute and I'll switch you to the nurse on that floor." The nurse answered, listened to me and asked, "Are you a relative ?" Receiving a negative she said that I should call his wife at home and gave me her number.

Knowing in my heart he was already gone, I steeled myself to make the call, hoping in a cowardly way that she wouldn't be home. She answered the phone, we talked briefly, reaffirmed the ties of family that will never be broken and I rang off knowing that she had more things to do and more thoughts to sort out than she has time for.

Heather and I shall be there for her in whatever small way we can. Being impecunious as well as being fragile oldsters, there is little we can do but be there for her to lean on when it is her desire for our moral support.

We shall miss him and bemoan the fact that we had little time together to make a firmer bond with him. He was a kind and interesting person, wish we could have been together in friendship, fellowship and relationship for a longer time.

Life seems to have sped up to an unbearable pace for us lately. We know the old adage, "What goes around, comes around," the only thing I wonder tonight is, it comes FROM WHICH DIRECTION ? . . . . . . . . . . .

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