Nate was six months old when I started this newsletter/blog. There’s been a lot of growing to happen since then. I still celebrate the fact that diapers are behind us, and I am looking forward to kicking the last booster seats out of the van and truck. For now I am still Nate’s banana opener and I will enjoy that role until he figures out how to peel a banana for himself.
I think it’s sort of funny how Nate asked me to “open” his banana as if it were in a can. Of course, Ben made the comment the other day about a candle being “turned off.”
CLEANING OUT. The main focus of the previous edition to the Swann Family News was a spring break getaway to the Smokey Mountains. Even with staying an extra day it was too short -- at least it seems so now that we are back in the swing of things.
Will, Darice, and their kids drove up late that Thursday night (the 18th). The purpose of this trip was to begin cleaning out Pauline’s house. Will and Vicki had an appointment with our attorney Friday morning which left Darice and I to begin cleaning out. We had a productive morning doing what we could, but the enormity of the task was overwhelming. When Vicki got back I said to her, “When we get this house done we are going to pretend you and I have died and clean out our own house.” She agreed to this within thirty minutes.
I can’t speak for Darice, but I know I felt like such a fifth wheel in this process. Being an in-law and not a child makes it hard for me to know how to proceed. I have no idea what may be important to Vicki and Will so I feel awkward going through things. Then again I don’t want to be sitting around doing nothing, but sometimes I feel like I’m rushing everyone along faster than they want to go. And always, in the back of my mind, I know I have more houses to clean out ahead of me.
I think one of the biggest tragedies of all this are the pictures which include a number of people, obviously special to Jessie and Pauline, whom we cannot identify. Oh if we could just ask Pauline who these people are and what was special about their relationship with her!
I don’t know about everyone else, but the hardest part for me in Pauline’s passing is coming to terms that our relationship, which was once dynamic, is now static. She will always live in my memory, but she’s frozen there for now. Last year I could speak of Pauline using my choice of past, present, or future tense as the conversation required. And while I know with confidence we will be reunited when my time here is over, for now she’s always going to be in the past tense. I think this is the hardest part of grieving for me.
To get back to the house, we had a productive weekend but still have a lot to do. The Jones family went home last Sunday and we’ve only had a little time to straighten up over there since then.
AUNT MAR’S BIRTHDAY. Aunt Mar celebrated her 95th birthday last Sunday. We (including the Jones family) took her out to eat at the Catfish house the Friday before her birthday. Bro. Bill also recognized her at church Sunday which included our singing Happy Birthday to her. That afternoon the Bradley/Dee family drove over from Ashland City with cake and ice cream.
ROAD HOGS GALORE. Yesterday our church parking lot was a motorcycle enthusiast’s dream. Our Faith Riders chapter hosted a spring ride as a fund raiser for Ethan. Some 120 bikes of all makes and models filled the half of the parking lot behind the church building and about $3800 was raised for the Bibb family.
About 10:30 Ethan gave the command for everyone to start their engines. It was quite impressive -- and moving -- when all those bikes thundered to life (except for the one Suzuki which sounded very out of place next to all those Harleys).
For those that wanted to stick to the route they had a nice 120 mile trip to Lake Malone, Kentucky, laid out for them. The funny thing was that Rick Robinson, who organized the ride, took a wrong turn leading a small group off course. Rick is now known as “Wrong Way Robinson.”
When Bro. Bill recounted the event in church today he mentioned that Mom and Aunt Mar were there to take part in the send off. He dubbed them our biker chicks which got quite a laugh.
Joe
