Mowing Season

I cut grass for the first time this year on Saturday. My yard has needed it for about a week but between the rain and the schedule I am just now getting to it. Mom’s yard isn’t so bad off, but we do need to mulch the leaves that have fallen since November.

UPDATE ON MOM. Mom is still in the hospital but due to be discharged tomorrow. Her therapy seems to have gone well and she will continue that when she gets home. From what we have seen Mom has already regained the function and range of motion she lost, but not all the dexterity. She is doing most things on her own with little assistance required. She is able to walk with a walker. She can use a fork with her right hand and even sign her name, though her signature isn’t as good as it was before the stroke. We are trying to make sure she has people with her for the next few weeks like she did last year after breaking her ankle.

We anticipate Mom’s biggest hurdle will be fatigue. We simply don’t know to what extent that will affect her daily routine once she gets home and is allowed to do more for herself. I think by the time she gets up and gets ready for the day and then a therapist comes in to work with her she is going to be totally exhausted. At any rate, I know that after three full weeks in the hospital Mom is ready to come home.

A BUSY VICKI. Vicki has had an extremely full week, well, almost two weeks really. I briefly mentioned last time that Vicki was gone to a women’s retreat with a group from our church. She had a small role in organizing part of the event (I know I saw a chocolate fountain in our kitchen at one point) so she had more than just a casual commitment. She said they crammed the material intended for a six week study (Made to Crave by Lysa TurKeurst) into one weekend and that everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Vicki didn’t go anywhere this past weekend, however, our first ever “He Lives” celebration for kids was on the calendar for yesterday. This was a family event beginning after our second service with lunch and crafts. From there we had a storytelling time and the whole event ended with an Easter egg hunt. It was a success, but a whole lot to organize.

ASTRONOMY CAMPOUT. The Scouts have been working on their Astronomy merit badge. They had a guy come in and speak to them a couple of weeks ago and this past weekend’s campout was supposed to give them some hands on time with telescopes and time with knowledgable people who could point things out in the sky. Unfortunately the sky had other plans this weekend and the only celestial objects that could be seen were the sun and moon. The boys still had a lot of fun and came home so tired they slept most of the afternoon yesterday.

RAINBOW. The only rain we got all weekend was a brief squall that moved through late Friday evening. I told Vicki I didn’t envy the boys setting up camp. The rain also brought with it the most spectacular light show. The clouds were clearing off in the west as the sun was setting creating a glorious sunset. And to the east, where it was still raining, could be seen the largest, almost perfect double rainbow. The effect from the bows was so brilliant the area inside the bows glowed while the sky outside the bows was considerably darker. I’ve seen beautiful rainbows before, but this was probably a once in a lifetime sight.

Joe