May 24, 2014

#1,621 Family Time, Part 2.

It was another day spent running around hanging out with and helping take care of family on both sides. Steve left for the hospital when the sun came up, so Ben and I made breakfast for Seth and Emily around 8:30 and ate out on the porch to start the day.

I haven’t taken a photo of them this trip YET, which is awful, but we’ve all just been so busy running back and forth to the hospital we didn’t think about it. This is Emily and Seth, most recently. He’s brilliant and got $100k in scholarships when he graduated high school last year. He’s a freshman at U of Tennessee, in the ROTC program studying to be a JAG lawyer. This gentleman slept on our sofa last night and before I woke up had already folded the sheets and blankets and put them in the linen closet then went for a run. No one asked him to do these things. What kind of 18 year old is he?! Emily could be my baby sister—a sophomore in high school, guitarist, athlete, and lover of 90s alternative pop music who enjoys cherry Sprite almost as much as I do. They’re both so sweet and clever. They make me think there’s hope for youngins coming up these days.

Later Ben and I went to Mammaw’s to give her a quick visit and grab her grocery list.

On the way back into town we had a blissful 10 minute vacation in the old Pontiac that was once my grandfather’s, then daddy’s, then uncle Danny’s, then daddy’s again, and now Ben’s. We went to our favorite Pandora channel (The Drifters) and connected it to the Pontiac’s 21st century bluetooth radio, and felt like we had actually gotten into 1964 when we slid across the bench seat. No AC, just denim shorts and Coca-Cola, the hot sunshine and music that makes my heart long for a time its never even experienced. Do you ever feel that way, dear reader? I should have been young in the 1960s. Y’all get in for just a second:

And then we spent a couple hours trying our best to be Mae’s cheerleaders at the hospital before I ran home to cook for Steve and the kids. She took a bad turn today with scary low oxygen levels, pneumonia and possibly congestive heart failure. For someone who was so fit and healthy just a few days ago, it’s shocking to see her in this state. Y’all please keep my sweet aunt in your prayers. She’s really struggling right now and needs to feel courageous.

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