Company’s Come! (Part 2)

Sunday morning, I dropped Natalie at the Shipley’s donut place across the street from Antioch church, where she attended while she was at Baylor. After Sunday School with preschoolers, I went back to the Shipley’s, where Natalie was waiting, after the Antioch first service was over. Then we picked up JoAnne for a trip to Fort Worth to visit Kevin, April, and Peter. A nice visit, fun games, ate a soup and sandwich dinner, then took April with us to Dallas to visit our cousin Suzy.

On the way to Suzy’s, I had my phone’s maps on, so we could get quick directions. I plugged in my phone, to recharge the battery. The phone’s instructions came through the car’s audio system, as did the music I had on my phone. They fiddled with the system, trying to get the driving directions exclusively. So, three ladies with suggestions, some music, and me, uncertain about the route. They persevered, and we arrived just fine (after a small detour when I did not “turn at the second exit from the roundabout,” but instead, turned at the first exit from the roundabout).

JoAnne and Natalie hadn’t seen Suzy in years! We chatted and caught up, and slept soundly in comfortable beds.

Monday-Got up for breakfast, and chatted on and on until a late lunch, and chatted on and on until 2:00 or so. And, in there somewhere, Natalie and April took my phone out to my car and enabled the Bluetooth, which (of course) means that the music will stop when the phone gives me driving instructions.

When those younger girls were getting some information from Siri on their phones Suzy was interested, and they worked to help her get the Siri function enabled on her phone. Two or three times, Suzy went through the steps, all the way to completion. Then, when she said, “Hey, Siri,” Siri immediately popped up, ready to help … on JoAnne’s phone. They needed a few more attempts to be successful.

The newly installed Bluetooth worked wonderfully well; we got ourselves back to Fort Worth effortlessly (pretty much). And then on back to Waco.

A box for what to keep, what to toss, what to forward to our cousins, whose dads had written, too.

Girls’ Night Out at the Movies. We went to see Ocean’s 8.

More letter-reading. (See last week’s blog.)

Natalie’s friend Hillary has come to Antioch Church for a training event. She’s staying here, too.

Tuesday-More letters. Some shopping. Some Bush’s fried chicken tenders. More letters.

Wednesday-After so very many days of scorching heat, this morning is really nice. Ninety-five in the afternoon, but after three-digit numbers the past many days, it seems, well, not exactly nice. But “not-quite-so-bad.”

I’ve hit a letter-reading wall. There’s so much emotion, so much anxiety. I’m having to take a break.

Childhood friend, Debbie, came over to visit. She said, “It’s just like it used to be.” (She’s sort of right.) “It even smells the same.” It is the house where she came to visit and play and spend the night with JoAnne. And maybe it does smell somewhat the same. But Daddy stopped pipe smoking in 1976. Maybe there’s a little bit of lingering pipe smoke smell. Personally, I don’t notice it. But she did say that it was just the same, but the garage door was down.

For all my growing up years, we did keep the garage door open. When Daddy went to work each morning, he lifted the garage door and it stayed up until late evening, when he was closing up the house for the night. When we moved in, twelve years ago, I kept up the habit, lowering the door when I left the house, but keeping it open when I was home. It just seems friendlier. When we were kids, all the garage doors stayed open, and that’s how we went in and out and knocked on the kitchen doors, looking for friends to play with. Recently, there have been several car break-ins in the neighborhood. A neighbor warned me that somebody could come in the garage while it was open, and hide (which is perfectly possible) and, when I left the garage and lowered the door, that thief could easily get into the house and ransack it. So, I’ve started keeping the garage door down all the time. When I remember to. And Debbie found it unusual. And somewhat wrong.

We went to the James Avery jewelry store and to the Bundt Cake store. Kevin and Peter arrived. Kevin, Hillary, and team Natalie/Peter played a rousing game of Survive, a family favorite that Natalie remembers playing at our house when she was a little girl. I went to bed really early. Later, they went to Target for more games to play. I slept through all that.

Thursday-Trying to tie up loose ends, finish up, squeeze out all the love and joy and fun.

And because we haven’t had enough company, another of Natalie’s friends who in Waco for the Antioch Church training. Her name is Robin.

Friday morning, they’ll be getting into a rental car. Kevin will be leaving, too, for the Bell County Comic Con. Peter and I will be somewhat lonesome. Maybe we’ll make some cookies.

People who don’t take care of their relatives, and especially their own families, have given up their faith. They are worse than someone who doesn’t have faith in the Lord.

Timothy 5:8 (Contemporary English Version)

There are lots of ways to take care of family, our biological folks, and our faith family. We often think first of the financial and physical needs. Emotional needs are important, too. Working, playing, and laughing together feed us significantly, in ways that are sometimes as, or more, important than a healthy meal. Doing those things with family and friends also makes us all healthier.