We’d Made a Plan

So much for plans.

After all the July 4th-ing, Kevin and April and Jeremy went back to Fort Worth to have a business meeting for the small business they own. Jeremy was due to fly back to New York on Saturday afternoon. Peter stayed here and I was going to take him back to Fort Worth Monday morning.  Saturday morning, the phone rang and woke me up. It was David’s sister with news that his mom had passed away at about 5:00 a.m. I told her David and Peter had left the house already, to go have breakfast, as is their Saturday morning custom. I hadn’t actually looked at a phone to see what time it was, and as I was talking with her, Peter walked by the door (it was earlier than I thought). “You’re still here,” I said perplexed. “Where’s Grandad?” Grandad was just walking out of the bathroom, so I handed over the phone. Then, we began to make new plans.

David and Peter did go to breakfast, then to David’s work to get some things organized. Then they went to the Mayborn Museum for a while, then lunch at Wendy’s, then back home. We moved the car seat from my car to David’s, then they went to get the oil changed (a task David had planned for Monday). Then, back to David’s work, then back to the Mayborn. Then, back home. I did laundry.

Sunday was a regular Sunday for us, and I did Peter’s laundry in the evening, and packed. We left at 7:00 a.m. Monday and took Peter back to Fort Worth, dropped off the car seat, and picked up Jeremy. At some place we got gas Monday, a car next to us pulled out. I heard a “crunch” and looked over to see two squashed drink cans on the asphalt. Along with a plastic drink bottle. “Wait!” I said, and got out the retrieve them. David and Jeremy were a little incredulous. “Frances has a great recycle bin,” I said, and in Memphis, I added those things along with a few magazines I had finished reading.

We drove to Memphis and spent the night with David’s Aunt Frances, who went on to Tennessee with us. We checked into a hotel, the guys went to a grocery store, and brought back some dinner for me and Frances, then they went to Knoxville to get Kevin (whose plane kept getting delayed) from the airport.

Jeremy had gone shopping Saturday and bought a shirt and slacks. He asked for a “grayish, blackish tie” from David’s assortment. I chose five for him to choose from, but he ended up using one of Kevin’s. We went to the funeral home Saturday morning for the visitation and then the service. Then, a trip to the cemetery for the internment, then to her church for lunch. Then, Frances and I back to the hotel and David to the airport with the boys. A busy few days.

Outside the church–the Lintz men, in their blue-and-white-striped shirts and their white funeral programs in their pockets. What a trio.

Later that evening, most of us got together at a sister-in-law’s house. At some point, someone said, “Those flowers that Jeremy’s church sent was one of the prettiest arrangements there.” And I said, “Jeremy’s church sent flowers?”

Years ago, my mother-in-law began asking family members what they might like to have from her home. David wanted a grandfather clock. Kevin wanted the hammered dulcimer. A couple of years ago, when we’d gone to Tennessee to visit, I went from there to a family wedding in Baltimore, then on to New York to visit Jeremy and Sarah. With the extra space in the car and trunk, David was able to pull down the rear seat backs and extend the trunk’s size. The clock fit perfectly. We brought the dulcimer home with us last week.  A lap dulcimer (or mountain dulcimer) is a strummed and this is how it’s played.   A hammered dulcimer is played by striking the strings with wooden “hammers” and is played like this.

So many wonderful things God created; I suppose we all have our own list of “favorites.” Music and flowers and family are some of mine.