The passage of another anniversary has reminded me that I have fallen waaay short of my goal for a monthly entry. Better late than never, right?

September 16, 2016 was the date I came to Missouri, thinking I would be with mom in her final days and then promptly head back to Alaska. Obviously, I didn’t really think that through very well, or at all. Who would take care of dad? Never crossed my mind until I arrived in Missouri that evening to see mom on the couch, unable to do much of anything, and dad like a toddler, needing help getting dressed and undressed, butt wiped, meals prepared, pills dispensed…you get the picture. So here we are two years later. But I’m getting sidetracked again. The past eight months…

After Iris’s birthday, the next event to look forward to was a visit to North Carolina to see my sister Liz and her family. I’ve visited Liz many times over the past 17 years or so. In the pre-kid days, we’d stay up half the night talking. We don’t have the energy for that anymore but with the kids we do different activities. She’s taken me to the beach several times and we went again this time. I am mesmerized by the ocean, whether it be a warm, sunny Atlantic beach, or an icy Pacific beach. Iris loves it too. If it was up to her, we’d definitely live near a beach.

Despite periods of unbearable heat, the summer was an enjoyable one. We turned the foundation of the barn into our garden where we had tomatoes, corn, squash, cucumbers, peppers, carrots, watermelon and probably a few others. “The Barn Garden” as Iris called it, did not disappoint. After getting rid of the rats which started eating my cucumbers, we had a bumper crop and I made four batches of cucumber relish, each yielding six quart jars. Tasted just like mom’s. I was happy.

We had a beautiful fall. Someone said that because of the wet summer and early fall, the trees were particularly stunning this year. Brilliant reds, deep yellows and oranges somewhere in between, the landscape was breathtaking. It didn’t last near long enough. We had two windy days where it looked like it was raining leaves, and just like that, the trees were naked again.

Another change that happened over the summer was that we started getting dad up out of bed and into a wheelchair using a lift. We’d take him outside for a bit during the bearable parts of the day and now since it’s too chilly, we set him up during lunch time so he can eat his main meal sitting upright. It’s amazing that he’s still kicking. There have been many times over the past two years that I thought, This is it, and was probably hoping it was, but nope, he manages to recover. I know a lot of it has to do with the constant attention from his kids, grandkids and even great grandkids. And even though I complain about it, I really am happy for this time with my siblings and nieces and nephews. And I’m extra happy that Iris gets to experience life on the farm. We have a lot of fun.