I am back in the United States and have been since the 13th of May. The clothes are washed and the travel items stowed for another yet-to-be planned adventure, and Lana, Kent and Snickers have taken up temporary quarters with us. They are between houses, and it’s a lot of fun sharing the kitchen with them. Being a child of the 60’s, communal life has always appealed to me. Now, this isn’t exactly that, more like friends without benefits! I’d make it permanent, but they’re eager to find their own space. I tell them, “No hurry.”
Remember when Memorial Day was called “Decoration Day?”
Yesterday, Bob went with Kathy, Dave, and Jack to a morning ceremony at Grandview Cemetery and then placed some of our garden peonies in a vase on Mark’s stone. Cousin Mark would now be in his early forties, but instead will never age and always remain a twenty-year-old in our memories. Afterward we gathered for a hamburger and brats cook-out, with Kent manning the grill, and David cutting the watermelon. Following a dessert of vanilla ice cream topped with blueberries, strawberries and whipped cream, the family went to my parents’ graves. A flag had been placed by my dad’s Army foot stone, and Bob swept the lawn-mower clippings from the stones. Once more, we left a bouquet of pink garden peonies in remembrance.
I haven’t yet gotten used to family meals without two more places at the table. I had a heavy heart as I set the table and made other preparations. I clipped a variety of flowers from the garden for the centerpiece, including two fragrant yellow roses--my mother’s favorite. However, once the party started, I was able to live in the moment, to enjoy the blessing of fellowship with family and friends.
Weren’t we supposed to be in Holland for Memorial Day weekend? Yes! Seems God had other plans. The day before we returned from our trip, Lana had taken Zoe to the vet, and she was diagnosed with an ulcer on her eye. Unfortunately this didn’t heal like her one on the other eye did last summer, and we took her to the University of Illinois Small Animal Clinic for further evaluation. What an ordeal for our sweet girl. The vets (three students, one resident, and an attending) told us that she has an autoimmune condition that has caused this. With Q-tips and a diamond file, Zoe’s ulcer was debrided and a contact lens put over the injury to help with the pain. And the worst? She was sent home with a “collar of shame.” She was the party dog with the lampshade on, but she didn’t feel like that. She hated it. We suffered through it for two days, and then took it off when she insisted it was ruining her life. There was also more bad news as her latest blood work showed she has high blood pressure and early kidney disease. As we have found out, being a senior citizen (Zoe will turn 11 in August) is not for sissies.
The good, the bad, and the ugly. That summed up our almost five week trip. The first cruise we took was on a riverboat that took us down the Saone and Rhone rivers in France--through the Burgundy and Provence regions--ending in Nice. We had a few days to decompress there--enjoy the old town and again visit Eze--before we joined a second cruise on a 4-masted sailing ship that took us along the French and Italian Riviera, to Corsica and Sardinia, ending with a few days in Rome. Stay tuned for more about our journey!
