Spooking

"I'll be glad when this stage is over," Mom said as I was helping her brush her teeth. I am amazed by my mother's optimism. She still has hopes of recovering her strength and returning to her independent lifestyle. Most of the time anyhow. But it has been 2 1/2 years since her stroke, and so it is obvious, even to my hopeful self, that she is not going to recover anymore function. I smile inside at her comment but do not respond to it. Should I dash her hopes in the name of reality? My instincts say no. For who really knows the details of the future?

During our Sacrament meeting at Church Sunday, one of our young men fainted, by the doorway near us. Layne was up like a shot and had him in his arms. As the young man, Jared, began to come to, he leaned on Layne as they made their way to the couch in the foyer outside the chapel. One of our nurses was soon at Jared's side and declared that he need something sweet. We provided it. Once recovered, Jared looked at Layne and said, "Brother Galbraith, did you really pick me up and carry me here? I thought you were way past your prime!" Layne laughed and laughed at that. But isn't it wonderful that my 70 year old man can carry a 6'3" young man? I'm proud of him.

The local kids asked us if they could spend Halloween with us. Since it fell on a Sunday this year, they were hoping for a more "sabbathy" celebration. Ideas poured into my mind as I thought about a Sabbath Halloween. For some reason I felt an excitement about it. Halloween isn't my favorite holiday, but I couldn't resist an almost explosive enthusiasm. I came up with a plan. When it comes to children, the best laid plans are always altered by reality. This was no exception. Yet the day turned out to be pretty close to the plan I had in my head. Our gang arrived at dinner time (since Church for us doesn't end until 4 PM). We had monster pizzas, with everyone creating their own pizza by decorating it to look like a monster. Some did it, some didn't but it was all fun. I made sour dough bread in the shape of a spider. Layne's punch was cooled by ice shaped like a hand. We also had salad and chili. It was fun! Afterward we invited the kids to trick or treat at 6 doors located throughout the house. A grown-up was behind each door. To get a treat each child had to answer a gospel question. Ben's Jessica provided all the treats and they were fabulous--all home-made. More fun. Then we had a short lesson on how a Christian is like a pumpkin. Then dessert for the grown-ups. All things considered, it was a great evening.

The picture above is of grandson Isaiah, doing his best to sneer, in his Halloween costume. Can you guess what he is? That's a box of cereal on his chest, with arrows going through it. He's a "cereal killer". Did you guess it? It was an award-winner! He's standing in my art room, which I am in the process of re-organizing. That hopefully explains the messy background.

I read a book on aging that divided the elderly into two categories: the young-old and the old-old. Layne and I are in the former category at the moment. For us life is quite enjoyable. It is busy, but we are healthy and able to do just about all that we have ever done. I'm grateful for that and do not think about what will come when we enter the old-old stage. Perhaps we should put more planning into that time of life, but some kinds of forecasting do not serve us well.

This lamp at the right was once my grandmother's. She bought it many years ago in Mexico. It was originally a mottled combination of colors. Isaiah and I painted it black and put it out for our Halloween Sunday. I love it!