Good Saturday to you from Iowa where the humidity is high and the sun is in hiding. "They" are "promising" temps in the 90's with dewpoints in the 70's next week. Oh goodie. The birds seem happy, with our resident wren serenading us throughout the day. We have grackles and their babies entertaining us when we porch sit. Our resident ducks are so domesticated, they are fun to watch.
As I sit here today I can smell the homemade bread rising. Joel is outside putzing. The past week seems to be a blur with all our traveling, seeing family, attending a funeral and a graduation, and then coming home to Covid. We left last Wednesday to stay at Joel's brother's cabin in the woods. It is surrounded on two sides by state forest and a lake can be viewed from the cabin. It's a long bumpy road of sorts that gets you to a beautiful, isolated, serene place. The cabin is a very nice house really. No TV, no internet, and 1 radio station if you work at it, made for a lot of silence.....that was a bit of an adjustment for me, but very relaxing at the same time. Thursday we attended the funeral for Joel's Aunt Harriet, who was 3 weeks away from turning 110 years old! Her sister lived to 108. The funeral was packed with people....many of her former students as she was a teacher until age 65! We spent eight hours at the funeral, burial site, and on the home place of Joel's grandpa, where his cousin and her hubby live. Friday I stayed at the cabin alone for 4 hours...........and I confess that was a challenge for me~ but I met it and survived. Ha....as Joel went biking with his cousins kids and one of their spouses. They rode 24 miles together on one of his favorite trails. Friday evening we went over to Joel's brother and his wife's home...on the original farm where Joel grew up. Saturday morning we left by 7:15 am to leave from North central MN to the Twin Cities to attend our great-niece's graduation party. It was outside at their lake home which turned out to be a blessing because by Sunday afternoon Joel was getting sick with Covid. We drove home Sat. getting back by 6 pm and got unpacked before crashing. It was good to be back, but hard to leave all of the family. We saw three of our kids and 5 grands for the first time in 6 months. Had not been with extended family for a year and I hadn't been to Joel's home territory for five years.
We knew things were not right for Joel by Sunday night and Monday brought out a rapid Covid test as Joel was soooooo sick. Yep. Positive. He contacted all his family and I contacted mine. By Tuesday I was feeling crummy and we tested me on both Tuesday and Thursday and both were negative. Instructions are to keep testing if you have symptoms but we ran out of tests so are just treating it like it is Covid. If it is not, it will show up soon enough! We learned Joel's brother D. got sick the same day as Joel, and a couple other family members and friends got sick to. All were at the funeral and most had gathered to visit after.
Today, I have pondered how worried we were about me getting covid. Joel was sicker than me. Interesting. He's the super healthy one. There is no formula for how this virus hits people. That is what makes it confusing and worry some. Who knows?
Getting back to our time in West central MN, we always forget that the sun sets later in the summer....there would still be some light when we went to bed. The hills and valleys are so familiar and the many many many lakes and forests are so beautiful. We. miss. it. I was so happy Joel got to be with his family. We never get to see everyone, but enjoy the visits we do have. He got to see his two brothers and three of his cousins. He grew up going to his Aunt Harriet's farm where he and two brothers played with Harriet's three boys. SO many great memories of his childhood come up when we are able to go and visit. I remember inner tubing down the river that ran in front of their house when we had been married six years. That swift river is where Joel learned to swim as a six year old! Joel is one of those blessed with a "Waltons" childhood. If you don't remember the Waltons you are just a kid! Ha.....Going back in time is not always a good place to be, but for Joel it is a journey of joy.
Today we are grateful for vaccinations and boosters that got us through this week. Grateful for family who were sick, all getting better. Grateful most everyone stayed well so far. Grateful for being able to go back to Joel's home territory and see the church his great grandfather gave the land for and aunts and uncles are buried by, see Joel's home church and the farm her grew up on. Grateful for connecting with his family and for being able to stay at his brother's cabin. Grateful for so many good memories and the beauty of the area. Grateful for safe travel and seeing so much of my family. Grateful for being able to celebrate a life well lived and a graduation and new beginning for a young lady. Grateful for a home to come back to. For our neighbor Kim who offered to pick up what we needed at the store. Grateful for the concern and prayers. Grateful for phone calls, texts, photos, laughter, tears, and the many prayers of family and friends and our Facebook friends too. So grateful for it all and so much more...........
Enjoy your weekend!
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