Week 34: Summer Winding Down

Our hydrangea bushes were cut way down in the spring and now are enormous and heavy laden with beautiful blooms. I took some to Mother. She loves flowers, but these especially remind her of her home growing up in Evans City, PA where they had a huge bush that became the favorite backdrop for family photos.

A few items received this week evoke special memories.

Cousin Rosie found an interesting handkerchief that belonged to our grandfather, Norman Hirschy, and enclosed it in a charmingly quaint card.

Ruth Brooking, Leah's first teacher on board the ship, sent a few sweet photos from those adventurous days.

Top: with Amy, Leah, and Derek in Puerto Montt, Chile, December 1980
Bottom: Amy and Leah after a visit to Amsterdam, November 1979

The two girls were best friends the entire time we were on the Doulos. It was very difficult for Leah when we left and she had to say goodbye to Amy.

Speaking of OM Ships, Monday the 19th was Logos Hope's last day in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

Tuesday while Ivan (Hoyt sibling #4) from Las Vegas was still in the area, we had yet another dinner with Mother. Malachi was able to join us after the first day of his junior year at Grace College. We enjoyed hearing about his courses, goals and aspirations.

We invited Aunt Margaret also. She brought me a photo she came across recently from those early years in Argentina. Most of the people and friends pictured have since passed away, including Daddy, in the center.

Bible Institute graduation ceremony, Río Cuarto, November 1952.

In my writing, I have not yet covered that year, nor even 1950 when Aldo was born. August 21 was his 69th birthday. 

And the very next day would have been Mother and Dad's 77th anniversary, and our Hirschy grandparents 106th.

Thursday evening I spent a fun evening with the youngest grandboys. Among other things Jude and I put together a dinosaur, I listened to him practice the piano, we watched some favorite shows, and played Mancala. The boys reminded me of the rules and must have given me excellent hints because I kept winning. Zion was determined to beat me and finally came close by one move.

 The Blakely girls continue their weekly landscaping help. Much more is being accomplished than I could ever had done even with the use of two strong arms.

I saw the orthopedic doctor, probably for the last time. Therapy sessions and exercises continue. the hope is to regain full range of motion and avoid surgery at all costs.

Michael keeps up with his many activities: bee keeping tasks, harvesting and processing honey;  mowing; fixing everything that breaks down, that never ends; long bicycle rides; and the many responsibilities that accompany his leadership role in the robotics team. Stay tuned for big changes to be announced soon.

Third Week

Friday marked three weeks since the accident. Life moves on slowly. Days go by one by one, each brings its own pleasures and diversions. Flowers on the table make me happy.

We learn coping tricks and grow more accustomed to the helping routines that get me through this season of being "lame in both arms." (As opposed to Mephibosheth who was lame in both feet, 2 Samuel 9:3)

The Meal Train ended Friday as well, but we are well supplied with frozen extras for the future. Each contribution this week was special in its own way. We enjoy when the givers can also partake the meal with us.

Sunday, rather than delivering a meal to our house, our friends Dane and Laurie invited us to their home after the service (they live next door to the church). To our surprise, they had asked several other to join in "Rita's meal." We had a great time of fellwoship, wonderful food, and a fun game--Suspend.

Notice the Suspend challenge in the center

Monday, Leah took me to our local nail salon, Polished, andI chose a bold color for once.
And after we enjoyed our favorite foods at The Bridge Cafe across the street.

BLT sandwich (Leah), South African salad (Rita)

I continue to enjoy long walks, listening to books, observing nature, and exploring new spaces on the Taylor campus.

Tuesday, I hired three sisters who do landscaping to help restore order and beauty to our overwhelmingly overgrown surroundings. They worked wonders in four hours of steady hard effort even through a torrential cloudburst! "We loved it. I always wanted to play in the rain,"  one said.

That evening I attempted Sarah Cray's live tutorial, the weekly Paint Along, and was pleasantly surprised to be able to join in even with hand limitations.

Evenings we relax (and often fall asleep!) watching movies. This week a series of food-related ones: East Side Suchi, Tortilla Soup, Love's Kitchen; and a couple others, A Castle in the Sky, and I Dreamed of Africa.

Michael has been working steadily, bit by bit, on a major hardwood floor repair project, to replace a whole section damaged by our previous leaky refrigerator. He had to work some "magic" to fit the new-sized boards in old grooves. Friday he was able to say, "It is finished!"It is beautiful!

Friday afternoon we went to the our local Farmer's Market, always a fun commjnity event.

On this occasion, Matt and Kayla were there selling honey, always such a joy to interact with them.

A couple of Upland Farmer's Market vendors: Upland Honey, from Kern's bees; wreaths by friend Debbie Manganello

Skye and Destiny posted the big family news this week along with a first photo of our next great grandbaby due in 2020.

The weekend marked the end of the Logos Hope visit to Buenos Aires and also the closing of the Alumni retreat onboard. After the event, our Argentine Doulos shipmates, gave the leaders a replica of the Doulos as a token to represent the wonderful memories of our time involved in the ship ministry and the ongoing impact of the experience. View the moving response here.

So it is that life moves on and we find purpose in every day, every moment. "For in him we live and move and have our being ."  (Acts 17:28)

Summer Daze

Summer moves on more slowly now as I wait for my bones to become knit together firmly, however each day brings new and interesting distractions.
Personal hygiene remains complicated, hair styling impossible, but I focus on what I can do, like walking. Most days I keep going beyond the mailbox at the top of the lane . . .

. . . and just keep going toward the Taylor University campus and explore a different path each time exceeding my daily step goals.  

Michael is a good caregiver, and with some added help and a few meals still coming, we keep the household running. 

Mondays, however, we always look forwaed to son Stephan's meal and hearing what they've been up to. This time we got to see the repaired and restored old shepherd before it was returned to MAC,  their church. Now it is displayed indoors away from the destructive effects of weather.

More art sightings: 

We had a pour painting party for Leah's adopted birthday, my friend Georgia's idea..

Here are the resulting works of art. Rebecca and I just played with watercolor.
my only contribution was a tree outline; she added the green.

That evening, however, I watched Sarah Cray's live tutorial on Let's Make Art and attempted a small card with my limited dexterity.

The next morning was my follow-up appointment at the Central Indiana Orthopedics. The double splint was replaced by a hard cast. Ouch, the edges are hard, causing different limitations! Notice the Argentine colors, albiceleste, in honor of their 203rd birthday, el 9 de julio.

Needless to say I could not join Mother for the Grace Village outing to the Kosciusko County fair. They posted a few photos, and there she is playing Bingo.

I've also been following the many reports of the visit of our sister ship Logos Hope to Buenos Aires. The highlight this week was the 40th alumni reunion with numerous photos and stories of those who gathered for the event. 

Doulos friends, how many do you recognize in this last photo?

Friday and Saturday Michael left very early each morning, but made sure I was dressed, fed and ready to fend for myself. 

It was the weekend of the Indiana Robotics Invitational. In its 20th or so year, this has become an elite event--only 68 of the best teams, 50 applicants were turned away. And we were invited, thanks to our high ranking in Indiana. Amazing! 

I was thoroughly entertained watching the livestream at home, and our little team felt God's blessing in their performance and two neat surprises: Kaylee won an IRI scholarship, and alliance #1 selected 1720 as alternates and then won the championship!

I was even able to join the UCC hiking group Saturday morning and be back just in time to watch the first match. 

Of course someone gave me a ride. Hmmm, wonder when I'll be able to drive again. Next appointment is July 30.

How is your summer going?

Grateful

--for two arms and hands! Not being able to use them fully makes me appreciate them all the more. And with both arms injured, I am less likely to overuse them allowing the bones to rest and heal.

--for friends who care and help

--for restful naps out on the deck enjoying the beauty of summer.

--for long walks around the Taylor University campus, and good books to listen to on the way.

--for very practical help with household chores. April and her daughters gave us a couple hours of their day to do whatever we needed and spoiled us with a treat from Ivanhoe's and flowers to brighten our home.

--for meals delivered and many more to come. Kristie set up a Meal Train schedule that soon filled up, others begging for the opportunity to bless us with food.

--Kristie also noticed the need for weeding and stopped by after work. She enjoys getting her hands  in the dirt and the instant gratification of a tidy garden. She just doesn't know when to quit!

--for my faithful caregiver and loving husband who keeps his promise of nearly 50 years ago, "in sickness and in health, for better or for worse."
I am especially grateful that he is in good health and able to get away for the long bike rides he enjoys so much.
On the 4th, he stopped to check the corn growth. Even after a very wet and difficult planting season for the farmers, the corn seems to be on schedule.

"Knee high by the 4th of July"

I have been following the news from the visit of our sister-ship, the Logos Hope, to Buenos Aires. Earlier this year I had toyed with the idea of combining a visit to the ship with a reunion of old friends in the land of my youth.
Though the winter in Argentina has been unusually cold, the welcome the ship received there has been a very warm one. The Vice President had offered very kind words during the official opening. This article tells more: Vice President's Endorsement.

--for technology which allows me to stay connected and involved even from home. It was wonderful to participate in the Sunday worship service via Livestream.

Although I haven't attempted to paint since the accident, I did add words to the most recent piece as a way to say a big thank you to all.

Spring Cycles

Last week a strain of flu hit our little town so hard that the elementary school was closed for two days. In our home we've experienced sickness for over a week. First it hit Michael quite hard, the full-blown sinus head cold and cough. Several days later I succumbed to a head cold that kept me in this weekend.

First blooms of spring

As memories of years gone by popped up on Facebook, I recognized the recurrence of illness this time of year.

Other occurrences are cyclical. This is robotics competition season. Team 1720, the PhyXTGears out of Muncie, participated in its second district event and ended up in second place!
Our cute little robot performed its role consistently, placing hatch panels, loading cargo, and especially climbing to the third level during the end game. (See game animation: Destination : Deep Space.)

Space Walrus

Michael, heavily invested in the process, was well enough by then to participate fully. I had planned to join him at the Tippecanoe event, but those were the worst two days of my bout with the spring cold, so I watched the live stream, kept score, and yelled or cheered at the right times. (If no one can hear, does that still count?)

Left:Fans in the stands; the pit.                                         Right: Lead mentor being interviewed
Can you find 5 Kochs in the stands???

A different view of success was offered in a note by the winning team:

In the after the ending of the semi-finals matches, our team was ecstatic to be going to the finals at our FIRST ever competition. We continued to enter into our first match, place two hatches, then the right side of our drive failed, we were dead in the water. We won the match off a red card which is in no way the way I want to win a match. At the end of said match we called our timeout, we assumed it was a small problem but the E-clip and flanged bearing on AM toughbox mini broke. So we thought we could fix it in time for the second match. We were wrong. The second match ended and then because of 1720, 461, and 6498’s gracious professionalism they called a timeout for us to finish the repairs. We went on to win the third match and thus the event. These 3 teams demonstrated the great aspects of FIRST and we cannot appreciate it more. I would be more than happy to work with any of these teams in the future. Thank you once more.

Between matches I was immersed in reading letters and taking notes (blowing my nose and drinking water). I may have come to a gap in the archival resources--no correspondence for years 1947-1949. Hmmmmm. . . What next?

Meanwhile I came upon a treasure from 50 years later. March 1, 1996, my parents began to write daily notes in a fancy diary somone must have gifted them. The quote at the bottom of each page says:

Without anything special but write it down is better than with something special but never write it down. Sweet and tender memories are also the trace of past time. 

The entries remained faithful for over a year and even covered a return trip to Argentina in December of 1997, Dad and Mother's last time back. I was privileged to go along with Ivan's family.
I do look forward to continue gleaning from this diary. But for now, in the early March entries, I learned (or was reminded) that Dad had his heart check-up almost two years after a heart attack in June 1994.
 

Another event this week that brought Argentina-memories to the forefront--the arrival of M/V LOGOS HOPE in Bahía Blanca on the 19th. Feel the excitement of the crowds waiting on the quayside in this video, and notice the strong wind, common in ports. Many of them, like us, would have memories of when the M/V Doulos was there.

Wednesday, the 20th, was my friend Femia's birthday. I call her my Mayan twin. I met her for the first time fourteen years ago when I traveled to Yucatán with The King's Academy on their Servant Safari trip. (Can you find us in the group photo?)
I was privileged to go back to her village, Xocenpich,  four more times. The last time was to attend her son Ted's wedding. A couple weeks ago he called to say that his family was moving to Argentina!

Mid week I needed to visit Mother, attend a care plan conference and accompany her to the dermatologist. I prayed that I would be well enough and not have to postpone the appointments, so I was grateful indeed to be there. Wish I had captured her first big surprised-to-see-me smile.
All reports are good. They appreciate her sweet spirit, her smile, and wish there were more Kathryns! She remains active, involved in whatever they have going on there as well as faithfully going to the Art Studio.

The bonus that day was the Spring Fling, a musical program for the residents featuring "The Singing Cowboy"-- John Bahler, the son-in-law of our very good friends the Cratons! What a delightful time listening to old music so skillfully performed.

Those are my week's memories and memorable moments. What about your week?