6 posts tagged “family”

Within the past year, my Uncle took a bad fall (tearing his quadricep muscle), my Dad fell and fractured two ribs, now today word that my Aunt has fallen and broken her wrist and badly injured her knee. My Dad and Aunt are 80; my Uncle 82.

What's odd is that I don't think of any of these folks as "elderly" in terms of risk of falling, but of course that isn't the case. My Dad used to walk 3 miles a day until a few years ago when he took a fall (but was not injured). That drove him inside for exercise because he became fearful about falling...an apparently very common fear after a fall.

I'm worried about my Aunt, though. It seems that both a wrist and a knee injury could be very disabling during the recovery process. She's in the hospital now, where she will be for at least a few days.

In case it isn't obvious from my recent posts, I've been busy scanning in family photographs. Right now I'm working on photos mostly from the 50s and 60s.

What strikes me is how lovely the women look, when dresses were de rigueur . It makes me want to run out and buy a dress!

Mom with my brother Paul

Aunt Amy and Aunt Alice

Aunt Barbara

Basketball

When visiting Drake's family, we spent a lot of time at high school girls' basketball games. Our niece Jess, who is a sophomore, made the Varsity team this year. We arrived the night of the team's first game of the season, which they won by almost 50 points (the team is ranked #5 in the state by the Associated Press). Due to one of the seniors being injured, our niece started in the game and proceeded to break a school record for the number of assists in a game. Talk about making a first impression!

What both Drake and I found striking about the games is the large number of guys that turned out as a cheering section for the girls. I was in high school pre-Title IX and girls sports (aside from cheerleading and gymnastics) were basically invisible. Guys turning out each game to cheer for the girls? That would have been unimaginable.

I asked Jess if she knew what Title IX was. To my surprise, she didn't. This gave Drake and I the chance to talk about the "old days" when the only high school sports that got any substantial moral and financial support were boys sports. She was truly surprised at the difference between then and now. I guess that's a measure of how far things have come.

It was great fun to see Jess play. She is a talented, hard-working athlete, and an excellent student, too.

GO LADY BOMBERS!

The highlight of our trip was arriving, as a complete surprise, at my Aunt Alice's 90th birthday party, which was hosted by my very lovely cousin Carol. The party started at 6:00pm; we showed up at 7:00pm - driving straight from the airport. Here is a pic from the party of my Aunt Alice with her brothers Fred (my Dad) and Carl.

Alice (90), My Dad (80), Carl (82)

All three are mentally sharp as a tack. My Dad still works every day - at the company he started after he "retired." It's great to see the three of them together.

This Saturday (a 6:00am flight - ug) we leave for 17 days in the Midwest:

• Madison, WI (we are showing up as a surprise for my aunt's 90th birthday party),
• then rural west-central Illinois (to visit Drake's family)
• then north of Chicago (to visit my family where we will be on Thanksgiving).

We do this trip every year - but minus the Madison segment. It's a challenge to pack for because we need warm outdoor-type clothes for doing stuff around the farm but also dressy stuff for doing things with my family. The wardrobe requirements are almost mutually exclusive. It's what happens when a farm boy marries a city gal.

By the time we return, the holidays will be in full swing. I finished the final online ordering and local purchasing of Christmas gifts last night - so we are good to go there. But it seems like we've got a million little things to get done before we go...

Lorna

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday.

I feel like I won the grand prize when it comes to in-laws. I wish we lived nearer. Drake is going back for a visit later this month; I have less flexibility with my consulting work and don't have enough vacation/sick leave to make the trip. It's hard to be so far away, especially as they get older. But it would almost impossible for me to make a living in a rural area. We have lived in Seattle for almost 25 years so It would be hard for us to leave our life here. But I still wish we could make it work out somehow.

West-central IL is beautiful, with rolling hills. It's farm country, though in recent years folks from Chicago (3 hours away) have been buying property for rural second homes, including good hunting ground. Though Jim and Lorna are retired, they still live on their farm and lease the land. Retired, hah - they are busier than ever with community efforts. And I am convinced that attending my niece's and nephew's various sports game constitutes a full-time job (its currently volleyball season for Jess and football for Matt). But Jim and Lorna are so devoted to family and community.

So, Happy Birthday, Lorna.