The last hurrahs before home

Sunday, October 27, 2023

We wake up to a cooooold morning in Chehalis. W scrapes the car windshield twice and puts on the defroster so we can see out the window to drive.

The sun hits the cold fields on both sides of the highway and the mist rises. In about 5 minutes, the air is clear again. The moisture burns off quickly.

We love Bethel. We speak 3X, shuttled to and from a neighboring city for the middle service by friendly drivers (Lukases). We have lively conversation and prayer together on the way there and back. Over a pizza lunch, W does a training on LOGOS Bible software for the Bethel staff.

We're on our way up the coast about 2pm. We cross the border into Canada without a pause. We know we're close to our hometown when we spot the "Indian Chief" mountain. (Can you see his chin jut up as he lies across the horizon?)

Mt. Cheam lies east of the city. That mountain was the backdrop every day as we walked to Junior High and High School.

W drops me at my mom's about 5:30 and drives to see his mom in a neighboring town. My brother Norm says hi before heading home. He's a fun conversationalist and jokester.

Monday

I bring Christmas ornaments and candles down from storage in the sewing room and put them away within reach for mom. She purchased many trinkets over the years = nice treats for visitors. Then it's down to the basement for canning jars and small appliances. Mom's quickly worn out. (So would I be - it's an intrusion into her space for downsizing each time I come.) We take photos of course. "One of you and me," says Mom. So we do.

Then, "How about all of us?" and we take more before we leave. If it's not captured in words or photos, there will be no memory in my mind.

Mom's place is full despite the many things we've carried off or donated. "I like looking at the things we've collected," Mom says. She has many happy memories. I check in with siblings and anyone else she thinks would be interested before carrying things off.

The replies: "Go ahead and take it (or give it to someone else)." We're trying!

This trip, I load up an unused KitchenAid mixer for Kirsten and Dad's well-loved Vitamix blender for Timo. We'd happily pass things on to other grandkids but no one is a) nearby or b) interested. We're on our way about 11:00, dropping by to see W's mom.

The roads are not too full so we get home about 3pm. The grandkids come downstairs 15 minutes later. We have tea, agreeing that we prefer British to Turkish style.

For their annual $10-pick-and-choose expedition, we take the grandkids to two Half Price Books stores. They find books and games but it takes us until after 7pm to get home.

They're sleepy and one says, "Let's not bother with supper," until she smells the Mandarin Chicken heating in the oven. Everyone digs in for a clean sweep of food.

We hand out the gift of the day - Turkish kids' books - and show the children how to look up the stories on Google Translate. "This is what you'd be doing if you lived abroad," we say. "You have to look up everything at first."

Bedtime is quiet and effortless. They're worn out after brushing their teeth, getting tucked in with a hug and kiss, and turning out the lights. All is quiet until morning.

Tuesday

The kids enjoy breakfast crepes with jam, nutella, applesauce (thanks, Wilhelmina) and whipping cream. They show off their costumes before they're off to a friend's farm for a Harvest lunch party. (Sorry, Batman is missing below.)

We meet Andy for  a lunch filled with encouragement and prayer in Woodinville. Then it's time to head home to pack. I think about how much power it takes to drag a dumptruck when this pair drives by.

We weigh and re-weigh our luggage until it submits to airline restrictions. Most things we need (besides a few textbooks) are traveling with us. We'll pack up optional purchases on our next visit. I start cleaning the flat - laundry, organizing, and fresh bedding post-children, so that it's clean and ready for us next time.

In late afternoon, I write and send off three monthly newsletters. Timothy calls us up for supper leftovers - delicious and timely. Plus it's fun to watch the grandkids clean the kitchen, as their parents did for W and me a generation ago. These kiddos are lucky: they get points for chores and an allowance for the amount they do. There's no reluctance, just a speedy working through dishes, cleanup, and vacuuming the floor.

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

This is our last full day in our Washington apartment. Though it's a working trip, we've had fun along the way. We've enjoyed long drives (2200 miles/3000km), people, partners, and food. The scenery and the rest have been beyond expectations. 

We can hear the grandkids overhead doing homeschool assignments as W writes Sunday's talk for Bandung. Once he's done with a rough draft of Is the Bible Trustworthy?, I'll edit. This weekend, I'll make flyers and note sheets for our November series at IES Bandung. (Everyone welcome! If you're curious about evidence for the reliability of scripture, drop in or listen in online if you can't make it in person.)

Kim and I get one last visit at Third Place Books. I walk two miles toward our house for some fresh air - past the water airport near the Burke Gillman Trail. W picks me up at the bottom of our tall hill as it starts to sprinkle rain. I have just enough time to enter new emails for our newsletters ... and then it's supper time.

Our youngest son drops by for a family pizza supper after work. We run the vacuum and put things away before we fall asleep. It's nice to have the old carpet clean until next year.

Thursday

We're up early for breakfast with the family. They head off to work and projects while we jam the last of the baggage into suitcases, haul it upstairs, and wash bedding. We raid the fridge for lunch. There are still apples, sausage, and other food we never touched. We weren't there enough though we shopped once for food - we never did get through even a week's worth, since Melissa makes as many meals as we are home to eat.

LeRoy shows up to take us to the airport (what a great friend!) and we check in without any hassles. We spend a few hours in the lounge before our flight to Tokyo. We'll miss you all - sorry we didn't get to see as many as we'd hoped. Maybe next time.

Read more:

*Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 

Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:7-12

Prayer: God, we know that you hear and answer our prayers. But often, we don't know what to ask you for. We want signs and wonders ... and comfort in the old patterns. We want healing and wholeness ... unless we have to give up sins and habits. So teach us to pray. Give us the desires that please you and help us - and them answer our prayers, our loving heavenly father. Amen.