A day in the life of ...

*a nice little sleep-in after 4 hours on my feet yesterday at our community's annual Strawberry Festival ... so much smiling, so much fellowship, so many dirty plates to remove, names and faces to remember and hands to shake.

*news that our request for release of funds from Presbytery to do repairs on our church and hall has been approved --- how to proceed? Well, the Board of Trustees has to do that. Ok - get out the Manual (the bible of protocol for the United Church of Canada); oops! I'm supposed to call the meeting. One phone call later, and a visit from our neighbour (Trustee) and I discover that the decision is obvious: no need for a meeting! How silly of me to expect...

*the neighbour is also the man-wh0-knows-everything-about-the-cemetery, and he brings me news about the spot for an interment being planned for August.

*off to town later than planned. Where did all these cars come from? Since when do I have to wait to turn out of my driveway? And what's with 16 vehicles in a row putsing along into town? argh.... tourists ;)

*Scan the hospital list: oh no! 5 people...in 1/2 hour! I don't think we're going to make it! oops - bad choice for the first one. Dear lady feeling well enough to want to tell me all about the fall that might have caused her illness...the sign of the beast now appearing as computer chips in animals and soon in humans... the world bank into which we will all put our money - already built and ready in Madrid...clearly end times are upon us...Bennie H and his marvellous crusades, complete with details of the healings that took place when she attended ... "I really have to go now. I'm late for an appointment."

*Coffee at Timmy's - well, I didn't actually take time to get any coffee :( - with the singer who is going to do a fundraiser concert for the Ecumenical Chaplaincy at the end of September. All looks good on that front: nice man, CMA Award Winner, knows what he's doing. Thank you, God.

*A few groceries - most importantly, a sandwich for lunch and wine for supper

*Off to the local Anglican church to return a chausable (from which I am making a pattern), use the washroom, eat my lunch and kill an hour with some planning until it's time to go to the long-term care facility for the afternoon. I check in with Peter and find that he has been playing secretary to phone calls all morning - fortunately no crises.

*Arrive at the Ross Pavilion and find that my French counterpart, one of my favourite people with whom I practice speaking French, is in her/our office and so we spend a few minutes on who has died, who's getting married, the latest nonsense from the pope, the former parishioner I met last night who informed me that he was a faithful member of the United Church "until they let the homosexuals in", my friend's living arrangements...we both sigh. It's a foggy, rainy Friday afternoon - we pry ourselves out of our chairs and head off to do our rounds.

*rounds:
#I stop in to see a lady who was my cousin's best friend many years ago. She doesn't speak and I haven't found out how to communicate with her. But I show her a picture of my cousin, and then leave it for her husband, with a post-in explaining who I am.

#Next is a dear little lady whose name is also Frances: she always reads my nametag and tells me I stole her name! She's reading when I arrive and trying to tell her French -speaking roommate to stop pouring water into styrofoam cups which she then puts in the garbage can. Frances has her knitting projects ready for the WI Fair this fall. Today when I ask her what's new she says, "not much here: the sun comes up, the sun goes down, and the moon rises"! When I leave she asks if I'm driving myself, and cautions me to be careful on the way home...

#I drop in on another lady who sits contentedly in her chair all day, in front of the TV. She saw me going by, and so I couldn't pass her room without acknowledging her. She's had a couple of strokes this spring and only speaks single words: it's sad, cause I can tell she wants to speak, and I guess the sentences form in her head, but she mostly only says yes or no. Sometimes she has knitting out too, but not today. We have a short visit...

#Then I have a long visit with my 105 year old friend. She's always so glad to see me - to see anyone I'm sure, tho her family come very faithfully. We use a microphone to speak into and she puts on earphones - she's so much happier when she can hear without someone having to speak directly into her ear. She's quite blind now too and says she misses being able to read Guidepost - used to read it from front to back, every bit of it. I ask if she would like someone to read to her, but she says everyone is too busy.

As I'm getting ready to leave, her new roommate rolls over and says something in English. I am surprised, and we get to talking. By now, my friend has taken off her earphones, so she reaches out and holds my hand while I rock and talk with her roommate - somehow it seems like that includes her in the conversation. Her new roommate is 96, obviously hears just fine, and quite clearly an angel sent to accompany my friend to her last days. She has that quiet patience and love found only in saints ... she spends an hour or more each afternoon or evening with the microphone, keeping my friend company and talking with her, and she translates for the nurses when they have trouble making my friend understand! What a gift! Thank you God for your angels...

#Then I'm off to see K. She doesn't seem to recognize me now when I come, and though I tell her of things going on in our community, like the Strawberry Festival last night, she gets it all rather muddled up. Eventually I suggest we sing, and I lead out with some of the old hymns - there she shines! I think she was an alto, which suits me fine, and the old familiar words seem to come back quite readily. After a while I remember there are more folks to see, and so we say the Lord's Prayer together and off I go.

#I try to visit different folks each week, but some of the old familiars are hard to pass by. R seems to be sleeping, her face turned from the door, but when I walk in the room I see that her eyes are open. She used to be so lively, full of teasing and fun, but she is sad now and spends much more time in bed. Today she talks of a visit from her brothers, but I'm sure she once told me they have all passed away, and a dream she had of her mother - at home. She wants to be joyful again, but her heart is heavy. She too tells me to be careful on my drive home, and be sure to come back.

#I head upstairs to see some of the folk on the 'protected ward'. Mr. P is sitting in his chair in front of the TV and seems delighted to see me. We have a bit of discussion around the idea that today is his b'day - but on my list it was July 3. He agrees that his b'day is July 3, but it's also today - at least he's going to have a party today. When I eventually tell him that I'm going home to make supper for my husband he assures me that my husband is coming to the party. That would be ok, I guess, except then he reminds me that my husband was injured the same time as him. Apparently they were repairing a fence, during wartime, and there was a car accident. I extricate myself from his room and decide that it really is time to go home...

* It's very foggy and raining hard as I leave town - I remember all the cautions to drive carefully, and stop by the group mailboxes to pick up today's offering and wend my way down the driveway. It's almost 5 o'clock, and I open the supper wine and work on my chausable for a while. Peter is lying on the floor painting a sign to put outside the church welcoming visitors to our worship on Sunday. Creative work is so important to help me centre myself and regain my energy after visiting.

*Eventually it's time for a warming supper of pasta, good bread, salad and red wine, with candles to shed a protective glow around us, and good conversation with my best friend and husband. Blueberries and cream for dessert ... and life is really very, very good :)

*Just enough time left in the evening for a couple of work phone calls, a little blogging, and the final touches to Sunday's bulletin :)

My prayer for you, my reader, is that you may have the variety and balance in your life that I have found in mine, and the pleasure of knowing so many of God's most beautiful people.