A special birthday

It is my mom's birthday today. She is 83 years old. I am in Florida in her room at the Hospice House where she is in a deep sleep, still fighting to stay alive. She always has been headstrong and a fighter......must be the German and Norwegian in her?

My sister and I arrived in Miami on Tuesday within an hour of each other and drove up the coast where we joined our youngest sister and step-dad at her bedside. They have been the special people at her side for the past 9 months, ever since she got the word that she had a small spot in her jaw. Radiation, chemotherapy, and even surgery couldn't stop this dreaded disease. She has lived for the past 5 months without eating by mouth, and there was hardly ever a complaint from her when she had to drain 5 cans of nutients into a stomach feeding tube every day.

Treatments were stopped a few weeks ago after finding more cancer and seeing that nothing was working. I think she knew.....she wanted to start packing a suitcase one day last week and told my step-dad she was going on a trip. I have read that this is common when one knows they are near the end of their life. It was a week ago today that she finally gave in to the inevitable decision of going to the Hospice. But once she saw the welcoming place and caring staff, she said she was glad to be here, as difficult as it was for her to speak.

So, we wait, pray, hold her hand, are grateful for a nod of shake of the head or her opening her eyes for a few seconds. We know she knows we are here. But now, with more pain-reducing medication being administered, we are not seeing those blue eyes opening anymore. Perhaps she is holding on until her oldest grandson, my son, gets here tonight. It is good that we are here, and will be here until God says it is time. His timing is perfect.

Printemps!

Besides being the name of a huge department store here, "Printemps" also is the French word for Spring. And it is Spring....at least for the past few weeks! For however long it will last (and we do have memories of actual snowflakes and cold, rainy weather last April).....we are enjoying it!

Last Sunday was a beautiful sunny warm day, so after church we decided to go to Montmarte. Lyle, of course, wanted to walk the two-plus miles UPHILL, but I did not wear my hiking boots to church. So we compromised, walked part way and then found a metro. We arrived at the highest point overlooking Paris, climbed tons of steps to soak in the sun on the steps in front of Sacre Coeur, a Byzantine-looking church built in 1873. Mimes, guitar players, and singers entertain the tourists who take in the breath-taking view of the city below.

But Montmarte is not just the church.....it has quite a history filled with lively cabarets, music halls, theaters, and artists. About 300 of them meet here on the Place du Tertre to get exposure to their work. The Paris authorities give them that right to display and sell their work on the condition that the works are original and done on location.

(Notice the boots, tights and shorts......you see a LOT of this around Paris these days! It reminds me of the 70s? Lyle likes it....)

We spent a relaxing Sunday afternoon there enjoying a glass of wine and a chocolate crepe, then

headed back "down the hill" to our quiet 7th arrondisment.

All this week we have had sunny weather and temperatures in the 50s and low 60s. When we get four sunny days in a row, it is worth mentioning. I spent Monday working at the "Bloom Where you are Planted" seminar our church puts on twice a year for ex-pats. And the past two days I have enjoyed taking advantage of seeing the trees starting to bud, the grass greening up, and the flowers starting to bloom....

Yesterday, after a bus ride to the American Hospital for a stress test for my wildly-beating heart, I met my friend Amy near the Trocadero and we walked by the Eiffel.....

Ahhh......printemps!

ALMOST like being there

Today is granddaughter Amanda's first birthday. It's an event that is hard to miss...and one of the tough things about living in another country, so far away from your family. BUT WAIT! We are in the 21st century and even though we can't do time travel, or do a "beam me up, Scotty" Star Trek trick, there is something that can bring two worlds closer......

......and that is Skype! How blessed we are to be living in a time when cameras can be hooked up to computers and computers hooked up to TV's....and Voilà! It is almost like being there. There was Amanda in our Paris dining room!

In Minnesota, Amanda loved looking at Gramma on the big TV. We played peek-a-boo, laughed together, and sang Happy Birthday! Here is how it looked on the other side of the globe......

This picture was sent to me from their house in Bloomington, Minnesota about an hour after sharing her carrot cake birthday cake with me. I had to use my imagination on tasting it, though. Still, amazing stuff!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMANDA!!!

Precious times in Florida

The second half of my trip found me in Florida (Lyle had to return to work in Paris, poor guy) for a visit to see my mom, who is battling cancer, and step-dad Wes. My sons and their families were able to come too! I flew with Adam's family, and we were joined by Nathan's family, who rented a car from Orlando. We all hung out at my mom's place, giving her time with three little granddaughters, whom she has dearly missed since not being able to visit this past year.

My mom was always the entertainer when we would come for a visit, loving to try new recipes on us and enjoying family meals and get-togethers. It changes when you can't eat; she hasn't eaten by mouth since October. It was up to us, this time, to do the cooking......as well as to not wear her out. We tried to balance our time by getting out and letting her rest and spending precious time with her. That meant spending some time at their pool at the condo....

(Amanda wasn't too thrilled at first, but then was fine in Dad's arms)

....and at the beach, which thrilled us with huge waves......

But the precious, memorable times were when we sat back after the kids fell asleep....and looked at old photographs and talked about the "good 'ole days"......

My mom even gave Rachel and Carrie ironing lessons!

......And Nathan thought he would give us a lesson on opening a coconut that we found on one of our walks! It proved, however, too hard to open so we had to settle with a little taste of the milk. Ava wasn't too thrilled.

We had to say our good-byes after spending 3 days with them, which were full of tears. We then headed in two cars, along with my Florida sister Wendy, to Orlando to use my time-share points at a Disney property. My kids spread out in one condo, and my sister and I in another. Even though temps were in the 60's and 70's, it was a welcome break from a brutal Minnesota winter.

We relaxed by the pool, visited Downtown Disney, and the kids spent a day with Mickey Mouse at the Magic Kingdom. I had told them that the lines probably wouldn't be so long as school vacations were over. Wrong! I forgot about the Europeans, who have staggered vacations all during February......and there were many! Wendy and I took a monorail and boat to the Magic Kingdom where we rescued a worn-out Amanda and brought her back to put to bed.

The rest of the family braved the dipping temperatures and stayed for the fireworks!

After a week in Florida, we had to say our good-byes again.....they headed back to Minnesota, and I headed back to Paris. All in all, I think we had a great time with no big mishaps, treasuring each day that we had. When you are living so far away, these are the times that we are thankful for, whether just being together at home in Minnesota, or being able to have a "vacation" together. I am very thankful and blessed.

Ooops....one little glitch, though..... When Wendy dropped me off at the Palm Beach airport, after battling construction and an accident on the freeway, I thought I still had at least 1/2 hour to spare. Nope....they had changed the flight time on me and I missed my plane. Thankfully, I was able to go "standby" on the next plane to Atlanta, where I was able to just make the connection to Paris. Hmmm.....flying standby twice in the past two months! I thought I was done with that when I had a ticket! I think I still prefer trains!