54 YEARS

Tom and I celebrated 54 years of married life this past Sunday by forgetting the anniversary. I was reminded at the end of the church service, when the custom is to pray for people in the congregation who have birthdays and anniversaries and where they keep better records. We were planning to have lunch at the antiques show in town, so we made the lunch our celebration. We are incredibly fortunate to both be around for the celebration of the 54th year, both in reasonably good health for our ages, and still in our house where we've lived for 32 years.

"Grant, O God, in your compassion, that Tom and June, having taken each other in marriage, and affirming again the covenant which they have made, may grow in forgiveness, loyalty, and love; and come at last to the eternal joys which you have promised through Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen," (The Book of Occasional Services • 2003)

The ceremony was small and simple.  My greatly missed sister Gayle and my brother-in-law Frank sent us off on our two day honeymoon with a lovely, small celebration.

Here we are about to roll out in our "Just Married" decorated car on our way to St Augustine, Florida, for a one-night stay, and then to New Orleans briefly, before we moved to Mobile, Alabama, to our jobs at the Mobile Public Library.

The 1953 Chevrolet hardtop convertible broke down and died after we reached New Orleans, and we bought a new 1961 Ford Falcon with a trade-in and no money down, with only the verification of our employment as assurance.

LIGHT BLOGGING OR NONE...

My brother-in-law, Frank, will be visiting for a few days, so blogging may be light to non-existent. Frank's trying to beat the heat down heah, and I think he may just do it.

RENZ - OUR HERO

Earlier I posted a prayer request for Olga, Fran's sister-in-law, who is gravely ill. Fran appealed for a kind-hearted dog-lover to make a home for Olga's Jack Russell, Skittles. Renz, of Renz in the Woods, offered to take Skittles, but a relay of drivers is needed to get Skittles near enough to Renz for him to pick her up. Check out the details at the link let him know if you can help with transporting Skittles.

The dog pictured is not Skittles, just a picture of a Jack Russell in the event you're not familiar with the breed.

UPDATE FROM RENZ:

Mimi, thank you so much for spreading the word, I am quite happy to report that we have a complete route put together for Saturday, so please simply pray for Skittles for a safe journey.

All right! Prayers for all for a safe journey and prayers for Renz and Skittles that it will be love at first sight.

PLEASE PRAY FOR OLGA AND THOSE WHO LOVE HER

Olga is the sister-in-law of our friend Fran, sister to Fran's husband, Mark, aunt to Mark's daughter, Erica. Olga is gravely ill. Fran writes:

I write this post from Wilson UHS Hospital in Johnson City, NY. My sister-in-law, Olga Szpylczyn (Mark's sister) is asleep in the bed a few feet away from me. At her side I can see various containers that collect bodily fluids. At least one of them, connected to a tube that goes into her chest, is not pretty. The changing texture and color of that bag makes me want to scream. If I could scream, I would simply repeat the words, "Stupid effing cancer, I hate you and your ugly magic."
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One of my tasks is to find a home for Skittles, Olga's Jack Russell Terrier. Skittles is 8 and very cute, but she is also a Jack Russell Terrier. Read: She is highly energetic. In the good days, she had Olga out and walking, getting regular exercise. When Olga had her first bout with the stupid cancer in 2009, she wanted Skittles to go. I persuaded her otherwise and she was later grateful. That dog helped fuel a recovery.

Now I know that persuasion has no point. If you live within 3 hours of Albany or Binghamton and you even remotely think that you know someone who would consider this dog, it would be a mercy that is much required.
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It is an awesome and terrible thing to be asked to hold someone's hand, literally and figuratively. It is actually the greatest privilege in life if you ask me, albeit a painful, painful privilege.

Olga and I have had a challenging relationship. We are both very strong willed and opinionated. I'd like to think that over time we wore each other down in the best ways, with our sharp edges getting softer and rounder, like sea glass after a good pounding in the surf.

So to have her ask me to undertake this role is a true gift. I pray that I carry out her wishes accordingly and that I am here to hold her hand and either talk or remain silent, as needed.

Read the rest of Fran's post at There Will Be Bread.

For Olga:

May God the Father bless her, God the Son heal her, God the Holy Spirit give her strength. May God the holy and undivided Trinity guard her body, save her soul, and bring her safely to his heavenly country; where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

For Mark, Fran, Erica, and all who love Olga and care for her:

Sanctify, O Lord, those who love Olga and all whom you have called to the care for her. Strengthen them by your life-giving Spirit, that by their ministries, Olga may be comforted and your creation glorified; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

MEET ROXIE THE CAT

Roxie is Frank's new companion. You may remember that Frank, my brother-in-law, said good-bye to his dog, Zoe, in December and his cat, Maddie, last October.

Frank says:

Don't know if I mentioned it before - but I now have a new pet - Roxie. She was a stray hanging out behind the police station for the past six months - and they convinced me to adopt her - now that Zoe is gone. She was named by one of the female officers. She now has a repertoire of four tricks - all performed without benefit of commands - sleep, eat, poop and pee. She is extremely proficient at all four - especially the sleeping - during the day on my desk, at night on an upholstered chair in the living room.

Frank

Frank will be rejuvenated by Roxie's presence, especially as he is guaranteed his quota of daily exercise feeding Roxie and keeping her litter box clean.

PLEASE PRAY...

...for Frank, who will have surgery tomorrow to remove a section of his colon because of repeated attacks of diverticulitis.

...for Tom (not my Tom) who will have surgery in a few days to remove a tumor on his brain.

O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servants Frank and Tom the help of your power, that their sicknesses may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

UPDATE: Frank's surgery went very well. The doctors were able to do a laparoscopy.

GAYLE'S ASHES

As I said in my earlier post, Spreading Ashes, my brother-in-law, Frank, (husband to my deceased sister, Gayle) and I went to New Orleans to spread a few of her ashes in City Park, because the place had meaning for us, since we had spent time there as children and because the park was the place where Gayle and Frank met.

The picture above shows the spot in City Park where Frank spread Gayle's ashes, somewhere between the palm and the oak tree. It's a beautiful place, across the lagoon from the Peristyle. I didn't think to say a prayer, but I believe that the whole outing was a prayer, including lunch and a later visit to Audubon Park to put ashes in the lagoon there. I hope that Frank won't mind my sharing this, but they used to park and talk at Audubon Park after school - trust me, it was mostly talk, because it was often daylight. Sometimes, the police would come by and drive them away from their talk.

Altogether, Saturday was a lovely day. We felt somewhat sad, but mostly we experienced a sense of rightness about what we were doing, leaving a part of Gayle in the city that she loved to visit in places that were meaningful for her and us. Frank and their children and I all feel the ache from Gayle's absence in our lives every day, Frank and the children more than I, I'm sure. We'll never stop missing her, however, all in all, it was a good day.

Pictured below on the left is the restaurant, La Vita, where Frank and I had a delicious lunch of Italian food after the spreading of the ashes in City Park. The picture on the right shows the bar in the restaurant, made of what look to be rough, old barn boards cut to size. It's a funky thing of beauty.