A Quick Drop By

My sister Fredee dropped by this evening.  She had her cute, cute, grandkids with her and she didn't stay long.  She's a lot like my dad; a little hyper.  They never stay long when they come to visit.  Fredee didn't even sit down, but she did visit a bit.  She's in town to take care of her grandkids and Andrea.  She was delivering apples from the fruit stands down in Perry.  Good things can come from emergency surgeries.  She'll be here for about a week and we'll have more chances to talk.  When she leaves, I think Marice will be up to play nurse for a while.  I'm hoping Andrea has a full, but not real speedy recovery.  

Scary Mess and Liars

Mom and Dad weren't at the hockey game because they were taking care of Andrea, who was in a mess.  Her husband was in Seattle, the kids had gotten themselves off to school with snarly hair, and Andrea thought she was passing a kidney stone.  Thank goodness her Grandpa took charge.  They picked her up and took her to the emergency room, dropped Uncle Tad's name so that she got gold star treatment, and then stayed with her (without eating) for what ended up being a 14 hour ordeal that ended in emergency surgery.  It wasn't a kidney stone.  She wasn't fine.  Her husband made it to Boise right before they wheeled her into what the doctor described as a terrible, terrible surgery. 

The rest of the family enjoyed the evening at the hockey game.  You'd think we'd communicate better in this age of texting.  You'd think that Mom and Dad would ask for reinforcements, or at least have one of us bring them something to eat.  You'd think we could get updates.  Not this family.  I went to see Andrea this morning and she just kept saying "I'm good", while pressing the pain medication button.  Her sister in Denver and an aunt in Utah had already sent flowers.  Her supporting loved ones that watched the hockey game, five blocks away, while she was in surgery, didn't even know what was going on. 

Andrea was a bit out of it this morning, but she was worried about her grandparents.  I went to see them next.  They said they were fine.  They said they didn't even think about being hungry, or tired, or without medicines, or oxygen.  So many people in my family don't communicate...and they lie.

Around the Town of Nampa

I’ve lived in Boise for 19 years, but I can’t find my way around Nampa.  I have family that lives there, but I only visit once or twice a year usually.  (We really are a close and loving family.)  Anyway, I ventured over to Nampa and had quite a drive about. 

First stop was at All That Jazz, a little house on the corner of 16th and Roosevelt, where Kierra is now a professional hair stylist!  She gave me a back-to-school haircut, so I won’t have to return shaggy.  We talked all about Cole and Santanna’s wedding and romance.  Santanna is Kierra’s sister, Cole is my nephew, and Kierra’s married to Cole’s brother.  Confusing?  Weird?  I think it’s going to be fun for all.

My second stop was at Idaho Bag Lady where they sell Switch-Flops.  I bought a silver pair (40% off), and two straps that were on sale.  I’d been to the shop before, but this time I had a hard time finding Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard.  It’s a big street.  I never saw the sign, but I did drive fairly directly to the shop.

I met my sister for lunch close to the school where she works.  I overshot the parking lot of Chapalas and had to turn around, but I think I could have driven right to her school.  I also found the hospital.  I’m feeling more confident about navigating Nampa.  It would still do me well to look at a map.  And it will be best if I visit in the daylight.

Grandparents Day

To promote sales at our annual Book Fair, our school invites grandparents to lunch.  They make more money during the lunch hour that day, than they do the rest of the week.  The upper grades don't get as much participation as the younger grades, but we did have 13 grandparents in our room today.  The sixth graders were so cute when they introduced their grandparents and told a little about them.  They said things like, "she makes the best cookies" and "he took me ice fishing once".  We spent 45 minutes just talking to them and asking them questions.  They come from all over the country and sometimes from out of the country.  Today we had some who grew up in Los Angeles and others that grew up on farms and ranches.  Some went to parochial schools, some in one-room school houses (16 students in 8 grades), and some went to school right in Boise.  They tell the kids what they did for entertainment, what their chores were, what school was like, what they ate, how much a dollar would buy, things that were dangerous when they were young, and important events that they've lived through.  It was time well spent.  Everyone learned something, and enjoyed it.  Some even scored a new book.