Of flowers and food and tournaments and theater...

BOX SCORE
Element	Current	Std. Range	Trend
Hemoglobin	11.2	13-17	^
Platelets	116	140-375	v
ANC	1900	1800-8300	^

Yesterday, there was a chime on our doorbell. It was not that we were expecting anyone. We couldn't even think of an order that might have been delivered, although the other day the UPS man stopped by to see if we were OK, since he didn't have a delivery for us. 

Jill got up and went to the door and found her close friend there with a big, beautiful bouquet of white flowers, mostly roses and lilies. Before Jill could say a word, her friend said, "I didn't pay a cent for these. We were at a venue where a wedding had been, and they wanted people to take flowers home. So, I thought of you, dear Jill." We were stunned. This is the same friend who sent Jill flowers on her birthday last month. I think she knows better than Jill how much stress she bears taking care of me. She knew that flowers would give her an emotional lift. 

This is the kind of thing that we find happening among our friends and family. Everyone has been so kind to us. The hard part for us is that neither of us feels worthy of people fussing over us. In fact, the biggest bone of contention we have had in our 22 years together goes something like, "Why won't you ever let me do something for you? You are always doing things for me." We have been working on this for all those years and still find it requires an act of will to allow the other one to tend to our needs. So, God bless you, Donalynn, for taking such good care of my caretaker!! And God bless you, Jill, for taking such good care of me.

This act of kindness was so typical of Donalynn, and other friends have been there for us, too. It was the perfect "cherry on the top" to a fun filled weekend. Saturday morning we had to take the Ford to Salem first thing for a recall repair. So, we called daughter Tara, recently returned from a vacation trip to Cambodia, and invited her to meet us for breakfast. We got all the lowdown on her trip, including the 29 hour travel "day" coming home. When we reluctantly parted we headed home. That's when the craziness kicked into overdrive. 

Friday night we watched, on a streaming service, the Willamette High School girls varsity basketball team play North Medford. Son Patrick is one of the coaches, so we try to watch all the games that we can get on the streaming service. By halftime it was bedtime for the old folks. No worries, we can stream the second half tomorrow! So, Saturday morning we did just that. Willamette won, which always makes it more fun. 

In the meantime, our grandson Judah was competing in a martial arts tournament. Judah is one of the top contenders in his age group world wide, so it is always fun to see him compete. The only problem is that there's no published program telling what time he will perform. Fortunately, his mom, daughter Laura, keeps us informed. So, we were able to watch Judah in some of his events. The kids he competes against are amazing, so to see him win is always a thrill. 

Later on Saturday, our two granddaughters, Ryanne and Megan, were in a children's theater production of "Nisse's Dream." Fortunately, we were able to stream that show as well. But there is a caveat. Isn't there always? Nisse's Dream was on at 2 PM, and it is rather a long show. We thought the car dealer closed at 5 PM, but we got a call that we needed to pick up our car by 4 PM. So, we had to stop the show and pick up the car. 

When we got home, we started to watch Nisse again, when we got a message that Judah was about to perform. We watched Judah, then we watched the rest of the play. We finished just in tome to connect by Skype with some friends for a "virtual" dinner party. By bedtime, it was past our bedtime!!

If you look at today's box score above, you will notice that my ANC is well into the standard range. That means my immunity is up.  It was almost as high on Thursday, so on Sunday morning, we got all dressed in our Sunday best jeans and sweaters and went to church in person for the first time in months. It was so good to see everyone. We hung around after service almost until the second service was about to start. 

When we came home, we settled in to watch more of Judah's tournament. (It had concluded the night before, but we were too worn out to stay up.) Thank you, Lord, for modern technology! After the tournament, I watched a college basketball game and then...

...I fell asleep in my recliner and sawed logs for about three hours!!! You never know how hard normal living is, until you take several months off from doing it. 

Praise the Lord for improving blood counts that mean more time with friends and family.