Visiting with the 'rents

Brenda and I returned from California last Monday evening after spending the weekend with her mom.  Betha lives in Danville, CA on the east side of the Bay Area near her daughter Barbara.  Even as she approaches her 84th birthday later this month, she remains very active.  She reads incessantly, teaches English (as a second language) to several women in her group home, and attends church.

On Saturday we drove to the Pacific coast to visit Muir Woods.  The woods contain some of the last remaining old growth redwood trees and are protected as a National Monument.  I have been visiting Brenda's family in the Bay Area for almost 30 years and have long wanted to see them but had never taken the time before last weekend.

We were in awe of their size and grandeur.  Some of the trees have survived for millenniums and are 20 feet (or more) in diameter.  When one considers the history of the world that has occurred since they first sprouted, our short lives seem almost insignificant.  And yet, we can be so much more significant than a tree.

The weather in northern California was spectacular.  It is always a treat to get away from 100 degree temperatures and high humidity in Texas, even if it is only for a long weekend.  Additionally, we were also able to visit with Brenda's brother Raymond, her sister Barbara, and her niece Jolie.

On Wednesday morning Brenda, Todd and I flew to Mississippi to visit with my parents and relatives.  It was the first opportunity we've had to visit there since last December when my brother Robert died.  It had been too long!

During the four days we were there, we stayed up 'till the wee hours of the night playing card games, talking, eating, and laughing.  To my surprise, my father hung in there much longer than my mother.  Every now and then we'd catch him (along with my nephew Tyler)  on the couch, checking his eyelids for holes.

I believe anytime we can manage to get a 16 year old grandson to sit on the back porch with his 77 year old grandfather, listening to his sage advice and stories he has told dozens of times ;) ... that's a good thing. 

Here my mom Mimi, my nephew's wife Amber, and Brenda are spending time together.  During the visit there were many such small groups spending time together.  One time it might be my sister-in-law Valerie, Brenda and me looking over her house plans for the home she is beginning to build.  The next time it might be various cousins or my Aunt Bitsey playing Nerts or telling one another about their workday.  

Regardless of the faces in the photos, the result was always the same - this week was a time for renewing the sense of family we all share.  We all came away from the visit strengthened by the knowledge that we are as close as a hug and only as far away as a phone call.