"Get Out A Little More"

Last weekend after my Dad had a few very rough days, my sister and I decided to do some intervention. We called my brother on his mission and asked for help. Julie's brother Chris is an oncologist in California, working with patients going through the same thing Dad is. Lennie got the doctor on the phone and did a conference call telling him what he needed to do to relieve his pain and help him be comfortable enough to eat and go about some of his daily activities. Yesterday Rich and I went on a little road trip with my parents to the White Mountains to harvest the pumpkins and get the cabin winterized for the cold weather that is coming. We stopped on top of the Mogollon Rim smelled the pines and felt the cool air. It's been a long time since I've felt 70 degree temperatures. As we made our way to Eagar it was like I was a little girl traveling with my parents up to see my Grandma Slade every summer. We went out and started getting the pumpkins, they aren't very big and I think most of them look like gourds, not pumpkins. Watching Rich and my Dad cut down the corn shocks for me made me appreciate those two strong men in my life. I remember feeding grasshoppers to the chickens, finding horned toads and catching gophers that my Grandpa Slade would pay us 50 cents a piece for. It was also where the scariest thing in my life happened as I watched my grandparents home catch fire and burn down while my little brother Ben was inside. Luckily my Mom and sister broke the window, pulled him out and saved him from the fire that destroyed their home. It was weird to smell the ground of my childhood and after I got so excited about seeing a big black caterpillar Rich said, "Dewey,you need to get out a little more." I am so thankful Dad felt well enough to ride in the car for ten hours and be able to visit with his only sibling Nadine, before heading home. We got home when it was dark, we were beyond tired, but thankful to be able to spend that time with my parents, we never know when the hourglass will run out and all we will have are memories.