Back to normal life....?

What is normal life? I have vague memories of a routine that Jenny and I had a month or so ago. And I'm pretty sure that it involved schedules such as work, meals, church, etc... But over the last three weeks, things have been about as un-normal (I invent words when I don't know one to use) as they could be. It seems all our plans since the day before Christmas have been changed so much that we don't know what normal is anymore.

Let's see, it's January 13. My wife informs me that we've spent a total of four days and nights in our house since December 24. Perhaps that tells how it's been. Oh, we've been enjoying the ride, but I think we're ready to settle back into a routine. Here's a brief rundown of our lives lately.

Snowed in over Christmas (you can read about that, I'm not going to share anymore on what I've written about).

We went to Wisconsin several days later than planned, due to the snow.

Stayed in Wisconsin one day longer than planned, and came home Tuesday after the New Year.

After being home for a few days, we got word that my Grandma Zook was not expected to live through the night. She'd been suffering from cancer, and we'd been expecting that phone call. We made hasty plans to leave in the morning for Maryland, and did so, heading out there last Saturday in Pete's van, along with Peter and David Millers. It's a 20 hour drive. We made it there early Sunday morning around seven and after finding lodging we slept a few hours. The viewing was on Sunday afternoon and evening. Monday morning we got up and had an hour or so to visit some favorite stores (Marks Harness Shop, Hilltop, Shady Grove....) and then went to Grandma's house for dinner. After dinner we changed and went to the church, as the funeral was set for 2:00. After the funeral we ate, then went to Grandma's house for a time of family memory sharing, later going to Bernards house. Tuesday morning we packed up the van, and left for home by way of Morgantown, West Virginia, where aunt Rhoda was having surgery. We saw her, said good-bye to the family and left for Nebraska. We drove straight through to get home. I drove last night (after a two hour nap) from midnight until we got home, which was about six o'clock this morning. That brings us to the present, or nearly so (my day was spent sleeping and getting the grain truck un stuck so that I can haul corn for dad).

My Grandma Zook was an incredible woman, if I may say so myself. Widowed after 12 years of marriage with six little girls of her own and step children in her care, she worked hard at her bakery to make ends meet. She worked baking bread and cinnamon rolls from 1955 through 2000 (I believe I have the years correct). Unfortunately I don't have as many memories of Grandma as my cousins who lived in the same area as she did, but all the ones I have are good.

Grandma always had Fruit Loops (cereal) on hand when we came, because she knew that Peter and I liked it (and generally only got it at her house.)

Grandma always looked on the good side of life, and people. She always trusted God to meet her needs. I never heard her complain. Even in the last months when things were very painful her standard answer when asked how she was doing was "Pretty good for the shape I'm in".

She also said(and I think I have it correct): "There's so much bad in the best of us, and so much good in the worst of us, that it doesn't behoove any of us to talk about the rest of us."

As Aunt Gertrude shared at the funeral, she never wanted gifts for her birthday, Christmas, or Mothers Day. When asked, she would always say, "all I want is good girls."

I'll always remember the sign that hung over the kitchen door, "Seven days without prayer makes one weak".

As hard a worker as Grandma was, and as good a person as she was in so many ways, the thing that I appreciate the most about her is the faith that she passed on. There was never any doubt in my mind that Grandma believed strongly in the Bible, and had a personal faith in Christ that moved her to live in a Christlike way. And as many nice things as we could say, as many warm personal things we can share from knowing her, in the end her Christian life is all that matters. I'm very grateful to God for the wonderful heritage I have, and for the examples of faith I have in my grandparents on both sides of the family. And though I now have no living Grandmother on either side, I'm glad that we don't "sorrow as others who have no hope", but know that we who love and serve the Lord will meet again one day in Heaven.

Some of the memories I have of Grandma are "borrowed". Because I didn't spend a lot of time working with her, I don't remember as many things as others do, but I'm grateful to share in the memories of others.

So now we're home again in Nebraska. Here's a picture I took today of a bulldozer and grader still working on moving snow back from the roads a week after the last storm.



Now you've read about our life for the last few weeks! You may agree that we've a reason to be a little worn down and ready for some "normal" life. Until next time,

~GB