Life Simplified

It has most definitely been a whirlwind of a week! I just got home from bible study and am so refreshed. It was so nice to see so many smiling faces, let alone so many people. I mean truly, Houston has been quite the ghost town (or crazy town, I‘m not sure what word fit‘s best!). I am so ready for life to get back to normal, not that I know what “normal” is, but I guess I should say a routine. Goodness knows that this week has been anything but routine.

But y’all, guess what? WE HAVE POWER! Praise the Good Lord. After a week and a half, we are up and running. Yesterday afternoon on our way to the airport in Colorado, our neighbor called us to tell us she was turning on our AC in the house. Needless to say, we were thrilled. And thankful that we have neighbors that will watch our house when we are gone, and take care of the petty things like hooking up a generator before we got home with fans, just to make sure it was cool inside. The cool front that came in last week didn’t stay too long, so it was getting terribly hot in the house. I have never been more excited to flip on a light switch.

Honestly y’all, I was getting such a bad attitude about the power. Yet at the same time, the Lord was doing good things.

First of all, I had no access to anything entertaining, unless we went somewhere (which was normally in the evening for dinner), and frankly, it was getting to be too quiet for me around the house. But, the silence was good. It was truly a nice break from life itself, a time for me to really “be still“. I was annoyed at night when at 10:00 I was ready to go to bed because frankly, there was nothing else to do. But, I got more sleep this week than I have the whole summer, and I needed it. The Lord is good. And just when I thought I had spent more time with my family than I thought I could handle, He sent us to Colorado together to spend even more time together, with even more family, but it was so good. (And please know that I adore my family. However, when trapped in a house for a week with no power, things can get snippy!) And of course, I was getting really tired, as petty as it sounds, of not getting to blow dry my hair and straighten it every morning, but it gave my hair a break from all the heat. Which has made it more manageable now. It needed a “blow drying” break. Yup, it’s the little things. We take so much for granted.

All of that to say, I have lived the simple life this past week, with major distractions (like internet and TV) taken away from me, and it’s not so bad. I haven’t even turned on the TV since we’ve been home because I’m so used to the quiet. It’s nice.

Speaking of Colorado, we had a grand ole’ time. Not only was it good to get away for a short time, but also good to spend time with some family that I haven’t seen in years and love on them. It was also good to love on Irene. She just kept saying the whole time that she had been crying so easily, like it was a weakness or something, and we kept telling her that it was OKAY! That is completely normal. I mean bless, he’s only been gone a week. After living with somebody for 54 years, I sure hope that after one week you wouldn’t be completely over it. We just keep telling her it takes time, even told her that tonight on the phone.

We will all miss our silly Herm, but are so glad we got to celebrate his life with everyone. He has been through stuff in his life that I wish upon no one. He has seen things in WWII that I can not even imagine, and he even liberated some of the concentration camps. Serious stuff that he never really talked about. But we were so proud of him. The memorial service was nice, as was the burial where they did the 21 gun salute. Talk about some tears. It is so emotional, but so fitting.

After everything was said and done, we just enjoyed being with family and laughed our heads off, and shed a few more tears, too. The hardest thing was leaving Irene, because he was everything to her. She’s been living in the house for about 4 months by herself while he was in rehab, but she keeps telling us that this time when she goes home, he’s not coming back. Breaks my heart and puts a lump in my throat. Some of our family had been staying there with her, but had to go home yesterday, too. I know she’ll be okay, but my heart hurts for her right now. Thankfully, my aunt and grandparents are there and will definitely take care of her, but I know her hardest days have yet to come. I don’t think by being older, pain get’s easier. Pray for her if you think of her, please? I know we would all greatly appreciate it. She doesn’t know the Lord, either, which makes it harder too. But I know that the Lord is faithful, and HE IS mighty to save, even at the age of 89.

Well friends, I am exhausted and we are all finally going back to work tomorrow. To say I am excited is an understatement. I love my job and have missed it so much. Can you believe it’s been almost 2 weeks since I’ve worked? Insane. We still have no water, but have power in some buildings, so are doing what we can. Would love for you to lift that up as well if you think of us. Things here are slowly getting back to normal, but there is still so much to be done.

Thank you so much for all your emails, comments, and what not. Y’all are the best and so encouraging! Love you all dearly and will be back soon with some pictures…and boy do I have a lot to share.