Hearing Issues

We have one of those soap dispensers that plays a recording when you push the button on top. It's a Halloween one that does a few different crazy cakles with a little background music. It's been in the bathroom for a couple of weeks now. This morning Jerry used it and evidently for the very first time, pushed it in the right place to activate the sound. He was unaware that it was a "special" soap dispenser. He came out of the bathroom, laughing, and asked me about it. He had to tell me how many times he's used it and it never went off before and that he was so surprised. He said, "I thought my cell phone was ringing."

Esther, On the Road Again

Tonight we lost the matriarch of the Swertfeger family. There will be no memorial service, no viewing, no formalities. That is the way she wanted things to be. Once in conversation Esther mentioned that she wanted Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" played after she was gone.

That is how she lived her life, always planning for the next journey she would take. Even though her vision was deteriorated a 30-day bus passes was as good as gold in her hand. On one trip she returned to Portland and arrived at the bus depot at 5am. She decided it was too early to wake someone up so she hopped a bus to Seattle for something to kill the time.

In her last days, after suffering from hunger and thirst, she determined it would be best to sleep away the days. She was at peace in bed tonight when she went.

We will miss the mother and grandmother she was and look back on her life and perhaps grin a little when next we hear Willie Nelson proclaim, "and I just can't wait to get on the road again."

"On the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again.
The life I love is making music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again."

"On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been.
Seein' things that I may never see again
And I can't wait to get on the road again."

"On the road again
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We're the best of friends.
Insisting that the world keep turning our way."

- Willie Neslon

Quoting Poetry

Esther is on her last legs, and she is enjoying quoting her poems for anyone that visits her. I have heard the same poems many, many times now, but it's still a delight to watch the faces of others as she quotes them a poem from memory that they have not heard before. Here is one of her favorites:

The last stanza from "Thanatopsis" (View on Death in Greek)by William Cullen Bryant

So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan which moves
To that mysterious realm where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch so
About him and lies down to pleasant dreams.

A hospice volunteer, Melody, came to spend an hour with Esther and was so moved by the poetry that the next time she came to see her she told her that from now on she was going to view the work she did with patients differently and incorporate some of the poetry into what she does. Esther had a profound effect on her. She even came back with her teenage daughter so she could meet her.
That was a nice plus for Esther, to be appreciated.

Why Isn't Everyone Awake?

Jerry and Esther were at Dale's home in Dallas, Texas. They had spent their second night and it was the morning they were to arise and be on their way to Springfield, Missouri by 7 a.m.. Jerry said he awoke about 5 a.m. in the dark, hearing a strange sound. At first he was confused and couldn't figure out what it was then he realized it was someone "tinkling" on the piano. He came out of his room just in time to see Dale, slightly annoyed, asking Esther why she was waking the whole house up at 5 a.m.. She knew the clock said 5 but she got confused and thought she needed to add 2 hours to the time. So, she got creative and "tinkled" on the piano until it was loud enough to wake someone up.

Winter Blahs

Esther wants to: move (nag, nag,nag for one whole day)--no stay, ("This is my home, I love it here, I am going to stay from now on.");go on a trip to Missouri--no, not yet; go for a drive--not today;shop at thrift stores for a radio--but I don't need it yet; go on a trip to California and Arizona vising Ruth Boone, Joe Lee and Dale--and I want to go right now--but it's too soon to go now, we'd better wait for good weather, etc. etc.

This sounds like a typical winter day for Esther--dreaming and scheming. She's lucky though because yesterday Jerry took her for a drive to Amboy, Washington to look at a recreation property that he isn't the slightest bit interested in, but he knew she'd enjoy the drive. He's a good son. (He was gone for 6 hours, thinking it would only take them 3.)

She's also lucky because she gets to go see her surgeon for a checkup on Wednesday--in reality that will be enough to wear her out for the week. She's been managing to turn her TV on by herself and watch OWN and 60 Minutes, which has been a great source of entertainment for her. Now if we could just get her to remember how to turn on her CD player it would be great. One thing at a time for her.