1/21/07 ~
Dewey took the truck to town today. I was to follow in the van.
He called to tell me to be careful, and that the snow was beginning to drift
under the bridge. He triggered a memory of Tom & I, when I was about
19.
We were going to town. Dad had found me a
very well cared for, one-owner 1978 Subaru Brat. It was 4-wheel drive,
& in the words of my daughter, it was űber cool.
There are actually 2 bridges, where I-80 crosses
over the county road. Mom & Dad's house is a mile south of the
interstate. Tom & I left home one snowy day, headed to
town. Tom was driving. When we got to the bridge with the drifts so
high we couldn't see over them, we stopped & talked about our
choices. We decided we could make it. We had a good run at
it. We couldn't see a thing except white!
Snow was blowing everywhere, & Tom hit the
brakes as we broke out of that snow drift. The snow drift under the other
bridge looked worse, & we didn't have any desire to bury ourselves in the
midst of that drift, to be hit by anything trying to get through from the other
side.
Well we'd already broke open the 1st drift.
So we made a logical choice to back up, & get a good run at the 2nd
drift. Oh we laughed as he floored that Subaru! Once more snow was
blowing everywhere, the car was swishing side to side as we backed out of that
white world!
And back behind us, Kevin was laughing as
well! Sitting with his brand new Dodge pickup in neutral, waiting for us
to break the trail for him. Kevin was working to put that truck in
reverse, but his new transmission wasn't in such a hurry! And once he
finally found neutral, he also found he was sitting on a patch of ice! We
ran smack into him, and never knew he was there until we felt that shudder
running down the spine.
My insurance covered Kevin's truck, & he went
back to work over at the Co-op. My Subaru was totalled, but Dad was
working on his Auto Body Degree (one of three that he earned) over at LCCC
(Laramie County Community College, aka Last Chance Cowboy College). Dad
fixed my car & I drove it almost until the time Shaun was born, when I
traded my űber cool Brat for a family style, totally boring Chevy
Citation.
To this day, when I see Kevin, I grin, thinking
about that crazy few moments in a snow drift with my baby brother!
This is certainly the weather I remember from
my youth here in Wyoming! Today I was outside watering the horses & I
watched the snow blow around as I marveled at the sculpted
4' snowdrifts; the work of Mother Nature. Dad loved to play in the
snow! Often he did it with a snowmobile or a
Jeep.
When we were
youngsters, we were toted off to the hills, to pull our Toboggan Sled up to the
top. Once there, the four of us assembled on the sled, Tom in front,
followed by me, then Mom, and finally Dad, who must have held the reins!
Each of us wrapped our legs around those in front of us, all bundled up in our
warmest clothes. It was great fun.
Those days bring a
smile to my face, although in my childhood I longed for the warm weather of
Texas or Africa. But the thought comes to my mind that if Angels are
allowed to play with the weather, this weather must be the product of Dad in
gleeful childishness! The biggest little kid I ever
met.
I said as much to Mom, when I talked to her on the
phone this afternoon. She seemed to smile. Then she suggested I get
a big snow ball, & see if I couldn't trip him up with it!
While on the phone, Mom said she'd been told she had open-heart surgery,
& she was surprised. I told her about her torn aorta, & how Dr.
Adams had taken her into emergency surgery hours after the accident. She
would not have survived without the surgery, and her gave her a 50/50 chance of
surviving the surgery itself. It would appear Dr. Adams is darn good at
what he does, & I am happy it is so.
We then talked about her hair. She wants it
cut short. She says Aunt Barbara used to cut it for
her. Tom is going to show Mom pictures of Debbie's current hair-do,
so Mom can see if she wants her's the same or shorter. It would be so much
easier for Mom to handle. She wants to comb her own hair. She said
Dad won't be happy about the short hair, but he'll just have to get used to
it.
One of Mom's visitors was Carol, a fellow biker there in Oklahoma. I
felt that her words described Mom's condition pretty well, so I'm including her
email about the visit:
Val,
My husband, Jack, & I stopped in to
see your mom this evening. She was eating her dinner, complaining about
the quality, but eating. She seemed a bit confused, talking about how the
dog needed his heartworm medication, but it was in Wyoming & he was
here; and not sure from moment to moment where she is. If she stopped
to think about it, she remembered she's in Oklahoma. She talked excitedly
about the Chicks Run she went on with y'all. She said that she's having a
hard time keeping track of time, not sure what time of day it is or even what
day. Not uncommon when someone is in the hospital for a long time. I
reassured her that it was normal under her circumstances to have the days and
nights all run together.
She did not seem to be in any discomfort. The
leg machine was working her right leg. I left my phone number in her
visitor book & told her I'd be back in a couple of days.
Carol
Carol also let me know that Mom is feeding herself. Not
surprising. Mom does like to eat slow, & the techs are too
fast!
1/22/07 ~
Sometimes I feel like I don't have enough to say, & others, there's
just so much!
Mom has had more visitors, and we'd like to say thank you for their time
& caring. Tom plans to leave this week to go see her. This time,
I will try to send everything that he needs to take, including a real
camera. I keep thinking we need to build a Tulsa Travel Pack, but when it
comes time to go, I haven't done it, & something is missing! Maybe I
just need to print a list that reminds us to take the phone charger &
Atlas!
We've had a lot of queries about when Mom will be coming home. I wish
we knew. It will depend on a few things. One of them is how long her
rehab is expected to take. If I understand correctly, a short rehab (2-3
months) could possibly take place in northern Colorado, while a longer rehab
will have to take place in Tulsa.
Being in our situation, doesn't mean that we stop caring about others in
our community. In December, Rick Kwedor was diagnosed with Liver Cancer,
& is currently undergoing treatment, while Stephanie Usry is recovering from
severe injuries suffered in a one-car roll-over. We find updates on
both of them, posted in the same place where Mom's updates are posted. We
wish them both well in their recoveries. ~ Val &
Tom