(no subject)
Oct. 5th, 2003 06:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
treeskinWhy do bad things happen to the really good people?
I finished and delivered Stan's afghan this afternoon. The work, and the thoughts behind it, were well received. It was hard to sit, and just chat as usual. Myrna looks like she's ready to cry, all the time. Stan talks as if everything were ordinary, but he's so very very thin. He's probably lost 25 pounds since June, and he was too thin before he found out how ill he was. His torso is almost skeletal, his ribs stick out from his chest, and his stomach's caved in below, his arms are like sticks.....it's very sad.
The only time he really mentioned his condition was as he picked up the afghan, and stroked it, and said it would be put to good use, because he got cold now.
Today was a good day, because he came out in the yard and walked around with us. Nowhere near as spry as only 6 months ago, but Nathan told me that last week Stan didn't even try to leave the house.
Met another three of their grandchildren while we were there. I've met 7 of their grandkids total, I think, and they've all been meticulously polite, from the 6-yr old tonight, to the 17-yr-old I met earlier this summer. Shake your hands, "it's nice to meet you" manners, without parental prompting (even from the 6-yr-old).
I wish I'd encountered them years ago; they're wonderful people.
I'm going over to dig up seedling redbud trees out of his gardens tomorrow or Tuesday. Neither Stan nor Myrna are in any shape to, and they would prefer the baby trees go to good homes rather than the compost pile.
I'll probably do like Nathan has, and do some yard-tidying for them at the same time. They've done so much for so many people, and asked so little in return.
I finished and delivered Stan's afghan this afternoon. The work, and the thoughts behind it, were well received. It was hard to sit, and just chat as usual. Myrna looks like she's ready to cry, all the time. Stan talks as if everything were ordinary, but he's so very very thin. He's probably lost 25 pounds since June, and he was too thin before he found out how ill he was. His torso is almost skeletal, his ribs stick out from his chest, and his stomach's caved in below, his arms are like sticks.....it's very sad.
The only time he really mentioned his condition was as he picked up the afghan, and stroked it, and said it would be put to good use, because he got cold now.
Today was a good day, because he came out in the yard and walked around with us. Nowhere near as spry as only 6 months ago, but Nathan told me that last week Stan didn't even try to leave the house.
Met another three of their grandchildren while we were there. I've met 7 of their grandkids total, I think, and they've all been meticulously polite, from the 6-yr old tonight, to the 17-yr-old I met earlier this summer. Shake your hands, "it's nice to meet you" manners, without parental prompting (even from the 6-yr-old).
I wish I'd encountered them years ago; they're wonderful people.
I'm going over to dig up seedling redbud trees out of his gardens tomorrow or Tuesday. Neither Stan nor Myrna are in any shape to, and they would prefer the baby trees go to good homes rather than the compost pile.
I'll probably do like Nathan has, and do some yard-tidying for them at the same time. They've done so much for so many people, and asked so little in return.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-06 08:21 am (UTC)thought of you guys a lot this weekend. especially after reading your entries from Friday. and thinking of you again this morning. I have no sage advice to offer, only ears and shoulders (albiet, virtually).
on a lighter note, i've finished nearly 75 tokens (either lucetted or finger loop braids). in the process, i've discovered that small, 6 minute string things make EXCELLENT stress relief at work. it's almost medicinal - my blood pressure and pulse rater are lower, my shoulders are no longer hunched, headache eases, my outlook completely improved, that wonderful feeling of well-being suffusing limbs... no wonder i would almost rather work with string than read before bed. :-) almost.
*hugs* again.
m.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-06 11:50 am (UTC)We're almost to a point of declaring a "no-drama" month, until after the annual show. Too much to do, and too many things that need our creative energies, to spend this much time on other people's problems, no matter how much we love them.
I've been taking my knitting in to work--even 15 minutes during lunch is a great mood enhancer.