Burial on Friday

The burial for Bill's ashes will be this Friday at Ft. Sam Houston Cemetery here in San Antonio. It is a huge military cemetery with very pretty grounds. Though, I've never been there at a time when I wanted to or had time to really look around. Only for burials. Please pray as we close this next door of the grieving process. Thank you.

The Fat Cat Bit Nat. Bad Cat!

That title sounds surprisingly similar to my friend Stephanie's blog about her oldest child learning to read. However, this was a life lesson rather than reading. And, the cat isn't really fat, but it sounded better that way.

We were outside at some friends' house when the neighbor's cat walked over. The cat is very friendly and BOLD. Bethany petted the cat, another child petted the cat, the cat wanted me to pet him, but being allergic & not a cat lover, I didn't do it. I'd stepped away from the girls when one of them asked, "Natalie, are you okay?" We walked over & she was crying & holding her arm. This very friendly (I seriously have never seen a cat want to be with people as much as this cat does) cat BIT her! We cleaned it then I took her home & called Call-A-Nurse, just to be sure there was nothing special to do. They took my info & had a nurse call me back.
Nurse: Is this your info blah, blah, blah
Me: Yes
N: Is there any bleeding?
Me: There wasn't, but when we took the bandaid off there is some there.
N: Cat bites can be very bad. They have a lot of bacteria in their mouths. She needs to be seen tonight.
Me: It is swollen a little, too. Is that normal?
N: Has the cat had shots? You need to take her to be seen.
Me (still processing this): Okay. We are quite familiar with the E.R.
N: What hospital do you use?

blah, blah, blah

A few minutes later Natalie & I are in the van heading to North Central Baptist ER, our 2nd home.

The receptionist talked to us about how bad cat bites can be. The first nurse washed her "wounds" thoroughly. The doctor talked about how bad cat bites can be. She put more antiseptic on it and then did a flush of saline over it. She gave us a prescription for augmentin (an antibiotic that makes me sick as a dog, but Phil can handle, so hoping Natalie can). The dismissal nurse told us how bad cat bites were. I honestly had never HEARD of a cat biting a person. Scratching, yes, but not biting. Oh, the doctor said you CAN get cat scratch fever (not the old song from the 70's!) from a cat bite. The nurse also mentioned this. A friend had just told me that a mutual friend's husband, who is a vet, is learning more about cat scratch fever now.

We still don't know what set off the cat. Natalie wasn't trying to pick it up, but just pet it. She must have hit a spot, or somehow made the cat feel threatened that he would do that to her. I asked her later if she was afraid of cats now. She said, "No." I would be if that cat bit me! In fact, I developed a fear of cats when I was a teenager & some friends had taken in the runt of a litter of kittens. Looking back, I think the cat was a feral cat & wasn't really enjoying being inside. I just recall the mom picking up the cat to take it upstairs & that cat screeched in a sound that was eerie, and I think scratched her really badly. I'm not afraid of housecats, but I do have nightmares about cats attacking, both housecats & even big cats like lions. I wonder if I'll have one of those dreams tonight.

Let's see, this is our 3rd trip to the E.R. in 5 months. I'm thinking we might not be the safest friends to be around!

My Funny Valentine

Another day when I've slept more & don't need to get up early I'll share about our Valentine's party. I just had to write about what Bethany did. Yesterday at Wal-Mart she picked up a bag of Dove Chocolates. You know, the really creamy melt-in-your-mouth kind? She asked, "Doesn't Mrs. Tuscher like chocolate?" Mrs. Tuscher is my friend, and her daughter Sara is one of Bethany's best friends. I said, "Yes, she does." B, "Can I get her this bag of Dove Chocolates?" Me, "Yes, that is SO sweet of you!" B, "Well, she's like my 2nd mother." Natalie then has to say something (okay, so Natalie HAS to say something every 5 seconds, so this isn't news), "Mrs. Clark & Mrs. Wagnon are MY 2nd moms. I'm like the Wagnon's......" I could tell she was trying to figure out what number daughter she would be. The Wagnons have 4 girls & a boy! We checked out & went on our merry way. On the way home from dinner tonight, Bethany said, "I have something else for you at home, Mama." I really had NO idea what it was. I assumed it was a craft, though she gave me a card she made earlier today. She handed me a wrapped present. It felt lumpy, so I said, "I think it's some of your rocks." She's been known to collect those. She told me it wasn't heavy enough. I opened the package & it was those Dove Chocolates! She actually tricked me & surprised me with those! I laughed & told her how sweet that was and how clever. She said, "Well, I didn't think Daddy was going to take us anywhere to get you something." She was right about THAT!

So, there you have a Bethany story for the day.

And a quick Natalie story. We ate in Blanco with Phil's mom & my parents at a BBQ place. They use butcher block rather than plates. We sat down & Natalie said, "This is a SLOPPY place!" My oh so messy girls didn't like NOT having a plate!

Good night!

The Asperger view

With Bethany, we never know quite what she will say. On Friday at a Girl Scout Cookie Booth, one lady said she didn't have any money. Bethany asked (in a voice loud enough for the lady to hear her), "How did she buy anything?" since the lady had a bag with stuff in it. The other mom & I both said, "Bethany....." in that shocked kind of voice. The lady was kind & said, "I used a card!" The table was not big enough for me to crawl under.

Last night at our booth someone said, "I can't get cookies. I'm on a diet right now." Bethany replied, "Well come back when you're off of it."

Today the girls were discussing what color they'd like to paint their room. I told them I'd like to paint the bathroom. Natalie told us what design she'd like to paint the border area. Then Bethany said, "We could get that Toilet Stamp and stamp around the border." She was referring to a rubber stamp in this hilarious set called, "Way to Go" by Gina K. Designs. I don't have that stamp set, yet, but apparently it is needed for proper home decor!

Tomorrow we return to co-op. I need to get clothes finished washing & drying so I can get to bed. It will be a long day.

Memories of Dad

Here is the full version of what Phil wrote for the memorial service. The pastor shared some of this at the service, but not all.

Memories of Dad - by Phillip Garrison

One of the memories I have of dad, is one night back in the late 60’s, as was his custom, to look out the bedroom window of the apartment we lived at in Austin, Tx, right before bed. The parking lot where our car was parked, was just about 100 ft away. He saw 2 men breaking into our car. He immediately grabbed his 32 caliber, silver plated, Browning semiautomatic pistol, and headed out the door. I saw him grab the pistol, so I immediately ran to my bedroom window and looked out – I knew immediately what the problem was as I looked at our car. I watched him go out and walk right up to the 2 men, who by now were inside our car trying to hotwire it. He pointed the gun right at them, and asked them to get out, which they promptly did. But no sooner were they out, they started running for the empty grassy field not too far away. Dad followed them with the pistol, and fired off 3 rounds at them. I couldn’t believe it!! I was 10 yrs old at the time, and I still remember to this day the excitement that I felt as I was thinking “WOW – this is sooo coool – my dad was shooting at the bad guys just like the police do on TV!!!!“ As a side note, he didn’t hit any of them, but they were so scared they stopped running, and he held them until the Police arrived.

Dad always had time to spend with me no matter how busy he was. After we moved out to Lake Travis, he never said no to me if I wanted to go water skiing (unless I had chores to do – that was different) even if he was bone tired from work that day. He would also sit for hours on the dock while I scuba dived, just to make sure I came back OK. Or help me work on my dirt bike – and transporting me to motocross races on the weekends. But I knew he really loved me later in life when, after getting my private pilots license, he and mom were willing to get into the airplane with me, and be my first passengers! That took real courage!

As tough as he was when I was growing up, as soon as he became a grandfather to two little girls, he magically changed. He would let them crawl onto his back and play horse. One time he was their model. They covered his face with makeup, gave him a wig, and even put jewelry on him. I think he enjoyed it as much as they did! Just as he loved to take me out water skiing, he always was ready to take the girls out for a boat ride, or pull them behind the boat on a tube. One of the funniest things that happened on the boat was when Natalie handed him what he thought was a piece of trash. He tossed it out into the water not knowing that it was her tooth that had just fallen out!

Dad was a tough man with a heart of gold. He would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it (and maybe if you didn’t). He had a rough exterior, but when it came down to the important things in life, he was gentle and loving. I think the greatest act of his courage and gentleness is how he handled having cancer and the pain that went with it. Not once did he complain about it. He would tell me he had to take a “pain pill” but that was just one Tylenol. He was in quite a bit of pain, but never let on and never complained.

Dad was obviously gutsy and courageous. But first and foremost, he was a loving husband, and father. All my years growing up, I never felt like I was second place in his life – he was a hard worker at his job, but I knew that mom and I always came first in his life. I never felt any other way about it. In the last few years, Lori would take the girls to visit my parents. She tells me that as soon as they walked in the door, the first question he asked was, “Where’s Phillip?” In a day when dads don’t always spend time with their kids, Dad set the best example for me.

One Hot Mama

Phil, the girls & I are safely home. It has been a long day, a long week, a long month & a quarter---well, a long year so far! Phil has been OFF of work more than he has been AT work. He said it will be hard to go to work in the morning after being off so long. His company and his managers have been very gracious through all of this. He is asleep, as are the girls, and I am heading that way soon.

I had to tell you about our "Hot Time" at Grandma's first. Bethany, Phil & I were all still sleeping in on Saturday morning when Ruth came in & said, "You need to get up! We all need to get out of the house!" Her smoke alarm was blaring & we could smell something burning. It smelled like an electrical wire burning. She had already called the fire dept. and by the time we got outside, they were coming around the corner to her house. In fact, 2 fire trucks were dispatched to the house. They did not find any smoke or fire and think it must have been dust burning on the heater unit. We still aren't sure about that because by then she'd been home a week & we'd had both the upstairs and downstairs heaters on during that time. When we got back inside she told the girls that they have more excitement at their grandma's house than other kids do! Almost every time SHE has gone to the E.R. the girls have been there. We told Natalie she has to learn to drive now to take Grandma to the hospital!

It was hard leaving today. When I asked if everyone was ready to go (to the girls & Phil), Ruth said, "NO!" Phil will go back next weekend & then if no one else is visiting on the following weekends we can go up. She has good neighbors and friends who will not only stop in but will make her get out & take walks and such. I think she may find herself WANTING time alone!

I need to get everything shut down for the night now. Thanks for all you have done for us over these past few weeks.

Over the River and through the Woods.......

From Grandmother's house we went. So, it sounds better when we go TO Grandma's house. We cross 2 or 3 rivers and pass trees on the way to Grandmother's house. I wouldn't exactly call them "woods" but it's as close as we get in Central & South Texas.

Today was extremely quiet at Grandma's house. It was nice. She got a package from fed-ex from a sweet friend who lost her husband 2 years ago. It was a package of thank-you notes and a journal with pen so she can write to Bill in it each night. She will be such a comfort for Ruth in the days, weeks, and years to come.

The girls took Grandma for a walk today. The lake has been lowered to allow clean up of trash from storms earlier this year. It's a constant level lake (normally), so they have the ability to raise and lower the lake. Most of our lakes are man-made expansions of rivers. They got home & told me they'd walked on the bottom of the river! They had a fish scale that was at least 1" in diameter, some pretty shells, and told me of fish skeletons and a shell they'd opened with something still living inside! Sounds like they had a good science lesson today!

I wanted to ask if any of you are going to visit with Ruth over the next few weeks or weekends, if you could e-mail me or Phil to let us know. My e-mail is cheflag@satx.rr.com and Phil's is phlag@satx.rr.com That way we will know to NOT go visit that weekend. Let me clarify, since that sounds like we DON'T want to see you! LOL! What I mean is we'd rather go when she doesn't have other company. We need to do things here, but I know it will be hard for Phil to not go see his mom. Knowing someone else is there will be helpful.

Thanks again to all of you who have called, sent cards, and attended the service yesterday.

Now to get 2 little munchkins to bed!