No title, just thinking

I re-read my last post and thought I'd jot down a few things. On Tim's birthday Angie, Liam and I ate lunch with Ora Lee in the dining room at Bethea. That was Angie's idea, coming up for the afternoon. She brought Liam because Bella had somewhere to go, and besides that Liam is a happier traveler, usually. He's such a happy little 2 1/2 year old, friendly to everyone who came by the table. And a lot of people at Bethea did come by the table, stopping to greet Ora Lee and telling her they were so glad to see her back in the dining room. She had been having her lunch in her room in the Health Care wing nearly every day. But I think Liam was one big magnet too, it's not that often that a small child comes to Bethea for lunch. He seems to thrive on the attention and really behaves excellently.

The next Wednesday (July 18) was Ora Lee's 88th birthday, and she wasn't feeling well enough to go back over to the dining room. Her back pain had flared up again so she was staying in her room for meals. But a variety of people came by to see her and to wish her a Happy Birthday during the day. Angie came back from the beach, this time bringing Bella and Livvy (Olivia, Tim's niece) with a birthday cake Livvy had baked.

I went to see her after work and Ora Lee's sister Betty and her husband Harold were there. Ora Lee had saved some of Livvy's cake for us so we enjoyed it with her. We had a nice visit, and since then I've called her to see how she's doing. She is still doing physical therapy and Dr. Richey says he wants her to stay another few weeks, because her back pain is still bothering her quite a bit.

I'm sort of glad July is coming to a close... it's been very different not having Tim here to celebrate these special occasions with us. As I wondered if birthdays are celebrated there like they are here, I seemed to hear Tim say "And how! Not just physical birthdays, but spiritual birthdays." Well, the Bible says the angels rejoice when someone is born again.

Now those are parties I'd love to see -- friends, relatives, angels, Jesus and everyone celebrating. Thinking about that makes these July birthdays seem a little less sad indeed.

Happy July Birthdays to Tim and to his mom Ora Lee

Wednesday, July 11th Tim would (will) be 61 years old, with some gray in his beard but very little if any in his hair. In his family there are several birthdays in July, pretty close together, so they have been celebrated together the last few years down at the family farm outside of Hemingway.

On July 18th Ora Lee will be 88 years old. Right now she's spending a few weeks in the Health Care wing at Bethea, taking physical therapy and getting her strength back after a bout of back pain. She is feeling much improved this week and is able to get around better, even going back to the main dining room for lunch the other day.

It's hard to believe so many months have passed since December 15th. On the 11th I will celebrate Tim's birthday, probably just here at the condo. And on the 18th I'm sure a lot of the family will help Ora Lee celebrate her birthday. I know Tim will be joining in from heaven as we sing Happy Birthday to her!

Ora Lee still has an assignment to finish up down here, prayers to pray and phone calls to make and notes to write, things that only she can do to make that difference in someone special's life.

I'm so glad I took the camera with us that Sunday before Tim died, when we went over to visit Ora Lee at her duplex apartment at Bethea. I took a picture of Tim and Ora Lee together (see above) and it came out very well. It has meant a lot to her and it does to me too.

Well, that's enough for this post. Happy Birthday in advance, Honey. I wish you were still here in person to celebrate it, but I know the kind of parties they have in heaven outshine anything we could put on down here!