Being Home

I'm back home. There's great truth to the old saying, "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home." Some have asked about damage to our property. The yard/farm is a mess, with downed branches and big piles ready to be burned. The orchard fence fell down a bit. The herb beds and other flower beds are in frightful shape. Everything needs tidying. I'd take photos for you, but that would require going outside, where the mosquitoes currently hold a reign of terror.

Our central AC/heating unit will have to be replaced. It's at the ground level. The insurance adjuster will give us a quote to replace it and all the duct work under the house. Most of it did not get wet, but if any of it did, they assume the mold will do its worst. Right now, we are so thankful for that window unit we bought! So many friends whose central units were ruined are sweltering right now.

The little house sustained wind damage of some sort; an adjuster will decide that. We'll also be reimbursed for the loss of all contents of our frig and freezer, which is wonderful. That's what we've been paying those insurance premiums for all these years!

I had a very long road trip from NC to WV to TN to MS, back to TN, and then back to NC. I'm somewhat worn out, although all the driving went fine. Our old van now has 231,000 + miles on it. It rattles as it cruises down the highway, but it got me home. 

I was very glad to be at all the places I went (and was glad not to be in NC without air conditioning!). The week in Mississippi was very good. I feel that I know Anna's life now a bit. The family there has had a difficult road in recent weeks with her mother-in-law's illness and death, and she is terribly missed, but the family is relieved she is beyond the pain, and is now with Jesus and others she loves. The funeral was wonderful. 

That's Anna, pretty tired, snuggling with Chauncey, the cat she married into :),  wrapped up together in the prayer shawl I sent for Julie.

Artists were painting a massive mural on the sides of some of Clarksdale's old downtown buildings.

 Pretty cool!

I also got to visit Philip, Kara, and Julia in Chattanooga twice, and they babysat Beau and Trixie for a week (!!) willingly. Inexplicably, both my laptop and Adam's desktop computer died while I was gone. That's a significant loss for us, but Philip was our techie hero (yet again!!). He gave me this lovely thing ...

His hobby is collecting dead computers and bringing them to life again, so this is a resurrected laptop.

Philip also cooked us a noodle bowl. Kara did the poached eggs. It was delicious!

 I hugged Philip a few times because he's just thoughtful, helpful, and wonderful. 

I returned home with all the things I left with, several bags of only the few things I didn't want to lose if Hurricane Florence swept our house away. It's interesting what you decide to keep. For instance, when you love books and have many dearly-loved books, which few do you save? Which ones can't be replaced?

Adam bought me this copy of Miss Suzy years ago, my favorite children's book. I love that silly Forest Robe poetry book. I've read it over and over. A Tuscan Childhood and The Country of the Pointed Firs made the cut above all others on my shelves. I took my recent journals too, some photos of the children, our wedding album, and some of Julia's artwork. I returned last night and found all my books, all my stuff, all my home still here, and I'm thankful.

But yesterday I kept thinking of Julie, Anna's mother-in-law. She went home too, to her true home. As Jesus says, a place where nothing can be destroyed, nothing can be lost, nothing can be stolen. Sweet homecoming, Julie, my other-grandmother. (That's always what I think of her as - the lady with whom I'll share grandchildren someday, even if she is in heaven.) Save me a spot at the table.