Thursday Visits!

Louis Dean has been practicing some Marty Robbins songs as requested by Roberta and Lillian.

He had one special song all ready and was pretty excited about singing it to them today.

He even dressed up in his cowboy boots and hat!

I was handing out milkshakes and slices of Pistachio Crack Cake while he went back to the truck to get his guitar and things when he called me on my cell phone and said, "Houston, we have a problem!" He had left his music books at home!! We couldn't believe it!

The books aren't full of sheet music but of papers he has typed up with the lyrics and chords noted.

At fist he wasn't going to sing or play at all. I told him they would be so disappointed! Plus, I had already wheeled Mother down to Lillian's room. He had a patient audience of two and Lillian convinced him to go ahead and play and just  do the best he could. Roberta was not feeling well and Brenda was at school. She is taking French classes.

So he played! He even sang a little and hummed a lot when he couldn't remember the words!

I think it was good practice for him.

This is the song he had worked so hard on!

My Woman, My Woman, My Wife

Marty Robbins

Hands that are strong but wrinkled

Doing work that never gets done

Hair, that's lost some of the beauty

By too many hours in the sun

Eyes, that show some disappointment

And there's been quite a lot in her life

She's the foundation I lean on

My woman, my woman, my wife

Everyday has been uphill

Oh, we climb but we can't reach the top

I'm weak and I'm easily discouraged

She just smiles when I want to stop

Lips, that are weary but tender

With love, that strengthens my life

A saint, in a dress made of gingham

My woman, my woman, my wife

Two little babies were born in the spring

But died when the winter was new

I lost control of my mind and my soul

But my woman's faith carried us through

When she reaches that river

Lord, you know what she's worth

Give her that mansion up yonder

'Cause she's been through hell here on earth

Lord, give her my share of Heaven

If I've earned any here in this life

'Cause God, I believe she deserves it

My woman, my woman, my wife

Songwriters: Marty Robbins

My Woman, My Woman, My Wife lyrics © BMG Rights Management

He sang a little of it and then promised that next week he would have it all together!

Mother was in a good mood today and has been nearly all week.

Lillian only has one bed in her room now which makes a nice large area where Louis Dean can entertain.

Older people seem to stay cold no matter how warm it is.

Poor Louis Dean was so hot and sweaty!

When Lillian realized it, she immediately turned the AC down.

I truly believe she had it on heat!

Then she gave him a towel to wipe his forehead!

Part of it may have been that he was all frazzled about forgetting his music books.

Bet that never happens again!

We all had a fun afternoon!

I thought Mother was looking good today.

She is 92 and has lost so much weight that she doesn't even weigh 100 pounds anymore.

It was wonderful that she was enjoying herself.

My favorite moment was when Louis Dean sang directly to her. She just about melted.

Then he sang to Lillian, too. I know this made them feel special. That's the way I feel when he sings to me, too.

He sang some fun songs, too, and the afternoon flew by.

 It was after 3:30 when we noticed the time.

The traffic from Fort Worth to Dallas is bad after 4:00. However, the traffic from Dallas to Fort Worth is awful at that time. We are thankful to be heading east while the heaviest of traffic is going west.

I had given cake slices out to the nursing station and slices for Brenda and Roberta.

All the other slices ( they were individually bagged) I left in Lillian's room. 

I told her to pass them out to anyone she wanted but she assured me that NO! SHE was going to eat them all! "I ate all that you left here last week!"

She does love that cake!

We had promised Roberta that we would stop by and sing a song or two for her before we left....

but that was before we discovered he had forgotten his books.

We were about to go down to her room when a nurse's aid stopped him and asked if he had seen Roberta yet. Seems she had to go to the office for a minute and was afraid he would come when she wasn't in the room and had asked her to watch for 'a tall handsome man in cowboy boots and a hat carrying a guitar.' She was back in her room when we got there!

She said that when you are 100 years old you will have some good days and you will have some bad ones. It is part of being 100. I love how Roberta still loves life! She has two bird feeders hanging right outside her window. Her walls are filled with family pictures and interesting things.

Every time I have seen Roberta, she has had make up, pretty clothes and jewelry on.

I want to be like Roberta when I grow up.

Her son and granddaughter had visited her earlier in the afternoon and she had gone outside with them for about 10 minutes. That put her back some since she has difficulty breathing and takes oxygen and breathing treatments. But she said it was worth it to her to have had that time outside with them.

Here is Louis Dean singing to her.

She especially requested Marty Robbins songs and we are going to pray that she has a 'good day' next week when we come.

By this time it was nearly 4:30 and we were just going to bite the bullet and sit in traffic.

However.....we sailed along and made it back to Irving in record time!

It was 5:15 when we signed in to visit Reaoma.

She woke up from time to time while we were there.

She seemed extra interested when I talked to her about my day with Amber and what all we did.

I told her Sabrina and Rayne were back in Puerto Rico and caught her up on all that has gone on in the last week.

Louis Dean winged it again and sang some songs.

Pam has a photo book in Reaoma's room with pictures of the ceramic Indian dolls she painted and dressed. True works of art.She also raised miniature horses. Their log house in the piney woods of East Texas was called Rainbow's End and that's where I would take Amber and Benjamin every August and we would stay for a week.

She and Doug were two of the important people in our lives and Reaoma is still important to me.

I'm closing tonight's journal entry with this thought......