Christmas 2010 (including 2009)
Dear family and friends,
I apologize for the absence of a letter or card last year. We had a crazy year, as those of you on Facebook know since I posted my brother's letter on there in place of my own. He was better about getting things out.
To start back in 2009, we had very little going on until about May when Dad got into the hospital with heart failure that wasn't responding very well. Once they got his kidneys working better and cleaned out the prostate again for the 2nd time that year, he did better. He had been keeping the prostate cancer at bay with chemo and radiation, but it quit responding. The Christmas of 2008, he was feeling really good, though, and we had a very memorable time. I'm very grateful for that season and the time we all spent together.
In late July, both of us kids saw he was getting very weak when he was in the hospital again. He went home one last time, but within the week, was back in for nursing home placement. Though he had lost weight, his 6'2” frame still had some mass that Jean, our "second mom", couldn't get up when he slid down onto the floor. He was in the local Lutheran nursing home, still ministering and witnessing, for 6 more weeks. The nurses noticed he wasn't bitter and when he couldn't sleep, he would come out to the nurses station and talk to them at night. He stopped eating and drinking on a Friday, so I called my brother to come over, not knowing how long we had. He and his wife came over and we had a most memorable evening—I think we disturbed the roommate we were laughing so hard with memories and having a good time. The hardest part was probably when Russ read the section of John that Dad's confirmation verse was taken from in John 10—I saw the baton pass to him on that night as our family head. Dad wasn't really interacting, but I think he was listening. I know he's proud of Russ. Dan and I were there with Jean when he drew his last breath on Sunday morning early. What a privilege to escort him out of this world into the next. There have been many tears since then for our empty space that is left, but we also know there is not any pain for him now and he's waiting for us to join him. We frequently joke he's up there tearing tractors apart just for fun, as they shouldn't break down, with Uncle Robert, or is finishing up that wiring and plumbing with Grandpa Kruse on our own mansions. And we still laugh at some of those stories he told, though he told them best.
So we tried to gather for Christmas 2009 in Concordia at my brother's, but an ice storm prevented Jean from making it and my nephew was missed as we had to leave before he got there with his fiance. This year, everybody is supposed to be there, weather permitting.
The big events for this year was my nephew, Caleb, and his beautiful bride-to-be, along with that “littlest cousin” graduating in May from Concordia University, Seward, then Caleb and Brit turning around and getting married at the Seminary Chapel in St. Louis in June. It was a simple, but beautiful ceremony. The rain held off for them (but not those of us driving down) until during the ceremony with a clap of thunder appropriately placed during part of the homily. It cleared up enough to get around the corner to the reception and ended up being a beautiful evening with an awesome sunset. The photographer REALLY should have been on yearbook in high school and did a great job. We have yet to see most of the photos, though (hint hint Caleb and Brit...). The video from pictures before the wedding was excellent work.
The fall has brought a new deck to the back of our house—the other one literally fell off one night. Well, it was leaning a bit before, but I felt safe walking near the house to get to the bird feeders. It looks great now and will be something we will enjoy when the weather is warmer. The feeling of sliding downhill upon exiting the back door is NOT missed and I think the birds will appreciate the fact that I will willingly put food out for them now—poor hummingbirds left without a good nectar fix this fall since the feeder hung way up there in space for a while. If they boycott next year, I'll understand.
Dan's had some exciting times this year—he helped pull the old porch down and fix the leaky faucet that you had to turn just right to get it to stop dripping. Now, he has provided a wonderful pile of firewood for my pyromaniac habit that appears every winter from the left-over porch wood. He still reads like crazy and has really had a wonderful time with our new friends from church. As the guy is home now for health reasons, Dan has had adventures during the day when I'm at work. He will miss these days when the work begins again for our over-the-road trucker friend. We, of course, will still get to hang out with his lovely wife from time to time during the week as she does not always goes with him. We, in the church, have seen so many blessings and answered prayers over this year as we grow together.
Dan's mom is doing well now. She had some little strokes this summer and fall, but seems to have done ok since them. She is on medication that hopefully will stop them. She moved this year to an assisted living place in Marshall. She seems to like the caretakers and the place--it's really nice and we all thought it would be unreasonable in price, but Georgia Blosser set up a trust fund that helps to keep it in the normal range for retired ladies, about what she was paying before to rent and eat without having to do the work around the apartment! They have really gone out of their way to help her when she had trouble and we love her being there, too, with staff like that.
We both remain healthy and blessed. We hope the same for you in the next year as you remember Christmas is a state of mind, not a day of the year. Every day is precious because of the precious gift of God incarnate in that little humble stable in Israel so long ago. The creator of the universe, wrapped up in strips of cloth. Wow. “Thanks, Dad, that's just what I needed!”
