Hunting Monday

How thankful I am this Monday morning to be sitting here at my computer, remembering my day on Sunday clearly. Yes, there were some funny jokes made as a result of my experience last week. I love it. One friend at church said, "You mean, all I have to do is start repeating myself over and over, and I could get a two-day rest in the hospital?" At the Christmas choir rehearsal last evening I had to confess that I did not remember last week's rehearsal at all, so I had to constantly ask what we had gone over, what I had said, etc. One lady said, "You DID say that we would be paid well for doing this musical." We got a good laugh over that one.

I also had some very meaningful times of sharing and prayer with people in our church family yesterday morning and with two of my Stauffer sister-in-laws last evening. While I hate being in a position where it feels like my life is open game for everyone's inspection and opinion after last week's experience, I do feel a tremendous amount of love and support. I am so blessed.

Dick left after church yesterday for his two-day deer hunting trip in Juniata County with his brothers. It's the first year ever that his dad is not going with them. He, of course, is staying home with Dick's stepmother. She is still undergoing testing (bone marrow biopsy, etc.) to determine what kind of lymphoma she has and what treatments they will do.

I must tell you one of my funny stories here. One year I got a phone call from Dick on the Sunday afternoon of deer hunting, that Ray cannot find his hunting license. I went up to his room, and sure enough, there it was on his dresser. So we agreed to meet at the end of 283 at Harrisburg. I pulled into the hotel parking lot about the same time Dick and his dad did. They pulled up beside me, we opened our windows, and I handed the license across to Dick. He looked at it and said, "This isn't his hunting license. It's his fishing license." I said, "You are kidding me." But he wasn't. We sat there and tried to figure out what to do. I was not about to make a second trip to Harrisburg. It was already 6:30 PM. They decided to risk it, and let Ray hunt without his license. As it turned out, he did have it with him. Oh, well, it made a funny story. But it got even funnier. My school principal back then was Crist Peachey, an avid hunter. He LOVED that story and got a great laugh over it. Sometime later, he presented me with his homemade license differentiator. I would take a picture of it and show it here if I could figure out where I have it. It was really, really funny.

After rehearsal last evening my neice Lindsay Stauffer and her friends kept Destiny (they were making cookies and opera fudge) while my sister-in-laws Carolyn (Lindsay's mom), and Faye, and I went to the Baron's Diner for "coffee". We had more than coffee, and an absolutely precious time talking. I think we enjoy each other's company more the older we get. We were just sorry that we couldn't get in touch with our other sister-in-law Deb. She must have been hanging out with her sisters. (We're all hunter's widows.) For many, many years we Stauffer sister-in-laws and children had the tradition of coming to my house on hunting Sunday and staying overnight. I think we started it when Anthony was two, and probably continued it for at least 15 years. The kids would be awake till very late, and we ladies would talk into the wee hours of the morning. One year we just fell asleep right where we were talking in the family room, and when the thundering hooves of the children woke us up, there we still sat! What wonderful memories.

Well, I have a day now to get lots done in preparation for these next three weeks. Three weeks from today all my Christmas productions will be finished. Unbelievable!