The Land of the Midnight Sun

Good morning, my fellow readers! I looked back at my last post before starting this one and I can hardly believe that only 1 week has passed since I last wrote. It seems like months and months ago.

I left last Saturday for my trek to Alaska. Had a 5 hour layover in Minneapolis, so had a wonderful lunch with my sister-in-law, Sandy and my mother-in-law, Evelyn. We had time to catch up on things and also were able to sneak into a Border's Bookstore! Of course, I purchased a couple of "must reads"!

Sat between 2 interesting people on the plane flying north. One was a soldier (John) just returning from a 4 month stint in Iraq. He wanted to tell me all about his time over there (this was his 2nd tour), so that gave me some kind of idea what Crispin will be facing! Guess it's that time of year for dust storms...sounds incredibly awful! Dirt everywhere and pretty hard to escape. The one sad thing that I noticed about this young man was that he never mentioned a wife and 3 kids until right before we landed--then he slipped his wedding ring on. I thought, "Oh, this is way, way too sad!"

The other lady was busy making crocheted pot scrubbers out of strips of netting material. John leaned over and asked her if it wouldn't be less expensive or rather "less abrasive" on her hands to just buy them from Walmart! :-) I gave her a lesson on making "granny squares" and she told me that she traveled all over Alaska--out into the villages, etc., where she stepped into jobs at the medical clinics so that other nurses could take off on vacation. Her favorite place was Nome, Alaska! Really a neat lady.

Landed in Anchorage and my brother, Pete, was there to meet me, as well as a close family friend, Marilyn Anderson and her granddaughter, Rachel! It was such a wonderful welcome. My cousin, Nicky, was there to pick up our other cousins, Dave and Chris, along with their daughter Megan, who had flown in from California to see their new twin grandbabies! We had a very short--but sweet--family gathering! What are the chances of that happening?

Pete and I drove straight to the Mat-Su Regional Hospital outside of Wasilla, AK. Oh my gosh! What an amazing place! It's located right in the middle of the Matanuska Valley and faces the most amazing set of mountains! Pioneer Peak is right there....jagged peaks thrust up into the sky--still covered in snow! Fabulous, wonderful view!

We checked in with my dad and mom, then I drove their car and followed Pete on home to Talkeetna, where I spent the night at my folk's house. Alaska really is the land of the midnight sun...didn't get dark (well, sort of dark) until about 1:30 pm. People were out and about all over the place--"You've gotta make hay while the sun shines" really fits living in the north!

We almost lost my dad the day before yesterday. He's home now (Thank you, Lord) but it's just a matter of time. Sleeps about 98% of the time...is still eating and drinking fairly well, but can't wake up for any length of time. We're just trying to keep him comfortable and enjoying what little time that we have left with him. I won't bore you with all the hospital/medical details, but life has spiraled down to breathing in and breathing out. His old dog, Jim Jim, lies beside the bed and nuzzles my dad's hand--hoping for a pat on the head. When my dad wakes up a bit, he scratches Jimmy's ears and tells him to, "Go get that old white dog"--who happens to live across the street.

We've all shed many tears and shared lots of hugs with so many, many friends and family members! My parents have an amazing legacy in Christ! They've been so tremendously hospitable to so many, many hurting people over the years!

One last thing before I close today! My poor mother fainted and fell in the hospital bathroom this past Sunday. I spent the afternoon with her in ER...but the conclusion was that she had been under such incredible stress, that when I arrived to help...she just collapsed. She has a wicked looking black eye and is so self-conscious about it. I told her to tell all the visitors that my dad decked her because she wouldn't travel out to mining camp with him this summer. (Of course, he'd never, ever dream of "decking" her and couldn't possibly travel to the mines even if he wanted to). We've all just laughed about it! And yes, I'm trying to take good care of her, too!

Thank you, my dear friends, for sharing this journey with me! It's such a comfort to know that you're out there--thinking of us all during this time.

Until next time....