My parents are visiting Florida this week. They are visiting my father’s brother. In fact, all of my father’s siblings have gathered at his brother’s home this week. My uncle has chronic emphysema. Earlier this year he had a terrible case of pneumonia that became intractable. More recently it seems that the doctors have discovered that the intractable pneumonia may actually be lung cancer. So this trip may be the last time ever that the sibs are together in this world. This unspoken reality has leant a certain poignancy to the reports my mother has been sending to my brothers and I. I love my aunts and uncles and parents. As a child and young adult, they were the trellis around which the vine of my life wound. It makes me happy in a deep down satisfied kind of way that they are all together and enjoying each other so much. The latest report, however, was hilarious! I include it here as a peek behind the curtain … exposure to the origins of my font of blessings as it were.

Well. Here I am in Florida with the Naylor clan – let me describe the folks who will be together for the next few days 😉

#1 – 87 – slightly deaf despite hearing aids, glaucoma, macular degeneration, bad knee, not so good feet, some difficulty walking, and uses a cane – some short term memory lapses – Democrat

#2- 84 – very deaf and refuses to buy hearing aids, on oxygen due to severe emphysema and lung infections, tires after a few steps – listens to Fox news 24/7 – finishes all punch lines whether he’s ever heard the story or not – very poor short term memory – right-wing GOP

#3 – 83 – hearing only slightly diminished – bad, bad knee – bad, bad feet – much difficulty walking and refuses to use a cane – blind in one eye – easy going – good memory – Democrat

#4 – 78 – some eyesight impairment – some unsteadiness – goes with the flow -good memory – probably GOP since lives in the house with 24/7 Fox News

#5 – 74 – hearing aids provide adequate hearing under most circumstances – sometimes misses important info in a conversation – no other physical handicaps except unwilling to drive in unfamiliar congested areas – Independent

#6 – 73 – works part time – no physical handicaps – sometimes flaky – Democrat

#7 – 67 – misses a few words here and there – no physical handicaps – drives through all the congested and route changing miles – keeper of maps, tickets and other important documents, must be the memory for all the above without being obvious – taxi service -due to hearing problems and lack of attention by all the others, must listen to innumerable repetitions of essentially useless information – Independent

We all got together last evening and had a wonderful time-SO for #3 had unwittingly ‘let the cat out of the bag’ Thursday evening by calling #2 and asking for #3. So he knew that part before we arrived – but he didn’t know #6 was coming. #2’s son happened to be here also, so he got to see the five siblings at their ‘best’!
This journey will definitely be the hardest job I’ll ever love.

Update #1 – Sunday – This is like herding cats!

Update #2 – Tuesday – A quick note to tell you all that the black mass in #2’s lung is NOT cancer – it is more of the fungus – now they have a sample they can culture it and hopefully get a more specific med to cure it.  He and Wife were noticeably more up when they got that news yesterday.