My trip to Bay Head and Maryland is almost over. Tomorrow morning Parker and I return to Austin to get his last things done so he can return to work. We will leave James behind again. And the dogs. But as I have been working on cleaning my cottage over the few days I have been here, in between the bazillion doctor appointments, I can't stop thinking about how much I appreciate James's role in all this. He, too, had his life uprooted, and was plunked down in the middle of my world. He took over care of the dogs and the cottage without question, without complaint. he changed his life to be supportive of us in the way that was the most important thing he could do.It wasn't just taking care of the dogs and the house, it was dropping his job he loved to be in Austin when they said Parker was going to die. It was staying the month, doing his classes through emails with his professor, and bringing me food at all hours. It was sleeping in the chair in the ICU waiting room when I desperately needed to sleep in a bed at the League House. It was also not taking the amount of classes he wanted to take over the summer so I had money to pay my rent.
There was so much more, and I just don't feel like either Parker nor I have really acknowledged how much he did for us. So James, thank you for everything. You are a real hero. I love you.
The photo above is of my Dad standing in front of his beautiful garden in Bay Head.
Nanci,
ReplyDeleteThe other day, Alison & I figured out that my house and the Groth family cabin were on the same body of water. My creek feeds into the Colorado River which flows past their place. (after many miles of snaking back & forth) I noticed something while looking at the picture of your Dad. The greenish stones that are stacked up to make his flower-bed appear to be the same type & color of some I have. At my place, they are the stepping stones between my house and my Mother's house. The guy called them "Pennsylvania Green" or something like that. They were trucked to Texas from up north. It's funny (not ha-ha funny, but more of a strange/mysterious funny) how we are all linked together.
Lance & Marianne
Nanci,
ReplyDeleteIt is my experience that all of your family are such stellar people. Your parents did right by you, and you by your sons.
Alison