Mommaw's 2007 Christmas

Bob Jones, Rachel and I enjoyed Christmas Eve Dinner at Mimi's in Mesa with the intention of visiting Mommaw at Springdale West in Mesa. Bob Jones developed a nose-bleed and had to return home.

Rachel and I carpooled from the restaurant to the nursing home. When we arrived in Mommaw's room, she was asleep. She looked very peaceful. Rachel tried to wake her on a couple of occasions but had to shake her before she finally woke up. She told us that she wished that she knew we were coming. I don't know why, there is nothing more that she could do. Teddy (a present Santa had given her) was sleeping next to her on her bed.

Mommaw tends to slip in and out of the present time. She told us that she spent the night with Quincy the other night but that they get up too early. Quincy went to see the Lord several years ago. She introduced me and Rachel as her grandson and granddaughter. On one occason, I left her room to sit across the hall as one of the aides was dressing her roommate to sit in her wheelchair. Mommaw saw me and told Rachel, "There's Charlie Plake across the hall."

After the roommate exited the room, I returned to Mommaw's room. She saw another patient rolling through the hall. She said "There goes Charlie Plake." Then spoke loud enough for the man to hear, "Charlie, I want you to meet my grandson and granddaughter."

It is sad to see Mommaw like this. I remember when she had the memory of an elephant. My dad said that she would argue about what she remembered and usually won. I believe the incident she told us about Quincy actully happened but that it took place several years ago and her brain makes her think that it just happened.

Rachel and I took Mommaw into the conference room to open her presents. We enjoyed our time with her. Often she talked about several of the people that were attended her 90th Birthday Party. I tried to tell her who was in attendance, but my 71-year-old brain had a few problems of its own.

Poor Rachel. She had a hard time keeping Mommaw and me straight.

My Quality Time with Ken

Today, I spent the day with my son, Ken, who will be 50 next year. Slow down, son, you are making me older. ‘Twas a nice thought to spend the day with his Dad.

Ken came to the Valley to attend a Boeing planning seminar at the Sheraton in Mesa. On Sunday, we met at my house in Tempe, had lunch at Monti’s La Casa Vieja in Tempe, checked into the Sheraton in Mesa, watched the Cardinals beat the Cleveland Browns and the BCS Bowl Selections in his room and chowed down at dinner in the hotel restaurant. Ken telephoned Kim several times earlier in the day to get a play-by-play description of the San Diego Chargers football game, his favorite football team.

On Monday and Tuesday, Ken had meetings. Today, he drove me to the V.A. Hospital in Phoenix for my doctor’s appointment. While I was visiting with my doctor, he studied for a course pursuing his master’s degree at Biola University, a private Christian University in Southern California.

After leaving the hospital, Ken and I lunched at Durant’s, a legendary steakhouse in the heart of Phoenix. Not knowing what to do, we watched Sea Monsters, a 3-D movie at the IMAX Theater in Arizona Mills Mall.

What a day! It was a joy to be with my son. I can see that he inherited several of my traits. He likes school, enjoys researching, cheers for his favorite sports teams, is quiet and unassuming and is a great overall human being. :-) I love him very much.

Forgiveness

When I was a small boy in the early 1940s, my father, a church pastor in East Texas, taught my three sisters and me not only when we should apologize, but he also taught us that we should forgive if someone apologized to us. If my sisters and I argued with each other or angered one another during one of our sibling scuffles, my father would make us apologize but he also demanded we forgive each other. The lesson was easy to learn with my sisters, but it was difficult to learn if I was unduly harassed by a bully.

One Sunday after church, two teenage brothers picked on me by chasing me, wrestling me to the ground and grabbing my arms and swinging me around like a runaway flying scooter ride at the state fair. The roughness of the boys brought me to tears. Fortunately, our fathers caught us in the ruckus. The boys said they were just playing, but their father made them apologize, and my dad suggested I forgive them.

Oh boy that was hard. I could understand the boys having to apologize but why should I forgive someone when I didn’t start anything. I was a stubborn little boy but being fearful of a spanking (common in those days), I finally gave in and said, “I forgive you.”

My dad later explains to me that we need to forgive when others apologize. He asked me, “Do you ever ask God to forgive you when you pray?"

I said, “Yes, every time I pray I ask for forgiveness of my sins.”

He gives a little sermon about how God always forgives us when we repent of our sins, and he tells me the story of the Prodigal Son and how the father forgave him for going astray. He says, “Apologizing is asking for forgiveness. We should forgive others when they ask for it. Forgiving one another causes less resentment and hostility, and it makes life easier to live.”

I thank God for my father. He taught me forgiveness, which has brought happiness to my life. Forgiving another person relieves stress and helps me to build on friendships and relationships.