In just a few days I’ll be heading to Michigan for a long weekend.  My mother called me yesterday and asked if there was any way I could go with her back to her hometown of Traverse City, Michigan.  I honestly didn’t think it would work out, but the details have fallen into place, so I’m going.  We’ll take Laura and Isaac along with us, and the younger four children will stay here in Bloomington.  My sister-in-law, Mary, will care for them while Michael is at work, and then Michael will take over when he’s available.

The main reason for our trip is to visit my grandfather.  He had a stroke recently, and he’s been ailing and not quite himself since then.  We can’t help but wonder how much time he has left on this earth.

I wish my children could have known my grandfather better.  He was such an interesting, intelligent man.  One of my favorite memories is how he’d sit and strum the guitar, sometimes almost absent-mindedly, and such beautiful harmonies and melodies would wander around the room.

Despite the potentially sad overtones of the trip, I’m really looking forward to traveling with my mother and my two oldest children.  Our last family trip, with all six children, was so cumbersome, with many stops and distractions.  I have a feeling that this upcoming trip will seem so efficient in comparison!

My mother’s side of the family is especially dear to my heart.  They are gentle, kind people who are pleasant to be around.  You know how when you’re around folks from the South, you start to speak with a southern accent and call each other “Hon”?  Well, when I’m around my mother’s siblings, I find that I smile more, speak more softly, and consider my words just a bit before they come out of my mouth.  Maybe I should visit them more often!

Hopefully I can take the laptop along with me and keep a trip journal here on the blog.  That would be fun to do again.

Oh, one more thing, completely unrelated!  I have a kitchen ceiling now!!!  Michael’s oldest brother, Roy, has spent two days here (Saturday and Monday) helping push the kitchen project closer to the finish line.  Roy is such a hard worker, and it seems he never stops!  Thanks to Roy, we now have trim around all the doors and one of the windows, and the ceiling is almost completely drywalled.  Michael works hard, alongside Roy, and then he collapses when Roy drives away.  For that matter, we all do!  But we’re always so tickled with the progress.  As the children watched the work today, they frequently exclaimed at the wonder of a ceiling covering the exposed rafters.  The funniest comment of the day was when Luke said he was worried the screws wouldn’t hold the drywall and it might fall on his head.   Luke always seems to be the cautious one.  He’s a boy after my own heart sometimes.