Though we returned from Kansas a week ago tomorrow, it's taken me a lot longer to "get back to life" here at home than I anticipated. I spent a couple days exhausted, and was completely obsessed for the first couple days with "settling" all things MeeMaw-related. This included unpacking the things I had shipped from her house to mine (mostly cosmetic jewelry and other very MeeMaw things), and creating a binder of ALL the letters I have sent to her since high school, all of which we found in MeeMaw's house. So strange to see my life in my own words, a chronicle of time....this was a particular gift that MeeMaw left to me.
There were other gifts, too, and it seems every day since I've returned home I've realized a new one. Time to spend re-connecting with family, including long-lost relatives in Kansas. A renewed relationship with my youngest sister. A time to re-connect with our sons after a too-commercialized and money-crazed previous week in Orlando. Some reminders about what Jason and I value, and some lengthy discussions since our time there about whether we are really livng out those values, and how that can happen in a very un-Kansas world like Lynn (how DOES a person model simplicity, or balance, or intention, or neighbor love, here?). Even in her death, MeeMaw gave to me. I miss her.
So we spent much of our weekend trying to slow down and be HOME. Saturday was actually the 3-year anniversary of our sons' homecoming, their adoption anniversary! We spent the day at the beach, and took the boys out for supper, and observed other traditions, such as reading the photo album/story of their homecoming that I had created for them years ago. Mostly I feel like, it's ONLY been 3 years?! When has my life NOT included Orilus and Jackson? But then when I read writing from back then (such as the letters I wrote to MeeMaw during the first very difficult months of their adjustment), I remember how far we have come. I feel very grateful.
This week we're continuing to collect our bearings...finally went grocery shopping, and still have yet to clean our house since ??? ...and beginning the rhythms of back-to-school (I'm doing some teacher training this week, and we're helping the boys to complete summer reading projects, and filling out school paperwork). Familiar rhythms, and yet the fact that we have done this--ALL prepared for a September start of school--only ONCE in 3 previous school-year starts, is meaningful. The boys are home, and adjusted. And they are healthy. And for only the second time, we are all ready to begin at the beginning of a school year.
Just got home moments ago from a bike ride with the boys, and as we biked the length of Nahant Beach, I thought, "here is what we did not have last summer...freedom." It's been JOY to explore the world this summer, but mostly it's been joy to see Oriluls and Jackson living a summer as boys should--free of central lines, and medications, and restrictions.
We all begin school on Tuesday, and we do so with thankful and happy hearts.
Happy 3-year (and countless life experiences) anniversary to Team Winchell.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
for MeeMaw
(a re-written obituary which I read at the funeral on Saturday)
MeeMaw Kerr Wilcox, 92 years old, of Pratt, Kansas, died August 13, 2007. She was born a long time ago (what is 2007 minus 92 again?), but to her grandchildren, she was young at heart. Remembered for her stories of tomboyish childhood adventures (including tree climbing and horseback riding), she was nevertheless a fan of feminine pink, Avon perfume, and beaded costume necklaces. An avid reader and word puzzler, she loved raisin cream pie, spaghetti, Pizza Hut pizza, and hot dogs. While other grandmothers are known for being a bit out of touch, MeeMaw will be remembered for the way she leaned forward with a twinkle in her eyes to inquire after a granddaughter’s newest boyfriend, or latest trip abroad, or most recent career change. A good listener and her grandaughters’ greatest cheerleader, she encouraged them with phrases such as “my little sunshine” and “God’s been so good to us, hasn’t He?”
Receiving her education in the School of Hard Knocks, MeeMaw passed on to her granddaughters an iron will. A single mom for a part of her life, she imparted to her girls the values of hard work, financial independence, and a trust—actually, a desperate need—for Jesus. And she taught them, too, to never, ever give up on earthly love, proving that deep friendship, spiritual partnerships, and romance were possible until one’s dying day.
Lacking academic degrees, she encouraged her granddaughters to appreciate and seize opportunities she never had, including college, missions trips, musical education, and leadership opportunities. And she modeled a truer meaning of success, storing up for herself honors in heaven, including a belief in the goodness of God and a spiritual gift of service. She was an intercessor, spending hours in prayer as a guardian angel to each of her granddaughters. A lover of Jesus, she hoped for heaven, talking often of her joyful anticipation of her homecoming. “As a girl,” she told her granddaughter, “I used to get in trouble with my dad a lot for running outside and climbing trees when I was supposed to be helping my mother and sisters with the chores. ‘Get back in here,’ he would say, ‘you can play when your work is finished.’ That is what heaven will be. The Father will tell me, ‘Pearl, your work is finished. Your chores are done. Now come on outside, climb a tree, and play.”
And so MeeMaw leaves survivors, among them four granddaughters who miss her terribly today, and can’t see missing her any less on any other. But they comfort themselves with this hope—someday, they will hear MeeMaw’s Heavenly Father say, “Come outside and play,” and they will look up and see a big leafy tree in heaven, with MeeMaw perched way up near the top, grinning and winking mischievously down at them. “Girls,” she’ll say, “it’s real nice to see you. We’re not in Kansas anymore.”
MeeMaw Kerr Wilcox, 92 years old, of Pratt, Kansas, died August 13, 2007. She was born a long time ago (what is 2007 minus 92 again?), but to her grandchildren, she was young at heart. Remembered for her stories of tomboyish childhood adventures (including tree climbing and horseback riding), she was nevertheless a fan of feminine pink, Avon perfume, and beaded costume necklaces. An avid reader and word puzzler, she loved raisin cream pie, spaghetti, Pizza Hut pizza, and hot dogs. While other grandmothers are known for being a bit out of touch, MeeMaw will be remembered for the way she leaned forward with a twinkle in her eyes to inquire after a granddaughter’s newest boyfriend, or latest trip abroad, or most recent career change. A good listener and her grandaughters’ greatest cheerleader, she encouraged them with phrases such as “my little sunshine” and “God’s been so good to us, hasn’t He?”
Receiving her education in the School of Hard Knocks, MeeMaw passed on to her granddaughters an iron will. A single mom for a part of her life, she imparted to her girls the values of hard work, financial independence, and a trust—actually, a desperate need—for Jesus. And she taught them, too, to never, ever give up on earthly love, proving that deep friendship, spiritual partnerships, and romance were possible until one’s dying day.
Lacking academic degrees, she encouraged her granddaughters to appreciate and seize opportunities she never had, including college, missions trips, musical education, and leadership opportunities. And she modeled a truer meaning of success, storing up for herself honors in heaven, including a belief in the goodness of God and a spiritual gift of service. She was an intercessor, spending hours in prayer as a guardian angel to each of her granddaughters. A lover of Jesus, she hoped for heaven, talking often of her joyful anticipation of her homecoming. “As a girl,” she told her granddaughter, “I used to get in trouble with my dad a lot for running outside and climbing trees when I was supposed to be helping my mother and sisters with the chores. ‘Get back in here,’ he would say, ‘you can play when your work is finished.’ That is what heaven will be. The Father will tell me, ‘Pearl, your work is finished. Your chores are done. Now come on outside, climb a tree, and play.”
And so MeeMaw leaves survivors, among them four granddaughters who miss her terribly today, and can’t see missing her any less on any other. But they comfort themselves with this hope—someday, they will hear MeeMaw’s Heavenly Father say, “Come outside and play,” and they will look up and see a big leafy tree in heaven, with MeeMaw perched way up near the top, grinning and winking mischievously down at them. “Girls,” she’ll say, “it’s real nice to see you. We’re not in Kansas anymore.”
Monday, August 13, 2007
home again...sort of
A quick post to let you know that last night we arrived home safely from our Make-A-Wish trip to Florida. We enjoyed a FUN time there, and are very grateful to the Make-A-Wish foundation for our all-expenses-paid week in the theme parks (Disney, Sea World, AND Universal...whew!)and at their resort. I hope to post more about that in future posts, and to share our silly photos with you.
In sad news, though, we woke up this morning to news that my MeeMaw (my dad's mom, in Kansas) passed away very early this morning. The news was expected, but very sad nonetheless. So Team Winchell will take to the skies (again) to return to Kansas for my grandmother's funeral, the cleaning of her house, and time with my dad and other family. When we visited there in early July, my grandmother spoke often of being "ready to go," and so her passing is not without a sense of relief, too, and a certain joy at her faith and the willing attitude with which she approached all of her life, and her death. My MeeMaw had a very special place in my own heart, as I spoke with her frequently on the phone and wrote to her often over the years, and I will miss her greatly as a woman who was committed to encouraging me since my birth in prayer and in frequent conversation.
Thanks for your continued prayers for our family. This week, we celebrate life--Orilus' new health, and our pain-free journey to Disney (such a contrast to our trip a year and a half ago, when he was wheelchair bound)--and are also reminded of the eventual and inevitable failure of our mortal bodies.
Today I'm remembering my MeeMaw's words to me on the subject of death: When all our work on earth is done, God calls us to "come outside and play," and we leave the house of our work laughing and with great joy.
Honored to have known a woman who loved God's work--and understood His laughing joy--for all of her nearly 93 years,
Melissa
In sad news, though, we woke up this morning to news that my MeeMaw (my dad's mom, in Kansas) passed away very early this morning. The news was expected, but very sad nonetheless. So Team Winchell will take to the skies (again) to return to Kansas for my grandmother's funeral, the cleaning of her house, and time with my dad and other family. When we visited there in early July, my grandmother spoke often of being "ready to go," and so her passing is not without a sense of relief, too, and a certain joy at her faith and the willing attitude with which she approached all of her life, and her death. My MeeMaw had a very special place in my own heart, as I spoke with her frequently on the phone and wrote to her often over the years, and I will miss her greatly as a woman who was committed to encouraging me since my birth in prayer and in frequent conversation.
Thanks for your continued prayers for our family. This week, we celebrate life--Orilus' new health, and our pain-free journey to Disney (such a contrast to our trip a year and a half ago, when he was wheelchair bound)--and are also reminded of the eventual and inevitable failure of our mortal bodies.
Today I'm remembering my MeeMaw's words to me on the subject of death: When all our work on earth is done, God calls us to "come outside and play," and we leave the house of our work laughing and with great joy.
Honored to have known a woman who loved God's work--and understood His laughing joy--for all of her nearly 93 years,
Melissa
Thursday, August 2, 2007
home from South Africa
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(I'm still trying to figure out how to put photos into the blog; not sure why they are all at the top...will figure this out next time. In any case, the photos are: Val and I at the Indian Ocean, a view of the Drakensberg Mountains bordering Lesotho, Val and I riding in the back of a "bakkie" leaving the Tribal Council building of a rural village)
Dear Family and Friends,
I arrived home from South Africa on Tuesday afternoon, and after a day spent doing laundry and getting caught up on all my family's news and plans, I'm finding time this morning to (finally) update you all.
Thank you so much for your prayers for me while I was away! Val, Mary (her mom), and I enjoyed good health and many blessed moments during our last week of our trip. We did fly
successfully from Durban to Cape Town last Monday, coming in after a cold front settled on the area. The duration of our trip in Cape Town and in the Paarl Valley was cold (down to freezing temperatures at night!) and rainy--it rained from Monday until our departure a week later. Talk about challenging ALL our pre-conceptions of "Africa."
In fact, the trip was exactly that--an opening of the mind, and a study in contrasts. The weather (warm and sunny in one city, cold and rainy in another), the land (grassland, mountains, beaches), the people (so many cultures--Zulu, white Afrikans-speaking, Indian), the neighborhoods (rural villages, booming cities, expansive townships). I am so thankful that we had the opportunity to see so many parts of the country, to experience so many cultures and ways of living and thinking.
Our final week in Cape Town and the Paarl Valley was lovely, despite the rain. We visited with the University of Cape Town from Monday through Wednesday (of last week), and had a lot of time on our own (which we spent, since it was raining so heavily....in the MALL, of all places...I kept telling Val that I had been in more malls in South Africa then in the entire last year of my life here in the States...one benefit, though, was that we were able to see an extraordinary documentary on HIV/AIDS in South Africa, which we enjoyed). On Wednesday we went about an hour outside of Cape Town to the Paarl Valley, a beautiful wineland area dotted with quaint small towns. There, we stayed in a gorgeous bed and breakfast owned by some of Val's friends, missioners with an NGO called Monte Cristo Ministries. We had five days or so to meet the staff of MCM--adults from the United States supporting South African staff from a variety of communities (a black township, a colored neighborhood, a white Afrikanner farm). MCM is involved in the Paarl community in a number of ways--food distribution, sports mentoring programs, youth leadership development, hospice care for HIV-infected children--it was extraordinary to see such a young organization doing so much, and building so many relationships in the community. As was Val's hope, there are some possibilities there for a partnership between Gordon College and MCM, so that was an exciting discovery, too.
We left from the Cape Town airport on Monday evening, flew all night to London, endured a 4-hour layover, and came on home to Boston by 1:45 pm (Boston time)--over 30 hours of travel time total. Val and I came home with sore backs (we're getting old!), but otherwise in good spirits. I can't tell you what a JOY it was to see my family...I missed them terribly, especially in the last few days of our trip.
What's next? Probably the highlight of Orilus and Jackson's summer. On Monday we're off (in a limo to the airport, no less) for a Make-a-Wish trip to Disney World! Orilus received a "wish" following his transplant, and this was it, and we are so thankful for this free and well-deserved vacation together. We have a LOT to celebrate!
In other news...I want you to know that we have continued to follow Eddie and his family, and continue to use the money you donated to Eddie's Fund to help his family pay for monthy bills. I talked with Kori yesterday and Eddie continues to be home, but with a LOT of trips to Jimmy Fund, and he's really wrestling with GVH (rejection disease) and other complications. Please pray for a full recovery for him, and encouragement for them all. And THANK YOU for donating to Eddie's Fund....as their process continues to go on longer than anyone anticipated, we may do some fundraisers for the Fund as well, to try to continue to support them as they press on. Keep them all in your prayers!
Also, be praying for my grandma in Kansas, my MeeMaw. She's quite unwell this past month, and I'm very concerned for her.
Finally, Jason is riding to raise money for Jimmy Fund this Sunday! If you'd like to donate to his ride (and to Jimmy Fund), you can do so at http://www.pmc.org/ ID number 52547-5 We're all going to cheer him on Sunday morning!
We're all well (Jason did a FANTASTIC job as "dad" while I was gone, and the boys are well). Blessings to each of you for your love for our family, and continued care.
Love to you all,
Missy
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