If you are on my newsletter list or follow me on social media, you might remember that my eighty-eight-year-old, very active dad was supposed to have bypass surgery last Friday, and that at nearly the last minute, it got rescheduled for Monday. (BTW, the surgery went great, and he is already progressing very well.) Anyway, my sister had come back from Budapest (where she lives) to help out with the recovery process, so all of a sudden, with our schedules already cleared, my parents and the three of us girls had a free weekend together
What did we do? We decamped from normal life down to my middle sister’s lake house! It was a lovely, relaxing couple of days together, only missing one brother-in-law and our brother and sister-in-law. Their lake house is in a quiet cove. A small house that they completely remodeled. Then they added a humongous deck with retractable screens, which is the most glorious place to read, work, and talk while overlooking the water. Especially when the weather was clear and sunny and 72 degrees! They also have covered seating space out on the boat dock, which is so peaceful.
They also recently finished out a small efficiency “apartment” in the large garage next door for my parents when they come to visit. It’s a lovely little bedroom/bathroom with windows overlooking the lake. It will also have a covered deck, which is slated to begin construction next week.
My sister and brother-in-law, who own the house, are such great hosts. We had wonderful meals together. Time to talk and walk and work and read. We watched some baseball and some basketball. And generally just took it easy.
As my youngest sister said, the weekend felt like taking a big breath before a long swim. Because we know the recovery process with Dad will involve a lot of time on our part. Especially with Mom’s ongoing foot and back issues. So while it was a panicked moment when the surgery reschedule threw a kink in our plans, we embraced the unexpected blessing of the free weekend together.
Have you had a moment when your plans got upended that turned into an unexpected blessing?
How wonderful! Made my day.
Thanks, Laquita!
A place to talk is a great respite! I think each family vacation we would get lost (even with map routes highlighted by my Dad). You never know when a wrong turn will help you discover a shop or place to eat.
I prayed for your family as your Dad recovers. That’s so neat that your sister live in Budapest. I have heard it’s unique and beautiful.
T thanks for your prayers! We are excited to visit my sister at some point and explore Budapest for ourselves. My daughter says it is one of her favorite places in the world.
God is in the details.. every time! Glad you had this memorable time together.
Thanks, Cherryl!
What a blessing to spend time with family. God is so good!
He is!
There is a wonderful story (like this one) in Ben Palpant’s Letters from the Mountain (a must-read for writers) when he and his wife missed all kinds of connections on their day in Oxford, only to arrive at Lewis’ home and receive invitation inside (something that would not have happened on their own schedule). What felt like delays and frustrations became perfect orchestration. God is in the details, isn’t He? It is a marvelous thing! Praying for your parents and their healing.
What a great story! I have that book of my list of books to find from one of your blog posts. I need to look again!