Ken Fitzgerald
08-27-2005, 10:57 PM
Two granddaughters graduated from HS in early June and I had family members from Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana descend upon us. My ILs were to be here 8 days after my side of the family left.
My ILs (ages 86 & 82) called to say their 14 room Victorian had become more than they were capable of handling. After returning from vacationing with us from late June to mid-July, they were going to find an apartment and sell their home. I told my wife of 36 years...you better nudge them...best time to sell a house is during the summer before school starts....She spoke with them a few days later and they had found an apartment. They were going to wait to find a realtor and sell their home after they returned from visiting with us mid-July. I told my wife...you better nudge them......She called a couple of days later and they found a realtor.......but...they didn't want to show it until after they returned from vacationing with us......3 days later the realtor convinced them he had a client and the house sold 5 days later with an August 10th closing date and the ILs were returning from visiting us on July 15.
While they were here, I managed to take my FIL fishing on Lake Roosevelt (Columbia River above Grand Coulee dam) and both days we caught our limits of walleye in near record time while fishing with a guide. I've fished with my FIL in Mississippi, Illinois, Idaho, Minnesota, Washington State and Canada.
On July 15th the ILs returned to Illinois to start the move. My wife who works for a local school district flew back on July 18th to help them move. My youngest son from San Antonio drove up for 10 days to help them. One of my two BILs drove from Denver to assist. Though they both come from large farming families, my MIL has no surviving siblings and my FIL has only one brother surviving, a Marine and retired state police captain who is age 92. 5 or 6 nieces and nephews and spouses showed up and they moved the furniture in couple of hours. The entire move with the help of family was as easy as a move can be. My wife spent the remaining days until her departure date of August 16th doing things with her folks that they've regularly do...go to church, play cards, watch movies. On the Sunday prior to August 16 my MIL woke up with breathing difficulties and coughing up blood. She was hospitalized and my wife changed her reservations to comeback on August 30th. MIL got out of the hospital on the following Friday. So for the next week my daughter shared with them their daily routines.
Friday night while attending a HS football game, my FIL slumped over. The paramedics in attendance provided first aid and transported him to the nearest hospital. They performed a CT scan on him; got him stabilized and helicoptered him to the nearest regional medical center. My wife and MIL signed a "no extreme measure" statement because the severe stroke he had endured would leave him completely paralyzed, unable to eat or breathe on his own. He lies comatose and the prognosis is poor and very short.
This humble man of little means. Drove trucks for a while....owned and operated a small shoe store for 37 years and drove a school bus until state law required he retire......the grandfather of my 3 children.....a Silver Star medal earned in combat in the South Pacific during WWII....He was the epitamy of John Hart's signature "ain't nothing wrong with quiet!" He loved being out of doors, fishing, mushroom hunting, baseball ( a rabid Chicago White Sox fan stuck in the enemy territory of Cub fans) family, church.......He isn't big...rather small in stature......honest as the day is long......loved and respected by many....
I fly back tomorrow for 10 days to wait for the inevitable.
I haven't seen my wife of 36 years for nearly 6 weeks.....
It was a lonely summer.....it just got lonlier......
My ILs (ages 86 & 82) called to say their 14 room Victorian had become more than they were capable of handling. After returning from vacationing with us from late June to mid-July, they were going to find an apartment and sell their home. I told my wife of 36 years...you better nudge them...best time to sell a house is during the summer before school starts....She spoke with them a few days later and they had found an apartment. They were going to wait to find a realtor and sell their home after they returned from visiting with us mid-July. I told my wife...you better nudge them......She called a couple of days later and they found a realtor.......but...they didn't want to show it until after they returned from vacationing with us......3 days later the realtor convinced them he had a client and the house sold 5 days later with an August 10th closing date and the ILs were returning from visiting us on July 15.
While they were here, I managed to take my FIL fishing on Lake Roosevelt (Columbia River above Grand Coulee dam) and both days we caught our limits of walleye in near record time while fishing with a guide. I've fished with my FIL in Mississippi, Illinois, Idaho, Minnesota, Washington State and Canada.
On July 15th the ILs returned to Illinois to start the move. My wife who works for a local school district flew back on July 18th to help them move. My youngest son from San Antonio drove up for 10 days to help them. One of my two BILs drove from Denver to assist. Though they both come from large farming families, my MIL has no surviving siblings and my FIL has only one brother surviving, a Marine and retired state police captain who is age 92. 5 or 6 nieces and nephews and spouses showed up and they moved the furniture in couple of hours. The entire move with the help of family was as easy as a move can be. My wife spent the remaining days until her departure date of August 16th doing things with her folks that they've regularly do...go to church, play cards, watch movies. On the Sunday prior to August 16 my MIL woke up with breathing difficulties and coughing up blood. She was hospitalized and my wife changed her reservations to comeback on August 30th. MIL got out of the hospital on the following Friday. So for the next week my daughter shared with them their daily routines.
Friday night while attending a HS football game, my FIL slumped over. The paramedics in attendance provided first aid and transported him to the nearest hospital. They performed a CT scan on him; got him stabilized and helicoptered him to the nearest regional medical center. My wife and MIL signed a "no extreme measure" statement because the severe stroke he had endured would leave him completely paralyzed, unable to eat or breathe on his own. He lies comatose and the prognosis is poor and very short.
This humble man of little means. Drove trucks for a while....owned and operated a small shoe store for 37 years and drove a school bus until state law required he retire......the grandfather of my 3 children.....a Silver Star medal earned in combat in the South Pacific during WWII....He was the epitamy of John Hart's signature "ain't nothing wrong with quiet!" He loved being out of doors, fishing, mushroom hunting, baseball ( a rabid Chicago White Sox fan stuck in the enemy territory of Cub fans) family, church.......He isn't big...rather small in stature......honest as the day is long......loved and respected by many....
I fly back tomorrow for 10 days to wait for the inevitable.
I haven't seen my wife of 36 years for nearly 6 weeks.....
It was a lonely summer.....it just got lonlier......