Visitors and stories made it a good week

Last week was a good week. It began with Mother’s Day.  I couldn’t bring myself to visit the graveyard. I miss my mom so much and I simply couldn’t face knowing I can’t see her.

 My brother, Michael, called me from the cemetery. He had bought some blue flowers for her. Blue was one of her favorite colors. It was a windy day and the flowers kept blowing away. I told him Mom was trying to take them to wherever she is now.

We talked for a bit and I asked him to tell her hello for me even though I had already sent a message into the universe for her.

Then on Wednesday I received a call from my cousin’s widow. I had sent her a message asking if she wanted some old pictures of her late husband. She was in town and wanted to know if she could pick them up. We had a nice visit and caught up on news from her side of the family. I was glad the photographs had a new home and even happier to see a relative I hadn’t seen in a long time.

 Later that same day Michael and his wife, Diane, stopped by. They had been at the local swap meet and their car was loaded with treasures. We sat and talked the rest of the afternoon. Sometimes I forget how much I enjoy his company.

The next day I was chasing our trash can down the sidewalk when I saw a grey car stop on the other side of the street. It hesitated, pulled forward a few feet and stopped again. I thought the guy was lost. He got out and at first I assumed he was going to ask for directions. Then I recognized him as a relative I hadn’t seen since Mom’s funeral.

We chatted a little and I almost had to drag him out of the street before he got run over. I brought him into the house and my husband was as glad to see him as I was.

He is retired but his wife still works. He was out looking for garage sales and not finding any. He had seen me outside and thought he would stop and say hello. We shared stories until it was time for him to leave to pick up his grandchildren. He joked that he was now an unpaid Uber driver for his family.

In the space of a few days we had more company than we usually do in a month. Although I cherish my alone time, catching up with family was exactly what I needed. I had been feeling guilty about not going to the cemetery on Mother’s Day even though I know my mom is not there. Talking with family helped alleviate my guilt as they all seemed to understand my excuses. Their stories made me laugh. They reinforced my belief that life is good and we all need each other.

One had told of going dancing every Friday night. Another was taking a much needed break from work. The third had loaned his car to his son. He said he only had two payments left on it when his son wrecked the car. His son was fine. The car was not.

These are simple stories of everyday life; events both large and small, snippets of things far more important than anything the news media tells us we should be concerned about.

Mother Nature continued the perfect week. She gleefully rained on me on Saturday so I could postpone some needed weeding. Later in the day, after the rain had ended, the weeds were much easier to pull.

We all need a perfect week once in awhile. Families are important. We may drift away from each other but that only makes it that much sweeter when we come together again. I hope this week fulfills your own definition of a good week.