August 8 – “Some sad news”

Over the weekend of Cousins Camp we received some really tough news from some dear friends in Alaska, Kenny and Lauren Humphries.  The first word was that their son Levi health was failing fast and he wasn’t expected to last long.  Even expected news like that (He has been in palliative care for some time) is a real jolt to the system.  And then the very next night Lauren let us know that Levi had died.  Seaside sent them a card with the check we had already decided to send them.  Chris and I spent the next two days trying to see if we could manage a flight to Alaska for the funeral (tomorrow evening).  We just couldn’t quite make the finances and the flights all work together.  I’m sure Kenny and Lauren and the rest of their family know we are with them in spirit.

Meanwhile, the reality of Cousins Camp finally and truly coming to a close came to fruition.  We packed up Zak and Caleb and their luggage and hit the road for Waco.  Great trip, as usual with those two.  Stopped at Buc-ees for some gas, but didn’t even get out of the car (Well, I did to get the gas.  I mean we didn’t go inside.  That’s a first).  Thirty or forty minutes down the road we stopped in Bryan for lunch at Cracker Barrel.  Zak discovered that chicken livers, like shrimp, were good for something other than fish bait.  They are DadDad food.  He wasn’t interested in trying any, however.  Nor was he interested in the fried okra, whatever that was.  Caleb knew what green beans were, though.  Nani asked if he would like some of her green beans, and he replied, “No thank you.  Thank you very much for offering, though.”  How old is that kid? 

We finally arrived in Waco mid-afternoon.  It was very cute to watch the faces of the boys and the two siblings they had left at home as they first laid eyes on each other.  The look of delight was rivaled only by the huge grin on Christi’s face when she opened the door and saw her two cubs returning to the lair.  Of course they immediately buried themselves in a hug, so I couldn’t see their faces.  Once inside we found out that AnnaGrace most assuredly remembered her two oldest brothers.  There were hugs all around, and she wanted to show them everything at once.  Luke, on the other hand, wanted only one thing … to wrestle.  He missed wrestling.  Gotta love those boys.

We did discover one “minor” catastrophe when we were unloading.  Sad news on a much lesser scale.  We forgot Zak’s fishing gear in Galveston.  Two poles, a tackle box, and a cast net.  He seemed OK in that it meant one or the other of us were going to have to make another trip in the near future.  But as much as that boy loves fishing, there might be some withdrawal symptoms in his near future.  After all, a boy’s fishing pole is kind of like his baseball glove.  It’s kind of a part of him. 

When Josh got home they took us out for some Mexican food.  That’s been one of Chris’ “things” when we come to visit the, ever since they lived in San Antonio.  Go eat Mexican food.  And yes, there is a place in Waco that serves pretty good TexMex.  Granted, it’s not that San Antonio, Santa Anna quality, but it’s good stuff.  And our waitress was a lot of fun.  Especially when she found out Josh was a middle child.  She thought that was the funniest thing on the planet.  Of course she was an only child.  She’ll never truly understand the plight of a middle child, will she, Josh?

Psalms 90:1 says, “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.”

Father, thank you for the great manners Caleb showed and the mature attitude Zak had.  A parent somewhere must have done something right, so thank you for them as well.  Amen.