Time Well Spent

The past month has been uplifting for me. We finally got to spend time with our parents! It had been awhile and COVID really put a wedge into any plans of seeing them. They both live in West Texas, but in different cities.

My parents made the drive from Midland in late July. It was good to see them and be able to love on them while they were visiting. My mom has been declining due to dementia, so this was a sweet time to see her and share some new memories with her. Just being together was enough. The visit also gave my dad a much needed rest from being a full time caregiver. We got to cook for them, take care of a few self care things for mom and make sure Dad was taken care of too. It’s hard when you live so far away from family. Most people I know in OK live near their families. It’s not new for us, but something we continue to wrestle with as far as making sure we are available to help when they need us.

Then this week we decided to drive to Amarillo to see Todd’s mom. It had been forever since we’d all been out together (Jack and Alli were unable to join us this trip, but they hope to visit her soon.) Todd wanted to go to Palo Duro Canyon while we were in town. It’s an easy 20-30 minute drive from Amarillo. We picked up sandwiches with the thought we’d have a picnic. Well, summer in Texas is HOT! So with 103 degree heat, we opted to eat in the car as we looked around at the beautiful canyon in front of us. (This Canyon is the 2nd largest in the United States, the Grand Canyon being the largest of courst. It gave us a tiny taste of what that may look like.) God’s beauty abounds and He is so creative in the way he made this canyon. Seeing the layers of rock and the height and depth of the canyon was breathtaking. I encourage you to make the trip to see it if you are ever out that way. You can pay a small fee and drive through. However, if you are more adventurous, you can hike on trails or climb the rocks if you dare!

I hope that you are able to spend time with your loved ones during this crazy time. We decided that since no one had underlying medical issues and everyone was healthy, we wanted to take the chance and spend the time together while we can. Making memories now is so important. It’s been good for the soul to reminsce and laugh together on things from the past and present. Praying you and your family has time together to refresh all of you as well. Family is everything.