Thanksgiving Memories

           2020 created a different Thanksgiving for our family.  Isolation because of the possibility of spreading Covid forced us to change and eliminate the family traditions that we have enjoyed for years.  Our family gatherings were a thing of the past, possibly never to return.                   

          We deeply missed being with our family members and sharing in a time of fellowship and enjoying a turkey dinner together.   I guess it helped us appreciate even more the many years that we could gather and enjoy our time together.  Zoom and telephone calls are a substitute, but a weak substitute.  

          But our separation did not keep us from being thankful for all that we have had and all that God has done for us.  I was especially reminded of some music that was part of our lives in years now gone.  For example, when we led Bible schools and meetings for children, we had a simple prayer chorus that we used frequently.  I can still hear the children singing these words.

For mother's love and father's care

For food to eat and clothes to wear

For home and friends and answered prayer

I thank Thee lord

But most of all my thanks shall be

That on the cross of Calvary

The Savior gave His life for me

I thank Thee Lord.

          In our early married years there was another song of thanksgiving that we often sang as a duet but have not heard for many years.  I searched for it on the internet and found that it was written in 1948 by Ruth G. Hallett.  The text was written by Ruth for her husband.  They were newlyweds and she was thanking God for all the things He had done for them.  Unfortunately I could not find a video or recording of the song, but here are the words.

Thank You, Jesus, for all You've done.

Thank You, Lord.

Thank You, Jesus, for vict'ries won,

O thank You, Lord. 

For Thy love and tender care,

For Thy Word and answered prayer.

Thank You, Jesus, for all You've done.

Thank You, Lord.

Thank You, Jesus, for love like Thine.

Thank You, Lord.

Thank You, Jesus, for grace divine.

O thank You, Lord. 

For Thy cross of Calvary,

For Thy blood that cleanseth me,

Thank You, Jesus, that Thou art mine.

Thank You, Lord.

But maybe the chorus that I missed the most this Thanksgiving was "The Blessing Song" written by Ruth Crawford.  This song has been a tradition in our family as long as I can remember.  It was sung every time our family, including grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins gathered to eat.  I have so many great memories of the beautiful harmonies that would flood around the table.  We have continued that tradition with our family.  In fact it has become such a tradition that our son and daughter-in-law had it printed on a board for us as a Christmas present.  Today that gift hangs in our kitchen.

We thank Thee Lord for this our food,

God is love

But most of all for Jesus' blood

God is love!  God is love!

These mercies bless and grant that we

May live and feast and reign with Thee,

May live and feast and reign with Thee

God is love!  God is love!

God has been so good to us over the years.  I thank Him for the many blessings and memories that He has provided us.  God is so good, He's so good to me.

        

So Long Fall!

Our Beautiful Maple

          Sadly my favorite season is quickly coming to an end.  The beautiful colorful leaves are almost gone.  Winter with its cold winds and snow and ice is approaching too quickly.  Daylight hours are getting shorter.  But there are two major events that always come for us during these two months.  One of these involves the holidays, the other involves an annual task.

         This year my favorite holidays will be drastically different.  With the threat  of Covid, in an attempt to be safe, we will not have any of our traditional family celebrations.  We will all celebrate in our own separate homes and that will be very difficult, but necessary.

          Christmas Eve has always been my favorite family time.  That evening we used to go to Candlelight Services and then gather together in our home.  We would enjoy a great buffet and a special time of family fellowship.

         Then I would show a special DVD which I always made for the family highlighting the year's events.  I would also show one that I made 10 years previously and we would laugh and enjoy how much we have all changed over those years.

          Next came a time of worship ... reading the Christmas story from Luke ...  praying for the family, thanking the Lord for His presence and blessings during the past year and asking for His guidance in the coming year.  Then we would exchange presents around the tree.

          This year we have decided to go with a new 4.5 ft. artificial tree since it will involve less preparation and cleanup than the former larger tree did.  And nobody else but us will see it.

          Now speaking of trees, they are what create our second major event of this time.  Over the years we planted several dozen trees on our property.  My father warned me that someday I would regret doing this.  And he was right.  We have had to remove many of them at a cost of thousands of dollars.  We still have about a dozen left, many of which are too big and should be removed.  But now that I am retired we just don't have the funds to do this.

          Most of those that remain are pine trees which don't take too much care. And lantern flies don't seem to bother them. We did need to take down a huge oak a few years ago and that was very expensive.

          The one major hardwood that we still have is a huge maple next to our house.  In the summer it gives shade and in the fall it is beautiful.  But it does not drop its leaves until about Thanksgiving.  Then we have piles to get rid of.  Our township will take them without charge if we can get them to the street, but they stop taking them the first week of December.  So it is a waiting game to see if they fall in time for us to collect them for removal.

          Fortunately our lawn tractor can be used to gather them if they aren't wet.  But, unfortunately, physically I've gotten to the point where I can't do it anymore.  The entire family used to help us when we were all here for Thanksgiving dinner.  But that is no more.

          The year that my mother was killed in a November accident, a family from church surprised us and showed up when we weren't home and cleaned up all the leaves that had fallen.  What a marvelous gift that was and we have never forgotten it.

          So far this year we have gathered them three times. However, I shouldn't say "we".  Two times my oldest grandson and his mother spent over an hour working on them.  The other time it was my youngest son and my youngest granddaughter who spent about two hours working on them.  We will need to attack this job at least one and maybe two more times this year.  

          So trees have become an integral part of our lives.  We still have the leaves to collect but then we can look forward to another year of beauty when it blooms again in the Spring, gives shade in the Summer and then changes in the Fall  And that always reminds us of God's care and provision for us in all the seasons of our lives.

TREES 

by Joyce Kilmer

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

Dear Milkman

A long time ago, when milk was delivered to the door by a milkman, people would sometimes leave notes. The following are some of those notes received by milkmen and preserved for our entertainment today.

  *  "Dear Milkman, I've just had a baby, please leave another one."

  

*  "Please leave an extra pint of paralyzed milk."

  

*  "Please don't leave any more milk. All they do is drink it"

  

*  "Milkman please close the gate behind you because the birds keep pecking the tops off the milk."

  

*  "Sorry not to have paid your bill before, but my wife had a baby and I've been carrying it around in my pocket for weeks."

 

 *  "Sorry about yesterday's note. I didn't mean one egg and a dozen pints, but the other way round."

 

 *  "When you leave my milk knock on my bedroom window and wake me because I want you to give me a hand to turn the mattress."

 

 *  My daughter says she wants a milkshake. Do you do it before you deliver or do I have to shake the bottle."

  

*  "Please send me a form for cheap milk, for I have a baby two months old and did not know about it until a neighbor told me."

 

 *  "Milk is needed for the baby. Father is unable to supply it."

  

*  "From now on please leave two pints every other day and one pint on the days in between, except Wednesdays and Saturdays when I don't want any milk."

  

*  My back door is open. Please put milk in fridge, get money out of cup in drawer and leave change on kitchen table, because we want to play bingo tonight."

  *  "Please leave no milk today. When I say today, I mean tomorrow, for I wrote this note yesterday or is it today?"

 

 *  "When you come with the milk please put the coal on the boiler, let dog out and put newspaper inside the screen door. PS. Don't leave any milk."

  

*  "No milk. Please do not leave milk at No. 14 either as he is dead until further notice.

(This was posted in memory of our former milkman and friend, Al Charles, who also served with us in Awana for 30 years.)

Wellness

          Medical insurance is a major concern for everyone.  Insurance can be very expensive and it often comes with many exclusions and limits.  But can you afford to be without it?

          For seniors, like us, the only real choice is Medicare.  We have been on Medicare for about 15 years and we have no complaints except possibly for its cost.  And most seniors also need to purchase a supplemental policy to cover the usual 20% of costs not covered by Medicare.

          While some may complain about this national plan, we certainly can't.  With only a few minor exceptions it has covered our needs and we have been happy.  However it and our supplemental plan do cost us about $900 a month for coverage, including drug coverage, and that is a major chunk of our retirement income.  But what other choice do you really have as your physical needs increase as you age?

          But Medicare does include a few things which I think are a waste of money.  One of these is their annual Wellness Visit.  Maybe it is a good idea on paper, but it is worthless in real life.

          My first wellness visit was in the doctor's office.  After I was seated, the nurse told me to stand up and walk to the hall.  I did that and then realized that she was actually timing me to see how long that would take.  Had I known I was being timed I could have moved much faster.  Apparently this part of the test has been eliminated.

          Then I was asked a series of questions - What year is it?  What month is it?  What day is it?  It was interesting that a large calendar was hanging right behind her where I could easily see it.  That part of the test continues today.  However now that part of the test is done on the phone which makes it easier to cheat - if you need to.

           Additional questions included - Do you smoke?  Do you drink?  Do you use drugs?  Do you use safety belts in your car?  Do you have smoke detectors or carbon monoxide monitors?  Are the batteries current?  Have you fallen in the past year?  Do you have throw rugs in your home?  Do you have safety bars in your bathroom?  Can you dress yourself?  Can you feed yourself?  Do you have help at home?  Do you have stairs?  How many steps are there?  Can you climb your steps without getting out of breath?  Do you feel safe at home?  Can you use a sweeper?  Do you need a walker and if so, how often do you use it?  How many times a week do you have sex?  - Oh, no, they don't ask that question, but they might get some interesting answers if they did.

          Now some of these questions are good and probably helpful.  But how often do people really tell the truth?  For example, are they going to be honest about their use of alcohol and drugs?  Are they going to admit to falling?   It's almost like all those questions you must now answer during Covid to be admitted to a medical facility.  Can you really trust the answers people give?

          Actually, I almost failed my first Wellness Test.  The nurse asked me to repeat after her three words, one at a time, - apple, table and penny.  I assumed that this was a hearing test - I would think a normal part of checking one's wellness would be checking hearing. I repeated them correctly.  But a little later she surprised me by asking me to repeat those three words.  I could only remember two of them since I didn't realize I was to memorize them.

          Now I ace this part of the test since I've found that Medicare never changes these three words.  They have been the same every year I've taken this test.  So I'm not a dummy, I'm ready with "apple, table, penny"!

          Well I passed my annual test in October.  I even remembered the three words correctly.  Will I be able to do it again in 2021?

          But there is one good thing about the visit and test.  Medicare doesn't charge for it.  So I guess that makes me feel a little better about the $900 a month I spend for health care.