Happy birthdays to Chris and Carol.
Years ago our brother Rob decided to walk over to Tony's to visit him every Sunday, then the rest of us here in Regina joined him and we named it our "Church". We continue the practice to this day. I usually drive to Len's and we walk to meet Mike and Rob on the way to Len's and we walk back to Len's together. We then visit for a few hours before going home. The final Sunday of 2024 we decided to take "Church" on the road!
It was 5:20 a.m. when Rob turned his truck onto Wilkie Road, I walked out on to the street to save the few seconds it would take to pull in and out of the driveway. Within seconds I was in the truck seated and belted in, you might say I was excited, you'd be right. We were out of the neighborhood and heading west on the Trans Canada by 5:30. The sky was so clear we could have been like the early explorers and used the stars to guide us, we had Siri "Turn left in 644 kilometers". We made a pit stop in Swift Current for a necessary break and to pick up tastier drinks than water to go with the 16 sandwiches and bucket of goodies Len had packed us for the trip. "You knuckleheads done? Turn left in 400 kilometers". We didn't pay much attention to Siri after that. It was 12:20 when we pulled into the drive at Marty's house in Calgary. It wasn't long before the 4 of us were in the lobby of the Sky Point Hospice and as we were signing in our nephew Martin greeted us and a minute later we were at the bedside of our sister Mary Ellen. She had warned us after our hugs and kisses that she could fall asleep at anytime and it would be quick. Memories shared and laughter made for a terrific visit. We had been visiting for a good 40 minutes before the nurse came in with some medication, we decided to hug our goodbyes then visit until she dropped off. A few seconds after Marty gave her the last hug her eyes drooped, I didn't even get "are you falling asleep" out before a quiet "yep". She had warned us, it was sudden, she was sleeping. The goodbyes turned out to be perfect timing, as she would text me the next day "perfectly orchestrated by someone bigger than us". That's Mary Ellen. We hugged Martin goodbye and at 1:35 we signed out of the hospice. We headed to Lou and Marie's for a short visit, Marie had made us a fresh Caesar salad to go along with some pizza Lou had ordered in. We drove Marty home and by 3:30 we were back on the road. We didn't see a single snowflake on the highway or in the air on the way to Calgary or on the way back home. We had a wee bit of fog as we neared Regina and at 10:45 I pulled into the driveway at 14 Wilkie Road. We couldn't have had a better trip.
We always enjoy church but this was by far the best church of 2024.
Loved
P.S. We finished the sandwiches around 9:30 p.m. we didn't get through the bucket of treats though.
