Entertaining boys

This is the face of a young man happy to be driving even though he is legally too young to do so! Here in Sun City, golf carts are a common sight. They are used by many people for all the things they would use a car for and sometimes they are the only vehicle they own. When our daughter Angela and family came at Thanksgiving time, our neighbor kindly let us borrow his golf cart for a little recreational time for the boys. We had used the cart when James's family was here over the summer, too, and it was a big hit then. The photo above is Joshua, who will probably have a drivers license in a few more years and will be a good driver.

 

The second photo is Martin. He did pretty well driving. (They both only drove in an empty parking lot.) But due to autism, we don't know if or when Martin, who will be 16 all too soon, will be able to drive. This was a big event for both of them. Here in Sun City, there is very little entertainment available for young people. James's family found that out when they were here for an extended visit. The kids were really pleasant about the horribly hot temperatures and recreational venue limits set on them (because they are not yet 55), but it required some real creativity.  The photo below shows the creativity of the boys here at Thanksgiving time.  My sister Gloria's 3 boys were added to Angela's 3 boys. Since they were not allowed on the golf course and didn't want to just sit in front of a tv or even read all the time, they got out what "building materials" were available to them (they all have lots of Legos at home) and they created something. This is a combination of chess pieces, dominos, and Jenga blocks. Pretty interesting.......

My best Christmas gift!

I have been struggling over what I could possibly give to my mother for a gift. It's not that I am insistent on giving gifts at Christmas-- or any other occasion. But Mom is now on hospice care and no longer able to swallow very well and losing weight so it looks like she won't be around TOO much longer. She really doesn't need anything. I can't giver her candy because she can't eat it. There are very few clothing items she could possibly use and the practical part of me just feels that anything extra she has will just have to be disposed of eventually.  But Mom loves music and church. We had a Christmas "sing-a-long" today at church. I decided to ask the people in attendance if anyone would be willing to drive over to the care center afterwards to sing to my mother. Some of the people remember her but some never really knew her. She has been in the care center for over 5 years now. Up until over 2 years ago I rolled her over to church on Sundays but there was a time when she could no longer manage going. She used to sing faithfully in the ward choir. The sing-a-long wasn't really super well attended. This is a busy time of year and people had other things to do. So I wasn't really expecting very many people to come. But the number of hands held up at the question of who might be able to go sing took me by surprise. On the spur of the moment, about 20 people were willing to convene at the care center and sing a cappela to my mother.

It was so touching to see her mouth the words along with the familiar Christmas songs and she just beamed! The people who came were touched, too. A few times we struggled to keep singing due to the tears in our eyes and the constricted throats. A few other residents heard the singing and came to listen. Mom felt like the star of the show when everyone greeted her, hugged and kissed her and wished her a Merry Christmas.

At the end of our singing, a manager came out to talk to us and was not at all surprised to find out we were LDS. He said, "I could tell you were LDS before I even came out and was told."  He was delighted to have us there.I know there are people who are a bit put-off at the attitude of Latter-Day Saints. We don't mean to be at all exclusionary but there is truly a spirit about active  Latter-Day Saints. We strive to follow the Savior in our everyday lives. Sometimes that is recognized. Being a part of a good group of people, especially in this increasingly self-centered, troubled world, feels really good. The instantaneous willingness to take time to do something nice like this just filled my heart to overflowing!