One year ago tonight I was in Malakoff, Texas getting things ready to go with my parents' move from Malakoff to their current apartment in Conroe. I had no idea how hectic and crazy that weekend would be. Christopher and I worked ridiculously hard that weekend. We could have used a whole other army of guys to go through everything in that house. We were both sore for weeks afterward. Once we got to Conroe, Mom told everybody who would listen how her life had become a whirlwind. Dad just seemed to take it all in stride. It's funny how quickly the time in between has passed. That weekend seems like just a few days ago.
In February, the only church that Mom & Dad attended while they lived in Malakoff gave them a grand send-off. That same month, they got to see their former pastors, Gaylord and Fredna Brown, who are now missionaries to Malawi, Africa and were able to attend their daughter, Shelby's wedding. Mom and Dad hadn't seen them since they left Malakoff in 2005.
In March, with the help of friends here in Conroe, we found them a new primary care physician, a nice young lady who likes to be called "Letty." She was the first "lady doctor" Dad had ever been to. On the first visit, Letty thoroughly examined both Mom & Dad and eventually referred Mom to a heart specialist. After a series of tests, the specialist referred Mom to another specialist in the field of arrhythmia and pacemakers. By the end of the month, Mom had her own pacemaker. It took her a while to get acclimated to the pacemaker, but once she did, she was acting more like herself since her wreck in 2009.
During the month of May, Dad got to take a trip along with 101 other World War II Veterans to Washington D.C. as part of the Lone Star Honor Flight organization out of Montgomery, Texas. A teacher at Montgomery Junior High learned that Dad was one of the "Battered Bastards of Bastogne" and insisted on Dad going on what would be the 5th and last Lone Star flight. On the day of the flight, it was all a grand spectacle. 3 charter buses received a full police escort from Conroe, TX to Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. The Texas Honor Guard, motorcyclists who are also veterans themselves, also accompanied the motorcade down I-45. Inside the airports, airport employees and travelers stepped aside applauded the veterans as they passed through the halls. Upon our arrival in Washington, there was another escort, to and from the Washington Mall. Current servicemen stopped the aged veterans to salute them as they passed through the various monuments along the Washington Mall and to find out what branch of service they had served. I was so proud for all of them and for my dad. Each of the veterans seem to stand a little taller on the trip home. Dad still wears the commemorative hat he was given for the trip. It's been a conversation starter ever since. Not long after the flight, there was a gathering of participants of Lone Star Honor Flights 4 & 5. Each veteran received a plaque with a Congressional Citation for their service to their country during World War II.
In August, my folks got to experience the mayhem of the start of school with 3 teenagers. It was hard for Mom & Dad to keep up where everybody was or where they were going. Band practices. Choir practices. Pep Rallies. Football games. It seemed like something was going on every night. I tell them what was happening and ask if they wanted to come along. They always did. This was what I was peddling when I asked them about moving to Conroe with us in 2009. They were in the big middle of it all and doing their best to take it in stride. I'm sure it wasn't quite this busy back in Malakoff and they didn't mind one bit.
Football season was a long one for Montgomery this year. They advance to the state 4A Division 1 Quarter-finals. Mom & Dad attended a few games. Dad joined me and Christopher for possibly the coldest game of the year, the Bi-District Playoff Game in Conroe. Temperatures dropped into the 30's by game time with a stiff northerly wind. Had Dad known that it would have been that cold, he probably would not have agreed to go. At one point, he said it reminded him of Bastogne, only he wasn't hiding in a hole in the ground.
November was also a month of closure for everyone. The house in Malakoff had been on the market since June and in November we had a cash offer. None of us had ever sold a house, though. And we discovered that there were a lot of loose ends that needed to be tied up before the house could sell. But, with the help of a motivated buyer and closing agent, everything came together. We were able to finally breathe a sigh of relief - just in time to get ready for the holidays.
Mom & Dad were looking forward to the birth of their 11th grandchild in December and visiting my sister and her family in Victoria. However, a week before Thanksgiving, Mom suffered a fall and broke her wrist and hip. The hip wasn't a bad break and Mom began to get up and around shortly after her surgery. Her wrist was another story. So, when Mom went to the in-patient rehab, their doctor gave orders for Dad to accompany her so he wouldn't be by himself at home. Dad didn't get to stay as long as Mom did and eventually split his time between the rehab and in Victoria. Just 4 days after both Mom and Dad had finally returned home, Dad fell and broke his hip, 2 weeks before Christmas. So much for all our plans. We spent both holidays in a hospital room. What a way to celebrate a holiday! But, we made the most of it.
So, one year later, everyone is healthy again and life is getting back to normal. So much has happened over the last year. It's really cool that we got to be together through all of it.
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