After the gathering at Mary Ann and Joe’s home, the family went to eat with Arla at Vancrest.  For the first time since her stroke, all her children and grandchildren got to sit together and eat with her.  Arla was happy and quietly counted all the grandkids….1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.  She had all but one present with her on Sunday.  The meal was shredded chicken sandwiches and chips.  Simple, homemade, hot, and filling.

Once everyone got their sandwich, it was business as usual.  A family meal with all the silliness and messiness and moms getting kids what they needed and laughter.  A few things were a little different.  Jared was helping Grandma wipe the chicken from her chin…instead of the other way around.  And the grandchildren led the conversation.  They offered the news of the day instead of Grandma asking.  Other than that…it really was business as usual.  Arla watched to be sure everyone had what they needed….sandwich, napkin, chips, drink, place to sit…. and indicated who needed something.  When it was time to clean up, she had her eye on every crumb that needed to be wiped off the table.

At that point the meaningful family conversations began.  Who can wiggle their hair?  If you have never seen Harold do this, be sure to ask for a demonstration.  The hair moving trait has been passed down to some of the children.  Janeen has the skill, and her son Jared is a master.  He may even be able to learn to wiggle his ears.  Who can touch their nose with their tongue?  This skill has been passed to Mary Ann, and she is training Evan.  But, by far, Megan is a master.  The grandchildren then offered a new skill for all to try.  It involved grabbing your hands backward and moving them down and up toward your chest.  You then had to lift an elbow up over your upper arm to create a loop with your forearms.  The last step was to put your head through the loop.  I think some of the Vancrest staff thought we had lost our minds when they saw a group of people doing that activity in the conference room.

Kelsey had a photo album for Grandma with pictures from some important events.  And then we took family pictures.  It was a good meal.  It felt normal!!!!

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