Day 928 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

The pressures of a getaway! Working late, squeezing in a last minute physical therapy session for my knee, packing for the morning flight – the “vacation” part of the getaway happens when, as Regina so eloquently put it tonight, when you sit down in your seat on the plane. Well, that is still a few hours away, so we push on!

Tomorrow is a travel day – a flight to Portland then into a rental car for a drive to Eastern Oregon where the family farm is located. Actually we will be staying just across the border in Walla Walla Washington. We have dinner plans with several cousins tomorrow and we are so excited about seeing them.

For now – we pack!

Pax!

Brant

Day 927 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

It is indeed a short week. Memorial Day on Monday and vacation and travel day on Friday – a three day week to get it all done! Today was an especially busy day as we try to get ready to begin to get ready to go!

More to come about our short but upcoming adventure, but we will be traveling to the family farm in the Walla Walla valley to enjoy a special weekend with my uncle and aunt as they celebrate their 65^th wedding anniversary.

I’ll share more in the upcoming days!

Pax!

Brant

Day 926 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

I didn’t see Grayson all day, but this evening he was as active and alert as I’ve seen him in a while. At one point this evening, Regina was asking him questions about a variety of topics and he was answering. For example, who is the President of the United States (I still remember when he answered “George Bush” to this question not long ago), what did Mrs Lydenthal teach (Composition – 7^th grade), and who was his Headmaster at Prep (Peter Bachman). My favorite is still the following exchange: If I had $200 and gave away $100, how much would I have left? Grayson – $100. If I took that $100 and put it in the bank at 10% interest, how much would I earn? Grayson – $10.

Today was a good day!

Pax!

Brant

Day 925 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

After a casual morning, Regina, Grayson and I spent the afternoon and evening with Rita and Richard enjoying their pool, good company and good food. We had a wonderful afternoon of talking, swimming, sunshine and general downtime!

Grayson was alert and active all afternoon. He remains in the up cycle that he has been in for this past week or so. Today he enjoyed his time in the warm sunshine, spent a little time in the pool, and observed the banter of family.

It was a good day!

Pax!

Brant

Day 924 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today was the Feast of Pentecost and so we were dressed in festival red. Grayson wore a Hawaiian shirt with a dragon breathing fire – how liturgically correct! Today we also celebrated the Confirmation of Baptism for several of our youth at Salem. The highlight of the service today was listening to the reading of the faith statements of these youth approaching their confirmation.

Listening to these rising 9^th graders reminded Regina and I of this rite of passage in the lives of our three children – Grayson in 2000, Austin in 2002 and Lauren in 2004. Some struggled with who they were, some struggled with what was being asked of them, and others struggled with the increasing difficulty of the challenges that they faced. Our children were no different than this group – some were more eloquent than others, but the struggles remain. What was and is constant in all of their statements is the rock solid foundation that while struggles in life are always with us, so also is the love and support of a living God who demonstrated his love for us by giving us his Son.

Today was a joyous day in which we celebrated the Rite of Confirmation of these youth, celebrated their choice to embrace God in their lives, and were inspired by their stories of their faith journey. What a blessing!

Pax!

Brant

Day 923 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson’s up-cycle is still ongoing. In fact it poses a bit of a problem – one I’d like to have more of actually! Grayson requires more attention during these cycles. If left to his own devices, he will not necessarily sit and look at his comic book – he will get up and walk outside, go up stairs or help himself to something. These times require more vigilance than “normal” because he becomes more curious and more actively mobile. In fact it is difficult for him to sit or stand still! These days are good for all of us.

On Friday morning, Regina and I made the trek down to St Martin of Tours – the church where we sang for 18 years and where the choir saw us begin dating, fall in love then marry. The pastor that was there the entire time we sang, Monsignor O’Leary, had passed away and many of the old timers gathered to sing at his funeral mass. It was a sad occasion but it was filled with love, reconnection with dear old friends and glorious music. The mass itself was celebrated by Archbishop Gomez, Cardinal Mahony, and a host of other bishops and priests befitting a man who had done so much for the Catholic faithful. It was a beautiful celebration of the life of a wonderful man.

When we returned home, we showed Grayson a picture of Monsignor O’Leary and asked him if he knew who it was. Sure enough, “Monsignor O’Leary” was the response. The least time Grayson had seen him was my last day singing at St Martin of Tours – Easter of 1999. Grayson’s long-term memory is still in good shape!

Pax!

Brant

Day 922 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends,

Grayson is still very much in an up cycle. His eyes are brighter, his movements are slightly more purposeful, and he tracks our conversations better.

This evening I was engaging him in our usual style – my starting a sentence and him finishing it. His answers are usually the shortest possible – one word. I frequently ask him to repeat the answer in a complete sentence. At one point Brant was putting a DVD in the player and I asked Grayson what we were waiting for. He pointed to the TV and said "movie". When prompted for a complete sentence he responded with "Waiting for dad to put on a movie". My jaw dropped. An eight word sentence!

When I asked him to tell Brant something, he would walk right over to him and relay it to Brant in multi-word phrases.

Up cycles are good.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends.

Peace,

Regina