December 2007 - Happy Holidays from MRS. CAPTAIN :o)
Wow so I look back and see I haven't been on the ship with My Sailor Guy since July. Some may wonder, "Isn't she going out there with him anymore?", Well yes of course I am ! This year has been a whirlwind though , I shall explain for those of you who don't know, and for those who would like to know.
When I returned from my trip in the canal I went home just long enough to mow the lawn and weed the gardens then I drove to Vermont to spend a bit of time with my Daughter and Son.I spent a week there actually. During that time my brother called me to tell me my Mom wasn't doing very well. So after I returned from Vermont I took a flight from Niagara Falls , Ny to Mrytle Beach on Direct Air. ( I must say the friendliest Airline I've ever been on in my life) I don't really like to fly but they made me feel comfortable so that was a good thing! I spent a week down there with my brother and spent some time visiting my Mom , I have to say it was really difficult , my Mom once a vibrant, active woman, stricken with alzeimhers and demensia. I visited with her everyday but would leave in pretty much an emotion mess , I'm glad I could go down and give my brother a little break from the stress. Its pretty hard to see your loved onces in such a state.
While
I was down there he and I built an awesome workbench for his garage and I
helped him with some gardening and caddied for him on the golf course along
with playing a few games of mini golf and having some friendly franks for
lunch.
Now Mom had gone up and down alot the past few years but this was the worse I had seen her. She seemed to reconize me but it was hard to tell as she really didn't speak, couldn't feed her self, couldn't walk but still she was always smiling. Once I returned home a week later Anders returned home from the ship and we drove down and spent two weeks down there. Mom had improved a little once again or at least visually.
The
first time Anders and I went in to see her she wrapped her arms around me
and actually spoke "'I was hoping Donna would come visit today"
Needless to say I cried in her arms for awhile. I'm so glad I got to spend
those days with her as a few weeks after we returned home and Anders went
back to work on the ship I got a call from my Brother that I wasn't wanting
to hear. He told me that she was really bad and they had no idea how much
longer she would be with us. I wanted to go down again but I knew Icouldn't
fly as I was really sick with a bad flu. ( Hadn't eaten for days, one of those
times I wished Anders was retired so he could be home) My brother called me
around 9:30 PM on Sept 11, He told me he and his wife were going to go over
and sit with Mom awhile, I went to bed around 10, but couldn't sleep, just
laid there with my eyes closed Praying for my Mom. Then I saw an image, it
was a blue eye and I could see a finger lifting the lid and then closing it
again, then the image was replaced with a pump of some sort, beating fast
, then slower, and slower until it stopped. Believe me, I sat up with a start,
as I had never experienced anything like that , I Iooked at my clock beside
the bed as I knew at that time My Mom had left this earth and somehow I had
been with her. 15 minutes later my brother called and confirmed that fact.
I called Anders ( He was navigating the St Clair River on his way to Lambton
Generating Station) He was able to get a relief but not until he got to Goderich
a few days later. Services for my Mom were the next week in Vermont. Then
Anders returned to work again. I'm really happy he was able to get some time
off to be with me but to think I would be over my grief from losing my Mom
in 10 days, well , that just wasn't going to happen.
Anders was scheldued to go on another Holiday break in October and that was just a few weeks away so I didn't make any plans to go out on the ship with him then . But as it got further and further into the month we realized he wouldn't be home until November. It was during this time that I started thinking of how much I missed my family, course I miss Anders 6 months of the year but now after loosing Mom , I needed my family more than ever. I thought what will Anders think about us moving back to Vermont when he retires? To leave this beautiful home we have on this beautiful Lake that we both love so much...Well, of course, when I mentioned it he just said "why don't we just move now? " Well, I was shocked but said okay!
So
when we drove to Vermont to celbrate the US Thanksgiving with my children
we looked at Real Estate with a Equinox Valley realtor and put a contract
on a beautiful home in the mountains of Vermont. Because of this and needing
to get our home here on Lake Erie ready to be shown I opted to stay home during
my usual Christmas to Lay up trip with Anders.
So thats my latest news, we are still here in Canada for now but are looking forward to moving on to our new adventure! We are hoping and praying that by fit out we'll be living in our hew home in Vermont. But then again we know things will work out the way they are meant to be, we know that very well, after all we've been looked after so far so why would things change now? Otherwise , how they heck would a "Countrygirl" in Vermont , meet a "Sailorguy" from Canada in the first place? Oh yes, we had some help for sure ! And we are ever grateful and blessed....:o)
Have a Wonderful Holiday Season and God Bless you and yours,
Donna and Anders Rasmussen