Today, we headed over to my mother-in-law’s house. The last time I was there, so was she. We were getting ready for her other children to come and visit. As I sat on her bed beside her…talking…I think we both knew it would be the last time we would see each other. I kissed her and told her I would see her soon. I didn’t want to say goodbye.
The kids saw her a few months ago. At the time, Carolyn was up and about and looked healthy – she wanted the kids to remember her in that way. Having been a retired nurse, she knew what was coming up. That day, she gave us each a personal memento of hers along with a book, a handwritten note personally addressed to each of us along with a scripture verse.
At the time, it all seemed rather dramatic.
Being at the house today brought back a lot of memories.
Our weekly Friday night dinners at her house was a favorite. During the warmer months, we would hang out on the front porch swing while the kids would walk back to the pond until dinner was ready. In the winter we would all gather around the wood stove with our coffee and talk for hours.
Every year, at Thanksgiving/Christmas, Carolyn would make loaves of cranberry bread. You can see the recipe card in her hand writing in the first picture above. I was surprised to find her recipes. I had thought maybe the others would have taken them. Not that Carolyn was known for her cooking but there were some things she made that, to me, were amazing.
Looking through her recipe file, I recognized some of the things she used to make us. This year, I will (attempt) to make the cranberry bread, like she did. I will be the only one to eat it which is fine by me.
Our trip to Carolyn’s was sad but healing. There will be more visits - there is still so much to go through and pack up – hoping that it will get a little easier.