Back Home – A Brief Report

I am overwhelmed and gratified by the many people who have sent messages indicating that they have been keeping my family in their thoughts and prayers. I have just returned from my week in Florida and Virginia, and wanted to give a brief update. For the sake of respecting the privacy of family members, I won’t share many details, but I can report that my mother continues to be in declining health, confined to a rehab hospital and facing the prospect of being moved to a nursing home in the near future.

Family members gathered last week in Lynchburg, Virginia from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona and Poland. My mother was strong enough to be lifted out of bed and taken in a wheelchair to the activity room where 16 family members were waiting to greet her. Her favorite piece of music has always been Claude Debussy’s “Clair de Lune.” One of the highlights of the week was my son, Tim, surprising her by playing the piece on the spinet piano in the activity room. Tim is a gifted jazz and rock keyboard player, so it was a real challenge and a labor of love for him to learn a classical piece of music. It was a special gift. I must add a note about how proud I am of all four of my sons, whose gentle caring for their grandmother during the visits they paid to her last week will be a lasting memory for all of us.

Thank you for your continued prayers for my mother and the entire family.

While I was traveling, I managed to do quite a bit of reading, so I promise several book reviews in the next several days. Stay tuned.

Al