A few ramblings...
I took Kelly to lunch for her 37th birthday. Kelly was in a car accident last month and broke her foot. She is still on crutches and hopping around, but she is hopping around. An update on her... she and her soon to be ex-husband have been apart for well over a year now. He is no longer in the state, which is probably best for all involved. She's working and trying to keep out of trouble. We had a nice visit. So pleasant that I suggested we do it again soon. We don't see much of her. But, she does text on occasion. She has a boyfriend, who I've said we will meet when she has a divorce and a wedding date. We do not want to meet anyone until it's serious. The one time we did that, the one man we just loved, and then she ended it... we are still grieving over, so I told her she will have to hold out on us meeting anyone again. But, she looks good and is in good spirits.
Last fall, the girls had a strange scare with a young man walking to our home, ahead of them, and they went to Layne and Julie's. I blogged about it then. Within days, we figured out who the boy/man was. He has not been seen since. On the night we came home from St. George, he was sitting on our lawn eating breadsticks??? Go figure. Grace and Doug talked to him for a minute, told him he needed to go and came inside. The next night, we were in the middle of one of the bridal showers. I had twenty women sitting in the den and looked up to see him standing in the den doorway. He'd walked into our home, on his own, and asked for Grace. I firmly told him that we were in the middle of a party and that Grace was not available. I was told by another guest who has known his family for years, that this boy needs serious and firm instructions to stay away or he will just walk in anytime...whether we are home or not!
Later that night, at 10PM, the doorbell rang. I thought it was my sister-in-law, Aleece, coming back for something she'd forgotten. I grabbed my robe as I answered the door and it was him. I was shocked! I reacted! We preach "Act, not react", but I failed this time. I said, "YOU may NOT come here again!" He said, "Can you explain? I'm autistic." (I've been told that he uses this as an excuse to get away with his improprieties, but it is not the case.) I said, "Yes, I'll explain. You do NOT walk into our home EVER. I had a room full of guests and you walked in uninvited. That is NOT acceptable! It is 10:00 at night. You do NOT ring someone's doorbell at 10:00 at night EVER! You may not come here again. Do you understand?" He stood there for several seconds before speaking a word and then turned to leave. The girls were behind the door, with Doug. I closed the door and they thanked me. Then they said, "Creeeeeeepy." They are barely over the experience from last fall.
Grace saw the boy at Church on Sunday and he asked her, "Was your mom really having a party? I don't think she was." That was what he was most interested in. Strange. Life with two beautiful teenage daughters can sometimes be challenging. We have not seen him near our home since. Just sayin'. wink.
I have been busily trying to put together a wonderful "Hump Day" package for Quayd. He's half-way through his mission in two weeks. I'll share more about it soon.
It's been trying and very challenging for him, but he's persevered. Quayd has faced things that we would never imagined. Missions are hard. Very hard. There is the daily and almost constant rejection from total strangers. There's living with a total stranger 24/7, whom you may or may not connect with or even like. (Thankfully, he and his current companion are getting along great!) There's the challenge of leaving home for the first time in your life and being away for two years, missing all that is "life" to them. And on top of that, there are new things to be discovered over two years of living in a world you never imagined, away from family support. It's hard for them all.
Here's a picture of his Zone at Bonita Falls on their Prep-Day. I'm still trying to figure out where Quayd got those blue Nikes! I'm grateful that they have one day a week to do something "different".
You often hear, "My mission was the best two years of my life." I think that more correctly stated, it would be, "My mission was the best two years FOR my life." Quayd is growing through these challenges, but a few of them have been physical challenges that we have no control over. We continue to pray for his strength and tenacity. He's a hard worker, but he gets discouraged when his physical issues slow him down, and he gets frustrated with himself. He loves the work, he loves the service, he loves the people of California, he loves his companion, but he's pretty hard on himself. It's hard when he can't give himself a break for things that are out of his control. Prayers for Quayd would be appreciated.
Life is good, even when some moments aren't.
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