One night last week, on the way home from work, Mary and I swung by the Perry ranch to pickup a car. We were heads-down, ticking through evening errands, and imagining that we’d be ticking right through the evening. But then Dea snuck up on us. All grins, hugs, and summer sunshine. That one may be rebuilding her strength, but she certainly had the force to shake us out of our errand-ticking stupor in a hurry. She hauled us into her little backyard nirvana, and instructed that we would be pausing – to sit, catch up, and to manufacture one of those timeless Pacific Northwest evenings that reminds us how good summer can be.
A bunch of that catching up is worth sharing:
- Since her surgery, Dea has found a rhythm that has allowed her to sleep deeply, eat well, and heal progressively each day. They say her lung capacity is up to 75% (and climbing!), despite the loss of a whole lobe. The grand healing strategy for this summer is working.
- She attributes this remarkable reality to the pile of love, friendship, and support that her crew deployed in a moment when it really mattered. Between the lines, within the lines, and across the lines of every comment she uttered, she was gushing gratitude.
- As she spoke of her gratitude she mentioned a bunch of people by name (you and you and you), but again and again she veered off to note two particularly special threads: 1) “Peter is my knight in shining armor.” If there are a thousand ways to paraphrase this sentiment, I must have heard a dozen of them as we talked. Those kids. Oh to be young and in love…
2) “Ricky is my life boat. It is such a blessing to have him around this summer.” Yeah, living the dream. - Dea asked me to thank everyone who has participated in the Perry meal brigade. Even as Peter is working like a fiend to hold things together this summer, this infusion of love (er, food) has allowed her to regain a bit of weight, rebuild a bit of strength, and sleep a bunch. It also allows Peter to keep the trains running ontime, and to support Dea’s medical stuff. Dea mentioned that she can’t wait to “toss away those training wheels” of the meal brigade but a couple friends here on the ground have convinced her that full 2-wheel independence might need a little more time. As such, we are extending the Perry meal brigade through August, and I just updated the meal calendar with a bunch of new sign up slots. Would you consider signing up to make a meal for the Perry clan in their summer of rebuilding, here?
- Dea’s summer calendar is still packed with doctor visits, but they are rather encouraging. Initial tests suggest that her tumor markers have dropped tremendously since her surgery, her surgical wounds are healing nicely, and it’s just awesome to see things moving so powerfully in a positive direction.
It is a special thing to marinate in friendship with such positive vibes. As we walked back to the car at the end of the evening Mary declared, “that woman has got bottomless grit, grace, and gratitude.” Yep. Amen.