One of the joys of retirement is having plenty of time for helping family.  I am blessed that both of my parents are still around and able to be active.  Tom and I are also blessed to have a son and daughter-in-law who don’t seem to mind us being around and wanting to help out.  So, during our six weeks in Ohio, we are spending plenty of time helping family.  In May we spent four days helping my sister’s family move.  Since then our activities have been more varied.

We took my parents on a couple of “field trips” (their term for it).  These are fun adventures in which we go seeking a specific thing and find it along the way.  Mom wanted a swing for the back porch and Dad wanted something that would either be easy to carry in and out or be able to be left out during the winter.  We took them to a place we had visited before, Kauffman’s Lawn Furniture in Millersburg, OH.  The Kauffman’s are an Amish family that make a huge variety of lawn furniture, most out of poly lumber.  The furniture is more expensive than what you can get at Walmart, but it has a lifetime guarantee.  Mom and Dad got to try out a bunch of gliders and pick one that was just right for them.  Because it is made out of poly lumber Dad won’t have to carry it in and out with the change of seasons.

We also helped Mom and Dad get a new computer (another field trip) and set it up.  Their old computer was a 2002 and wasn’t able to run updated software. The new computer has a terabyte of memory – more than any of us will need!  We have done yard work and small tasks around the house and are fighting an ongoing battle to level the brick patio.  We get one section leveled and then the next rain shows that another section needs to be done.

We have also done a few things at John and Jackie’s house.  They haven’t had any big projects for us, so Tom has mowed the lawn a couple of times and helped John put in a window seat – a project currently on hold while we wait for an electrician to move two outlets.  While Tom and John worked on the window seat, Jackie and I thoughtfully stayed out of their way and worked on a puzzle.  Unlike the window seat, we completed the puzzle!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom and I are not people who sit around very well, so we have enjoyed helping family.  It is good to have the time to do it and the family who are willing to share their projects with us.  I’m going to close here – Mom and Dad have some trees that need to be trimmed so we are heading up there shortly.