Three Beautiful Things 08-16-2026: RIP Mary Woolum -- Nine Years Ago, Christy's Pain and Laughter, Back to Reading

 1. It's August 16th. Nine years ago today our mother passed away sometime after 10:00 p.m. One of the nurses told me earlier in the evening that she thought Mom was very close to losing her life. When Carol and Paul went in her room and sang to her, they left shortly before 10:00. She was alive when they left. The nurse had told me earlier that it was likely that four of Mom's senses had most likely shut down, but not her hearing. I like to think that the last sounds she heard before passing away were Carol and Paul's singing voices accompanied by Paul on guitar. 

2. I visited Christy late this afternoon and brought her a bottle of sugar free A & W root beer from Carol and Paul's house.  

Christy had had pain in her right leg during the night that had kept her awake. She thinks it was a result of the working out she did Saturday. Some heat on her right leg and a pill relieved the pain and today she wasn't in pain and she had a good workout in the afternoon with her physical therapist. 

She also had a lovely visit from Amy, a member of our lifelong friends the Holland family. 

She also had laugh-filled, boisterous visit from Peggy, Barb, and Janet from the Class of 74, joined by Joni from the Class of 75. Janet and Peggy have both had hip replacements and gave Christy some good advice about staying in motion. 

Christy will have more sessions of workouts tomorrow. She'll keep moving. She'll build strength. 

3. The fact of the matter is that I've found it difficult ever since Christy was in septic shock and then had her right hip replaced to read. I haven't been able to concentrate and I've wanted to sleep when I've been home after paying Christy visits.

I'm not complaining. At all. It's just the way things have been. 

That changed today. 

I had thought about leaving town this morning and doing whatever, but I didn't do that. 

I read. 

I cracked open our book club's next book entitled, The Birds that Audubon Missed and so far I've learned not only about John James Audubon, but about bird taxonomies, searches in the wild for different birds, the art of drawing and painting portraits of birds, and more.