Metal Meredith

I find that when we get busy around here, certain things just fall by the wayside. Like in every house, we have to pick our battles.

But then I started wondering, how many times do we just turn a blind eye and hope for the best? Here are a few things that we have done in the past to get around completing the whole task:

*I have been known to use clean glasses from out of the dishwasher instead of emptying and refilling. Sometimes, more often as of late, we have had almost as many dirty dishes to be loaded as are clean to be unloaded.

*The dryer becomes an extra dresser that is in a way more convenient in that they are right in the kitchen, no folding necessary and easy fluffing at a moment’s notice.

*Using folded clean clothes out of a laundry basket instead of a dresser makes it easier to tell when your clothes need to be washed; empty basket = time to do laundry!

*Grabbing an additional trash bag to put on top of an already full kitchen trash can makes the point that it needs to be emptied, without taking that chore on yourself.

*Walking away from a stopped up toilet, hoping that with time to sit and stew (ha!!), the clog will fix itself the next time someone flushes.

I know I am not alone. I know that this doesn’t make me a bad person. But I do know that when things get tight, time-wise, in the house, these tasks are the first to get pushed to the side. 

Kym, somehow, begged and pleaded with some big wig corporate folks who donated a pair of Madonna tickets to us. So on November 24th, I will be flying to Atlanta in a whirlwind 18 hours to see Queen Madge. Although I am dreading the flight, I am looking forward to spending Kym’s birthday with both her and Madonna.

I think most people, as they make the choice to commit to another person, hope it will be forever. For a local couple, it clearly was. Phil and I stood in the driveway as I read this story to him. I hope you will enjoy it, too!

76 years after they married, Lakeside pair die same day

Saturday, Nov 08, 2008 - 12:09 AM Updated: 01:26 AM

By LISA CRUTCHFIELD
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Floyd Schooles often vowed, “I do not want to live one day longer than my wife.”

Virginia Harris Schooles died peacefully Thursday at 12:20 a.m., in bed at their Lakeside home. Floyd followed about 10:15 p.m. in the room he shared with his wife of 76 years.

Both were 99.

Their family said the inseparable couple who still held hands left behind a legacy of love.

“I can’t believe that it worked out the way they always wanted,” granddaughter Cathy Kennedy said.

The couple were profiled in the Richmond Times-Dispatch in February 2007, days after their 75th wedding anniversary. Up until their deaths, both were alert, followed current events and sports, and enjoyed hymns that a caregiver would sing to them in the evenings.

“It was amazing how close they were. It’s almost like their lights were lit off the same torch. It’s the passing of an era,” said their pastor, the Rev. J. Michael Poole of Hatcher Memorial Baptist Church.

They jokingly attributed their longevity to visits to St. Augustine, Fla., where they drank from the Fountain of Youth. They loved children, especially babies. Last week, from their wheelchairs, they handed out candy to trick-or-treaters.

Each worried about outliving the other.

They were able to stay at home with help from a hospice, caregivers and a close-knit family that lives nearby. Their daughter, Betty Bancroft, Kennedy and her brothers Chris and Craig Weis checked in every day.

“The night before Nannie died, Granddaddy asked when her funeral was,” said Kennedy, who was with both at the end. “I said, ‘She’s still alive.’ He said, ‘No. No, she’s not.’ Less than two hours later, she died in her sleep. He knew.”

Floyd’s reaction to her death was predictable, Kennedy said. “He said, ‘Why, oh why, couldn’t I go first?’”

Both had been talking more frequently about wanting to see their mothers, Kennedy said.

In addition to Bancroft, Kennedy and her brothers, survivors include 10 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren. The couple share a combined obituary in The Times-Dispatch.

A celebration—Virginia never wanted to call it a funeral—will be held Monday at Hatcher Memorial. The viewing begins at 1 p.m. and the service at 2 p.m. They will be buried at Signal Hill Memorial Park in Hanover County.

“One of these things is not like the other...”

From Patrick Moberg via Miles, etc.