we're home...

Well we're back.

Sunday morning, Paul and I went down to the lower pasture and fired my new 1911. I asked him if he would do me the honor of firing the first rounds. At first he wouldn't, as it was my new gun, but I explained that it would mean a lot to me if he would shoot it first, and he humored me. Despite his deteriorating eyesight, he hit the target consistently and called our time together an "enjoyable interlude" for the morning.

I had a lot of time to talk with Paul over the weekend. Talking with him is generally the highlight of my time visiting Abilene. It's hard to feel like I'm forging a meaningful friendship with him, while at the same time seeing his body deteriorate from visit to visit. I feel almost an urgency to sit and hear everything he has to say, to soak up as much of the memory of him as I can while I am able.

I'm not certain why I feel such a connection with Paul. I have lost both my grandfathers, and never felt the connection with them that I have felt with Paul. I think it may be that Paul's mind is very sharp, and I never knew either of my grandfathers to be as engaging as Paul.

I get the impression that I am one of a very small group of people that actively sits and listens to Paul. He comments frequently that he really enjoys visiting with me, and I let him know that I feel the same way. I pray that I will have many years to continue to sit and visit with Paul, but do not know how many I will get.

We left Abilene (where we had been staying with Nancy's grandparents) and headed to Moundridge yesterday morning.

Emma stayed behind as she wanted to ride home with her grandparents, who had driven separately and were leaving later.

Nancy, Corben and I got to visit with Tim and Sherrill for a few hours, and despite the rainy weather, Tim and I managed to shoot a round of sporting clays. As he generally does, Tim shot very well. I did not shoot as well but still had a lot of fun.

We hope to make it back to Central Kansas again soon.

I'll post some photos from our trip when I get some time, but for now I need to catch up on a lot of work. This will be a busy week. I still have a lot of work to get done and we close on our house tomorrow.