Visiting My Friend, Peg

When we land back here in Tumwater for a while, I always make time to visit some of my "old" friends. I mean that in both contexts of the word. #1...I've known them for a while, so that sort of makes them my old friends, and #2...they are, well, old.

As I've written way back in the blogs beginning, we had last lived in a 55+ development where we were actually the babies. When we moved there in 2000, I was 49 and Bruce was 53. Not quite the 55 requirement, I know, but close enough since we needed to move there for my parents care. Most of the residents at Eagle's Landing were 75 years to 95 years old. This age difference was fine and dandy with us, we enjoyed all of our great neighbors and formed deep friendships with many of them.

One of those older couples moved in right next door to us just 1 month after we had also moved in. They were Bob and Peg. At the time, we had no idea that Bob was 85 years old. He was so robust and active. He was quite the gardener and he taught me a lot of things over the 9 years we knew him. I enjoyed conversations with him almost daily out in the yard over the picket fence. One night, about 3 months after they'd moved in, our doorbell rang about 10:30. Luckily, we hadn't gone to bed yet. I opened the door and there was Bob, with a doorbell from off his wall in his hands. It was one of those wireless types and he had it all screwed up trying to get it to work. We brought him in and Bruce looked the doorbell over and figured out what was wrong with it. Then we went over to Bob and Peg's house to reinstall it. I can't begin to even remember how many times over the next 8 years we lived there Bruce would have to go over and fix the doorbell. After one such time, we just went over to Home Depot and bought them a new one. They also could never program their VCR and then when they got a DVD player we had to go over quite a few times to get the movie started for them. It was quite a hoot, actually.

When we sold our house in Eagle's Landing in 2008 and moved into our motorhome, Bob had already been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was doing real well with it, though. He even worked in his yard that entire summer. Sadly, Bob passed away this past February. Fortunately, though, Bruce and I had gone to visit him about a week before he died and had a great time talking with him and Peg.

Bob's widow, Peg, was diagnosed with breast cancer in May. We were in Florida at the time and she phoned me there to share the news. She just needed another friendly voice to hear her problems, and I felt blessed she called on me. She consequently went through radical surgery in July and had some complications resulting from that. As soon as we got back to Tumwater last August, Bruce and I went to see her. She looked great.

I've seen her a couple of times since then and she has now begun chemo treatments. This is Peg's picture from my visit with her today.
Peg has begun losing her hair to the chemo now, but that did not dim her beautiful smile today. We had a great visit and she filled me in on all the details regarding her youngest great-granddaughter. She also told me that this morning she baked 2 blackberry pies.

Peg has always enjoyed cooking and sewing, and she isn't letting cancer hold her back. She is planning an overnight casino tour in 2 weeks with a couple of her friends. I treasure this great lady, and so many of my other "old friends" back at Eagle's Landing. They are blessings to me beyond measure.

Until next time.....so long for now!