Sunday, July 23, 2017

A Kansas Farm Birthday


My wife's youngest sister, Mary Lee, has cerebral palsy and is severely handicapped. She has not had an easy life. Still, her brothers and sisters watch out for her. She is precious and much loved. She turns 60 this month and it was time to do something special for her.

She lives in a group home in a small Kansas town, quite some distance west of KC. The family brought her to town this weekend for a celebration. The suburban town of Overland Park, Kansas, has a remarkable facility, the Deanna Rose Childrens' Farmstead. It distills the essence of Kansas' farming tradition for kids who now live with air conditioning, cars and video screens. Good venue for the occasion. Above, my wife, Carolyn, is in  turquoise. Clockwise from her, Dorothy Holst, Mary Lee, Mel Kruse and Ron Kruse. 

Each of the pix below has a short note after it. And, by the way, it hit 108 F / 42 C in St. Louis today, breaking a record for the date set in 1901. Time to pay more attention to Al Gore.             

Greetings, urbanites.

Your face here.

My new business.

Lay or bust? Sounds apocalyptic.

I thought that's what scotch is for.

8 comments:

Luis Gomez said...

Wonderful post Bob!

Kate said...

Family love and caring is the best kind.

Unknown said...

Love that place - just a few miles from our house. Glad to hear you had a nice family gathering to help Mary Lee celebrate her 60th.

Sharon said...

What a great set of photos! I love the family portrait.

RedPat said...

A great family gathering!

Jack said...

My mother was a twin and the other twin had a severe case of cerebral palsy. She lived with us for part of my childhood before moving to an institution. It was a very hard life for her and for her family as caregivers. I am sure Mary lee appreciated the attention and love from her siblings.

Bill said...

Wonderful post, Bob. It's nice seeing the family gather together for Mary Lee.

William Kendall said...

It's good that Mary has people close by who are there for her.