As I’m
preparing this update and thinking back over the month, it seems like a lot
happened! I only have one picture to put here, but it’s a good one and well worth it, if I say so
myself.
Once she was
sure I was OK after my surgery (more on my progress later), Krista took a trip
to Kortney’s house in Minnetonka, Minnesota. She loves going there
because it’s very relaxing and undemanding, and she gets to spend time with
Kortney’s family that we don’t get to see enough.
As far as my
surgery update, I had my follow-up appointment with my doctor’s Nurse
Practitioner, and she released me to drive and eat what I wanted, although she
did suggest taking it slowly. I’ve tried to be good, and things are going
well. I’m still trying to eat 6 smaller meals a day instead of three
larger ones, and that seems to be working. I haven’t gained back the
weight I lost (10 pounds), and I feel good. As a matter of fact, it’s
time right now for my mid-morning banana, so excuse me a few minutes while I
eat that…
That was
delicious. Now where was I. Oh yeah, my post-surgery status.
She also recommended I try weaning myself off of my daily omeprazole which I’ve
been taking for years to prevent acid reflux and swallowing difficulties.
I’m now off that and so far so good. I am thanking God for His goodness
to me and praying that things continue to go well.
I may have
mentioned here before that I’ve worked at Xerox since 1997, but
I’ve never actually worked for Xerox. I work for a company
that Xerox contracted with to provide them their computer support. In
1997 I started with EDS, then EDS sold my position people to DecisionOne.
Later they decided that was a mistake so they brought us back to EDS.
Then EDS got bought out by HP, so I worked for HP. Xerox didn’t like that
their biggest competitor now was a major service provider for them, so they
transitioned us to ACS that they had just acquired. Then they renamed ACS
to Xerox Services, and that’s the closest I ever got to actually working for
Xerox. That didn’t last long before the contract went to a French company
called Atos. Then Atos got underbid by Wipro, so I worked for
Wipro. Now the Wipro contract has ended, and I work for Tata Consultancy
Services as of July 1. So, I’ve been doing basically the same job since
1997 but I’ve changed who my paycheck is from nine times. Because of the
new employer, I’ve been having to do onboarding training and adjusting to new
procedures, all during one of the busiest times of my work year. But I
made it! At least so far. I have a couple of things yet to
complete, but they haven’t defeated me yet!
On July 4, as
we’ve done every year for the past several, Krista, Jem, and I went to Olcott
for the Rhodes reunion. The Rhodes family is Krista’s mom’s side of the
family. It’s always great to visit a park on Lake Ontario, and we had
good food and a good visit.
On the way
home, my car decided it was done with its muffler and dropped it. By
God’s grace, I was able to use a bungee cord in my trunk to fasten it up so we
could get the rest of the way home, and my excellent mechanic got it fixed for
me without breaking my bank account.
The best news
of this past month and the subject of the picture mentioned before is the birth
of our 17th grandchild! Emmett Gregory Shaw was born to my daughter,
Abigail, her husband, Bernie, and their daughter, Maya, on July 9. He’s a
beautiful boy, and we are all praising God for him.
 |
| My bride and my newest grandchild |
For the past
three years, our church has had a Talent Night on a Wednesday in the summer,
and they did that again on July 10. Since I like embarrassing myself at
these things, a friend and I sang a song called Excuses, that humorously looks
at all the excuses we make to miss church. It went pretty well, and we
had fun doing it, so that’s a win. If you want to look up the song on
YouTube, you can find professionals doing it if you search “Excuses Kingsmen.”
Finally, we had
another family reunion this past month, this time with the Wilson side of
Krista’s family (her dad’s side). That was also on Lake Ontario at
Lighthouse Christian Camp in Barker. I know some of you have lots of
memories of that campground, and we always enjoy going there and seeing the
family. Two of Krista’s brothers (Terrelle and Dick) from out of state
came as well as her two sisters (Conny and Nanita) that live in New York, so
that was fun to see the five siblings together.
I also ran into
one of my old college roommates at the campground, Dick Dickinson. He’s a
retired pastor and was preaching there this month, but he (and his wife)
graciously interrupted his sermon prep to spend several minutes talking with
Krista and me. It was great to catch up with him.
So, as you can
see, God is very good to me, giving me gifts of health and friends and family
and employment, and hopefully you are encouraged by His goodness to me to
consider all He does for you, and we’ll talk again in August.
