Boys Town

Hi my friends. It's definitely been a week. I told you about the day we had on Tuesday with Mom's doctor appointments. She started the new med on Wednesday night. One pill. More on that later.

Wednesday afternoon, between visits to Mom, Dennis and I actually went to lunch at Cheddar's and then stopped at Boys Town to wander around for awhile. Have you ever heard of Boys Town? If not, I highly recommend that you Google it and read about the life changing things they do for kids. Father Flanagan began it in 1917. It continues to this day as a wonderful program for children and teens. It changes lives. Children of all faiths and of no faith are welcome to live at Boys Town. There was a movie made, I believe in 1937, with Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney telling some of the Father Flanagan and Boys Town Story. He started this endeavor with a loan of $81.00 to rent a building in the inner city of Omaha.

I grew up knowing about Boys Town but not the story of how it came to be and the love that abounds there.

This is a reproduction in the history museum of the monument that stands at the entrance to Boys Town.

The Iconic Statue of a boy carrying another. The success rate of boystown is unbelieveable.

Girls are also now welcome at Boy Town. The children all live in houses with their foster parents. I can't remember how many children to a house, but the homes are absolutely stunning. The boys and girls live in separate houses.

This is the Dowd Chapel where Catholic Mass is held. Father Flanagan is entombed here.

There are many stained glass windows around the chapel.



Father Flanagan, the poor Irish immigrant who began it all.  He has changed the lives of thousands of boys for the better.

This is his tomb. You can certainly tell he is an Irish boy can't you?

If you're ever in Omaha and have a couple of hours, I encourage you to visit the campus and see for yourself. We only stayed a short time, but plan to go back soon and absorb more of the story in the museum. It's a free will donation for admission. My back wouldn't let me walk through and read everything, but we can go back as often as we want. It's only ten minutes from our apartment.

Here's funny I saw on facebook. I know a lot of you have had eye surgery and I thought you might find it humerous.

I made this shawl in a day and a half. Another Shallow Triangle Shawl for the Med Center. This one is made with Red Heart Ombre in the Carrera Marble colorway. I make each one a bit different, adding eyelets or a bit of lace stitching.

Thursday Mom was VERY confused and we realized it was probably the one dose of the new med that she took Wednesday night. Because she had a bit of a cough we also gave her two covid tests that came back negative. 20+ people at her apartment building have tested positive. She was so weak and frail that day. I stayed with her and helped her to eat and get to bed because she couldn't walk or stand up by herself. She's normally so independent, if forgetful. Friday, Dennis gave her another test and it was positive. So now we're dealing with the one dose of that medicine that she took Wednesday night. It apparently has a half-life of 1 week, so the side effects can last that long. Plus the covid. Dennis was with her most of yesterday and a lot of today too. He's wearing a mask but doesn't want me to go back until she's better. Oh my gosh. It's so hard. She doesn't remember anything and doesn't want to eat because she said the food tastes awful and metallic. She has to eat because of her insulin injections. What a mess.

I know "this too shall pass," as my Mom used to say, but right now we're exhausted. Especially Dennis.

We would appreciate all of the prayers that you can muster for us. :-) God is faithful and will watch over us all. I fear we're going to have more changes sooner, rather than later for us and for Mom.

Take care and I'll be back soon.

Blessings and love,
Betsy