All Good Things Must Come to an End

That was one of my mother's favorite sayings.  Why is it that bad things never seem to stop, but good things have a beginning and an end?

I am referring to the end of my Russian friends' visit.  These are my son-in-law's parents.  (Why is there no word for that relationship??)   They have been here since February 5th, and even though their new/old mobile home has been empty and waiting for them in Florida for well over a month, they chose to stay here to help me get things done in my little house-on-a-slab.  And help, they have!

In the six weeks that they have been here, I haven't had to go to the mailbox once, nor take out the garbage, nor take the trash cans to the street on Garbage Day.  I haven't had to carry groceries into the house from the car.  Haven't done dishes after meals.  Haven't dusted or vacuumed or washed floors.  That has all been done for me by the whirlwind(s) that are Luda and Sergei.

But that's not the half of it.  In that same six weeks, many other heavy-duty things were done by them.  Here is the short list:
     *Cleaned up the watery mess under the kitchen sink when it was discovered that the garbage disposer was leaking.
     *Removed everything from the walls in both LR and kitchen, and spackled all of the nail holes, plus spackled a crack that appeared in the ceiling corner of the kitchen wall when the garage was being remodeled back in...when?...2008?
     *Painted the living room ceiling, walls, and adjoining hallway, plus trim.
     *Installed three new sets of blinds on the LR bay windows.
     *Installed a new overhead light in the garage bedroom to replace the broken ceiling fan.  (We tried to find parts to fix the fan but couldn't.)
     *Stripped wallpaper in the kitchen.  (This was a nasty many-day job, and Luda did 100% of it alone!)
     *Painted the kitchen and trim.
     *Installed two new sets of blinds on the kitchen and back door windows.
     *Washed down all of the kitchen cabinets.
     *Replaced a couple of small baseboard pieces that had been missing for YEARS.
     *Fixed a cranky lock on the front door.
     *Replaced yet another toilet flapper in the half-bath.
   
There is more.  I just can't remember it all.  In the meantime, there have been daily meals, a couple of dinners at our Heffelman friends', a couple of birthdays (one of which was at Olive Garden for a real treat), helping out (a little bit) at church, plus a St. Patrick's Day corned beef dinner here with the Heffelmans in attendance.  I guess you could say we've been busy!

As the Russian friends have determined their day of departure, I've noticed that their moods have lightened.  I don't take that ill because I am ready for them to be on their own, too.  We all have our quirks.  I am so very grateful for all they have done.  We've had our little jokes.  They walk in the park or go to the gym (on a membership that I got for them the very first full day they were here).  I don't think their time here has been wasted.  I've tried to look out for them in the same way that they have looked out for me.  As I said, I will miss them.

God bless them.  God bless me.  I pray that they find jobs and happiness in Florida.  All good things come to an end...but not until we die.  May God protect my Russian friends!