He Did It Just Right...

One year Claude and I received a cover for our mailbox for the Marx family.  It was beautiful and we put it over the mailbox.  

The sun eventually faded it and it needed to be replaced. Claude found a replacement, bought it, brought it home and attached it around our wooden mailbox.  Eventually, it too faded in the sunlight and needed to be replaced.  

It was time for our mailbox to be repainted.  Claude had been looking for another cover and not found one.  I wasn't sure I wanted another cover anyway.  I left to head to Georgetown one day and Claude set to doing little jobs around the house he wanted to accomplish.  This is what I found upon my return.

Did my guy get it right or what?  No more cover.  It turns out that the water collected under the cover and that is not good for a wooden mailbox.  So my hubby painted and repaired the mailbox. Then he put this cute flag holder he purchased and a little flag with a blue bird on it. I love this.  He did it on his own and it is perfect.  He did it just right!!  Thanks Big Guy!!

Family History Pictures...

Two weeks ago when my sister, Junie, visited, and we had a little chat about our childhood.  I told her I had pictures of some of the places we were talking about.  She said she would like those pictures.  I found some and scanned them and posted them on Facebook for all the family to have for their own family histories. 

I posted a Blog entry on Saturday, June 21, 2014 titled "DeRidder".  The "DeRidder" blog entry has pictures with it so I will not repost those pictures.  It is about where I lived as a child.  

I posted another Blog entry on Wednesday, July 2, 2014 titled "My Mother's Childhood Geography".  I only put maps marked with locations in this Blog entry so I will post pictures that would fit with that Blog entry. 

In 2002 I made a trip to Louisiana to check on my parents. My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer that year and I needed to see how things were going for them.  These pictures were all taken in September 2002 during that visit. My parents took me on a driving tour to see sites pertinent to their lives and mine.  

Here are some pictures with a little explanation about them:

This is my mother in her garden. Mom grew up on a farm. They raised what they ate.  Mom's parents each had their own garden and each garden was huge.  Papa talks often of how Mimi was really a 'daddy's girl'.  She stayed close to her dad and learned lots from him.  My mother grew three gardens each summer due to the length of the Louisiana growing season.  This garden was in their back yard at their home in Blanchard, Louisiana.   Even though Mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's during this year, Papa rotatilled her garden as usual and she enjoyed puttering in it but it was just not as productive as before.  Still, I'll treasure this picture of mom doing what she loved so much.

When our family moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, the meetinghouse of the Shreveport Ward was only a few blocks from our home.  Eventually the congregation outgrew this smaller building.  We had building fund raisers to gather the monies needed to build a new building.  One of those was making a record of our choir and selling it.  I remember making ribbon roses and we sold them as lapel pins.  The congregation supplied a percentage of the money needed to build the new building and Church headquarters supplied the remaining amount.  Once funds were in place, the members donated as much of the labor as they could to build the new meetinghouse.  This picture is the building we built.  By the time Claude and I moved from Louisiana in 1971, there were two congregation and the stake offices using this building.  It also contained a Family History Center for anyone to come and research their family history.

This picture is the first apartment my parents lived in after they were married.  It is located in Leesville, Louisiana.

Across from their first apartment was a small train depot.  Inside this depot was a little cafe.  My parents liked to go their to have a meal.

This is the entrance to Ft. Polk, Louisiana.  This is part of my history.  After I graduated high school I wanted to strike out on my own.  Enjoy my independence.  I did not go to college.  I did have a friend at church who was a little older than me.  She moved to Shreveport and she and I decided to rent an apartment together.  We found one in Bossier City, Louisiana.  Joyce Clark had a boy friend who was stationed at Ft. Polk.  Each Sunday after we finished our church service, we would get in my Volkswagon Beetle and head to Ft. Polk so Joyce could see her boy friend.  While Joyce appreciated this opportunity as she had no car, I could feel a little like a 5th wheel.  Then Claude was stationed at Barksdale AFB. He was single and would join us in these little trips.  While Claude and I were sitting on a picnic table on Ft. Polk, I stood up and moved directly in front of him.  I reached out and grabbed the big guy's face and planted my best kiss on his lips.  That was a very forward thing to do.  I just wanted him to know how I felt so there was no confusion.  He left Connie in Utah when he went into the Air Force.  He had known her all his high school years and they made a lovely couple. However, I was sure in my heart that Claude and I belonged together.  It was a very forward moved that paid off and the result has lasted through 44 years of marriage with many more to come.  See what one little kiss can do???

Papa drove us to Rosepine, Louisiana.  Talk about a dot on the map.  Papa found the location of the church meetinghouse we attended when I was a little girl.  We found a plant that us kids used for food when we played.  Not sure what kind of plant this is but the berries and leaves made great pretend food.  We did not eat this, just pretended.  My mother is holding the plant.  The congregation that met in this church was have been called the Rosepine Branch because there were not enough people to be a ward.  The building was an old refurbished Army barracks with an outhouse for a bathroom.  While the building was gone, the out house was still standing.  Mom searched the site and found some of the bricks on which the building would have rested.  She took one and I brought it to my home when they moved from Louisiana.  These pictures are of the site of the building and the outhouse through the trees.

 

When we lived in DeRidder, Louisiana, I attended DeRidder Elementary School.  The picture below is of this school.  I attended all of first grade and a portion of second grade before we moved to Shreveport, Louisiana.  To get to school I rode a school bus from our home in the country. (See the 'DeRidder' Blog post)  

Papa worked in this building.  It is the Bell South Telephone Company.  I remember being very, very young and the employees went on strike.  I remember carrying a picket sign and walking up and down in front of this building.  The building was full of panels of telephone lines.  I do not know how anyone made heads or tails of all those lines, but they did.

We went to the Clark Community (see the 'My Mother's Childhood Geography' Blog post). In this community is the Clark Family Cemetery.  I have several pictures of headstones of family members. I am only posting a few of them.  All the actual pictures I will keep in my personal family history.  This first headstone is for Margaret Fisch.  Margaret was born 13 February 1928 and died 20 Dec 1932 in Starks, Beauregard, Louisiana.  She was the second child born to my mother's parents.  My mother was the baby and was born in 1929.  They had an older brother, Clifford, born in 1926.  When they were children, the family was cleaning the yard and burning brush.  Margaret was wearing a little dress as all little girls did all the time in those days.  The tail of her dress caught fire and she was very badly burned.  Gramma Fisch made the children's clothes and underwear.  She had no elastic so she used strips of a tire inner tube for the elastic.  When Margaret was burning that rubber melted and burned into her little legs.  This cut off the flow of liquid up and down her little body.  She was in agony for several days before she died from these burns.  It was very traumatic from Gramma Fisch and the family.  From that point forward, Grampa Fisch insisted that my mother wear pants.  This was not something done by girls during those years.  But my mother wore pants or overalls all the time with the exception of one dress for school and one for church. 

The next tombstone is for Clarence Clifford Fisch.  This is my mother's father.  I loved this man.  He had a head of snow white hair all of my life.  He had no teeth and wore no false teeth.  He loved okra and my Gramma Fisch would boil it and he would simply swallow it. He also loved peanuts but couldn't chew them.  Gramma Fisch would grind them up in this hand meat grinder she had and then mix them with sorghum syrup and form them into balls that were soft enough for him to gum into. I loved those peanut balls. Grampa Fisch also liked to chew tobacco.  He would cut off a strip from the little brick he carried in his overalls. Then he would let us kids twist it a bit so it was softer and then he could chew on it with his gums.  He kept a spit can (an empty coffee can) by his chair so he could spit in it every now and then.  We learned early on to leave those cans alone and to be very, very careful and not accidentally knock them over.  Grampa Fisch lived in Wyoming at one point in his life.  He would round up wild horses, tame them and train them, then sell them for income.  Grampa Fisch was born 8 February 1886 in Marietta, Washington, Ohio and died 12 June 1977 in Louisiana.

Then we have Laura Cordelia Clark Fisch's headstone.  She is my mother's mother.  She was a character.  She never cut her hair.  It was always gray and long.  Every Saturday she would let it down from the buns she wore it in, shampoo it and brush it dry.  Then she would make three braids and wrap them together at the bottom back of her head and pin them to her head with long hair pins. It would stay that way for the next week. She was a good Southern cook.  I loved her sweet potato pies.  She also made a really good tomato soup out of cherry tomatoes that I have never been able to replicate.  She saved and laundered the sacks that feed came in.  These sacks were out of printed cotton fabric.  She would carefully iron these big rectangles of fabric and match them by printed pattern.  My mother would go through them and pick the ones she wanted to make clothes for us girls.  We had some lovely dresses and play outfits made out of flower printed feed sacks.  Gramma Fisch was born 30 December 1896 in Starks, Louisiana and died 28 November 1979 in Shreveport, Louisiana.

This headstone is for Clifford Herbert Fisch.  He is my mother's older brother.  Uncle Clifford was an amazing uncle.  He was full of energy.  He drove a Jeep without a top.  He would come to Gramma Fisch's in that Jeep when we visited and pile all of his kids (Sue, Jean and Burton) and me and my sisters in that Jeep and take us into the woods for a bouncy ride where there were no roads.  There were also no seat belts which would be a definite no-no in today's world.  Uncle Clifford was trying to take some kerosene from a storage tank and fell into the storage tank. He was overcome by the fumes and drowned in the tank. He was born 23 October 1962 in Casper, Natrona, Wyoming and died 19 October 1961 in Bancroft, Beauregard, Louisiana. 

This picture is my mother in the Clark Family Cemetery.

We then drove to Fields, Louisiana.  That is where the Hyatt High School is located.  My mother attended and graduated from this school.  She started school a year early.  She really wanted to go to school as a little girl and Grampa Fisch went to the school and talked them into letting her start a year early.  Mom did well in school. 

When I was part way through second grade in DeRidder, Louisiana, my father was transferred to Shreveport, Louisiana.  My parents rented this home until they purchased the home we would live in the remainder of the time I lived with them in Shreveport. This home had a big old bathtub that sat on claw feet.  I remember thinking that was exceedlingly cool.  We were in this home over Christmas.  Some man came to our door in a Santa Claus suit and gave each of us kids a piece of candy and asked us what we wanted for Christmas.  It was a different age and we thought nothing bad of this.  It was just a fun thing that was done in this neighborhood.  To the right of the  home in the picture and on the corner was a little convenience store.  Mom sent me there to get her some soda pop. It came in glass bottles in a cardboard holder.  I was running home and tripped and fell. One of those bottles broke and I cut my wrist with it. Still have a tiny scar there.

The next picture is Queensborough Elementary School.  When my parents rented the home above, Junie and I attended this elementary school for just a few months.  I remember learning to sing "Over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we go" in this school.  They also gave each student a hygiene chart.  Junie and I brought ours home and Mimi put them up in the bathroom.  You marked each day when you brushed your teeth and took a bath.  We rode the school bus to this school. Neffie was not old enough for school yet.  I was in 2nd grade and Junie was in 1st grade.  Neffie would say, "I want to ride on the cool bus!"  Papa still laughs about that phrase when we talk.  One day we took Neffie with us to school for Show and Tell.

Papa's new position at work was at the Bell South Telephone Company in Shreveport and it was in this building.  Now, if you look at the far end of this building there is a driveway.  You can't see it here but it is there.  One day my mother pulled into the broad driveway and parked the car.  She left us in the car and went in to tell Papa something or take him something.  We were told to sit still in the back seat and not move. There was no such thing as car seats for children in those days. She was inside for a bit and my normally obedient self became exceedingly curious.  I climbed into the front seat and started to play with the steering wheel.  I pushed or did something that put the car in neutral.  It began to slowly roll backward.  The is just the slightest angle to this driveway and that car took full advantage of that angle.  The car finally stopped across the street in the yard of the people who lived there.  No way to hide that one from my mother when she came out.  I don't remember any punishment.  There must have been something but I really don't remember anything but the terror of that car moving and me not know what to do.

The school below is C.E. Byrd High School. This was the high school me and my sisters graduated from in Shreveport, Louisiana.  Our school mascot was the yellow jacket (wasp) and our school colors were purple and gold.  Purple has always been my favorite color.

The summer between my junior and senior year I attended Vera Nell Beauty School. After graduation I set to work full time to complete my course in cosmetology. I took my exams and passed and started to work at El Capitan Beauty Salon. Vera Nell Beauty School was owned by Vera Nielson, a member of our church.  The actual school was on the second floor.  The big classroom was on the left side of the 2nd floor in this picture.  The window at the front on the right is where a long row of styling stations were located from the front to the back of the building.  This was where we actually fixed hair on customers who knew they were paying for someone in training to style their hair.  As we progressed, we moved downstairs along the right end of the building to a salon where patrons knew you had more skills but were still in training.  The bottom left side of the building where the Coke machine is located was an actual beauty salon run by Vera Nielson's children.  They were world class stylist who often participated in competitions winning lots of awards and prizes.     

The picture below is Claude and my first apartment.  It looked a little different.  The porch with the lawn chair on it was actually a closed in front porch of our apartment.  This apartment was infested with roaches.  My father came over and sprayed for roaches but the next door neighbor did nothing and those little critters just went under the wall into our apartment. It was impossible to get rid of them.  It was at this apartment that Claude proposed to me.  I moved into this apartment after Joyce Clark married Owen Foshee leaving me the need to find a less expensive place that I could afford on my own.  This apartment was it.  Claude was supposed to come and visit one evening and he didn't show.  After it was obviously way passed the time I expected him, I started to call to see if he was at other locations.  He eventually showed up on my doorstep and when I opened the door he blurted out, "Will you marry me?"  Poor guy.  Of course I said, "Yes!"  We called his mother to tell her.  Her response, "Oh hell Claude!"  Hmmmm...left me a little concerned.  In fairness, Claude had dated Connie for 4 years and then proposed to her.  The family knew her, she was from Utah and would have been a great daughter-in-law.  Bonnie didn't know me and, as any mother would be, was concerned.  Then we went to tell my parents.  They just said, "It's about time.  We knew this would happen.  It was just a matter of when."  

We moved from this apartment into the home in the next picture. This home was divided into 4 apartments.  Our apartment was on the first floor on the right side of the picture from the front porch to the back of the building.  We had the original large front room and the dining room behind it was our bedroom.  Claude loved it because it had a big ceiling fan over the bed. The breakfast room was next and it stayed a breakfast room when the home was turned into apartments.  Then the kitchen. We had parking spots in the back of the building instead of a backyard.  This home was only 5 or 6 blocks from where my parents lived.  Neffie was still at home and she loved having Claude around.  He was like a big brother to her.  Mimi and Papa would not let her come visit unless she was invited.  They didn't come unless they were invited.  This was very generous on their part and allowed Claude and I to enjoy that first year of marriage.  This home was actually owned by the Arlene Herring who taught me piano lessons.

That is all the family history pictures for this Blog.  Lots of history in these pictures.  Feels good to get it all recorded. 

Runnin' With The Bears...

Received a phone call from Andie early last week.  She wanted to alert me the Mini's had their annual Buckner Bear Run on Friday. With a few shifts of our calendar, we were ready to watch the Mini's run laps to raise money for their school.  

This is Buckner Elementary School's only fund raiser.  It is great exercise for the kids.  We pledge a flat amount for each of the Mini's and then just enjoy the laps.  Michael takes the day off from his paying job and volunteers to direct the running of six of the classes throughout the day.  They schedule him so he directed the running the Hayden and Bailey's classes.  Andie was able to sneak away from her job for a few hours to watch the Mini's and help as needed with their classes.  The day was beautiful.  Great day for running...and observing.

Hayden's class ran outside at 9:30am.  These are pictures of Hayden warming up, running, walking and cooling down.  Hayden has taken some running classes and participated in two 5K runs with his dad over the last two years.  He is just fun to watch. He paces himself and runs a nice steady run the first 15 minutes.  Then he walks for a couple of laps in anticipation of a big finish the last two minutes.  At that point he gets into speed mode and finishes out the last two minutes at a brisk pace. 

 

 

 

 

This year, after each class ran, they went back to the terraced areas on the school yard to get a Popsicle to rehydrate. The school was promoting treating each other kindly last week. While the kids ate their Popsicles, they talked to them about the importance of complimenting and saying nice things to and about each other.  Each child was given a marker, a half sheet of typing paper and a piece of tape.  They were to write their names on the paper and tape it to the back of their shirt. Then each child was to find the child sitting closest to them and write something kind and nice about the person sitting next to them on their piece of paper.  A short amount of time was given so only a couple of friends could write on your paper and you only had time to write on a couple of friends paper.  This picture is Andie writing on Hayden's paper after his friends did. This was a great idea in my book.

Bailey's class would run in the gym.  This too was great as she ran 10:25 and the sun was beginning to warm things up.  This moved Michael indoors and he would remain there as the afternoon temperature climbed into the 80's. Bailey was happy to find Claude by the bleachers.  She ran to him and asked him to hold her glasses while she ran and then received the requisite hugs. The girl does love her 'Pa' time. 

The other pictures are of her warming up with Michael in front in the yellow jacket, Andie taking her picture as she gets a hash mark on her back for completing a round of the court, Michael tying Bailey's shoes and Bailey running laps.

 

 

 

 

In years past, the children all had a piece of white typing paper with their name on it safety pinned to their back to collect their hash mark for completing a round of running.  This year each child was given a white t-shirt and a permanent marker was used to make hash marks on the back of their shirt as they finished their lap. Nice memento of this year's run. This is Claude counting Bailey's hash marks.  Andie is going to put each child's name on their shirt and the total number of laps they accomplished.

This is Bailey during the Popsicle rehydration and writing of compliments. There is also one of Andie saying good-bye when she had to head back to work and a friend writing a compliment on Bailey's paper.

 

 

This is just cute, very cute.  One of the little girls wrote on Bailey's paper that Bailey was 'allsome'.  I'm sure she was trying to spell 'awesome' but her misspelling fits Miss Bailey to a T.

We ended our day with the Marx family at Cracker Barrel for dinner.  Great run Mini's!!

Now, to the Point of the Matter...

Sunday was a very full day.  Up by 6am to get ready for an early morning meeting at Church.  Got to Church early so I could be sure the chapel was ready for the Primary children's annual Sacrament Meeting Program and to be sure the Primary room was ready for all our Sunday meetings.

My meeting began at 8am.  I left it at 9am to go pick up Papa for Church.  He loves to heard the Primary kids do their program.

The program was great.  Each child said their part and sang their little hearts out.  

Jack, who has Down's Syndrome and said his part three times during last year's program, hesitated this year when it was his turn. He hopped up to the microphone but then was unsure about saying his part.  I called to Jeanne who is his helper and told her to let some other kids say their part from his class and then let him try again. She let him back away and after one other child he was ready and hopped right up there and said his part.  

The little child who told me he usually hurls during the program, didn't!!  Yippee!!

Jacob Hopper sang so loudly, especially on the chorus of each song, that the congregation were smiling and chuckling. 

The Sunbeams were really quite well behaved until close to the end.  We had quiet books for them and they made it through the rest of the program.  They are only 3 years old and I felt they were super well behaved.

The 4 year old class has two little boys that feed off of each other.  My 2nd Counselor picked up on their antics.  We had this class moved to the front of the stand so they could be seen for each of the songs.  These two little guys would stand together and hide behind the stand and play.  Eliza simply moved behind them and separated them from that point forward when they come forward to sing. It was done so quietly no one probably noticed at all.

One song, "The Priesthood is Restored", has music that, when played on the piano sounds like trumpets.  The children had been told this when they practiced.  When they sang during the program they sounded like joyful trumpets themselves.  Great job and very touching.

One of my pet peeves is kids leaving to go to the bathroom.  I coached them strongly in each of their two practice weeks to get their drinks and go to the bathroom prior to sacrament meeting so they would not have to leave during the program.  I told them they were like a mini-Mormon Tabernacle choir and we never see the members of that choir leave during their performances.  Only one little girl left during the program.  I was greatly impressed with the kids for sitting and not leaving.

After church, I attended choir practice and then cleaned the tape for where the kids sat off the benches and chairs.  Then I went to Papa's for a good visit.  Later I met Claude for some lunch.

At 4pm he and I were at the Church to set up to teach the Temple Preparation class.  I took back some things for the Primary closet.  I also tried to clear some more space for the seminary kids to put their scriptures in the Primary closets.  While doing this I took a red bag the teacher keeps in the closet with things she needs to teach on the floor.  I had taken my shoes off so I could be more agile (ha!!) and, while taking some other things out of the closet to get to the items in the back of that shelf, I tripped and stepped in the red bag.  I managed to break the tip of a pencil off in the sole of my foot.  Yep, real agile!

When we got home, I got the alcohol, cotton pads, tweezers and a needle and sat myself under the bright light in the living room.  I dug and tried to get out all of what I could find in my foot.  The angle I had to put my foot was not great for me to actually work on my foot.  I was sure something was still in there.

Claude came to the rescue, or tried to.  He dug and squeezed and picked some more.  I winced in pain and kept pouring alcohol to the wound and on the items used to try and remove the point of the pencil.  After all his work, Claude was sure there was still something there and we determined I should go see our doctor and be sure everything was out of my foot.

Today, Dr. Culbertson only grinned at my silliness.  He numbed my foot so all his digging didn't hurt at all, just the shot to deaden the area hurt a bit.  At one point Dr. Culbertson asked if the lamp he had shining on my foot to see well was burning my foot.  I assured him I felt nothing.  He then told me it was burning his hands.  Then I laughed because I had this recollection of Tim Conway playing a dentist in a sketch on the Carol Burnett Show many years ago.  I told Dr. Culbertson he should give himself one of the deadening shots and then the lamp wouldn't burn his hand but he might end up like the comedy sketch.  Harvey Corman was the patient and was trying very hard not to laugh but was really in stitches.  Tim Conway accidentally stabs his leg with the shot to deaden Harvey Corman.  Then Tim Conway acts the part of his leg going numb as he tries again to deaden Harvey Corman.  Harvery Corman is now about ready to roll over in the chair with laughter.  Then Tim Conway accidentally gives that deadening shot into his arm or hand and had to lift his hand up to Harvey Corman's mouth with the other hand.  It is a classic piece of comedy.   We had a chuckle.  Dr. Culbertson said he got all out he could find.  The nurse came in and gave me a tetanus shot. 

I hurried to Papa's to get him back to his doctor for his blood test.   After taking Papa home, I went to CVS Pharmacy and picked up my antibiotic prescription.

Sometimes, I try and make my own life a little more difficult.  I am sure that pencil lead will not do me in, and I'm sure whatever was in there is gone because it doesn't hurt when I walk on it.  Such silliness!!

Lifeline Could Do Me In...

It's meant to give one peace about living alone when falls or sudden illness leave you vulnerable.  That is why we got it.  That is why we pay a small monthly fee.  It has done just that.  But this last few weeks it has just about driven me nuts!!

Papa got his Lifeline several years ago.  Then he received a newer unit a couple of weeks ago.  Honestly, it looks exactly the same, works exactly the same, so, I'm just not sure why it is better, but it must be or they wouldn't go to the time and expense of shipping it, right?

This newer unit was mailed directly to him.  Papa, not wanting to be a burden, which I greatly appreciate, opened the box and tried to install it himself.  It didn't seem to be working. He told me this when I called to see if he was okay.  I assured him I would be in the next day and be sure it was working right for him. 

Friday, I went to Georgetown to take Papa to his doctor for a check-up.  After we finished, I went back into his apartment to fill his med boxes for the next week with the changes Dr. Weckman gave us.  Then I set to work on this Lifeline machine.  

It was connected just fine.  I asked Papa where the old unit was.  The box the new machine came in was empty and sitting on his kitchen table.  He didn't know where any of it was.  I told him our original agreement with Lifeline was a monthly fee which we could get out of anytime.  We just needed to return all equipment.  We didn't purchase the equipment, it all belongs to Lifeline.  I felt sure we needed to return the old equipment.  Papa did a little searching and managed to find the old machine.  Or was it the new one and he put the old one back on. He wasn't sure.  I was able to confirm which was old and which was new by a date on the bottom of each machine.  So, I had a box and the old communicator. However, I had no wires and Papa didn't have a new help button to wear around his neck.  

Knowing what I did have, I called Lifeline, explained what had happened and asked if we were to mail this older communicator back to them.  The Lifeline guy said we were to mail all of it and there would have been a new help button in the box.  There was no new help button and Papa's old button was not talking to the new communicator.  He was very helpful and polite and we were able to program his original help button with the new machine.  The man told me he would mail a new help button and I should return the old machine with the pre-paid label in the box.  With a little searching I found the pre-paid label in the paperwork. 

I left Papa's, came home and typed a letter of explanation about what Papa had received, what I was returning, and that a new help button was being mailed and I would return the old help button once the new one was received.  I researched and found that the only FedEx I had access to was two drop boxes, one at each of the two Pilot stations on the way to Georgetown.  At this point it was too late to drop the box off for Friday, so I would have to wait until their next pick-up on Monday. This turned out to be fortuitous. 

Saturday, I had things to do in Lexington so I did not go to Papa's apartment, just talked with him on the phone.  

Sunday the 14th, I went to Papa's after all my Church meetings to visit for a while.  Guess what he found?  The molded plastic that went in the box and had the extra cabling and that new help button.  Goodness.  I took this back to my home so I could contact Lifeline Monday morning and see if they could stop the shipment of the button we requested on the previous Friday. 

Monday morning I spoke with Enid at Lifeline.  Again, their staff is so patient and so helpful.  I explained what had happened thus far.  I suggested they mail all things to me and I would be sure they were installed correctly and mailed back correctly in the future.  Bless her heart, she tried to tell me how to have Papa open the box and carefully match items as he changed the equipment and then keep it all together and mail it back.  I assured her that at 86 years of age, hard of hearing and with no short term memory, that just wasn't going to happen.  But thanked her for the suggestions.

The end result was Enid said to wait for the new help button to arrive.  Program it with the new communicator.  Then mail all the old stuff in the box and the new extra help button and the old help button back. 

While Papa was on his trip with Junie when the new help button arrived.  I was able to program it with the new communicator and call Lifeline to verify all was working as it should.  I left the new button by Papa's phone and took his old button (which I had Junie be sure he left on his kitchen table) home with me.  

I opened the shipping box which I had prepared the Friday before, took out it's contents, placed all the items in their respective molded spots including the original help button, put the replacement help button in the mailing package they sent with it inside the box on top of the molded plastic container with all the other items, included the original instruction booklets and typed a new letter of explanation and placed it on top of all this.  Then I taped it shut and set it in the back seat of my car to drop at the FedEx dropbox.  That didn't happen until Friday on my way home from taking Claude in for oral surgery. 

Isn't this a lovely saga?  Such an interesting life I lead.  I am grateful my father is aware it takes a lot to care for him.  I am grateful he doesn't want to be a burden.  I am grateful he tries to help when he can with maintenance items.  But sometimes, yes, sometimes, it would be sooooo much easier if he left the newly received box on the kitchen table so I could install and then bring all the items home and only have to deal with it one time.  Lots less time and energy.  I truly believe these are lessons for me in patience.  I truly believe that is something I am supposed to learn from all this.  I honestly can find no other viable explanation.

Yep, Lifeline could just about do me in.

Sometimes...It Takes Three...

Junie is the middlemost of the three sisters.  I'm the oldest.  Junie comes once a year to visit Papa.  Last year, however, she flew him out to Utah to visit with her.  He loved that visit. This year, we are concerned about his ability to fly that distance.  She thought about how to handle her visit and determined she would come here and take him for a drive for a few days.  Since Papa no longer has a car or a driver's license, this would get him out for several days in a row.  It was a great plan.

Monday, September 19th, Junie came to visit.  She arrived in the evening and went straight to Papa's apartment.  Claude and I drove into Georgetown to have dinner with them at Papa's favorite Mexican restaurant, Camino Real.  After dinner, she had me ride with her and we took Papa home, then met Claude back in Sadieville. The car Junie rented for the trip was the type of car I'm thinking of replacing mine with if and when mine wears out.  It was great to be in one and see how it handles.  Loved it.  Claude sat in it and tried it out and we are both satisfied that is the kind of car we will replace my current car with...way down the road.  We had a nice visit and then headed to bed so Junie could be rested for the next three days of driving.  

Tuesday, September 20th, was Claude and my turn to staff the Family History Center.  We also had a Chamber of Commerce breakfast to attend prior to going to the Family History Center.  We were out of the house by 8am.  After our shift at the Family History Center we had lunch at Schlotzkys. Then back to Papa's apartment to gather Tiny and take her to Sadieville while Papa was out of town.

At Papa's apartment we took a turn through his garage.  You see, it is a little hard to clean around Papa.  He thinks he is ready to get rid of things but when he starts to go through them they suddenly seem like he needs to hang on to them for a little longer or they need to be given to someone who will use them.  Reality is that Papa has not set foot in his garage for a year.  He hasn't used the items on the storage shelves for many years.  Some of them have not been opened since we moved him there in 2005.  These things really don't need to stay and some of the electronics have been patched and repaired and are so out-of-date that only a museum would want them.  Claude and I went through the shelves. He took the heavier boxes off the shelves for me to go through.  We loaded up some obvious things to take to our home, some for disposal and some to recycle.  We left the garage so my Wednesday could be spent cleaning out the remainder of the items in the garage.

Poor Tiny is really in bad shape.  She curled up on my lap and shook all the way to Sadieville.  Then Claude curled up on the sofa to watch television for the evening.  Tiny curled up beside him and he was sure she was going to have a heart attack before the night was over.  I spent my evening in the basement working.  I did come up for watermelon with Claude during the evening.  Claude put Tiny's pillow in the chair in our bedroom and lifted her onto it.  She stayed there all night long. 

I finished my scanning and headed to bed about 11:30pm.  By the time I put my head on my pillow it was just before midnight. My tummy was not in good shape.  I don't know how many times I was up during the night but it ended with me hurling in the wee small hours of the morning.  This did not bode well for a day of cleaning Wednesday.  No sleep and a very tender, empty tummy.  I decided I would sleep in as late as my poor body wanted.  I did just that.

I was up and ready to leave the house by 10:30am.  I thought, given the circumstances, that was really good.  Claude had meetings in town in the afternoon that finished at 3pm. He would come to the apartment after them and help me load any other items into our cars and haul trash to the curb for Papa's garbage collection on Thursday.  

It felt great to clear out that garage.  These things loom large over my head.  I know that at some point we will have to move Papa from his apartment.  I'm not sure what the circumstances will be that cause that to happen but it will happen.  Then I will have to go in and empty that apartment.  I want to leave it now so that Papa has the things he might enjoy using or that give him comfort to still have close, even if he isn't using them, around him still.  But, everything else I truly feel should go so that emptying the apartment when the time comes is a little easier on me.  May sound selfish but that is precisely how I feel.  And I honestly don't think it is selfish. 

Claude came and I was starving.  I needed to sync Papa's Lifeline button to his machine.  That is another story to blog about in it's own right.  Claude went to Burger King to get his honey some lunch while I set up the Lifeline button.  When he came back we ate and then set to work moving things out to the curb and loading the cars.  The end result was a clean garage with only three boxes of tapes and records for Papa and I to go through as a winter project.  I cleaned out under his bathroom counter finding medicines that expired in 1996. Yike!!  I clean out the two file cabinets in his storage room and we hauled one away.  I cleaned out the hall closet and tossed some old linens and things.  It felt so good to get these things hauled off now rather than later.  

Thursday, September 18th, Papa and Junie were to return.  Junie alerted me to their schedule.  Papa was tired and ready to relax at his apartment in his big chair.  She would drop him off there and come to Sadieville.  I took Tiny in and deposited her in the apartment, put clean linens on Papa's bed, broke up some of the styrofoam items left in the garage for the next garbage day and put them in the garbage can, did the grocery shopping for Papa and put that away.  Then I was ready to return to Sadieville just before Junie got back.  Papa came home to an apartment that he couldn't tell had been lightened of its belongings. That was a good thing.

Papa had a great trip.  Junie posted this picture on Facebook of the two of them.

Junie enjoyed being with her father and having some chat time with him. I got Papa's garage cleaned and some other areas cleaned out in the apartment.  Claude helped me with that and with caring for Tiny.  Sometimes, it just takes three people to care for Papa. Amazing, absolutely amazing.

Thank you Junie for giving me the time to clear out some things that loom large over my head.  It feels good to have part of that weight lifted.

For Times of Trial...

Blogging publicly causes me to sift carefully my thoughts as I consider what should be shared and what should not be shared in this public format.  My Blog is also my journal.  I save each entry on my computer as a record of my life.  A few times I have created a Blog entry and not posted it on this Blog as it is very personal and not for general public consumption.  That is my right and my privilege.  So my Blog can be deceptively positive even when things are very topsy-turvy in my world.

I am adamantly opposed to pitty parties.  That said, I truly understand the down periods of life when you just need to struggle and find meaning, hope, understanding, perspective, all those deep things of life. I believe with all my heart they are an important part of learning and growth and necessary to life.  My periods of feeling depressed usually last a day or two or three.  Then I try to snap out of it and find my way to happier ground.  I know this is not possible for some people who suffer with clinical depression. I am not trying to compare these two things here.  To me that is apples to oranges and is just two different things.  I am blessed to not have chronic depression and for that I am very grateful.

Lately there have been many levels of difficulty for me personally and in my family and with friends.  Some of these difficulties are huge.  They will take long periods of time to resolve and in their wake they will leave more difficult things to endure.  As a wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, friend and person in my own right, I find myself aching for change.  My prayers are for understanding of the situations, of how I can be a force for good and help, aide and comfort, and to keep my heart right in all things.

This week I experienced two 'tender mercy' moments as I struggle through these things that weigh heavy on my heart.  I want to put those things in this Blog so I can remember and reference them.

First, I read the Church magazine, the Ensign, that comes to my home each month cover-to-cover.  While I read I keep a pen handy and draw circles and underline things that touch my heart.  After reading the Ensign, it is placed in my sewing room so that I can record those thoughts in the quote section I have created in my computer.  These magazines are then given to a friend so she can also read and enjoy them.  

This month, I had a little catching up to do and had three issues of the Ensign from which to record quotes.  The first 'tender mercy' was found in some of these quotes which touched me as I struggled.  I will record them here:

1)  This quote was from Helen Mar Whitney who was a pioneer who crossed the plains.  She recorded, "The love of God flowed from heart to heart till the wicked one seemed powerless in his efforts to get between us and the Lord, and his cruel darts, in some instances, were shorn of their sting."  What strength, what perspective, what vision.  I was touched by this and realized I had reached out to a dear friend and shared all the things that were weighing heavy on me to her in an eMail.  She responded in kind, understanding words.  She help me to see in print all the things that I was so concerned about as I typed and knew she would not judge, just listen and send good thoughts and feelings my way.  Indeed, that simple act was like the quote 'the love of God flowed from heart to heart'.  I was strengthened just in the sharing.  Now, my hubby and I talk about these things often.  It is not like I don't have a sounding board.  I have a great one in my hubby.  But, sometimes, we just need to feel from one woman's heart to another.  I am grateful for that friendship.  I am grateful for that lifting of my burden by sharing to someone with a non-judgmental, kind heart.  The other quote I recorded from that same article fits right here.  It is, "We cannot always lift the burden of one who is troubled, but we can lift her so she can bear it well."  Goodness, that lifted me.  Thank you to my dear friend for helping lift me.

2)  The next quote I recorded was from an article title "Love Thy Neighbor" and addresses our communication with others so we cultivate respect across wide distances of belief and behavior.  The phrase that caught my attention was, "The willingness to see through each other's eyes will transform 'corrupt communication' into 'ministering grace'...it may not change or solve the problem, but the more important possibility may be whether ministering grace could change us."  As I deal with some of the concerns I am facing, I needed that council and to watch that my communication is 'ministering grace'.  Again, powerful.  Those I love and care about need to know that what I say and do in their regard is done through love for them. That I will continue to love them no matter what happens.  That must be first in my dealings with others.  I can be honest and straightforward and still share my love, care and concern for them.

3)  Then I saved a quote I have heard before and it was good to remember again.  It was given by Marjorie Pay Hinckley.  She is the wife of President Gordon B. Hinckley who was the Prophet and President of our Church.  They are both deceased but their good council rings true still.  She said, "First I obey, then I understand."  I just love that thought.  As a person of faith, I must walk by faith until I understand.  I can pray and ask for things to be taken away from me but that is very forward of me when I am asking that of an all knowing, all seeing, all understanding God.  He loves me and knows the best I can make of my life.  To be that best, I must endure difficult lessons.  How I endure, the attitude with which I endure, are marks of my character.  My children will watch how I act and learn so much more from that, even though they are all adults, than they will by my words alone.  I will follow Sis. Hinckley's wise council and obey, then I too will eventually understand the lessons I am to learn by the challenges I am given.

The second 'tender mercy' in dealing with my personal struggles happened today.  An event was held at the church for all the sisters in our Stake (group of congregations).  The title was "Bee-come one"!  

The program began with five different ladies telling their personal story of dealing with a huge trial in their life.  All the trials were different and their stories of dealing with and learning from those trials were powerful examples.  Each talked about the power of the Atonement in their lives and how it helped them to deal and overcome their challenge.

The first speaker was a great lady who again shared a very tender personal trial.  She used this personal story to speak about all the acts of service that came to her, her husband and her family as they dealt with the death of a much desired child.  The point was made that each act of service was small in and of itself.  The second point was that each act of service was geared to that persons abilities.  No one did it all.  How important to not discount the little things I might be able to do that help someone else and affects them on a much grander scale that the little act done.

A beautiful musical number was performed with a slide show of pictures that helped each phrase stand out.

Then a man spoke who has years of experience dealing with very difficult cases from murder to sexual transgressions of every kind.  He shared such touching, pointed examples that it was easy to translate these experiences into lessons for me as I try to deal with things of a different nature but still huge in my perspective.  

Our Stake President concluded with a few remarks.  He quoted a scripture from the Doctrine & Covenants.  It is found in Section 25.  This is a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith to his dear wife, Emma.  It is a beautiful Section and I was thrilled to hear parts of it quoted.  Again, the words were for my ears and I felt a loving Heavenly Father placed them there for me today. Here are the verses:

2    A revelation I give unto you concerning my will; and if thou art faithful and walk int he paths of virtue before me, I will preserve thy life, and thou shalt receive an inheritance in Zion.
3   Behold, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou art an elect lady, whom I have called.

A reminder to me to repent of those things that need repenting, remain faithful and walk in virtue and blessings will be there for me.  Often, they are there and I'm not noticing.  I must 'Be Still' and listen and learn.

Are all the things that weigh heavy on my heart fixed.  Nope, not at all.  But I am reminded and taught again the importance of trials.  I can learn and grow from them.  Or, I can let them weaken me and leave me broken.  I choose to learn and grow.  I choose to be patient in affliction and know that He is God.  I choose to be humble and submissive to His will and walk in faith that I may be ready to do and say what He desires of me.  It is not necessarily the easier path.  But it is the path that I believe, with all my heart, is the better path and the one that will lead back to a loving Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.