Another Sunday

I look back on the past week and I don't see that I accomplished very much. I seem to get further and further behind in school. I remember the days when we did a little bit of this and a little bit of that, an art pictures and sang songs, too. But now we don't even get a little this done. I still have the bulletin board I put up in August out in the hallway. We can't even get a piece of art completed! We have worked all week on writing descriptions of monsters for Halloween. I guess I am not the teacher I used to be because I can't get them motivated to write.

I found something fun in my files this week, though. I was looking for the picture of a large jar for the students to use for drawing their monsters to fit their descriptions. A Monster in a Jar) I found a booklet filled with descriptions of witches...completed about 19 years ago when NICKY! was in my classroom. Now I have proof that students actually did write very good descriptions. Some of those descriptions were 2-3 pages long! And they were written in beautiful cursive writing! We just barely got through the first round of the small letters in cursive. There was a time when all students were expected to write everything in cursive after the first of October, and I have the proof right there. Their writing was very neat, even the most sloppy writer (and I won't say who it was.) It was so fun to go through that booklet and read those descriptions. They used very good adjectives and really described every witch. You could draw a picture by their descriptions. How I wish my students would be able to do that now. Oh, well. We did our best. Maybe the next writing assignment.

We did make a graph comparing the cranes and herons, as well as the ravens and crows. Next week we are working on OWLS. Yes, owl pellets will be out during this week. We will work on writing facts about owls from our reading. Maybe non-fiction writing will be better than fictions. Facts and not details. We'll see.

What else did I do? Let's see. I played the prelude and postlude at Bishop Tuttle's funeral. I really felt on the spot because there were so many people just sitting and listening prior to the funeral. I think that was the quietest I have ever experiences during prelude music. The people were actually able to hear, and that made me nervous. I try to keep to just simple arrangements of appropriate hymns so people can contemplate the words and think about the meanings. I had several people compliment me on setting a special mood for the services. That made me feel really good. I need that every now and then, honest true compliments, not just "Thanks to Sister Labrum for the music" that happens without thought every week, just a robotic comment. These people really meant their compliments and I thank them for it.
I also went to the view for President Curtis. I talked with Marlene for a few minutes of course. She says she looks at his passing as his way of being there to help Colleen prepare for the temple. It won't be very long before the one-year mark of her passing and Marlene said Colleen must need her dad there to help her get ready. I look forward to that day.

Yesterday we, or I should say Garth, laid out the pavers for the steps from the driveway to the new shed. It looks really nice. He smashed a few fingers along the way and I felt badly that I couldn't help him more. I have spent the last week coughing a lot so I'm not of much use to anyone. The steps look really nice. A nice finishing touch to his hard work. He took down the trampoline, mowed up the lawn (and Charlene's as well), and cleaned up other yard work. I worked on the den and got a bit done inside.

I am walking better today than I have for about 3 weeks. I pray the pain will stay away the rest of the winter. Hopefully I will be able to walk better each day again. I was blessed with about 6 weeks of good walking, then it hit bad again. I hope this time it will improve and I will be able to walk pain free for a while. Walking and breathing are very important. I like both of them.

Tomorrow is Nicky's birthday. I will write another post tomorrow.

When it Rains, It Pours

But everyone knows it doesn't rain in EC when the rest of the state is predicting rain. And again, no rain. So why the title? Because once it started it seems like it doesn't end.

It is sad to see so many of our elderly citizens in this small town pass away. There is no easy way to say it without it meaning what it really means. This people have been stalwarts in the community, examples to so many of us. It started a few weeks ago with our home teacher, Ted Thomas. Saturday night we got the word that our neighbor, who has been in the hospital for about two months, passed away earlier that day. It was so hard to ask the family how Bland was doing and knowing that he wasn't doing too well. It hasn't been that long since his twin brother passed away, so I am sure there has been a happy reunion.

Now today, another major person in the lives of so many of us. Mr. Curtis, Bishop Curtis, President Curtis, Patriarch Curtis, all these titles fit that great man. He has suffered from the effects of Alzheimer's disease, a terrible disease that takes the mind away from the person. Now he is no longer suffering from the confusion he must have been feeling. What a relief for him. It was just last March when his daughter, my close friends, passed away. Now he is able to join her as they keep busy helping to prepare for the rest of the family.

In the meantime, these wonderful examples in our small community are leaving us. I remember then Ray and Christy Humphrey were the "old people" and when they passed on wondering what life would be like without these older people to look up to. Then Ted, Bland, Roger, and all the others stepped up and became the "old people" in town. Who will be next? I guess that falls to those of us still working but getting older each day. I pray that I can leave the kind of legacy they left for us.

Mr. Curtis was every one's teacher. I remember him reading books to us each day. He would use different voices for the different characters. I can't hear his voice reading, but I remember the feeling of wonder as he changed his voice and read with feeling. Perhaps that is why I enjoy reading to my students so much. I don't change voices, but do put in a lot of acting in my reading. I love to watch as my students pay attention to the stories. There is one boy this year who is just glued to the stories. I can tell his mother reads to him at home (she said she does), and he knows how to pay attention and visualize the story. Others are as involved as he is, but there are still others who just can't sit and listen. I think that is really sad that they can 't get into a book and enjoy the escape. I remember Mr. Curtis telling us that we could travel anywhere and to any time we wanted to if we would just read. What a great example to us.

So, another day......Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit better.

Two in a Week

This week has been full of events. We have experienced two kinds of special events twice each. We have attended two funerals of very special people in our lives. We have seen two birthdays this past week. Two very different celebrations.

It was Koy's birthday on Saturday, and tomorrow is Kayden's. The poor little boy had to had his blood drawn again today, and get a shot. He calmly told us how he had to look away at the wall so he wouldn't see the needle give him that shot, and that it was bleeding but all better now. He just takes all those pokes and blood draws in stride. Probably because he has been doing them literally all his life. What a brave boy he is. We are so thankful for the happiness he brings into our lives. He is one of Grandpa's little men. (I can't begin to tell you how much Grandpa loves his 4 little men, and 2 beautiful girls, and Grandma does as well.) We are so thankful that Kayden is still with us and bringing us so much joy. I think one of my new favorite shows on TV is Sunday night's "Three Rivers". But I cry all the way through it because it is all about transplants and the feelings and emotions present in the lives of the receivers and the donors. I hope it makes more people think about the honor of donation. Because of someone who was so willing to give, we are able to celebrate Kayden's fifth birthday! Happy birthday, big boy!



Thinking of donations leads my thinking to one of the funerals we attended just today. My cousin has needed three liver transplants, and he stands as a survivor today. But, sadly, he had to experience the unexpected lost of his wife. Today we went to her funeral. They were married just a week after I gave birth to my third child, but that didn't stop me from attending the wedding. James and I are close cousins, me being only two days older than him, or is it he? :) We always enjoyed visiting and being together as we grew older. He has always been a special cousin. I am so sad that he has to experience this loss. We are thankful that we had time to visit during our family reunion this past summer. Kelly was the life of the party and we always laughed as we visited and talked about all the kids. I will really miss her, and I know James will. My thoughts are with James and Daniel (JD) at this time.
The other funeral was our dear home-teacher, Ted. We loved him coming to our home every month for more than 20 years. He was a most faithful home-teacher. We know he loved us and we know he knew we loved him. What a great influence on our children.
Two different occasions but good memories.

Family Funeral

Attending a funeral isn't the way most of us would choose to spend an afternoon, but what a nice funeral it was. The nephews and neices who spoke did such a wonderful job of recalling experiences they had with their favorite aunt. Everyone recalled her infectious laugh and big smile, the hardships she has gone through and her love for her family. The song that was sung is one I found many years ago and tucked into my piano bench with instructions for my high school friend to sing at my own funeral. She sang it yesterday and it was beautiful. The family plot just inside the gate of the cemetery brought back thoughts of grandparents and family members who would be so happy to be able to greet her in heaven. Although funerals are a celebration of life, and mark the end of a mortal existence, it is also a time for family to gather. It was so nice to see so many family members. There were only a few cousins who weren't able to travel to attend, and it felt so good to see the rest of us there. All in all, it was a very nice day.

I was so touched seeing how difficult a time one family member was having. Although I haven't seen him for a very long time, over 34 years at least (did I really graduate from high school that many years ago?), it was so good to be able to hug him and have him cry on my shoulder. At the cemetery he was having such a difficult time and I felt impressed to speak to him again. I went up to him and hugged him and told him that I know his sister is free from her pain, and that she wants him to know that the things they were taught about the spirit world were true. That she is with Grandpa and Grandma, free and happy, and to just know that it is true. He sobbed and sobbed and said "How did you know I needed to know that? Boy, did I need a kicker to get me thinking about all this. How did you know I needed that?" I silently prayed and told the Lord, "See, I am working on following those little impessions. Thanks for helping me along."

One of the nephews who spoke was an "employee" in our little family business, a very special boy to us, one my own children admired for his athletic abilities and his brains. He did such a good job and looked so nice in his suit. I jokingly asked him, "Just how often do you speak in church like this?" And we laughed togethering knowing that his family wasn't active while he was living here. I then found out that he is now the Executive Secretary in his ward! Yes, as he would say, miracles happen! He and his beautiful wife have gone to the temple and he sees how important the gospel is in his life.

Perhaps that is one reason understanding death affects how we react in the situation. Death isn't an ending. Although it is sad that we will not have the person here to engage in conversation or to be a part of our mortal life, I know that life exists after this. That all those family members who have passed on will be there when we experience death. We will see them, associate with them, continue on our lives in a different sphere than here. That is so comforting to me. Not something I wish to experience for a while, but something that brings me comfort.

I am so thankful for my testimony of eternal families. Knowing we can be with our families forever makes death a lot easier to endure. The death of a family member is difficult enough, but without the truth of eternal famiies, it would be almost impossible to handle. Life does go on, and we will be together again.