A great visit

I had a great week with the Mama this past 10 days! It was so fun to spend time with her. I had a lot of writing to do, so I needed to be organized. I tried to get to bed by 9pm and up by 5am. That way, I could get writing in until 11 or 12. By that time I was brain dead, so I was grateful for the chance to go off with Mama. By the end of the week, I’d sent off my first chapter to be reviewed and revised. It gave me a little break.

Saturday we had nothing planned in the morning, so I went off to the temple. It’s such a blessing to be 15 minutes from the temple! I LOVE it! And it was a wonderful session. I felt blessed to be able to attend.

Monday, Mom, Gloria (her friend) and I went to the Swiss ladies luncheon. The food was delicious. Sally came as well, so we had a nice time to visit. Everyone in the group is so friendly. I thought we had good traffic because it was President’s Day. I was a week early… but we still had good traffic. That evening Cynthia and Jim brought in Olive Garden dinner.

Tuesday Cynthia and I went to brunch about 10:30. Jim had a new toy— a Jaguar. Well, it’s a golf cart with a Jaguar front end and rear quarter panels. It’s SO cute! 

Cynthia picked me up in the golf cart and we road to Laguna Café. It’s kind of an open-air experience where you feel you are a part of nature— the air, the weather, the scents— as you travel. It was a mild day without wind and it was really fun. It was fun to sit and chat, catch up and think about the future. Jim’s health is not what it once was, and that is a concern. He can no longer drive. I guess, for each of us, we may be only one illness away from a major change in life.

I got home just in time to take Mom to her physical therapy. We did a whirlwind shopping trip at Macy’s and then on to get a blood test done. She is in remarkably good health.

Wednesday after a good morning’s work, I saw that Susan was on Skype, so I called her. We had a lovely visit. They keep busy with the temple work. I guess that’s why it’s called “work.” After lunch Mom and I went out shopping and then to Cynthia and Jim’s for a delicious salmon dinner. They are such good cooks! Then it was home to pack.

I was up about the same time on Thursday morning and Cynthia and Jim drove me to the airport. I was glad I’d chosen to fly out on Thursday. We had fog and the flight was delayed for an hour and a half, but storms rolled in on Friday and I understand all flights were canceled that day. The delay gave me a chance to respond to revisions on the chapter I’d submitted and make final changes so it could be sent to compliance. After a layover in Los Vegas, I was off to Miranda’s. On the plane about 2/3rds of the way through, a guy on the widow seat in my row, but on the other side of the aisle suddenly stood up, turned around and yelled at the person behind him to stop hitting his seat. Whoa! So this is what airplane rage looks like. I was looking around to see what would happen next. And this big, burly guy next to me… who I had not spoken to… said, “Don’t worry. I have your back.” What a nice thing to say. We chatted the rest of the way. He was an army drill instructor for 4 years. Retired, and now works security for Ryder. It was an enjoyable way to finish the trip.

Miranda and boys picked me up from the airport (I was about 30 min late) and we went out to dinner as it was past dinner time. Here's a picture of Dan and the boys.

 Then back to her house to bed. Friday, after Camden went to school, we drove to Deborah’s house. She was feeling a little punk, but was still a gracious hostess. Tom arrived shortly after we did. We made sandwiches for lunch and then headed home. Of course the car took us to the ReStore in Fayetteville on the way home. We found a nice fireplace glass and screen front at 75% off- $15! Score! It’s for the house we are renovation. Well… if it fits.

It is good to be home! I can’t believe how warm the weather has been. It was almost short-sleeve weather. The daffodils are blooming and our peach tree is blossoming out. Silly thing. There’s probably an 85% chance it will freeze at least once between now and April. We’d meant to dormant oil spray it. So I pulled out the sprayer and hit most of the trees. I hope it’s not too late. Tom spent a good part of the day picking up sticks and small branches that came down in a fierce wind storm we had while he was at Miranda’s last week. We also went over to the house and painted cupboards. They take at least three coats. And there are a lot of cupboards. But the white really brightens up the kitchen. And we’ve decided on the paint we will use in the dining room, kitchen, and laundry room.

Today I drove to West Plains for their ward conference. It was quite foggy. A gray blanket covered the road and hills. Skeletal tree branches reached from the road side and the center line quickly disappeared into fuzz. When I turned east, the fog took on a pink hue as the sun rose and tried to shine through. In patches it lightened to a mist among the trees with striations of sunlight creating a pattern.  Then I’d dip into the silver, shadowless gloam once again. By the time I got to West Plains the cotton enclosed me. Signals suddenly appeared through the gloom and I had to slowly anticipate turns I could not see. Still, it was a lovely drive. I marvel how the same road can appear so differently at different seasons, weather, and time of day.

We had good meetings. I taught about President Hinckley and his eternal optimism. “Everything will work out.” I thought how often we worry about things. And of all the things I’ve worried about— everything has worked out. He said we live in the fullness of times. All the good has been brought forward at this time. Of course there are evil and hard times, but we can be cheerful through it and look for the good.