Mama Week

Mama Week-

Monday Tom and I drove to the Tulsa airport… via a few stops. He wanted to show me the ReStore in Fayetteville. So we left early and took a detour there. We arrived about 15 minutes before it opened. About 10 minutes later a guy came out with a sign. He asked if we were waiting for the store to open. We said yes. He said they were closed for the day because of computer problems.

Tom jokingly said, “I’m really disappointed. We drove all the way from Mountain Home, and if we can’t shop here, I’m going to have to take my wife to ½ of ½ where she’ll spend her money on clothes!”

The guy said, “Well, park over there and come on in. But you’ll have to use cash!” So we got to wander around the store and look at all their great stuff. We bought some door knobs…which is what we had been looking for. And went on to Deborah’s in Springdale. We visited with her for about an hour. Then I had about 35 minutes at ½ of ½ to look at all their sale items before dashing back to the car and heading to Tulsa.

It was really windy on the drive. It pushed the car around on the road. But we got to the airport in plenty of time. Tom dropped me off and headed to Miranda’s. He planned to spend a few days there working on their house. They changed the lighting in the kitchen and made the ceiling level across with LED “can” lights. Miranda scraped the popcorn off the ceiling and I guess will re-texture it and paint it. Tom and Dan also worked on putting some trim and baseboard back up. I don’t know if the painted… or if Miranda and Dan had already done that. Tom headed back home on Friday.

Our neighbor Barb is great about feeding cats and chickens and watching our house when we are gone.

I had an uneventful flight… except no baggage on the Santa Ana end. Cynthia and Jim picked me up and took me to Mom’s. I was tired and went to bed early. Apparently South West called and asked if they could deliver the suitcase before 2am. Mom said yes… and thought she stayed up until 2am. Bless her heart! As Jim says, “Always the Mama.” However, I was awakened about 1:45 with the phone ringing. It was the baggage delivery. I’m thinking, WHAT?? It’s stinkin 2AM in the MORNING! And I only have garments on and you’re going to be at the door in 2 minutes? So I threw on the only clothes I had and got to the door about the same time as the delivery person. I was too groggy to even think about tipping.

I did go back to sleep. And I was grateful in the morning that I had clean clothes and my sundries so I could shower and put on deodorant.

My goal was to keep on Arkansas time. Go to bed by 9pm and get up at 5am. Then work for a good four hours and be finished by 11 or 12 so the rest of the day I was free to do mama things. It actually has worked out well. I get up/dressed/scriptures and prayers. Then work for about an hour. Stop and eat breakfast and exercise a few minutes. Then go back to work. When Mom comes out, I’ll stop and eat some fruit while she has breakfast, and then go back to work.

I got the intro and first chapter done on the book and sent off on Saturday. I’ve had some interviews and started on the autoresponder series for the financial manager. My goal is to finish this in the next few days— at least the first draft.

In the afternoon one day, Mom and I went to her physical therapy and shopping. One evening we went out to dinner. Thursday some old friends from the Valley came to visit. Doreen had been friends with Mom and I had known her daughter Barbie. They brought a delicious lunch and we had a lovely visit. Friday Theresa came over and took her out to doctor’s appointments. Then in the afternoon, we went to her safety deposit box. I wanted a picture of the Roaring Camp stock certificate for the book and it was in the box.

Saturday I went to the temple in the morning. It’s always a delight to go! And I was grateful I had the chance. In the afternoon, Sally came to visit and we had an enjoyable time. Cynthia and Jim had escaped to Palm Desert and returned on Saturday, so we went to their house for dinner that night. Delicious hamburgers. I’m going to get Jim’s secret sauce.

Sunday I went to the Aliso Viejo ward. The Stake is going to rework the boundaries in several of the wards— including the 700 member Aliso Viejo ward. So it was kind of an emotional time with everyone wondering what the changes would be. They were to find out at a 3pm meeting. Nevertheless, I was so impressed with the talks and the strength of the testimonies and comments from members in the classes. So nice to see the church can thrive in Babylon.

After church, Mom and I drove to Pasadena to Stephanie’s tea. She was the former pastor of Mom’s church in the Valley and she’s a delightful person. She decorated beautifully and everyone brought some goodies. We had enjoyable conversation around the food. I think Mom had a hard time hearing all the conversation. But she is always so gracious. Traffic was mostly good on the drive. Not a lot of trucks. Mom thinks they were all home for President’s Day holiday. We arrived home about 6pm. Seemed like a long day.

It's great to get letters from others sharing their activities for the week. Thank you all for writing.