Settling In

It is amazing to me how easily I forget carefully acquired habits, once away from the situations that promote them. Mom's first week has gone along fine, but I seem to need to relearn the habits I acquired last year, in caring for her. It all comes back, but why did it leave in the first place? Mom is definitely weaker than she was last year. She is 93 now, so I must remind myself not to expect too much in the way of physical progress for her. It is time to ease down.

We did take her to a Bluegrass concert Friday night. It lasted much longer than I expected--we didn't get out until after 10 PM. Mom's usual bedtime is 8 PM. But she hung in. As with so many outings, I wasn't very excited about going. But, as with many outings, once there, I enjoyed myself. The music was lively as can be. I liked it; especially when they did some gospel tunes. I've decided that I like gospel music!

Right is a picture of grandson Isaiah (son of our Audrey) with his new contact lenses. He's pretty excited about them.

I taught my 14 year old Sunday School class today, after a long absence. It didn't go especially well. It makes me sad to feel such a sweet spirit during preparations, only to feel none of it in the classroom. Maybe I expect too much. I told the kids today that they are as responsible as I am for an inspired lesson. I know from experience when the Spirit is there the material expands and when it is not, things contract. Today was a contraction day.

It is good to be home for a full week without the anticipation of leaving again. I love walking through the yard and house. There is so much to do to "finish" things, but just being here is joyful. Our neighbors, the Trutners, sold me their extra patio furniture. I placed it in two places around the house. One of them is the patio off of our bedroom. I'm so excited about it! I see Layne and me sitting on our little patio, enjoying the view and bonding. I wonder if that will actually happen.

It is raining today. When the rainy season begins I feel a sweet relief. It is as if all is well with nature and we will have a provident season. In spite of the little collection of worries that live in the back of my mind (mentioned last week), I believe I am an optimist. I think I learned to believe in happy endings from my parents. I'm glad for it, for, in the end, all really will be well. It's the getting there that promotes the worries of course. But even those have a way of working out.

Bottom picture is of Mom in her lazy-boy chair. In the background you can see the rain!

On the Move

The time has come to bring Mom back to California for the winter. Serendipitously, one of our Mongolian daughters, Marta, asked us to come to her mother's first time in the temple (in Provo!) the same weekend we planned to go to Colorado. As it turns out, Layne opted not to meet up with Marta as he had Church assignments on the weekend he felt he couldn't leave. So I caught a very early flight into Salt Lake by myself, rented a car and stayed in Gerald's home in Draper. It is the first time I've been alone for a long time. I find that now I am an older woman being alone is a bit more attractive. Not that I'd like to do it for a long period of time, but the weekend was quite pleasant. Not only that, but it was productive. I finished putting my dad's life story together. It is ready to be published! I'm so excited about that. I plan to give each of my children a copy of the book on his life. (Picture at the top is of my dad, caring for me and my sister.)

I found my way to the Provo temple on Saturday evening and met up with Marta, her family and friends. Her mother was visiting from Mongolia and chose the Provo temple to go through for the first time, as both of her daughters had done. It was a lovely time. Marta is one of my favorites as she has such a happy disposition and is such pleasant company. Her mother will soon return to Mongolia and, hopefully before long, her father will be able to come and go through the temple also. Sadly, they cannot, at present, get visas to come here together. (Picture to right is Marta and her mom.)

Layne flew into Salt Lake on Monday morning. I picked him up and we headed to Kaysville, where we visited with his twin brother, Lynn, and his wife, Camille. I enjoy their company very much. Lynn discovered lots of family pictures which he was eager to share with us. When we arrived, he had them spread over counters and tables. What a treat. You see, there are not many Galbraith pictures to be had. So these were treasures. I made copies of them with my digital camera. I'm excited to get them organized and described. Our visit was rushed, as we had to take an evening flight into Colorado. We arrived at Mom's little Cedaredge home late Monday evening.

My sister Maryanne and her hub Bob soon left for their home. We spent Tuesday packing Mom up and began our drive back home on Wednesday morning. We stopped in Elko that night and drove on to home, arriving about 5 PM on Thursday night. Mom was tired but otherwise in pretty good shape. I think she is such an amazing woman. She has lost so much function and now has to depend upon us to get along. Yet she is philosophical. She accepts what comes to her in good humor. It is a sweet message to me.

That leads me into my latest thoughts about trouble. Today was our ward conference. The theme was dealing with adversity. I found it to be quite inspirational. You see I am a worrier of sorts. Not a serious one, but there are several things that concern me. They lie at the back of my mind and simmer there. By the end of the meeting today I received a very strong impression to let my worries go. Things work out. We have an amazing ability to adjust to what life brings us, if we give our selves the chance. Thoughts of Mongolia came to my mind. We were uncomfortable with living conditions there when we first arrived but soon adjusted and then loved our situation there. Then thoughts of my granddaughter Carmen came to mind. We watched her struggle for 18 months, then had to watch her die. It was hard. But sweet feelings came to us as well. Then Mom came to mind. Her stroke should have killed her. It would most people. But she is tough, and she lived. Her speech and thinking functions were preserved. She is a miracle, but a burden. Yet, in the midst of the demand of caring for her, there are sweet shivers of joy that sometimes flow through me when I am tending to her needs. Compensations come with every loss, if we look and live for them. So I am going to try and hold onto these feelings of letting go of my fears for the future and just enjoy what is in my life now with faith that I can also enjoy whatever the future may bring to me.
(Picture at bottom is one of Lynn's collection of he and Layne as boys. Can you tell which is Layne?)

Of Diets and such

Over the past few years those 10 pounds I took off in my forties has made its way back and settled on my belly. For some time I have planned on taking that nasty 10 back off. D'Ann and I decided that we would devote this past week to dieting. I was excited, as the diet we chose promised a 10-17 pound weight loss in a week. It also promoted a tomato based soup that is very low in calories. Eagerly we began. It only took two days for me to lean away from enjoying the process. I can only stand so much tomato soup! But I told myself that it would be worth it to be rid of the extra poundage for good. However, it is slow in coming. I can report that, 6 days later, I am only down 2-3 pounds, depending upon the weighing time. Hum. All that effort for 2-3 pounds is not worth it to me. Here you see a picture of we two dieters, D'Ann Downey and myself. Today we celebrate the birthdays of Layne and daughter-in-law Dorothy. I am officially calling off the diet! Perhaps I should return to my original idea of just cutting back on what I eat in general. That is always a good idea, just hard to do consistently. Or perhaps I should just settle for that extra 10 pounds and accept it as a friend.

I have spent much of my time this past week sewing. When I come home after being away from home for extended periods I can more easily see the decorative flaws of our home. One of those is the lack of curtains. There is much to be said for nicely done curtains in a home. They warm the space and give a finished look. So this week I have done some, in the kitchen and bedroom. It is so rewarding to see the results of effort hanging before my eyes. There are so many other efforts that don't expose their results so readily.

Layne and I have committed ourselves to being in a performance of Nutcracker, to be performed on Temple Hill, in Oakland, this coming Christmas season. Rachel Tan (a friend from our old ward) has volunteered to organize her dance students into a Nutcracker performance as a service to the Church and community this coming December. Can you guess the part she wants us to play? Yep, the grandparents. To do that job right, we are committed to rehearsals every Saturday from now until performance time. It seemed like a small commitment when we made it at the beginning of this year. But, as it turns out, Layne and I are in two dances and he has a short solo part. Remember, this is my non-dancing husband! So here we are, dancing! If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE to dance. So I am a bit excited to be doing this. Layne is simply resigned. He has the dance steps carefully written down so that we can practice daily. He is such a structured, organized kind of guy. But I actually have come to love that about him. So another new experience is about to come our way. We are now performers in Nutcracker!