People and Stuff

I have felt the challenge of the people vs. stuff war since college.  Then it was a choice between doing necessary school work or bonding with friends.  Often I chose the friends.  But at a cost.  I've come to know, now that I'm an older woman, that people are the priority, just about always.  We have some challenging events coming up that I want to be prepared for.  I've got some goals set to make sure that happens.  But people keep getting in the way.  This past week it took the form of a trip to Utah to see my sister and her hub.  It felt more important.  So I went.  And it was a lovely time.  I need to know, on a regular basis, how Maryanne is.  I need to look into her eyes and take note.  I did that last week.  We had a good bond and made a little bit of a dent in the piles of family records that we have yet to go through.  There is so much to do, just with family history.

Here's an early picture of my mother, Mary Margaret Knox Kiser, that Maryanne and I found hidden away between sheets of paper that Mother filed away.  I think she is such a lovely girl.

I also visited an old friend, Frank Heiss.  He was our bishop in Fremont for a time.  He is a recent widower.  I've been a bit worried about how he was getting along on his own.  Seeing him has put my mind regarding him to rest.  He has rebounded and is happy and busy.  Most of his children are nearby and seem to be looking out for him.  He is a great example of joyfully proceeding through the dish the Lord serves.  He has some heartaches with some of his family but just keeps loving them and hoping for the best.  There are losses and gains, but with the right attitude, all can be made into gain.  He's done that.

Here's Frank, about 88 years of age.  He is full of personality and zest for life.

The drive to Draper, where Bob and Maryanne live, takes 6 hours.  I made the trip alone as Layne had things to do at home.  I enjoyed the trip!  I listened to conference, sang, thought about lots of things and enjoyed the view.  On the way home I visited very briefly with Layne's twin, Lynn and wife Camille.  I love those guys.  Somehow I'd like to overcome the Galbraith habit of rarely seeing each other.  It is so much fun to be together!  I also stopped in Odgen to see one of our Mongolian daughters, Marta, her husband and new baby girl.  So great to see her and take a look at their beautiful new baby.  So now all three of our Mongolian girls are happily married to American men and have babies.  So sweet to see.

Here is our girl, Marta, with her husband Matt Hansen, and their new little daughter, Madeline.

Somehow we find ourselves amazingly busy.  Here in Idaho, where we know so few people, we seem to be almost overwhelmed by opportunities to spend time with the few that we do know.  It is the people vs. stuff quandary all over again.  I find myself just caving in to the people demand and enjoying it.

Company

People fill my cup.  I find that I love having company and our past week has been full of it.  My Oakland Temple friend, Nikki, was here for a week with her daughter, Heather, who attended a horseback riding camp.  Nikki is a special person who has had many difficulties in her life yet is lovely and happy.  I so enjoy her company and loved having her with us.  I tried to make her stay especially comfortable and relaxing.  Below is Nikki and me, followed by her daughter, Heather, with Audrey and me.

While Nikki was here, Audrey drove over for a few days, bringing grandson James along.  James is 17, and the tall, silent type.  But he is so pleasant and helpful.  He just feels good.  We spent many of our evenings outside, watching the sunset and taking in the warm breeze as it cooled us and lifted the neighbor's flag into the evening air, adding to the magic of the sunset.  It has been very warm here the last two weeks.  I'm not too fond of that and spend the middle of the day inside.  But the evenings are glorious; the sun doesn't set until 9:30 or so.  I talked Layne into leaving our blinds open at night when we go to bed.  Sometimes I can see the last of the night light and the stars emerge.  Sunshine floods our room in the mornings, which I love.

Here's James, scratching the cat, Cherry's, belly.  She is brazen in her demands for belly scratches!  James is working on making a path to our compost with flagstone.  He did a nice job.

I bought pillows for the new front porch bench and I find that sitting there is quite pleasant.  It is a good place to study the New Testament, which I'm trying to do daily.  I'm quite taken up with the life of Christ and realize, more than before, how difficult His whole life must have been.  He was so alone in His mortal errand.  I imagine Him anticipating His upcoming Atonement and how He must have dreaded what He knew would be unbelievably difficult.  Yet He did it.  Surely if He can finish the most difficult task in all Eternity, I can finish my challenging tasks.  I find the thought of it inspiring.

Here's a picture of one of our sunsets.

Miles Presents

I love being home.  It is lovely to have a space that is organized just so and feels so embracing.  But when the chance comes to leave and visit family and friends, that is not to be turned down.  So when daughter Jessica invited us to come to Normandy Park and attend a science fair for Miles, we decided to go.  It is close to an 8 hour drive.  Since being here, driving time feels different to me.  Hours on the road don't feel all that badly to me now.  I brought things to do along our way and the time passed pleasantly.  For me.  Layne was driving so he was much happier to be done with the travel.  We arrived at Chris and Jessica's early in the afternoon.  Miles gave his science presentation that night.  He dressed way up for it, sporting jacket, tie and even a hat.  He and two friends gave a presentation on global warming and what we can do about it.  The gym at school was filled with such politically correct science projects as saving the trees, addressing bullying, body consciousness, accepting homosexuals and transgenders, etc.  I found it rather disturbing that there wasn't much of conventional science there.  Miles and friends did a great job of presenting but the bias of the teachers was definitely present.

I love visiting the Gendreaus.  The kids are always very happy to see us and bonding with Chris and Jes is always rewarding.  The kids seem happy and motivated.  Not much of spirituality among them, which I wish I could do something about.  I worry that without a spiritual footing, the kids will fall into the dark holes that surround them in our increasingly caustic culture.  They are so precious and good.  I had a sweet visit with Jessica and, in general, the visit was lovely.  I love living closer to them, even as I miss being farther away from my California kids.

I talked Layne into stopping to visit our friends, Gary and Nora Jacobson, on the way home.  They are just a few minutes off the freeway and about half way between us and Gendreaus.  This time we stopped.  It was so good to see these precious friends again.  We raised children together and, while in Fremont, they were among our best friends.  Nora is struggling with her health now.  Her sister, who lives with them, has Parkinsons.  Time brings its challenges for sure.  In spite of theirs, Gary and Nora were their same upbeat selves.  We so enjoyed our time with them and, even though it has been a long time since we've seen them, the years melted and it was as if we had never been apart.  I believe the best friendships work like that.  Layne mentioned that he was very glad we stopped.  A late arrival home was worth it!

Our neighbor, Jim, has been talking about displaying a flag in his back yard for some time now.  Jim will not be suppressed in his plans and he managed to finish the big flag project this past week.  A huge flag pole now reaches up to the sky with a beautiful American flag waving in the breeze.  Our back yards open to each other, so our view of the flag is,  perhaps, even better than his.  And so our sunset views are now accompanied by our flag, waving its greeting in the spring winds.

My Oakland Temple friend, Nikki Larsen, arrived for the week yesterday.  She and daughter Heather will attend a horse riding camp for the next 5 days.  Although I rarely talk to Nikki in between her yearly visits, we instantly connect.  Already we've had some wonderful conversations.  I'm looking forward to a sweet week ahead.