November 1, 2021

    Well, another month has come and gone along with most of the beautiful fall leaves that have been such a joy to see; October also brought several days of welcome rain after a long hot summer. Now the cold winter months will soon be upon us. Each season is a gift from God and meant to be enjoyed. 

    Among the many things that have occurred recently, was the temple sealing of the marriage done last year in Florida, of my son Dan Mundell and Cathy Meyer. Since Cathy’s family was already planning a family reunion in Utah, this sealing ceremony done in the Draper Utah temple, fit right in, and allowed most of her family members to attend. We here in Oregon were not able to go, but I heard that many of our family members were there too. I appreciated the pictures Sandy sent to me, so I could see all who had attended the sealing ceremony. I was amazed and grateful for those who had made the effort. Even though Dan is retired now and would like to travel, Cathy is still working, so they will to continue to live in Florida, for the present, anyway. 

    This month, we had a visit from Diana, another niece (and sister of Sandy, who had come for a visit just weeks before with my sister, Carol). Diana was recently married to Sam Belnap, and we were glad for the chance to meet him. They live in Utah, and are in the midst of having their home remodeled. Diana was particularly impressed by the remodel my two girls have done on this mobile since she last saw it. And, of course, we played our family game of “Tile Rummy,” and got to know Sam better. 

    They were also interested to know how I was getting along with only one leg. I told them I now have a prosthesis, who is my “Buddy” for the rest of my life, whom I am trying to learn how to use. If I put on all the gear associated with Buddy, and get it into EXACTLY the right spot so it doesn’t hurt me as I stand and put pressure on that “make believe” foot, then while using a walker I can take quite a few steps. In fact, Steve, my physical therapist has had me using the parallel bars to step up onto a box and down the other side, then turn around and step onto an even higher one. I even did some walking backwards too. I surprised both of us that I was able to accomplish that better than someone half my age. That is Steve’s little pep talk to keep me going. Now that he’s retiring, we’ll see how I do under the tutoring of a new physical therapist. 

    Do you remember when a few months ago I thought this was some kind of mystery house? Well, this month I’ve had a couple mysterious things happen. My next door neighbor, Shirley, would often leave a cup of strawberries from her prolific patch on my back porch for me or True to discover later. We would then return the cup with something in it onto her back parch. It was just a little fun between us. But the other day when we found a large glass pie dish filled with pie on our back porch with my name on it, but no giver, we were astonished. We knew it wasn’t Shirley, but who? Since I first came home from the hospital, various friends have been kind enough to bring (or just leave on our front porch, because of COVID) little gifts or goodies. But I always knew who it was from. Now, this lovely pie at my back door was truly a mystery. The pie was delicious, and I left a note of appreciation with the pie dish by the back door, hoping that surely someone would come to retrieve it. But it is still there. Now what do I do? I hope the mystery giver comes to reclaim it soon. 

    The other mystery was a box labeled fragile from Amazon left at my front door, but with no name as to the sender. My neighbor Iris brought it in and helped me open it. Inside was a smaller box, wrapped with an icepack, which contained six large chocolate covered strawberries. Wow! What a treat. We both had one and the rest were shared with Linda and others, except one was kept for True when she returned from her short trip to Spokane and Portland. With no name to be found, it was indeed a mystery. 

    Also inside the box was a package containing a pair of wide open-legged pants that I can wear instead of the basketball shorts I've been wearing, which are the only thing that fit over the bulky end of my prosthesis. They’re fine for summer, but not for cold weather. I had been talking to my visitors (Carol, Sandy, Diana and Sam) about checking the internet to find coulottes, or some such. Sandy had previously sent dresses, so I immediately thought the pants must also be from her. I hurriedly called her, but got no answer, so I left a message saying how thrilled I was to have such well-fitting pants. So, I figured the mystery was solved. 

    What was my chagrin and embarrassment, however, when True got a call from Diana wondering if we had received her package yet? I called Diana and explained. She wondered why I would call Sandy when she had asked for her note to be included, though we found nothing. I suppose her mystery is why Amazon didn't include her note!

    Before True left for a few days to see her children and be in Spokane when Clint and Lindsey learned the gender of their baby due in February (it’s a girl), she prepared ahead meals for me and invested in a medical guardian alert system. It came in time for us to set up and activate. It’s not to be worn in bed, but kept close by on a bedside table while being charged at night. I have an adjustable bed and raise the lower portion, to relieve the swelling in my good leg by using a remote control. This remote is also on the hospital bed table, along with a pill I take during the night and a container of water. The night after True left, as I was setting down the water jug after taking the pill, it pushed the remote off the table onto the floor. I awoke immediately, and the thought passed through my mind, “How am I to lower and get out of bed now?” I had slightly raised my head to take my pill, so I was trapped in sort of a V shaped position. A telephone is usually on my bedside table, but it had been moved to allow more room for my new monitor charger, so I was not available to call my neighbor, Shirley, to get the remote for me. 

    There was nothing I could do at that time of the morning, so I waited until 8:30 to use the monitor and ask them to call Shirley, who is my first responder. They hadn’t received our paperwork yet, so I gave them what I thought was her number, but when there was no answer, they said they were sending help. As soon as I hung up, I realized I had reversed a digit in Shirley’s number, so called back and they were then able to reach her. Shirley was at my door within 5 minutes, but right behind her was the “help.” An ambulance had been dispatched to retrieve my remote. Anytime an ambulance pulls up to someone’s door it creates quite a commotion in our neighborhood. People become worried and concerned. It was all a funny comedy of errors. Funniest of all was trying to get out of my V shaped bed. I felt like a fool, but now I know, at least, that the little button on the alert does work if I ever do need help. 

    I have seen a doctor about my eyes because they can become sealed with sleep overnight. He has me putting drops in them, but it doesn’t seem to help. This morning I awoke and found them so tightly closed that they refused to open. With water they finally did open, but today I am still struggling to keep them open and useful, so my sweet daughter True is finishing this letter for me. I’m sorry, but there will be no personal handwritten message at the end of my letter this month, as I have so liked to do. But I will still write “I love you” and sign my name. 

P.S.: Next month my letter may be later and serve as a Christmas card