April 2022

 Dear Family and Friends,

With the coming of April, along with the bursting into bloom of flowers and trees, came the broadcast from Salt Lake City of the two-day General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is always on the first weekend nearest to the 6th of April, when the church was first organized in 1830. This year, as happens occasionally, General Conference was preceded by our own Stake Conference, and was followed by our Ward Conference, and then Easter Sunday was the very next week. So, we were fed spiritually at the beginning of April in 2022. 

Something that came as a bit of a surprise to everyone here in Grants Pass, and even to the local weather forecasters, I think, was a storm with rain that turned into SNOW! It was quite unexpected, and it continued on and off throughout the day, but of course the snow didn’t stay. It was, however, very new for us to have a snowstorm in April!

One thing I learned in April was getting used to the email and blog method of sending these monthly newsletters. It still bothers me that, even though it’s a better way to do things, I’m no longer able to share the word search puzzles I like to make, nor add a little personal comment to you, unless I send a handwritten letter. Is this progress? I hope so. I guess it’s just part of adjusting to modern times. 

The other thing that happened to me in April was a new and quite different type of prosthetic leg that has a flexible knee! It’s great, but with its free-swinging leg and foot movement, it requires me to exercise more control and patience to learn how to use this new one properly. When Derrick (who made it) first put it on me, it suddenly lurched forward and kicked him in the “you know where”! Learning how to control this movement is the first thing I’m learning to do at the physical therapy clinic, which I do for an hour, twice a week. Using a walker for support, I walk according to their instructions, and then I try to remember how to do the same when I’m at home. Slowly but surely I am getting the hang of it, as I learn how to handle my new “buddy”. 

When the weather is nice, I sometimes get to go outside. There, I can either use the motorized chair for longer journeys, or the walker for a few steps on flat ground. Linda felt I’d made enough progress that she challenged me to see if I could walk up the ramp to our back door. I was afraid, but with her encouragement I decided to give it a try. She held the wheelchair behind me in case I needed it, and by holding on tightly to the handrail, I began by putting one leg down, then pulling the other one from behind to keep my balance, until I was finally able to reach the top. It was a feeble attempt, but it worked, and I’m proud of myself for being able to do it. Our ramp is pretty steep, so it was a hard struggle for me. I know it’s going to take a long time and a lot of diligent, dedicated effort on my part to accomplish the ultimate goal of one day being able to walk without any sort of help. I’m determined to keep trying.

At our next visit with Stacie the physical therapist, she decided to build on what we accomplished by asking me to try a full flight of emergency stairs in the building for practice. This was better than shimmying up the ramp because I held with both hands, my feet were in the center, and I was able to put my full weight on each foot as the other leg was brought up and forward, one step at a time. It actually felt like I was walking and climbing stairs. Stacie was right beside me, holding onto a safety strap around my waist with one hand, and the walker in the other. Together we walked up 10 steps, turned the corner in the stairwell, then proceeded to climb 10 more steps to reach the second floor. I’m not ashamed to say I was excited and proud of myself for having done that. I’m eager to try more challenging things in the future as I continue to work on and improve upon the basics.

Also during April, we enjoyed a nice visit from Spencer and Lisa Morse, of Utah. He’s the son of my niece Diana, making him my great nephew. It'd been several years since I’d last seen him and his wife, and I didn’t know their two teenage daughters at all. But I soon learned that they were both excellent artists, and they showed me some of their work. Lisa brought a pitcher with her, full of various types of lovely flowers, and they’ve stayed fresh for going on three weeks. Lisa had hoped to visit a long-time friend who lives in the Grants Pass area, but was so disappointed to learn that she was away attending a conference in Portland.

My daughter Linda had kind of a very disappointing thing happen to her, which involved her daughter Naomi. Linda flew to St. Louis to receive some specialized real estate training, and Naomi was waiting to pick her up when she returned to Medford. Well, one thing led to another, and Linda’s departure was delayed several minutes, which caused her to miss her connection in Salt Lake going to Medford. Naomi kept getting call after call, each one with new and different information from the last. Linda was put on one flight, only to have difficulties, so she was switched to another. But unfortunately that one was overbooked, and she ended up being bumped off, and was offered payment and a hotel in compensation, which meant it would be the next day before she could fly home. Long story short, Naomi went back home, and True ended up meeting Linda at the airport at midnight the next day. What a trip! And then Linda had only a few hours to sleep before she was supposed to be back at work at 6:00 am the next morning.

I was also able to attend a couple of nice dinners out this past month. The first was in honor of Linda’s 62nd birthday on the 5th. We used a gift card to Elmer’s, given to us by the Riviera management last year for not being able to have our usual Christmas dinner at the park due to the pandemic. We were waiting for a special occasion to use it. The other was an invitation from Linda be be her guest at Casa Flores Mexican restaurant at a reunion dinner for former students of Jerome Prairie Elementary School. Linda attended 5th and 6th grades there after we moved to Grants Pass in 1970. The group seemed to be all ladies, who greatly enjoyed talking with each other, while I mostly just watched and listened. And of course, I really enjoyed the enchilada I ate there. There were also a couple of pot-luck dinners I attended, one with the DUP, and the other with friends here at the Riviera park. 

The 30th of April proved to be the culmination of all the events of the past month, with the wedding of my sister Carol to her new husband, Morris Whitaker. Though both are classified as “elderly” (Carol is turning 85 next week, Morris is 82), they are both very healthy, active, and young at heart. The wedding took place at Carol’s ward meetinghouse, with her Bishop performing the ceremony. Her son Kirt and his wife Connie made the lovely decorations and handled the introductions. It was all very vivid for us to see live via Zoom, because we weren’t able to travel to Utah and attend in person. It was wonderful! 

I enjoyed the proceedings, but what brought tears to my eyes is what happened next. As the couple stepped forward to dance for the first time as husband and wife, I was expecting maybe a waltz or something, but was surprised when a fast, jazzy tune started playing instead. At the first beat of music, these two “old-timers” started doing a jitterbug, with all of its fast twists and turns!! Although he didn’t throw her up in the air or slide her under, it felt like I was seeing two teenagers dancing away. I couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgic at that moment. I’m sure that, just like our Mother and her second husband, Carol and Morris will have a lovely and lively life together as well.

Carol never seemed to consider ever remarrying, but now she seems to be following the pattern of both her mother and sister. Each of us, after being widows for about 10 years, and well into our 70s or 80s, met and married another older man and had many fulfilling years together. Because John and I thought we might not have too many anniversaries together, we decided to celebrate the 22nd of each month as our “Monthaversary”, and ended up having 146 of them. (12 years, 2 months) before he passed in 2016. But I’m still going strong it seems, and I hope to add a few more years to the 94 ½ I have now. 

Have a great Mother’s Day this month everyone. May the Lord bless you with health, strength, and vitality! With love, Marie