Oct / Nov 2024

Dear family and friends.

The month of October brought delightfully mild weather to Grants Pass with no fires in our vicinity, so we were very lucky this year.  The trees surrounding Riviera Park where I live are mostly evergreens, with a few others here and there which are displaying their beautiful colors for us to enjoy. I hope you enjoy them too -- wherever you are. True says fall/autumn is her favorite time of year, and she was able to get in some good hiking time and be close to nature, which she thoroughly enjoys. However, she has been extra busy finishing the book she's been so involved with the past few months. 

Yes, the book she has put her whole heart and soul into, using every possible waking moment and long hours into the night, is almost done. She was advised to redo her original true-life experience account by adding more characters and making it more "readable" by transforming it into a historical novel with more conversations and deep feelings between the main figures.  She even changed the main character's name to "True" and used some of the names from her own family in supporting roles.  True is a gifted writer and uses beautifully expressive language to to describe the characters and events in a way that you feel like you really know them and are actually there. Through her determination, dedication and stick-to-it sense, True was able to meet the deadline she'd set for herself and send off the completed manuscript to her publisher for proof-reading. If all goes well, she hopes to have it published by the end of the year. Now she finally has the free time to do other things she's wished to do but had been putting off for later. 

Her main wish has always been to be not locked into caring for me forever, but to have a life of her own again. It's been exactly four years (Oct 15, 2020) since my amputation occurred and I needed someone to assume the role of full-time caretaker. She left her home and friends in the San Diego area and literally moved everything she had into my newly renovated mobile home that True and Linda had so marvelously converted into a beautiful and convenient living space for the both of us.  She was happy to do it then, but neither of us expected it to be a permanent situation where she'd forfeit the rest of her life to assist me. So we've agreed that now is the time for her to leave and get on with rest of her life, and let others share the blessings of being my caregivers, namely Diane and Linda.

So on October 23rd True packed up all of her essentials, including camping and fishing gear, and headed off to visit and stay a while with some of her dearly beloved friends and family members.  I feel confident being here more or less on my own, because I've made good progress during the past four years. My neighbor Diane who lives down the street brings me meals every day.  Linda checks in on me and does all the shopping, housework and other things that need to be done, whenever her part-time work schedule and other commitments allow. Diane will soon have eye surgery and be unable to help me for a few days, but I won't starve.  Linda has arranged for some of the Relief Society sisters in my ward to bring me meals each day. I've been strictly forbidden from using the stove or oven, but I can use the microwave to heat up anything I receive. 

True plans to come back sometime next spring, but not to stay.  I love my daughter (Bunnycita) and truly appreciate all that she has done for me, especially giving up the past four years of her life for me.  Now I hope she can find true happiness in whatever she undertakes to do. She's still a healthy young woman, and perhaps there's a special someone out there just waiting for her. Who knows?

Although True leaving was probably the most noteworthy thing to happen to me this month, it wasn't the only thing.  I was amazed and dumbfounded by a surprise visit from an unknown visitor in the park, who showed up at my door with a large box chock full of canned and boxed food items -- intended for an elaborate but easy to fix holiday family dinner.  It was a 5 lb. canned ham, a box of potato flakes, a jar of gravy, a bag of marshmallows, and cans of yams, cranberry sauce, green beans, corn, and many other extras!   I thanked her profusely for her kindness and generosity.  The lady said her name was Becky, and she lived in the park on 3rd street.  It was her custom to prepare a couple of boxes like this every year deliver them to unsuspecting unknown neighbors like me.  What a delightful thing for her to do!  It certainly made me happy, and I'll be sure to use it.

Another nice surprise was a visit from a group of Young Women in my ward and their leader, who appeared on my doorstep with a plate full of homemade cookies.  I joined them in singing the church hymn "Love One Another".  It was such a delightful experience!

Another thing of utmost importance to myself and the other residents of Riviera Mobile Park is that the ownership of the park changed hands on October 30th, and the residents themselves became the new owner!  We worked through a non-profit housing organization called CASA that has helped other mobile parks become self-sufficient to make the purchase possible.  I'm confident we will all like it once we see how efficiently the new management will work for each resident as we participate and cooperate together as co-owners.

You may recall from my letter last December that I fell and had a deep gash just under the knee of my good leg that stubbornly took eight months to fully heal.  I've been having such good luck not to fall since then, but wouldn't you know it couldn't last even a full year.  I was using my 3 wheel walker in the hallway at church last Sunday, but I had a miscue of some sort and down I went, scraping my knee on the carpeted floor.  It drew some blood and had to be bandaged.  But Jeff Jarvis was standing next to me, and he lifted me back up so I could use the walker to the car, then he took me home.  We'll see if when I have my next appointment with my doctor there's another unhealed wound to show him in exactly the same spot as the one he saw six months ago.

I'm sorry if I've rambled on for too long again.  I wish the Lord's blessings be with you, along with my love for each and every one of you.  Stay warm, stay healthy, and enjoy life.  Until we meet again --

Marie