Let's Have a Look-See

We took a couple of hours to drive to the Wood River Valley and look at what was left of the leaves.  If you haven't taken a moment to listen to the river and watch the leaves float down from the trees, I highly recommend it.  The walk was nice. And finding these leaves floating in the river was peaceful. It's Fall Ya'll 

I was trying to get to the Post Office yesterday to send a birthday gift to my sweet grand daughter.  Remember that I live in a small town in Idaho. When I got there the two employees were outside trying to get a look at the eclipse. I told them to take there time. I still needed to put the gift in a box.  When they came in one if them gave me a pair if glasses so I could look too.   It was breathtaking.  This kind gester changed my view and testified that there is a God who loves and knows me.  I took a walk later and was awed by the color of this tree.  And this one. For the beauty of the Earth. He created it for our joy. 

My mom is still keeping me on my toes.  The other day I had a Facebook memory pop up.  We all have the same middle name. Then the giants fired their manager. It's hard to believe she wasn't excited about that. Then in General Confrence this morning someone gave a talk about guiding tours in the Feather River temple and then dropped the name, Virgil Atkinson.  I groaned, Wes groaned and I'm pretty sure my mom rolled over in her grave.  And I finished the thank you cards today. Some of them were pretty hard to write. I wish I could talk to her. I miss her, but am happy to have these gentle reminders of her life. 

Verna Kay Mathews Empey was born January 19, 1934 in Logan Utah.   She lived a peaceful small town life in Providence Utah. There was ice skating, dolls and dresses.  She said that she could read chapter books in Kindergarten and that her favorite room at school was the library. She took piano and dance lessons and had plenty of family around her. Her uncles each spent time at their house while they lived in Logan to go to school.  Most of her life she lived next door to her grandparents.   She was a good girl and said she never got into trouble. Her mother had a bad heart as a result of Rheumatic Fever as a child,  and was not supposed to have any more children but she always wanted a brother and was very happy when Larry was born when she was 8.   When she was in the 7th grade her mother had a stroke. She recovered pretty well, but Kay had to help around the house under her mot...

I got to Allison's house last week and learned that we were going to wear our Giants shirts to the service. I left mine at home so I just wore black.  I did the flowers in Giants colors.  The service started at 1:00. I told Wes to start us...oh and say a prayer. I gave a life sketch and Ty dedicated the grave. The kids wanted to watch the casket get lowered. We were in the car, on our way home by 1:30.  We were on our way to Idaho within a couple of hours. I love the Seirras in the Summer, but I hope I never have to see them as many times as I did this year.  I miss my mom. I'm always thinking of something to tell her. I miss her most on Sundays. I loved her telling me about the games and that she enjoyed watching church. She had good balance in life. 

When Spencer sends flowers, he sends flowers.  I read a letter today describing my mom's mom funeral, many years ago. There were so many flowers. I'm pretty sure there will be none at my mom's so I will post a couple here. From my walk yesterday.  From Fort Collins Escape to the backyard.  I'm in Yuba City for a simple graveside service. Just us siblings.  Partly because of a Covid outbreak and partly because my siblings don't really know how to deal with death.   I needed to see my mom put in her final resting place.  Can  believe this? Fastest headstone in history. My brother is here with his wife. I can't figure out why. To be honest she said some words to me before they left my dad's funeral that set off a few emotions...and not the good ones. I think to myself, what would my mom do. I don't know.  She really didn't like her eieither.   Let the wild rumpus begin.

The Fountains let us down. For what ever reason, they wouldn't administer the morphine to my mom. After the second day of not doing it, I felt the need to bring in a few more prayers. I asked my prayer group for help. The next day I felt the power of Heaven as they did give her the meds. Her body started to shut down. She passed away on September 7, 38 days after my dad.  It's hard. I've talked to her most days since Callie was born. She became a mother to Hannah, after her mother was killed in an accident.  We were both caring for newborns. It was a strange thing that brought us together.  I brought her phone home. I was keeping some of her friends up to date. It rang tonight with a reminder for her Macular shot. My first thought was that it would be hard for me to cancel the appointment.  I'm not sure I can say that she won't be coming back. My second thought was that she's not blind anymore.   Sometimes death is a gift. She was going to loose...