In Memory Of

Chuck's mom died on February 22nd. She was 90 years old and had lived in a convalescent home for about 7-8 years but she seemed fine. A social worker told us she had gone into Mary Ann's room about 10:30am and she was in good spirits. They talked about her new roommate and she was excited to meet her.

Then around noon a nurse went in to check on her and found her unresponsive. It's kind of shocking to all of us. How one minute she could be just fine and then suddenly she's gone.

We all flew out to Denver on the 25th and got to spend some time with Rose, Chuck's sister. Rose had lived with Mary Ann her entire life until she went into the convalescent home. She's always been a strong-willed, stoic kind of personality but this has hit her hard. She was so glad to have us all there and we spent hours reminiscing, looking through pictures, all those things you do when you lose someone so close.

Chuck and I cleaned out his mom's room then brought everything to Rose's place and we all sorted through things. 

When we went out there in October to help Rose after her surgery, we made arrangements to see Mary Ann. Rose is paralyzed on her right side due to a stroke and it's just too hard for her to get around so it had been a couple years since they'd actually seen each other. Due to the pandemic we had to meet outside and if I remember right they said it was the first time Mary Ann had been out of bed in over a year. I'm so glad I snapped some pictures!

This is a little bit of what Chuck wrote on Facebook ~

The Lord brought her through many trials and delivered her many times from things that happened to her in her life. She was widowed at 30 with 4 kids 10 and under plus a 10,000 chicken egg ranch. She survived cancer and Covid 19. She did the best she could and asked God to help her with the rest. Her faith is what brought me to the Lord. I was her youngest and I will miss her greatly.

I'll see you on the other side Mom. Chuck

 

                                    Mary Ann Bacon Anderson

December 27, 1930 - February 22, 2021

                            

We flew in late Monday night and Chuck had more cancer surgery on Wednesday. I'll write about that in my next post.

So how are you doing? Holding up okay?

A Few Random Things

 I'm looking through my pictures and trying to remember what I haven't told you about yet.

 Beth's boyfriend lives about 20-30 minutes from us, depending on traffic so his parents and I met half way and let the kids see each other again. It's the first time since February! We went out for lunch then the two of them walked around the mall for a while.

While we were in Denver with Chuck's sister we took a day and drove about 2 hours south to see my sister. They live in the middle of nowhere and are in the process of building a house. They're literally 22 miles off the main road and there are very few houses around them!

Then you come up to their driveway

My sister said that on a clear day they can see Pikes Peak! 

 

Beth and I took part in our church's Trunk or Treat as Winnie the Pooh and Piglet. We usually have a huge Harvest Party with about 1300 people going through the hallways and classrooms playing games, bobbing for apples and sliding down giant inflatables set up in our gym. Obviously we couldn't do that this year so we did a drive-by trunk or treat and it was so much fun! Everyone thanked us for doing it. The community was so grateful there was someplace for their kids to go that night. And we had fun doing it! There were so many cute ideas!

I hope you had a wonderful week!

Long Distance Celebration and a Big Ooops

We celebrated Beth and Sharaya's birthday's before we left for Denver and I ended up buying Sharaya something she already had (a membership to an art museum.) Ooops! I should have known better! She loves art! And the art museum actually contacted me to tell me she already had a membership. So they refunded my money and now I'm looking for another gift for her.

We were in Denver on Beth's actual birthday. We got a text from Diana while we were at the hotel and she wanted to have some donuts delivered for her. Beth ended up eating a donut for breakfast every day we were there! She loved it!

She turned around to show me what she got!

Here she's saying, "Thank you Chickenbutt!"

 

We went to Red Robin for dinner but they didn't sing, no candle or anything but that was okay. We all wished her a Happy Birthday and she got her sundae!

What do you do to celebrate birthdays? 

Are you low-key or a big party person?

Took The Pressure Off

Diana sent me a text today reminding me how long it's been since I've posted. I know it's been a while. I keep thinking about it. But honestly I took the pressure to post off my plate and it was so nice! I thought about the blog - and all of you - a lot but realizing it was okay not to write was so freeing. Many of you are posting about your quarantined lives and how you've slowed way down... but that's not how it is here.

I've been at work 6 out of the last 7 days. We have so many events coming up.

We have to get the Mason out here to fix our chimney. The weather is already getting cold and wet! And the gutters too! I've got to get up there and clean the gutters.

I'm trying to plan a time to go to San Diego to help my sister sort through our dads things.

Chuck has another scan this week to see how the cancer is doing. Personally I don't see good progress... but, I guess I'll wait until we get the results on Thursday.

Denver! I forgot that we were in Denver. We didn't get as much 'work' done as I thought we would. First because the girls and Chuck did so much before we went. But also we found Rose just wanted to sit and talk. I think she really misses the companionship. She lived with her mom her whole life and now mom has been in a convalescent home for many years.

But! We were able to schedule an outdoor visit! At first mom didn't want to get out of bed (she's been bedridden for a year!) but the doctor's and nurses insisted. It was only 15 minutes but it was good to hear her voice and spend time with her. That's Rose in the wheelchair.

 

At Rose's we cleared out part of the back bedroom, finished up the living room, we bought lights and hung them in the laundry room, we put a clock in her bedroom, we gathered all the receipts we could from around the house and she spent days shredding them. We'd empty the shredder and she'd start again. But mostly we sat on the couch and talked about game shows, what she likes to eat, we went through old family photos and she and Chuck relived some of their childhood. One night we were headed back to the hotel and as I was going out the back door she was still talking... I think she really enjoyed the company.

There's a lot more to tell you but I'll close for now. It's good to be back and to read about what you've been up to! Take care! 

We're In the Middle of Part One

Wow. Not even sure where to begin. I've been wanting to get on here for a few days and now that I am, I'm not even sure what to say.

Maybe it's because there's no stress. See, we're on vacation right now. It's sort of a two part vacation.

The first part is here in Denver, where we're visiting Chuck's mom and sister. His mom was moved into assisted living a few months ago and his sister is now living alone. She had a stroke a few years ago and is paralyzed on her right side. We're here just helping around the house, cleaning the carpets and just loving on them. To be honest, it's been hard to see them like this. They're both aging and their health is getting worse. Chuck's sister never married and has always lived with their mom, they've taken care of one another and always been there for each other. (Chuck's dad died about 50 years ago.) And now mom is in assisted living and it's been so hard for them. His sister is having to take care of the house by herself, with only one hand and barely able to walk. We'll do what we can but it's hard living so far away.

We drove to Colorado and going through Eastern Washington and Idaho we saw all the smoke from the wild fires. We didn't actually see the fires themselves and I'm wondering if they're out by now. Not much about them on the news here in Denver.

 

 

 

 

 This country is so beautiful! I love the scenery and the different landscapes. And I love seeing it by car!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today we worked at the house, then met them for lunch at a Thai restaurant right across from the nursing home. The weather has been beautiful, thank goodness! Chuck's mom isn't able to get into a car so Chuck pushed her across the street in her wheel chair. She told us this afternoon that is was too traumatic for her. :(

We came back to the hotel and the girls went swimming again. They love to swim! We need to do this more often at home.

 

 

On Friday, our real vacation begins. The girls fly home and Chuck and I continue driving... to Banff!! We'll be spending a week celebrating our 30th Anniversary. Just the two of us, relaxing, reading, seeing Calgary, Banff and Lake Louise. 

We. Can't. Wait!

Let Us Show You Around!

Two days and 1300 miles later, we're in Denver. Arrived last night after two days of driving; eleven hours each day. Warm weather, beautiful scenery. Had lunch yesterday in a small town in Montana. Population 3400. We drove hour upon hour without seeing a building more than 3 stories high. And most of those were the gorgeous homes perched on top of rolling hills. I wondered if the kids growing up in these small towns had ever seen a sky scraper? Had they ever visited 'the big city'? I grew up in San Diego and have lived most of my adult life in Seattle, so these small towns intrigue me. I love the quiet streets, the open country side, the relaxed lifestyle.  I wonder how my life would be different if I lived there.

We started having minor car trouble just outside of Denver last night, so Chuck has taken it to the shop. In the mean time, Beth and I are hanging out at the hotel. We had breakfast downstairs and then decided to show you around. :)

We always show Beth how to get to the room by herself.

She knows our room number and which floor we're on: Three.

(Doesn't she look thrilled? I think she ate too much breakfast!')

When you come off the elevator, which way do you go?

The hallways can be confusing!

When you step off the elevator, there is a small table with a mirror above it. We've told Beth she needs to smile at herself when she goes to our room. So she knows to go by the mirror! I do love that face!

There are two small arrows on the bottom of the room key. She knows to put those in the key holder.

And now you know how to get to our room too! :)

We are here for a few days to help Chuck's mom and sister with a few things in their condo. His mom will be 80 this year, is a cancer survivor and is struggling with her health. His sister suffered a stroke a few years ago and is paralyzed on her right side. There are things like changing light bulbs and reaching the rods in their closets that we are going to fix. It's going to be a lot of work but we really want to make a difference for them.

There's no one like family!