A Visit With Mom

November 11th I drove up to have a visit with my mom. I told her to make a project list and we would work on as many things as we could while I was there. I hadn't been home since my dad passed away and I wanted to see how she was really doing. The drive up was terrible, a Utah Highway Patrol had the nerve to pull me over because I was speeding. He even gave me a ticket. I was really upset that I let that happen. It was completely avoidable...after he flashed his lights at me (to warn me to slow down) I should have never passed him. I was just outside of Nephi when it happened. I was so upset with myself that when he came back and gave me the ticket and asked if I had any questions, I couldn't even talk, all I could do was shake my head. I met my friend Trisha in American Fork for lunch a little while later. It was so good to see her and she kept my mind off my troubles for a minute. It took me several hours before I had the nerve to call Todd and tell him what I had done. The last thing he said to me before I left Vegas was, "Don't get a speeding ticket." By the time I got off the phone, to my mother and sisters dismay, I had promised him that I would never speed again...ever. They got a good laugh out of that.

The night I arrived, I went with my mom and two sisters to a special memorial put on by the hospice team that had taken care of my dad. It was a nice evening. They had some musical numbers and a few speakers and a slide show with pictures of the family members who had passed away this year. It was hard watching the slide show, especially when the pictures of my dad came up on the screen.

The next day we went to the cemetery. It was the first time that I had seen the head stone. I thought it was very beautiful. It still doesn't seem real though.

My mom took most of the days off while I was visiting...but a few days she worked half days. One of those mornings, I got to go and visit grandma Linge. I have really enjoyed getting to know her and always look forward to seeing her.

Even though it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet, we decorated my mom's house for Christmas. She was going to Bozeman for Thanksgiving and said she couldn't bear to think of doing all the decorating when she got home. Her heart wasn't really in the decorating spirit this year, which was understandable. My mom has a plethora of Christmas boxes in the garage. We must have carried in at least a hundred (OK it was a little less than that.) It took us two days but, we got the tree up and all the other decorations. I was so glad that I got to help with that. I don't imagine I have helped her decorate her tree since I moved out. It was very special.
We even made a trip to the Bountiful temple. I love when we get a chance to go to the temple together, it doesn't happen very often. When we came outside, the sun was just setting and it was a breathtaking sight. I love Bountiful, it's a very beautiful place.

We organized my dad's medical papers and all the cards and letters we received after he passed away, into four different scrapbooks. It was a big project, but worth it. One morning we worked outside cleaning up stuff from behind the shed. After the truck was loaded, I took my first trip to the garbage dump. I was fascinated with the whole process. It was pretty cool standing on the back of the truck and throwing everything into the pile. It was especially fun to throw the old windows. After we were done unloading, my mom discovered she had accidentally locked the keys in the truck. Yes, it was a very interesting place to be stuck. The horrible stench in the air was nauseating and the thousands of birds flying overhead made me feel vulnerable. My mom called my brother-in-law to see if he could bring us a spare key. We had about 30 minutes to wait until we were rescued. We watched others as they dumped their trash, we swept out the back of the truck with our gloved hands, and sat on a tarp huddled together when the wind picked up. It just goes to show that I can have a great time with my mom, no matter where we are.

A lot of people ask me, "How is your mom doing?" The truth is, it is very hard for her. She misses my dad very much and is still mourning a great deal. In spite of this, she is incredibly brave and strong and she continually tells us how blessed she is. I admire her so much and am very proud of the efforts she is making to move forward and try to find happiness in life. I had a great visit with my family and headed home on Wednesday. Todd's dad had driven all the way from Georgia a few days before I left for Utah. I felt bad I missed some of his visit but we met up in Cedar on my way home from my mom's so he would get a chance to see Ariel. Grandpa took us to lunch and we enjoyed our short visit with her and then headed home. Grandpa spoiled us while he was here and even though his visit seemed extra short this time, we were glad that he made the long drive out to see us.