Nostalgic Journey

Yesterday I tackled a project that has been on my bucket list for several years. My sister gave me a big bag of the letters I wrote to her over the years and I thought someday I will read them. They stayed safely tucked away "until I have time." Yesterday I decided the time had come and dug them out of hiding.

The first thing I needed to do was sort and organize them. It took me most of the day to do that. Now each year is in a separate folder with the letters flattened and in order by date. They are ready to be read and enjoyed. I read a few snatches here and there and look forward to reading them in entirety. I'm sure I have forgotten many of the little incidents they will reveal.

I made some interesting observations as I organized the letters. Most of the envelopes were missing but I amazed myself that I had faithfully written the date on all but a small handful of letters. That greatly helped in organizing them. The first letter was from 1965 after my sister was newly married and the last was in 2004. I kept the few envelopes that were included because they show the rising cost of postage. In 1965 a stamp was five cents and by 1996 it had risen to thirty-two cents. 

The letters also revealed other progressions. In the 60s and 70s most of my letters were written on whatever scrap or advertising tablets I could get free. In 1980 I had enough money to actually purchase a tablet of plain writing paper. 

All of the letters were handwritten until 1991. Then I purchased my first computer and the first typed letter appeared. By 1992, the majority of the letters were typed. The first computer paper had those strips on each side with holes to feed the paper through the printer.

I got a Juno email account in 1996 and after that most of the letters were sent by email. They would have disappeared into cyberspace but my sister printed them out and saved them. I'm sorry to say I did not return the favor and save all the letters and emails she sent to me.Old letters are fast becoming antiques as this generation communicates by disposable messages via email, text, twitter, and whatnot. 

I will read these letters to see if the words I wrote are worth saving for my posterity. If I wrote words better left unsaid, those will disappear. "By thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

Gift Wrap

The Gift Wrap and The Jewel

I looked in the mirror and what did I see

But a little old lady peering back at me,

With bags and sags and wrinkles, and wispy white hair

and I asked my reflection, how did you get there?

You once were straight and vigorous,

And now you're stooped and weak,

When I tried so hard to keep you

From becoming an antique.

My reflection's eyes twinkled,

And she solemnly replied,

You're looking at the gift wrap

And not the jewel inside.

A living gem and precious,

Of unimagined worth,

Unique and true, the real you,

The only one on earth.

The years that spoil your gift wrap

With other things more cruel,

Should purify and strengthen

And polish up that jewel.

So focus your attention

On the inside, not the out,

By being kinder, wiser,

More content, and more devout.

Then, when your gift wrap's stripped away,

Your jewel will be set free,

To radiate God's glory

Throughout eternity.

By Wanda B. Goines (age 92)

Switzerland Film

This video was produced for the 300th anniversary of the Hersheys in America and celebrated this past weekend.

More Changes

About this time last year, Leroy's mom decided she is tired of maintaining a house and wants to go to an assisted living home where she would not be so lonely. At 93, I could understand and appreciate that decision. Her diminishing vision and hearing increasingly limited her activities. She put her name on the waiting list at her first choice of a Home and set about disbursing her possessions. 

We had several family meetings to discuss how to proceed and contracted with an auctioneer for a public sale of her property and contents at the end of April this year. Then we sorted through things that she thought should stay in the family or that someone in the family might want for sentimental reasons. A family sale was held at the end of January for those things. It was a blessing to have her with us to tell us what things were and where they came from.

Then the huge task of emptying the house and preparing for public sale began. Two auctioneers were selling most of the day on April 29. By the end of the day her possessions had been reduced to personal things that would fit in one room. 

A room was still not available at the Home so she lived with her single daughter until there would be an opening for her. We were pleasantly surprised when the wait turned out to be only four months. On Mom's 94th birthday, she was informed that a room was available. A few days later, on Labor Day, she moved to the Home. 

Some old people are uncooperative and cause major problem for their children. We have been blessed with a mom who always accepted life as it came and made the best of it whether it was pleasant or not. She decided on her own that she no longer wants to drive a car and when she was ready to go to a Home. She is a great example of aging with grace. I hope I can be the same if I live that long and not create a problem for my children.

Changes

Life is a series of changes. Most of them are so gradual they are barely noticeable unless you look back over a period of years. Other times, the changes come swiftly or even unexpectedly and life is never the same again. We had a couple changes this week that we knew were coming but they happened the same day.

In October it will be 49 years since we moved into the house we built the first year we were married. We had a list of things we wanted to do "someday" and began the next spring by seeding grass on the lawn. As the family grew, we added bedrooms and bath upstairs, built a separate garage (and enlarged it when the boys were teenagers), fixed up the basement, put shutters on, and added an enclosed patio. The last thing on the list was to blacktop the driveway. It finally happened. They came on Tuesday to get it ready and the asphalt was applied on Wednesday. We will never have to rake stones out of the grass again when the snow drifts melt. 

While most of this was being done, I was off on a play day with Grayson. I started keeping him one day each week when he was about two months old. He was just a little bump in my cradle.

But he grew fast 

and we had a lot of good times together.

He liked to help bake and work in the garden.

Next week he will start kindergarten and go to school every day so the visits will have to stop. Yesterday was his last weekly visit so I decided to do something special to mark the occasion. He's all into trains right now so a trip to Strasburg Railroad was just the ticket. He jumped up and down when I told him we're going for a ride on a real train.

We both enjoyed the ride and topped off the day with lunch at McDonalds on the way home. Then we came home to watch the machines working on the driveway.

When I look at the time ahead of me I feel at loose ends. I have finished all the writing projects I had started, Grayson won't be coming anymore, and my best history collaborator passed into history himself on August 8. What am I going to do? I need a new project. 

Jab! That was my conscience telling me I need to get off the computer and begin with housecleaning the patio. It's time for that end-of-summer job. Okay, okay. I'm going.

The Heavens Declare

Today was the big day of the 2017 total eclipse. People drove hours from their homes all across the nation to see it and eclipse glasses were the hottest item on the market. It was only about 75% here but enough to darken the house around 2:40 p.m. 

I did not have anything that made it safe to look at the sun so I watched it on a news report on the computer. The crowds in Idaho Falls went wild when the moon totally blocked out the sun in the middle of the day. 

It got dark enough that the street lights came on and stars appeared. The air turned cooler and it was possible to look at the sun without protective glasses for a little over a minute. I could hear people exclaiming and screaming at the sight. 

It was indeed a sight to behold, but the response of the crowd made me think of the verse that says "they worshiped the creature more than the Creator." The only mention I heard of God in the whole time was a repeated "Oh my God!" and it was not said in a worshipful way. 

We heard an excellent sermon Sunday morning on the subject. Our minister said the only reason man can accurately predict the timing and path of the eclipse is because of the orderliness and power of God and the fact that He continues to control all things. 

While a total eclipse is a rare and amazing event, it is more than a phenomena or freak nature show. It is a display of the power of God. 

"The heavens declare the glory of God the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech and night unto night shows knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard." Psalm 19:1-3

Family Pictures

Here are the family pictures I promised would follow. It took us 50 years to get this tribe together. (Click to enlarge)

Family groups left to right--Gerald & Kelly Stauffer, Dale & Tawnya Stauffer with 9 children, us, Daryl & Velma, Cheryl & Richard Miller with 3 children and one daughter-in-law, Gene & Amy Stauffer with 1 son, Jay & Marilyn Martin with 5 children

Our five children, left to right: Gerald, Dale, Gene, Daryl, Cheryl
In order by age: Daryl, Dale, Cheryl, Gene, Gerald

Our five children and a borrowed one, Jay Martin, on left

The grandchildren: Left side, Dale's 9 children; Center, Cheryl's 3 children and Gene's one son in center front; Right side, Jay's 5 children

For this occasion I wanted a full dress formal picture and asked everyone to come dressed like they were at a wedding. Aren't they beautiful!