Saturday, June 2, 2018
From my Facebook post:
I received sad news on Memorial Day morning. My cousin Debbie called to tell me that her mother, my aunt Bernice (who was married to my mom's brother Jim), passed away that morning. I, my brother, and many of my cousins have such fond memories of spending time at my aunt and uncle's ranch in Northern Idaho, just a few miles from Lake Coeur d'Alene. I helped buck bales in the summer, and often we'd spend Thanksgiving there and go out into the forested property to pick out our Christmas Tree to take home. I learned what a calico cat was (don't call it a Conoco cat or they will never let you live it down, and they will name their other cat Texaco!), and I loved Yogi the little buck sheep, Oscaretta the duck (she was Oscar until she started laying eggs), and Big Ears, the beautiful Brown Swiss cow (her ears were rather large when she was a heifer). The ranch was a magical place to this city girl.
My mom was scheduled to come here to Seattle for a visit next week; however, instead, we'll head back to my folks' hometown in Montana for my aunt's funeral. My mom had been wanting to get back home, and this may be the last time she's able to make the trip and be together with her two remaining sisters and see the cousins and nieces and nephews who will be there.
Some people have had concerns about whether or not my mom was up for such a long trip, but she's going to be 93 in July, and even if the trip takes a toll, I would rather have her make this trip home than sit around in that assisted living facility wishing she was in Montana. After all, she will have eternity to rest. We'll take it slow and stop when she needs to. I'll even honk and wave at the cows and the sheep along the roadside like my dad used to do when I was a kid on that long trip to Montana before the I-90 Interstate was completed.
We'll make this trip to honor my aunt Bernice, and I'll make this trip to honor my mom and this big extended family that I was so fortunate to be made a part of.
