My Dear Family,
Well here we are another month gone. Hopefully the stuff that matters got done. It has been difficult for me to get the things done that I would like without my man of the hour around much. Bob works into the wee hours of the night and sometimes we say nary a word to each other in a few days’ time. He comes to bed when I’m sleeping and I rise and get the day moving while he sleeps. I know some folks have to work the night shift on a regular basis, year after year, and I have so enjoyed having Bob around all these years. It is hard to give that up as Penneys gets more difficult to work for and out of fear of losing one’s job. Emma and I decided to go to Georgia for spring break and Bob wanted and needed so badly a break from the grueling hours. So JCPenney sent up someone from the head office in Dallas to take his place while we were gone. I thought that rather odd because that has never happened before in all the years Bob has worked there, and the guy who came up was not particularly happy as he had a cush desk job and used to working half days on Fridays. (Bob also found out that in two weeks this guy’s job would be gone and he along with it). So the vacation to Georgia was a wonderful reprieve.
We took two days to drive down, two days to drive home, so that left us with only three days to enjoy the Felsted’s company. And enjoy we did. I know to many of you working is not much of a vacation, but it is a joy to do things for others and leave some place better than when you got there. You would know that if you listened to Grandpa and Grandma Barrus. Chris was gracious and let Bob patch a hole in the main bathroom ceiling (the one poor Stewart made as he was trying to get his stuff out of the attic) and let me dabble in the garden. Have you ever tried to remove pampus grass? Save yourself! Run! Never plant it! It is beautiful to look at with its tall plumes and waving grass blades, but it is a bugger to remove. Its’ roots go deep and the grass blades cut you like knives. Chris, Emma and I were able to cut down all the foliage and hoped that Bob would be able to cut out the roots, but after working for an hour digging around the base and trying to loosen the roots, we told him to quit and come inside. It was dark by then and pity was on his side. I am ashamed to say we left Chris the horrible task of trying to remove it. I know that she called a nursery to ask their advice on what would be the best way to remove the roots, sawsall? chainsaw? lighter fluid? Each suggestion was met with a “Yeah, you could try that.” I had no idea they were so hard to get rid of. Of course while we were there we had to go to Noah’s Ark, a rescue operation for large animals – bears, lions, tigers, monkeys, horses, buffalo, emus, crocs, etc. If you can think of it, they probably have it. It is free though we like to leave a small donation for all the expenses they endure. We also went shopping and ate some delicious meals and talked and laughed and had a wonderful time. Too soon it was time to come home.
I am getting along okay as the YW president in our ward. I struggle to think of things to do on Wednesday nights and want the girls to feel like the women I work with care about each of them. I struggle having 1 ½ counselors and no secretary. Actually I do have a secretary but she doesn’t function. It is hard to work in this area in the church. Not enough willing hands and when you are coming from very functioning stakes and wards in other parts of the united states it is hard and awkward to go back to how things were here 25 years ago. Wah, wah, wah. Now that the excuse making is out of the way I can now look at my frailties and realize that I need to step things up a bit. I need many of your imaginative brains. Anybody willing to lend them to me for a while? Funny thing is, Taylor’s ward just called her to be the YW president in her ward. We commiserate together and try to brainstorm and then go forward with faith that all things will work together for the YW’s good. Thankfully I do know that the Lord is in charge and steps in frequently. I love His program. No good woman left behind.
Emma is almost done with tennis. She is loving her woodworking class. She has stripped my piano bench and put a lovely finish on it, made a cutting board with several different kinds of wood (the graining is beautiful), completed a keepsake box and is working on a three D wall hanging made up of five galloping horses. I had found this pattern in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine over 25 years ago and always wanted to make it. She was willing and I was thrilled. Her shop teacher wanted the horses to look more realistic but I like the modern edge of the original pattern. Uncle John will be jealous when he sees it. It will be a beauty. She still hasn’t started work at Six Flags. The weather is still chilly here so the pool isn’t quite open. She had one more evening of training for the life guards. She had come home from school the day she was supposed to go up with a stomach ache. She was brave and drove half way there before having to pull over sick by the side of the road. She called me to call them to report that she just couldn’t make it. She is excited to just start already so hopefully that will kick in as tennis winds down.
I bought myself a Mother’s Day gift a few days ago. I wanted my water fountain from Austin to be installed in the backyard but it ended up by the driveway. It does look lovely there I must admit but wanted to hear the water splashing from inside the house. I had my eye on a fountain at Costco so I splurged and got it. Yesterday Emma and I pulled out the rest of the grass in the garden right out the back door and put in some plants and fountain. Just as my energy was flagging I had a knight dressed in jeans show up to help with the digging up and turning of soil and installing the fountain. I tell you, what will I do without my Bob to implement my ideas? I just don’t have the strength that I used to. Anyway, it looks lovely out there and I love the sound of the water. I am grateful that I have Emma also. She is a good worker and has good ideas.
Taylor and kids were kind enough to come up on Thursday. Good for me, but bad for them. I forgot I was supposed to pick up my friend from Kansas at the airport around noon. I kept thinking I was supposed to do that on Friday. It just meant that Taylor was quick on her feet and incorporated her into the spa day that Addie and Dallin were going to give this grandma for Mother’s Day. They gave us shoulder, head and feet massages, did our nails (I still have on my glittery polish on!), make up do-overs (which needed to be removed as soon as pictures were taken) and lovely new hair-dos. It was great! That evening Austin came up and we all went to the circus. At the intermission the kids wanted to know if it was time to go home but stayed for the best part – the animal acts. I must admit that the human acts were less than enthralling but I do enjoy the animals. We can now check that off our list for another five years. I am glad we went. The circus has just changed. There are no more three rings. Just one. And it is very noisy.
I am so grateful for the gospel. I still have memories of General Conference going around in my head, helping me improve and become more as the Savior would have me be. I really thought that by this age I would be more well done, as in well done, my good and faithful servant, but there is still so much that I need to learn and implement. Now I know what Grandpa Barrus was always talking about. There is always much to do in improving one’s self. There are painful lessons to learn but I find that I like myself better as I become more like the Savior.
Love, love, love to each and every one of you!
Ruth, Bob and Emma Jane Jane
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