Thursday, November 11, 2004
SUMMER OF CHANGE....1983
The rest of May followed our familiar pattern. We went to Arkansas to celebrate mom and aunt Beulah’s birthdays, George came home over Memorial Day week-end to help me celebrate mine, Becky and family were here and John called. Aunt Mary, aunt Sally and her daughter Marsha came to visit mom as they were planning a little trip together. They came here to pick mom up and they all left the next day.
We made a 4-day trip to see John and Barbara and had a wonderful time visiting with them and seeing the new sights John had planned. Of course, it was always high on our list to go back to the French Quarter for our favorite shops and eating. It was a fast trip but a good one. Back home, there was a note on the table that mom had gone back to Blair with aunt Mary and aunt Sally. Their brother was very ill, in the hospital, and not expected to live.
A few days later, aunt Mary called to tell me that uncle Bud had died. He was their younger brother and I was so happy that mom arrived in time to see him. She said when she walked in to his room, his monitors just went crazy. They had always been the same, quiet spirits and were very close in their years at home. A long battle with leukemia finally ended his life.
We made plans to attend the funeral and left the next day. Relatives from all over the country congregated at the big house on the hill and relived some of the good old days gone by with favorite stories. Uncle Bud was the first of mom’s siblings to pass away and it was very difficult for them all.
On July 12th George called to tell us grandma Strain died and her funeral was to be in Cabool on Friday. They were bringing grandma back home to be buried beside grandpa. I called Becky to let her know so she and Hank could attend. Grandma had lived with George Sr. and his wife for some time and more recently had been in a nursing home. She lived to be way up in years and didn’t have a selfish bone in her body…she was a very low maintenance woman and taught me a lot about taking things as they come. I knew I would miss her.
Sometime later, Warren’s blood pressure spiked and he complained of feeling weak, with vomiting following. I was afraid of infection so got him to Leonard Wood as fast as I could. He stayed a few days and I came back to work my three days….then when he was released I drove back to bring him home. It was a small infection but was under control when they released him.
Mid-August came and Warren and I decided to drive to West Plains to see the convenience store where Becky was newly employed as manager. She gave us a cup of coffee and was telling us how hard it was to get good help. There had been problems with clerks not showing up, outright stealing and helping themselves to the merchandize. Warren laughed and said, “What you need is someone like your mother…” and Becky said, “That’s exactly right. If she wasn’t working already I’d hire her on the spot.”
Before I thought, I said, “Well, I could work four days a week when I don’t work for the Patrol.” We talked about the probabilities for a little bit, and got around to working out the details….it would be easy to put me on a shift the four days I was available so she sent me next door with an application. In a few short moments, I was an employee. Becky put me right behind the counter and started my training. We never told anyone that I was her mother. We didn’t want them to think I would be shown partiality. Our work relationship was “Esther” and “Becky.” So that is how I began working a 7-day week…it made my life very interesting, as we shall see down the road……..
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
We made a 4-day trip to see John and Barbara and had a wonderful time visiting with them and seeing the new sights John had planned. Of course, it was always high on our list to go back to the French Quarter for our favorite shops and eating. It was a fast trip but a good one. Back home, there was a note on the table that mom had gone back to Blair with aunt Mary and aunt Sally. Their brother was very ill, in the hospital, and not expected to live.
A few days later, aunt Mary called to tell me that uncle Bud had died. He was their younger brother and I was so happy that mom arrived in time to see him. She said when she walked in to his room, his monitors just went crazy. They had always been the same, quiet spirits and were very close in their years at home. A long battle with leukemia finally ended his life.
We made plans to attend the funeral and left the next day. Relatives from all over the country congregated at the big house on the hill and relived some of the good old days gone by with favorite stories. Uncle Bud was the first of mom’s siblings to pass away and it was very difficult for them all.
On July 12th George called to tell us grandma Strain died and her funeral was to be in Cabool on Friday. They were bringing grandma back home to be buried beside grandpa. I called Becky to let her know so she and Hank could attend. Grandma had lived with George Sr. and his wife for some time and more recently had been in a nursing home. She lived to be way up in years and didn’t have a selfish bone in her body…she was a very low maintenance woman and taught me a lot about taking things as they come. I knew I would miss her.
Sometime later, Warren’s blood pressure spiked and he complained of feeling weak, with vomiting following. I was afraid of infection so got him to Leonard Wood as fast as I could. He stayed a few days and I came back to work my three days….then when he was released I drove back to bring him home. It was a small infection but was under control when they released him.
Mid-August came and Warren and I decided to drive to West Plains to see the convenience store where Becky was newly employed as manager. She gave us a cup of coffee and was telling us how hard it was to get good help. There had been problems with clerks not showing up, outright stealing and helping themselves to the merchandize. Warren laughed and said, “What you need is someone like your mother…” and Becky said, “That’s exactly right. If she wasn’t working already I’d hire her on the spot.”
Before I thought, I said, “Well, I could work four days a week when I don’t work for the Patrol.” We talked about the probabilities for a little bit, and got around to working out the details….it would be easy to put me on a shift the four days I was available so she sent me next door with an application. In a few short moments, I was an employee. Becky put me right behind the counter and started my training. We never told anyone that I was her mother. We didn’t want them to think I would be shown partiality. Our work relationship was “Esther” and “Becky.” So that is how I began working a 7-day week…it made my life very interesting, as we shall see down the road……..
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
