Father's Day

Panoramic view from an upstairs window.

I think it rained every day last week. And we saw very little sunshine. Rain is nice and needed, but I think it should be like Camelot and only fall after sundown. The gray, overcast days get to me after a while. The warm rainy weather has made the gardens happy. They are at their best right now. Everything is lush and green and growing like weeds – especially the weeds. The first of the peonies have opened. We ate the first of our strawberries on Friday. The fields and roadsides are colorful with daisies, buttercups, orange and yellow hawkweed, and wild roses.

Gooseberries.

Julie's peonies.

My nephew Stephen, Stacey’s sister Audrey’s son, was married yesterday in Portland. Stacey flew out to attend. She was supposed to leave out of Buffalo on Wednesday, but she was flying standby (she gets vouchers from her sister Roxann who works for Southwest) and there were thunderstorms and a lot of canceled flights and she couldn’t find a flight. So she came home Wednesday night, very discouraged. She was just going to not go, but decided to try again for a flight on Thursday morning. She finally made it, later than expected, but glad to be there. She’ll be home tomorrow.

So in her absence, we are doing what we can to cope. We do okay, but just okay. We don’t have Stacey’s creative flare when it comes to making dinner. We’ve eaten a lot of ramen the last few days. Hannah made pizza on Friday and we told her to make enough to keep us in leftovers for a while. I tried to keep up with the laundry, but I forget sometimes and don’t get around to switching loads on the same day. We’ll be glad when Stacey is home again. She’s flying home on standby too, so we’re not quite sure if she’ll be home today or tomorrow. Kurt and Julie are in Portland at the wedding too.

No matter what, Stacey and Kurt and Julie will be home by tomorrow. Stacey will actually only be home for a few hours because she, Hannah, Josiah, and I are leaving on Tuesday morning to attend a family reunion in Indiana. We won’t be home again until Saturday night. It’s been three years since the last reunion and my Indiana Rathfon cousins are hosting this one. We’re driving and it’s a long drive for us – eleven hours one way – but we’re very excited to be with family that we don’t get to see very often. My parents will be there. Sarah is flying to St. Louis and driving them and two of John and Mindy’s boys, Asa and Enoch. Of my siblings, Hollie and her family, Nancy and Bob, and Jaynan and her family will be there. Rachel and Hazel will be there and when the reunion is over they are coming home to visit us for two weeks. Besides Sarah and Rachel, none of my other children could make it and I will miss seeing them. Lots of my Uncle Bud’s family will be there (most of them live there). The Grahams won’t be there nor will any of my Uncle Bob’s family and that makes me sad. But those of us who will be there will have a great time, I’m sure. I’ll tell you all about it next week.

While they were gone, we’ve been keeping an eye on things at the Shillig’s house. Josiah has been watering Julie’s plants. I’ve been mowing their lawn. This week while we’re gone, things will switch and Kurt and Julie will keep an eye on things over here. Kurt will do Josiah’s chores down at the barn. They won’t have to worry about Pancho like they usually do. It’s nice having family next door.

I, as always, am nervous about being gone. As much as I love my family and look forward to seeing them, I don’t like being away from home. My homebody tendencies have grown stronger as I’ve grown older. When I’m not home I worry that something will go wrong – either to us while we’re traveling or to our home while we’re away. I fret over things most people would think are silly. Things like the fact that my peonies will be at their peak while I’m gone. I wait all year for them to bloom and I won’t be here to enjoy them. And the linden tree I’ve waited seven years to see bloom will bloom for the first time this year and, of course, it will happen this week while I’m away. And I know the weeds will get out of control. I weed some part of my gardens every day of the week except Sunday. It’s amazing how crazy they can get in just four days. And even though I know Kurt is perfectly capable of taking care of the chickens, turkeys, rabbits, and the goose, I worry that some unexpected circumstance will arise that will give him trouble. I guess it really comes down to the fact that I love being home and being away, no matter how much I love the people I will see, makes me a little anxious.

Cornflowers.

Poppies.

Little apples.

The house from the back.

Today is Father’s Day. It’s hard for me to write a fitting tribute to my father. He is great in so many ways that I can hardly begin to describe him and the influence he has had on me. He is one of the foremost men in his profession in the world. He has worked hard all his life to take care of his family and in doing so has also blessed the lives of thousands of people through that work. He has always been an example to me of a loving and affectionate husband. We, his children, have never had a moment’s doubt that my father adores my mother. My father is smart and funny. But most of all, he has always been an example of a man who tries to live the Gospel. He reads his scriptures and countless other Gospel related books, he loves to teach Sunday School (I inherited that from him), and most of all he loves to serve in the Temple. He has served as a temple worker for decades now in both the Los Angeles and St. Louis temples. I will get to see my father and my mother in just a few days at the family reunion and I can hardly wait.

After a week of rain, the sun rose this morning in a clear sky. The cool overcast days have gone and it is sunny and warm and glorious today. In honor of Father’s Day at church today they served us cookies and root beer floats. That was nice. After lunch today Hannah and Josiah gave me gifts – new thermometers for the porch and garden and new tennis shoes. What good children. Tonight we won’t have our regular Sabbath Soiree at their house. Instead we’ll just sit around, the three of us, and try to entertain ourselves as best we can.

Sunset on Friday.