Time Flies...And So It Has! Let's Play Catch-Up

This past 18 months or so have been cRaZy! In April last year we purchased a squat of dirt and began the process of building a soda shop for the Quench-It franchise we bought into. Well, weeks shy of 18 months later and we are not quite done....

In that same time frame, I worked a ta office building with 44 individual suites where I managed the building for those tenants, ran the phones and mail, and basically covered whatever the issue was--from printed connections, to toilet clogs to a construction caused fire sprinkler emergency that left the basement flooded TWICE! Of and 20 more office suites were being added as I finished my reign there.

I learned a GREAT deal, made many new friends with the tenants and discovered there really wasn't much I couldn't do if I thought hard enough about it. But I haven't been sad to be away. That said, since our building WASN'T finished like we thought--or at least in the time frame we were hoping for--I will be subbing for the girl I trained to take my place the day after tomorrow. I think I can face that as I know it is for one day only.

Genius Golfer has been a ROCKSTAR as far as figuring out what, how, and where to adjust things for the building. He has done more manual labor than many of the subcontractors, I am sure!  He is such a stud!! I certainly wouldn't be doing this with out his incredible support and help and knowledge PLUS his willingness to just figure it out himself. Once we are open and it is passed to me, I hope I can do it as well as he has been these past many months!

The other BIG deal that has happened it that my dad died at the end of January. He got Covid and suddenly couldn't breathe on January 14th--just a day after fixing the neighbor's driveway gate for her and that day after their 58th wedding anniversary. Because of his kidney transplant 10 years ago now, he fell into that immunocompromised group. Seeing as he and mom didn't really seem to believe Covid was real (thanks, Fox News!), they refused to be vaccinated and therefore had no extra protection. He was in the hospital about 2 weeks with a steady and foreseeable decline--and died on Sunday, January 30th. I spoke with him Friday, the 28th for exactly 8 minutes and said all the things that mattered. I could tell he knew it was the last time he'd speak with me on earth. That was a harder day actually that the call that he was gone.

My sisters was there with my mom--but because of Covid restrictions neither could go in with him at the hospital. Mom and Sister had planned the funeral while I had taken the role of spokesman for the family as I shared each day of his illness and passing with the friends he had on Facebook. The daily updates were answered with SO MUCH love and concern for him and for each of us. Dad and mom agreed they felt prayers holding them up and the comfort from those prayers and love was tactile.

The Girl and I spoke at the funeral on Feb. 8th. The Gilroy chapel was full and the cultural hall was nearly 3/4th the way full too. So many people came to say goodbye to dad and to share the impact he made in their lives. It was astounding to hear some of the things I hadn't even a clue about from the people that felt Dad's influence. It was the most exhausting day since our wedding--but it was so filled with love. I wouldn't have been anywhere else.

It has been an adjustment without him though. Every once in a while I still have a question or thought pop into my mind and think "I should call Dad and tell him..." before I remember that I can't. But the memories are comforting and I'll always have those.

And today, Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest after dying 10 days ago at the age of 96. While I realize that I have no connection to her--I'm not a Brit, I am not a royalist or a monarchist, I certainly have LOVED the UK and quite rightly, I believe, think of the Queen as one of the last true public servants. She committed herself to serve her country for the whole of her life--at the cost of quite a bit of "normal" life--and did just that without ever giving her view as policy or demand her way as her ancestors might have in previous reigns. 

I've thought a lot about how in America we cannot even get elected officials to serve faithfully and dutifully without seeking personal gain and power mongering. Yet, this little lady was never in the original line to be a monarch and yet, when things played out that she ended up Queen, she really did the best she know how and kept doing it to the very end.

She was a calm, even, steady presence who knew she was the "face" of England, the UK, and the Commonwealth and just kept on keeping on. Our political leaders and elected officials could learn many things from her life of dutiful service and sacrifice. Here's hoping they do.

#52 Stories--Story # 36

What is something you never understood or appreciated about your father until much later in life?

I know my dad would tell us of the poverty he knew as a child and the idea of not having what you needed unless you got it for yourself. That was hard to understand as a child and young person because my life was always pretty blessed.  We had what we needed--but not always what we wanted--and that was probably for the best. We learned to make do with that we had sometimes or work and save and plan for whatever else we wanted.  Nothing was supposedly given to us--even though I see now that so much was! He told us those heart breaking kind of stories of his childhood on the railroad or living in little homes without electricity or water, and it made our lives seem pretty cushy. I never felt like we we missing much. We had opportunities poured out on us as we grew up--raising animals, riding bikes, using our imagination, exploring new places--that helped us see how blessed we were.

As a child myself I didn't see the wisdom in him telling us those stories though.  It just made his childhood sound sad and pretty unhappy.

He has talked in the past before about his parents and what they were like--especially before they were converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  My gramps was not a happy man when he drank, and my gram was a scared young woman, just older than a girl herself. I don't think joining the church was an immediate turn about for them, but it gave them a new way of seeing their lives and their family. Then finally when they did get active and were living the gospel fully, there were many changes in his parents that he didn't get the benefit of as a child himself. I look at this now and see how much more the gospel meant to him that my sister and I had the "after" portion of the life he had with parents who lived the gospel. We weren't perfect at it, but I can see now how much that meant to him.

#52 Stories--Story #35

How do you strive to emulate your father's example? 

My dad was and continues to be a great example to me in many ways. I try to hard to help my kids see that I love their dad the way my dad helped me see that he loved my mom. Sometimes that was embarrassing to us as we were growing up--but it is such a foundation piece of my feelings that my family was secure and safe.  I knew they loved each other by the way they talked to each other, and the way they shared the burdens of life together. They worked hard together and set goals together. and they definitely were affectionate to each other.  Ewww, gross--sometimes when we were early in our youth--It was a little too much. Now, I look back and know that seeing that regularly was something I never had to worry about as my friends' parents were experiencing divorce or breakups. That just wasn't something that was going to happen to my parents.

Dad worked hard and never seemed to be done with things--in the best way. He always wanted to make things better and improve the situation with things. Projects would get completed, but there was always something more that he could do and he did it. I try ti see how to make things better as I go along in my work and at home and try to follow that example. I know his work ethic echoes in my head each day I have something I need to do--and I know I can do hard things because he showed me how.

He always taught me to look around for what needs to be done.  I know this began out of frustration that I wouldn't do the things that needed doing until I was asked to do them.  He wanted me--and my sister--to see those things for ourselves and just do it because it needed to be done. Now I do the same things with my own kids and even the younger employees I work with in my job. I don't have the same influence with those coworkers hat I did with my kids though. But my kids are good employees
for other people because they have learned "Grandpa's way of doing things".

A Joke for My Dad

I love a good joke, especially a blonde joke.  This one has a political twist, just for my dad.

This is the story of the blonde flying in a two-seater airplane
with just the pilot. He has a heart attack and dies.

She, frantic, calls out a May Day."May Day! May Day! Help me!
Help me!My pilot had a heart attack and is dead. And I don't know how to fly.Help me! Please help me!"

She hears a voice over the radio saying:

"This is Air Traffic Control and I have you loud and clear. I will talk you through this and get you back on the ground. I've had a lot of experience with this kind of problem. Now, just take a deep breath.  Everything will be fine! Now give me your height and position."

"She says, "I'm 5'4" and I support Obama."

"O.K." says the voice on the radio....Repeat after me: Our Father Who art in Heaven...."

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is my dad's birthday.  He is 71.  (Wait, how is that possible?!?)

He is a great guy and a pretty funny one too.  I am grateful to be his daughter and I am grateful he is here to see #71.  He got a new kidney last Labor day weekend or so, and just a week or so ago he was in the hospital with scary-low calcium levels after having 3 of his 4 parathyroids removed.  But so far things are looking up and he was feeling better when I talked with him Saturday.

Besides his guidance in all things automotive, he also helped to shape my sens of humor--we had dinners as I was growing up that were full of snorting and laughing so hard that you couldn't understand what we were saying...but we did and we were amused!

He also taught by example that we were expected to work hard and do an honest days work.  There wasn't much allowance for sitting around--he never did.  That helped me to fill my time with good things--work and otherwise.  Being busy to accomplish good things was something I saw him --and my mom-- do as I was growing up.

He is a patriotic man with a deep love of this country. He never forced that on us but it came through loud and clear.  He knows this is a God given land with blessings we enjoy because of other people's sacrifices.

He is proud o his family and loves us all very much!  We are glad he is here to celebrate today and look forward to many more years with him.

The Day of Miracles!

My dad called here yesterday just before 4 PM.  He and my mom were on their way to UC San Francisco.  He had gotten the call that a kidney was coming for him. This is a call we have been waiting for since November or so last year when he was finally put on the transplant list.

Now we knew that the kidney itself is the first hurdle.  There was also the hurdles of final matching, the surgery itself and then the recovery time and potential rejection.  But the kidney--the first hurdle is the big one, really.

I spoke with my mom last night about 10 PM and they had Dad prepped for surgery--not letting him eat anything, IV in his arm, etc.--and they were expecting the new kidney to arrive within the hour.  I guess I didn't think they would call him until the organ was there yet, but it makes sense.  They can prep him while they wait for the organ's arrival.  It was one of those things I hadn't thought of in this process.

Mom said they learned that the donor was a 55 year old man who had a short stint with high blood pressure.  The donated kidney was coming from John Muir hospital, so they weren't sure how long it would take to get there.  But, she said, the head of the department--who was his surgeon--wanted to check the kidney tissue under the microscope before taking Dad to surgery.

This morning, my mom called about 8 AM our time.  The kidney arrives last night, and the good doctor thought it was a good match, so Dad went into surgery about 11 PM (their time) and the surgery lasted until about 2 AM.  The surgeon then spoke with mom and told her that things went great and dad was responding like he should.  All good news.

As Mom was talking with me, I could hear Dad in the background.  He was sitting up and feeling pretty good.  He had coughed just before she called and that caused him to finally take some pain mediation.  He has to use a catheter for a few days and the nurses monitor his urine output--to see if all the connections are functioning--and this morning things there were looking good too.

Mom said he has a 6 inch long track line where his "fluid exchange" tubing had been installed for his dialysis.  They removed the "quick connect" line and put the kidney into that same spot.  What I found interesting was they left his two natural--and minimally functioning--kidneys in.  They sewed in a new ureter to the new kidney and connected that like the old ones to the bladder.  I figured they would have removed the diseased ones.  But they don't. I think that is interesting.

Dad was doing well enough this morning that mom thought she would go home and sleep in her bed--she tried sleeping in Dad's hospital bed while he was in surgery--but the nurses kept trying to take her vital signs and she had to tell them she wasn't the patient!  They she would go back up and keep track of him until they left him out.

But there is much to be thankful for today!  I am grateful for the fabulous Transplant Team and the care they gave me dad and the knowledge they have to save lives and improve health for others.  I am truly thankful for the donor and his family--for their generosity and thoughtful gift in their tie of mourning.  I am thankful for the prayers of so many friends and family--that this day would come, but especially that the transplant last night would go well.  I'm thankful for the medical advances and procedures that have kept Dad going for these past few years as well as the astounding abilities they have developed to take one person's organ and give it to another.  And I am most thankful for our loving Heavenly Father how hears and answers prayers.  He is ever watchful and eternally kind to us.  And He ultimately has our lives in His hands.  I am grateful for another day, week, year, decade to share with my dad.