HEAVY HEARTED

Innisfail Library sponsored the showing of their first independent film last night, "The Kite Runner." Helge and I attended. I found the experience very emotional. We had to take a detour to Innisfail as Hwy 54 was blocked off between the Stauffer Road and the Harriman Road. There had been an accident. Today I substitute taught at David Thompson High School. One of the teachers there who is from Caroline informed me who the accident victims were. Penny Oliver, a librarian at the Caroline School for 36 years, and her mother-in-law Alice Oliver were both killed. Dwight and Donna Oliver suffered extensive injury. The vehicle driven by Dwight and heading west on Hwy 54 was hit head on by a vehicle coming from the west at excessive speed and passing on a double solid line. Although there is a double solid line, the highway appeared clear for passing. The Oliver vehicle was hidden by a dip in the highway. Locals are concerned about this stretch of road and have spoken to Helge about creating some publicity in order to get some action to make that stretch of road safer.

It is a year ago on a Monday that we lost our dear Mother. By date it was May 13th which is tomorrow. I just had a phone call from my Aunt Janet remembering our loss. We had a lovely visit over the phone. (CORRECTION: Alice has reminded me that the date of Mom's passing was May 14th. Rueben passed away a year before Mom on May 28th.)

My Mother was my heroine. Especially in my early life, there was no one I wanted to be more like than my mother. She was beautiful. She had a lovely figure and was always dressed stylishly, often in dresses that she had expertly sewn. She was an excellent seamstress and sewed many favorite dresses for her daughters provided we helped with meal preparation, dishes, etc. Mom also excelled in knitting, crocheting, and quilting. She milked cows, shovelled grain, grew a beautiful garden, and was the best cook ever. I hardly remember her having an idle moment. Once I had left home Mom was a "best friend" whom I enjoyed many wonderful conversations with. She took pride in her family and frequently let us know how she felt about our accomplishments and our facing of challenges. This included her two beautiful daughters-in-law, Theresa and Michelle, whom she often raved about. I feel very blessed to have spent some quality time with Mom last year before her passing. We shared many memories, and I even heard some delightful stories that I had never heard before. Mom had a great love of learning and was proud of her collection of some 600 books. She stated that she had read everyone of them, some more than once. (This past week, unfortunately, one of Mom's favorite shops, "Poplar Books" in Camrose burned to the ground. )

Our family has suffered much loss this past two years: Brother-in-law Rueben, Aunt Martha, our Mother Irene, our cousin Iain, our Uncle Russ. Although the heart is heavy, it is warmed by a wealth of memories and uplifted by the arrival of six new babes: Zechariah, Aolani, Navaeh, Parker, Jonas, and Jaia. Such joy! How thankful I am for facebook and blogs which enable me to check out the latest pics and developments.