June 2019

By the 1st of June, all the testing was done and it was just one week until school would be out.  Tuesday CJ had her awards day.  She was happy because she received an award for academics not just related arts.  She got an award for highest academic performance in math, a medal for being on Principals Academic honor roll all 3 years at Glenview, and the best award was from the Daughters of the Revolution Citizens and leadership award. Jay and I were so proud of her getting the DAR award.  According to the DAR website this award recognizes and rewards individuals who possess the qualities of dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism in their homes, schools, and communities. These students are selected by their teachers and peers because they demonstrate these qualities to an outstanding degree.  I am just one proud momma. 

On Wednesday they had a fun day at school.  In CJ's English I class, they had a Greek tea party because they were studying Greek Mythology.  She wanted to dress up like Medusa and had me make a Medusa hat.  I only had 2 days to make the hat and was not able to get all the snakes on the hat that I wanted to but I was able to get it done.  Her teacher loved the hat some much that she asked if she could buy it off of me.  So I just gave it to her teacher.  I know Mrs. Lister would wear it more then CJ would.  CJ would probably never wear it again. That same day they had an 8th-grade dance CJ and her friends did not dance much but had fun just hanging out together.

CJ did not attend the last day of school, she got together with Milly and Lilly at Milly house and played for the day.  She also when on Friday when I had my last day of school.  Saturday we packed our bags and got ready to head to Washington.  Our flight took off at 7:00 our time and arrived at 11:45 Washington time.  CJ and I tried to sleep some on the airplane.  Lydia picked us up and we were so happy to see her. We got up the next morning and Lydia wanted to take us to the Renaissance festival.  This was the first time CJ had been to a real Renaissance Festival that had many vendors and shows.  It was very bawdy and CJ loved the shows.  I think that a lot of what they said went over her head. I got her a turkey leg that was so large that CJ could not eat the whole thing. Lydia and the girls dressed CJ up and she really enjoyed that.

My brother-in-law Perry was not doing well but he was able to come out and sit on the couch with us.  Monday Lydia and I went to the airport and picked up dad.  I decided with all of us there I would help with dinner and make cabbage rolls.  I had a joke with Lydia about the fact that Perry had not wanted to eat anything on Sunday or during the day on Monday but when I made cabbage rolls Perry wanted one and eat almost of a roll.  When the nurse came on Monday Perry told the nurse that he wanted to go to Anna's graduation but needed a wheelchair. They also brought a walker so that he could get around the house better.  He was getting weaker and was having more and more trouble talking. I tried to help Lydia around the house as much as I could.  

On Tuesday, Restory took us to see Portlands women's forum, Vista House, Latourell Falls, Multnomah Falls, and the fish hatchery. This was my first real hike since my surgery. They were short hikes but more beautiful then pictures could ever show. It felt so great to get out, walk, and have such a great time with my family. CJ was so excited to be hiking and seeing such beautiful sites. I had to tell her many times to slow down and wait for me. She did not what to go over the bridge at Multnomah Falls.  She said that she was scared of highs over bridges. It was a great day I just wish that Lydia could have gone with us, but she needed to stay home with Perry.

Wednesday was very busy.  I helped Lydia take the girls to school so that she could stay home with Perry.  Lydia was very worried about him and he was even having trouble getting out of bed to use the bathroom, so Lydia called the Hospice Nurse to come over right away.  After I came back from taking the girls to school I heard a bang in the bedroom.  Perry had fallen out of bed.  We got him back to bed and called the nurse again.  That night was to be Anna's graduation and we know that we could not leave Perry by himself.   Lydia and the nurse decided that it would be best if Perry went to the hospice center for the night so that he could get complete care while we were at the graduation. We then all got ready for graduation.  It was very hot but we were all very proud of Anna.  After graduation everyone come over to Lydia's house.  Lydia was panicking to get the hospice center to be with Perry. which I could not blame her.  So, she showers and I helped her pack a bag.  She then videoed  Anna opening her gift and then run to the hospice center.  I stayed to entertain Lydia's ex-husbands family.  It was weird spending time with Matt and his family.  I had not seen them for almost 14 years.  

I will not go into much detail on early Thursday morning.  At around 1:30 in the morning Lydia called me from the hospice center to tell me that Perry had passed in his sleep.  That she got there and showed him the videos and pictures.  They then went to sleep together and she woke up when the nurse came in and he had gone.  It was a very sad and upsetting evening and morning.  The hospice center was great and very supportive helping us get in touch with the hospital. I was very disappointed with the hospital and how frustrating they were.  I was just glad that I was there for Lydia.  After everything was settled at the hospice center at around 12:00 p.m.  I took Lydia home to get something to eat and get some rest.  Thursday was a lost day with lots of sadness.

Friday, Lydia had a lot of calling and trying to figure out things.  Also, Lydia had family pictures done with Perry and they were finished.  The photographer wanted to meet with Lydia and Restory.  Lydia was still not able to drive so I took CJ and Bailey with us.  There was so tension with Restory and Bailey but I think that it came because they were sad and did not know how to deal with it but through anger at the ones they love.  The coffee shop that we went to was funny.  I found out that Washington can not put out plastic straws so the paper straws they had were so gross.  They melted in your cup.  They also had a funny sign that said that they compost food. I had to laugh because my uncle when he visited us in April was obsessed with composting.

That evening we sent over to Anna's friend's house to help make decorations and candies for the graduation party on Saturday. This was the first time that Lydia was not crying and even smiled.  It was good for her to get out and creating something. Saturday we got up and had to go to the Cremation center to get papers signed.  After that, we went to Anna and her friend's graduation party.  I was so glad that Anna's graduation party was hosted with her friend at their house because things were too crazy at Lydia's.  The party was very nice and it seemed like everyone had a nice time.  Anna really stayed to herself.  CJ was not comfortable with all the people so she just stayed by me and played on her phone. At one point she even just went outside to sit by herself.  I had her call her dad just to talk to him.

That night Lydia started a fire in the fire pit so that the girls could make s'mores.  CJ wanted a bigger fire so that she could burn her marshmallows. 

  Sunday was father's day so there was a lot of sadness again.  I was surprised that the girls did not want to go to their dad's house for father's day.  They stayed with us.  We decided to go to the farmers market downtown.  The market was very big and had lots of neat stuff other than just-food.  We did get food.  It was so different from the Williamston Farmers market.

 That night Anna wanted to smoke ribs for Dad and anyone else that ate pork. She did not get up to start the fire so Lydia started to help her.  Michael and I then also started to help her with the fire.  Anna got so upset because we were not doing it like Perry and took off.  I know that the upset was because Perry was not there.  I just had to walk away and CJ and I went for a walk to just get away from all the depression and lashing out.  I am just too much of a person that believes in getting things done no matter how sad and depressed you are, so the giving up was very hard for me to take.  I thought that if I just got away it would be better for everyone.  I had to let them be themselves and do things the way they needed to do it.  When CJ and I get back it was much better for all of us.  I had to laugh because the hens that Lydia took out for us to eat were still frozen when she went to get them ready for the oven.  We had a good laugh because years ago for Thanksgiven she did not get the turkey thawed in time and we had frozen turkey when it was time to cook.  It brought back fun memories that made us all laugh.

Monday Bailey still had school so we took her to school and then went for a hike. We went to Yacolt Creek Falls.  It was a beautiful hike and so peaceful.  Part of the hike was at Moulton Falls Park which was on the news even here.  Some girl was pushed off the bridge by her friends and the parents were pressing charges.  We went up on the bridge and it was really high up.  I do not understand how the kids were climbing over and thinking that they could jump from that bridge.  When CJ was exploring she disappeared between some rocks.  All the sudden she popped up with this is big smile between two rocks.  Lydia and I could not help but laugh.  It was so good for us to laugh.

I love watching the food network and other food channels/shows.  On one show that I had watched, they featured Voodoo Donuts in Portland.  Since we were so close I asked Lydia if she would not mind taking me to the shop.  It was not about getting their silly donuts but about going to someplace featured on TV.  The store was really cute and the donuts were as crazy as I saw on TV. CJ was so funny ordering her donut. She knew she was going to get into trouble for ordering a "Dirty Old Bastard" but it was all the flavors that she loved.  She looked all nervous when ordering, I had to giggle.  Those words coming out of CJ's mouth just did not come naturally. 

After we went to the donut shop Lydia took us downtown to there park and rose garden.  CJ found a splash pad and even those it was too cold to go into the water she went every way. The rose garden was beautiful but drug addicts there were hanging out it the garden made us not stay very long.

 Tuesday we went to Mount St. Helen's.  I remember when Mount St. Helen's blow up and it was all over the news.  We went through the Museum and to Johnson's lookout.  It was the most beautiful sites, so amazing.  It was very cold so I bought CJ a Mount St. Helen's sweatshirt that she would not take off for the rest of our trip.  Restory was a great guide on our hikes.  She told us all the stories and about the geology of the mountain.  The day could not have been better.  It started out cloudy and we could not see the mountain at first but then it cleared up and we could see everything.  I even got to do a little hiking.  I wanted to do more and go the 3-mile hike but there was on the way that I could do that with my hip.

 

 Wednesday Lydia had planned a party after school for the orchestra students.  This was the last day of school for Bailey.  Lydia and I went and got chicken and things for the party.  We also got some things for the house.  CJ was so great helping me clean the house for the party.  She did not even question me, she just got up and started helping.  She just asked me what I needed help with and she did it.  I could have been more proud of her and all of her help. I do not know what I would have done without her on this trip. I grilled a bunch of chicken and we ended up will a lot of chicken leftover. I had to leave the party and take Restory to graduation practice. It was nice to get out and have a long talk with Jay on the phone until my phone went dead.  I should have brought CJ with me just to get away but I left her at the party to have fun with her cousins. 

Thursday was Restory's graduation.  This day was not as rushed as Anna's graduation nor as hot.  It was really cold that day and the graduation was longer.  Everything went well, even though everyone was very sad that Perry was not there.  CJ did not want to sit with her cousin and came and sat with her grandmother and me. She was very sad about everything that day and did not what to sit with her cousins and Aunty and have them see she was sad.  I was very disappointed in the fact that after some people received their diplomas they got up and left.  Also, people moved around and would stand right in front of you so you could not see.  When I recorded Restory walking someone stepped right in front of my filming.  Lydia and I both were talking about how disrespectful the graduation was.  But we were happy for Restory and proud of her.

Friday was a fun day.  We went wedding dress shopping with Restory and her soon to be mother-in-law.  It was fun watching her try on all these different dresses.  Restory is so tiny that everything looked great on her but she was able to find one dress that she loved and it made her cry.  After dress shopping, we went to the Salt and Staw which is an ice cream shop. I had never heard of it before but dad kept talking about the fact that I had to go and try it.  It was a cute place and they had all kinds of weird flavors.  BBQ bean ice cream and crazy things like that.  I think that the girls were having fun getting me to taste all the yucky flavors of ice cream.  I could not help but laugh at some of the things they were having me try.  I did not order a weird flavor, but I had tried a lot of them. We then came home and made hamburgers for everyone.

Saturday was Lydia's birthday.  We decided to go to the beach for her birthday.  She wanted to take us to Cannon Beach and see Haystack rock which was featured in the 80's movie The Goonies. Again it was the most beautiful views that I had seen.  The weather started off cold and it was supposed to rain all day but it did not it was beautiful.  No rain and the sun came out and warmed everything up.  Lydia was sad most of the day with missing Perry and it tried to cheer her up because it was her birthday.  We also went for a nice lunch and to see the Peter Iredale shipwreck. I could not believe how much walking we did and the next day my hip was very sore.  I hate that Lydia was so sad because it was just a beautiful day. When we got home Lydia opened her birthday gifts.  I got her the book If You Cannot Say Something Nice Say it in Yiddish.  She laughed when we opened it and we had fun looking up phrases to say.

The next day we just rested and got caught up with things around the house.  Bailey got invited to a birthday party so we run around and get her the food that she would need.  Bailey has really bad daily allergies and can not eat special foods that have no dairy.  We then took her to the campsite for the party and overnight sleepover.  Lydia was so worried about her but I told her not to worry Bailey knows what she can and can not eat and will be ok.  It was good for her to get out with friends and have a good time.  That night to say goodbye to dad we took everyone out for frozen yogurt.  They had fun trying to flavor and they filling the bowl with all kinds of goodness to go with it.

The next day we took Dad to the airport early.  In the morning, the crematorium called and said that Perry's ashes were ready to come home.  Lydia did not want to wait so we went down right away and pick up Perry.  I was so glad that I was there to help because it was very upsetting and I remembered to ask if they had put ashes in the candle holder, which they had not.  That night Lydia took us to a Middle Eastern restaurant it was one that Perry and Lydia like to go to.  After dinner, we took CJ for Boba.  She had been talking about it almost the whole trip wanting to try it.  The people at the store was so nice and I talked with the owner for a while.  She could not believe that Williamston was so small and did not have a Boba shop.  I told her we did not even have a grocery store. CJ found out that she really does not like Boba itself but does like the drinks that it comes in.

Tuesday was our last day.  Our plane did not leave until midnight so we had all day together.  We decided that we would go to Fort Vancouver for the day.  I learned so much about Washington history and Pacific Northwest history so different from Southern history because the Pacific Northwest was not part of America.  Washington did not even become a state until after the Civil war in 1889.

We then went to lunch at Lydia's favorite restaurant.  CJ fell in love with Vietnamese food that this restaurant.  That is all that she could talk about was how great the food was and she could not wait to go back.

After lunch, we went and got mom so that we could say goodbye to everyone.  We packed our bags had dinner and watched a movie.  I then had Lydia take me the airport a little early so that she would not be too tired going home.  The next day was just a long day flying.  Our fight was a 14-hour flight overnight with a 7-hour delay in Denver.  We spend all day at the Denver airport just waiting around for our next flight.  Thank goodness for phone chargers and internet.

We got home and rested but while we were away I told CJ that we could finally take down the wallpaper in the bedroom and paint in any color she wanted.  I know that the wallpaper was going to be messy but we spend the next 3 days taking down wallpaper and painting. CJ loves her new room and her dark green color.  She was so happy.

While we were working on her room we also finished cleaning off the porch.  I am so glad we have a place to sit outside without getting eaten up by mosquitos.

For the next week, I spent time deep cleaning the house.  Taking every room and really scrubbing it.  Saturday we did go up to the elementary school and watch the fireworks.  It was a beautiful night and the firework displace was really good this year.