Neighbor Fun

Something I haven't written about yet is the fact that Corinne and her family moved to Utah. It's been a fairly major adjustment for me, because I made them a huge part of my life. I love them as much as I love any family member, and the truth is that I miss them terribly.

Thankfully, I have other people in my life. People that I love and treasure, and who help me feel useful and needed and who give me reasons to get out of my nearly daily funks. I'm still so much in a stage of "waiting to exhale" as I brace myself for various difficulties I've faced for the last few years.

Anyway, this last week had some very fun moments with these people I love. Next door is Kim. She's a kindred spirit for sure, and I love how she has cultivated a friendship with me--someone older, no little kids--it would have been easy when she moved in 2 years ago for her to dismiss me as someone too different from her, but she hasn't and I just love her.


I had her boys over for a Sunday afternoon while she got a nap and we had a great time.

My dear sister-friend Felicity is truly like a sister--I love the ease and fellowship that we have. It matters so much to me. She invited me over for the last-day-of-summer waterfest in her yard. What a blast. Wet hugs from her people, laughter, splashes and general goodness. I brought my camera, otherwise I totally wanted to join in. I told Felicity I needed to take some purely fun pics, and it was awesome. Two of the pictures I took got featured in some instagram, so that's fun!

I am so glad that I have made a habit of keeping little children in my life during this transition time from when my own were small to having grandkids. I think it has kept me young, helped me stay happier, and is a good thing. I know little kids don't do it for everyone, but they are essential to my sanity, I think.

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Serously?

A somewhat recent photo of Eric and I. You can't
tell so much because of my beanie, but I've cut off
my hair. So far, it hasn't caused me to lose any of
my super-powers. 

Ugh, I was really hoping it had been less time than this since I wrote here, but it hasn't. Nothing since last August. My grandmother's funeral. Nothing about all the major events since that time.

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My Grandma Joy

Here are some thoughts about my Grandma.

On August 12, My paternal grandmother, Joy Bateman Wixom Samson, died. She was 95 and had lived a full life of family, work, travel and love. She was an important and positive influence in my life, and while I am sad I won't see her again in this life, it's hard to be TOO sad when a tired 95-year old woman who has done all the things and is suffering from pain and sickness dies. I am honestly more happy for her than I am sad for myself. Truly. Her life is a great example of what I believe life is all about--learning, experiencing, helping others, trying, making mistakes, having messy problems, doing fun things, loving people, never giving up, etc. I don't romanticize her as a perfect person, but instead I love her for her example of a real woman in action. She showed me that it's possible to keep on going in the face of hard things, and to laugh and sing along the way. That is invaluable to me. I am grateful you are my Grandma.

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Weathering Camp

This week at my church Young Women Camp we had perfect weather for an East Coast campout--mostly overcast skies with slightly cooler temperatures punctuated by a few hours of sunshine here and there on most of the days. It was really nice to have a break from the usually relentless heat. We still had the relentless humidity, but a temperature just a few degrees lower can make such a difference. Evenings got cool enough to welcome a campfire, and the nights and mornings felt deliciously chilly.

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Trekking With Pioneers

In the second week of July, Eric and I set out with 11 outstanding young people and trekked through the wilds of Pennsylvania for 3 days. We did it for love. We also did it for faith. For that 3 days, we were Ma and Pa Nuss.

There are only10 in this photo because one of our young women came the next
day because of her work schedule. We finished with all 11. 

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The Last Twenty-One

My youngest child turned 21 years old on Friday. That feels like a big deal, so I wanted to write about it for a minute.

Here he is 3 years ago when he graduated high school:

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