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The Johnson family's discoveries regarding classical education
Apr. 28, 2006
In loving memory of my Aunt Ruth
I
apologize for my long absence from the blogging community. But my
dear Aunt Ruth finally lost her battle with cancer of the pancreas, and
I have had little time--or heart--to blog here.
This lady was incredible. She lived life to the fullest, in spite
of numerous health issues over the years. When I was just a few
weeks old, my family moved in across the street from Aunt Ruth and
Uncle Ray, and my mom had to go to work full time. So Aunt Ruth
took all four of us kids in, especially my older brother and I.
The older girls were in school at that point. She is practically
a second mom to me. This was in addition to her own 5 children
that she was already raising. Her youngest is the same age as my
oldest sister. But she loved us all.
Aunt Ruth loved to sew, and she made many dresses and nightgowns, etc.,
for me over the years. She also liked to quilt, knit, and
crochet, and I have many items made by her loving hands. Through
her example, I also now crochet, and I know how to sew and knit,
although I don't find the time to do any of those very much. She
would sit in front of the TV most evenings with her hands busy, and
when we went for any length of drive, she would bring out some project
or other to work on. Visiting other's homes, it was also not
uncommon for to pull out some knitting or some other work.
Well, her kids grew up, and my family moved away, and Aunt Ruth was
determined not be an "empty-nester" who sat around watching soap-operas
all day. So she went back to school and took up nursing, which
she did for 3 or 4 decades, until she retired. They also managed
to get some traveling in, both within the states and overseas.
They walked up mountains, saw sights, etc. For several years they
went south for the winters, driving their motorhome, to Arizona, I
think. That came to an end sometime after Uncle Ray suffered a
mild stroke, which affected his ability to drive.
But I have neglected to mention her flower gardens. She always
had plants and flowers along the curbs and the outside walls of the
house, which she spent hours on every week. Those beds have
widened over the years, and the front yard saw raised beds added as
well. It was not uncommon for her to spend 40 hours a week
working in the flower beds. As she went through hip replacement
surgeries, struggled with asthma, etc., she still managed to get out to
the flowers pretty regularly, to water, weed, and deadhead--and to
enjoy the fresh air and the beauty surrounding her. Sometimes she
would use her wheelchair like a walker to get out to the garden, then
use it to help lower herself to the ground, and lie on the ground to
pull weeds, etc. She loved her flower garden!
Then, more than a year ago, Aunt Ruth was diagnosed with pancreatic
cancer. But she continued to enjoy life. There was a big
birthday gathering for Uncle Ray's 90th birthday, and many people
showed up, knowing that Aunt Ruth's days were drawing to a close.
That was last June. They bought season tickets to the opera, as
they have done every year; she celebrated her 82nd birthday in October;
and a few weeks later they celebrated their 60th wedding
anniversary. Her diary/schedule has a heartbreaking post on April
14 of this year: Doctor has given me 1-3 weeks to live.
I came for a visit on April 19, and found her resting comfortably,
conversing normally, reading through mail, making sure someone chopped
carrots to put in the pot on the stove, etc. In short, carrying
on as usual. We both agreed that surely she had more time than
the doctor had given her. I called on Friday, the 21st, and Aunt
Ruth answered the phone. She said it would not be a good day to
come for a visit, as hospice people were there, going to shampoo her
hair, etc., and she was pretty tired. My sister called me the
following day, Saturday the 22nd, to say that I needed to come very
soon, that day if possible, if I wanted to see Aunt Ruth again.
My 18 yo daughter and I came and spent the late afternoon and early
evening there, with the family. (My husband and son were out of
town for the weekend.) At this time we could see that Aunt Ruth
was clearly going downhill quickly. It was evident that her time
was indeed short. Still, she recognized my daughter and was able
to converse with her a bit, still interested in how she was
doing. By the time we left, Aunt Ruth had eaten just a few bites
of soup, and was needing more pain meds. Her daughter, also a
nurse, stayed near her through the night, and they conversed several
times. Aunt Ruth became unresponsive around 5am, and slipped
peacefully away shortly before 10am., on Sunday, April 23, 2006.
I was able to arrive at the house before the people from the funeral
home came, and so saw her body. I had the deep realization that
Aunt Ruth was now free of pain, free from all the many struggles
against her "body of humiliation," and was now at rest, awaiting the
promised resurrection from the dead. I stood with her family as
that body was taken away to the funeral home, leaving, for the last
time, the house that had been her home for 57 years. Then I
sought solace in--where else?--the flower gardens. By the time I
had made my way along them, my heart was somewhat comforted.
Uncle Ray had gone to church with his son before the body was taken
away. I hope it was easier on him that way, but I cannot conceive
what he must be feeling now.
Now, ... we are trying to pick up the pieces, to see that Uncle
Ray is cared for, as well as the house and the flowers. They have
a grandson who has taken a liking to the gardens, and will do his best
to keep them up, though I don't know how much time he will be able to
put into them. The "Celebration of Life" will be held
tomorrow.
I hope my son will be able to get out his baseball game tomorrow.
If not, he and his dad will need to come late to the memorial
time. I do not plan to be late, no matter what, and my son is
fine with that. One of the coaches is aware of the situation, and
will release him from the game if possible (if they have enough
players).
I hope to be able to resume a more consistant schedule of blogging next
week. We will have to wait and see how our time goes. If
you have read all of this, I thank you. I needed to put this all
into writing somewhere. Thank you for your understanding.
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