January Gloom






Dear Michael,

It was so good to visit with you today. You’ve got so many people you are working with! It seems that you are quite busy and engaged with people in many different stages of life. But the ward is growing and people are forming good friendships, and you are helping create a welcoming community for them. I love that people are so generous to take you out to eat, and that you are also able to spend some leisure time playing basketball. I’m sure  everyone is impressed with your skills!

It’s always a bit gloomy in Utah after the holidays. Things definitely slowed down here once the kids went back to school and dad back to work. I’m trying to dig out, catch up, and get organized. Here’s what’s happening at home:

1. I’ve got sad news to share. Duke Roane (Tiffany’s dad) passed away last night. He suffered 2 strokes in the last 5 years or so, and on top of his diabetes has been in very poor health. He had a heart attack a couple of months ago and needed to have two more procedures done. They were waiting for him to be strong enough to do the surgeries. But the medications he was on made him quite nauseous and he had not been able to eat much recently. Yesterday Jan could tell that something wasn’t quite right. Duke was sort of zoning out and wouldn’t respond to her when she spoke to him, so she took him to the emergency room. We were all having dinner at Grandma and Grandpa’s house and I was in the middle of a conversation with Tiff when she got a text from her mom saying Duke was having a heart attack and they were preparing for surgery. Duke did not survive the surgery. The family is grieving, but I think comforted that Duke is no longer suffering. 


2. More sad news. My friend Allison’s mom, Debbie Lloyd also passed away last week. You may remember her from when we were invited to their cabin in Wyoming a few years ago. They are also the ones who have invited us to parties at Cherry Hill. Allison’s mom had a relatively rare complication from a recent procedure that caused a mass infection. The infection in turn caused a heart attack, seizure, and strokes, and she was unable to regain consciousness. The funeral will be this Saturday.

3. And more. . .Uncle Andrew is having terrible back pain. He went to the ER last week and the MRI showed a badly bulging disk that may require surgery. He’s been in a lot of pain. Hopefully it gets resolved soon.

4. This week we finally got around to the Tim Tam Slam, and I realized I should have put a package in your Christmas box.  My apologies!

5. Today the kids are out of school for Martin Luther King Jr. Days and tomorrow for a teacher prep day. Thursday school is cancelled for sophomores and seniors. And over the next few weeks we will have a series of late start and early out for different schools. It will be a miracle if I can keep it all straight and get the kids to school on time!

6. Speaking of school, I registered Tate for preschool again next year. I think we’ve decided to have him do one more year before starting Kindergarten. I’m really bummed because I think all of his little buddies will be starting kindergarten, but I think this is probably the best decision for him.

7. I was able to get out of the house and go to bookclub this week, and had a great time talking books and making a reading list for next year. So many books, so little time!

8. Dad and I got to take clients to the Jazz game on Friday night. It was a fun game. Are you familiar with Bol Bol? Oh my word, that man is so skinny and tall! I was extremely interested to learn what his inseam is, but alas, the internet failed us.

9. On Saturday we were able to take the kids and Matt & his kids to the BYU basketball game. It’s so fun to be back on campus. The student section was so alive! I know you are going to love being a student there.

10. Rob and Leisja took their kids to Disney World this week with Grandma and Grandpa. I think they just about ran your grandparents into the ground! But they love being invited to come along on trips like those. We are getting excited for out own trip to Disneyland this summer. Tate’s first time!

I hope you have a wonderful week and that you don’t freeze out on the streets!

Love you,
Mom






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