Twelve Months of Miracles (Ch. 2)

On 15 August 2018, I posted chapter one of "... Miracles", promising another chapter, "to be continued in sweet Roseville, Michigan."

On Halloween Day 2017, I wrote about our mission and Interstate 696 (I-696), an east–west freeway full of tunnels and channels of concrete.  I posted with the title:

“Six Hundred Ninety-six”.

On this scary Halloween night [2017], with winter approaching, I think of driving [I-696] in heavy traffic back and forth between our apartment and Roseville, MI.  I believe most Michiganders have mutually agreed to drive in concert like a close congregation.  Snuggling up makes sense if you want to fit more cars on the road so more people arrive at destinations sooner.  Some skillful drivers seem overeager to join loved ones on the other side.  It's downright scary to us seniors!

There are approximately 696 members in our amazing Roseville Ward (congregation), many of whom need our encouragement and help to attend Church.  Could there be a correlation?

On the way home last Sunday [29 Oct 2017], after visiting five member families, we discovered life above and beyond the concrete corridor.  It was slow and refreshing as we drove west on tree-lined surface streets.  In life, it's good to enjoy the scenery along the way, so to speak.

31 October 2018, 7am I added this historical note:
Through diligent searching with the help of a local realtor, we found and leased a condominium that fit our needs.  After having our pink bedroom and pink office painted white, the young elders moved the mission furniture in.  We loved the ground-level home, friendly neighbors, quiet neighborhood, and central location — two minutes from our Roseville Ward meetinghouse.  Compared to commuting on I-696, it was heaven to us — a miracle!

Surviving while serving ... loving and feeling loved  — tender mercies from the Lord.
Life goes on ... forever.  (To be continued.)

Sister Cannon, lovin' it by the water, 16 Nov 2017

in St. Clair Shores MI, near our Roseville home
(in a cold, humid climate, "that is a miracle, too.")

to remember how pretty (and cold) last winter was
at our Roseville home, Christmas Day 2017

Sundays with Kay's Style

Recalling one of Kay's styles of writing, lovingly taught as an English teacher at "The Ridge", this is my weak attempt at "stream of consciousness" (a term "coined by William James in 1890"  – Wikipedia)

Sundays have always been special for our family and me.

At the corner store on the way home from a 6pm sacrament meeting, a wiggly boy and sisters got Milk-Nickels (chocolate ice cream bars @5 cents) for good behavior.  (Father was in the bishopric, so Mother had to keep us quiet.)
As a teen, before the change to a three-hour block, I walked three round trips for three meetings every Sunday ... three blocks up a steep hill on the upper Avenues of SLC.  (Also in the neighborhood, Kay probably got a ride.  I was unaware.)
In Argentina North Mission on Sundays, I played the foot-pump organ in several small branches.  (No one in the congregations had learned.)

Our first Sunday together (two days after the wedding) was unforgettable ... (let's just think Church here) ... as Kay and I felt as one, sitting in Sunday School, acting like a newlywed couple displaying too much affection for each other.  Some members suspected we had recently married; they made us feel welcome.
End of the two-week stage-one of our honeymoon was conveniently in a Church parking lot in Sparks NV, where we had slept in the car ... in the right place at the right time.  ( I left my triple-combination scriptures from my mission in that meetinghouse ... never recovered ... can't remember what the speakers and teachers taught – funny thing.)
A few years later, with our three little boys in mind, Kay wrote a poem we recently shared about envisioning them as handsome, righteous young men.  (She sat with them on the second row behind the young deacons while I sat on the stand, watching them.)

So many Sunday memories stream through my mind ... including Sister Cannon's ministering in Michigan ... and attending her last sacrament meeting (at our alma mater, the U of U) ... I must add to this later.
With love

Roseville MI sisters – four forever missionaries

Journal Excerpt

She was happier with her own little laptop, which served her needs without a hard drive.  In retrospect, I am grateful we made that investment.

I am touched by this entry in Kay's missionary journal, which she kept for her daily Book of Mormon study:
[Thursday] March 8, 2018
Our children have wanted us to share more about our mission experiences ...
In Jacob 4:3, he hopes that his brethren and children will be grateful for his records and find joy in them ...
It's hard ...but I want to write for their benefit.  We bought a new Dell laptop for me yesterday that was delivered today.  Hopefully, I will feel more inclined to write; our current laptop has pretty much been taken over by Ned.  He'll walk into the kitchen to get a bite to eat and say, "You can use the computer now!"  We both laugh!

As her eternal companion, I will never forget how diligent Sister Cannon was at making to-do lists, recording visits, handwriting notes to deliver, and typing emails during our year in Michigan.  She used effective ways of keeping organized and of showing her charity for others ... uplifting, encouraging, expressing sorrow for a loss, and simply saying "I love you."

The unstoppable missionary, our angel Kay, is loved by so many ... and greatly missed.

Detroit Riverwalk, P-day 28 May 2018,
recalling "O Canada" (on the other side)

Here's the Thing

May I digress?  Reverting to an original (2010) purpose of my blog about the English language, this thought intrigued me:

A loyal, old friend of mine likes to talk and introduce statements with, “Here’s the thing.”  He means, “Listen up – what I’m about to tell you is key to my discussion or argument.”  What follows is the essence or kernel, defined as “the central or most important part of something.” 
– Google.  “In a nutshell”, so to speak.

It works for him as the big talker and for me as the big listener (my preference, especially since I lost my voice months ago in Michigan.

It’s coming back.)

So, now that I think about it, here’s the thing:

The introductory alert has value and should not be considered superfluous.

Maybe I will adopt it.

Layton frontier sunrise, 14 August 2010

Kay, loving the oldest child of our youngest

Now, here's the thing!!
Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, 3 Aug 2012

Michigan & Missionaries

They come flooding back to me – sweet memories of our mission in Michigan ... (and some not-so-sweet that make us laugh).  Yes, after so many years in a young neighborhood on the frontier of Layton, we kept our sense of humor in the wilds of Metro Detroit.

Sister Cannon and I loved our home town of Roseville, Michigan – lovely, peaceful with wonderful neighbors we remember as part of our Michigan Family.  We enjoyed teaching with the young missionaries, inspecting apartments, promoting self-reliance, and leading family history classes.

After serving for twelve months on our full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we returned early for Kay's treatment at Huntsman Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah.

We rejoice in our sure knowledge of the Resurrection, and in gratitude to our Savior, Jesus Christ, for His loving role in Heavenly Father's great plan of happiness.  May our family in Michigan, Utah, Arizona, and Georgia be comforted by the Spirit ... until we meet again.

transfers at mission office, 19 July 2018

sister missionaries, always smiling

– zone conference, 12 July 2018

seniors serving Hawaiian shave ice, 1 Aug 2018

Sister Cannon helping set up a family grad party

Elder & Sister Cannon with a dear brother

after attending the Detroit Michigan Temple 

"... We love and miss you!"

MDM treat, continued at home to this day

Two Weeks

"What can I say?"  Again, after two weeks, those are the first words that come to mind.  On that early Saturday morning, feeling intense love and grief over Kay's passing, I found the strength to move on and share, "A joyful reunion on the other side!"

This morning, more tears of love for our Kay, and more assurance of her joy mixed with compassion for her dear family and friends she left behind.  Throughout the past two weeks.  (Her sweet teacher friends will recognize two incomplete sentences ... and forgive me.)

Thanks to everyone for faith, prayers, remembrances, and generosity!
We love you!!

Ensign Stake Center, SLC Utah

grandchildren and video of Grandma Cannon

grandsons as pallbearers with Larkin directors

family meal following SLC Cemetery

(teacher table decorations on FB)

view of the Great Salt Lake from Buffalo Point

– my getaway on Antelope Island, 18 October 2018

Recall Heavy Lifting

Until a wonderful cowboy couple arrived from Wyoming to relieve us, Sister Cannon and I worked in the Michigan Detroit Mission office.  She was over housing, and I was over finance.  I posted this during that temporary assignment:

Monday, October 16, 2017

Last Saturday (preparation day for Sister Cannon and me), we moved a senior couple’s apartment to storage near the mission office.  Actually, the young elders did all the heavy lifting of furniture, not the apartment.  I could do that when I was young.  Now Kay and I are weaker and wiser, overseeing the work and letting the young ones decide how to stack things.  The two that helped us are experienced and better than two men and a truck, lifting the heavy things with a smile.  Moved by the same Spirit, our missionaries lift people spiritually and serve at non-profits in the community.

I drove the pickup truck and trailer without incident despite the rain, following Sister Cannon, who drove her car full of smaller stuff.  (Recalled backing the boat trailer into lakes when I was single.  Did a lot of that.  Good preparation for this mission.  Fun, too!  ... but that's another story.)

Life here in SE Michigan goes on, rain or shine.  Mostly sunny with clouds this autumn.  That’s kind of how life should be in this season of our life.

Sister Cannon, never afraid of hard work

Fall-break Vacation

Apparently some parents and teachers want a break this fall, even without the annual UEA convention.  So, the traditional Thursday-Friday vacation from school is kept alive by popular vote.  (Of course, it was scheduled before the historic convention was cancelled, so what can they do?)

Looking back to 2011, I'm not sure this outing was during UEA Fall Break, but October 15th was around that time when the leaves were showing different colors, and the mountain air was cool.  It was a day of global protests, "... part of a series of protests inspired by the Arab Spring, the Icelandic protests, the Portuguese ..."  – Wikipedia

Nevertheless, our close group of friends drove over the mountain pass from North Ogden and down into "the valley".  First, a picnic lunch of Hayle’s sandwiches, as I recall, was enjoyed at a scenic mountain location frequented by our host.  Then we proceeded to his property in Liberty, Utah ... on a steep hill leading up to a level spot.  It was rugged, undeveloped, and challenging to climb; (we could elaborate!)  Our adventurous Kay was a good sport, and I think she laughed the whole way.  We all wanted to check it out for the first time, to see what our older friend had purchased as recreational property many years before.  The view of the farmland below was spectacular.

It doesn't take an all-out, expensive vacation to turn Fall Break into a special memory.  Just being together as dear friends in the outdoors was the best part.  And the hardship of climbing through a tangle of oak brush made a fun memory we still laugh about.  Seriously!

Sean (ahead of Bethany) backing up Norma ...

just in case

Hayle, the unstoppable mountain climber

Dave and Hayle at the environmental center gate

Remembering Easter Morning

Far from the thoughts of most people during this fun, spooky holiday month, it came to me again this Sabbath morning.  With memories of our dear Kay and other loved ones, I share again what I posted on Easter Sunday two years ago:

I recall an Easter message delivered in General Conference of April 2007, titled "The Things of Which I Know."  Gordon B. Hinckley, then President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said this as he testified of our Savior, Jesus Christ:

"On Golgotha He gave His life, crying out, 'Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do' (Luke 23:34). His body was tenderly laid in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea. But three days later, on that first Easter morning, the tomb was emptied. Mary of Magdala spoke to Him, and He spoke to her. He appeared to His Apostles. He walked with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. And, we are told, He was seen by some 500 others (see 1 Corinthians 15:6).  …  Mortality is but a stepping-stone to a more glorious existence in the future. The sorrow of death is softened with the promise of the Resurrection."  (lds.org/general-conference/2007/04/...)

I also know of these things.  On this Easter morning [and this Sunday following Kay's funeral], I am eternally grateful to God for these truths.

the sweater that kept her warm in Michigan
and an empty seat to remind us
we want "no empty seat" where we hope to go

Kay admiring a yellow truck in Port Huron
by the St. Clair River near Fort Gratiot Lighthouse

memory of Arches NP, liked by us, 18 June 2017
 and the sun that gives us light

Life Together

{Saturday morning 5am addition: Being together (in life) with family and friends on Friday ... with our Kay (more lively than ever) was heavenly.  People who attended her funeral, and those who were there in spirit (including loved ones who have passed and our Michigan Family), understand that my words cannot adequately express what we all felt yesterday.  Hugs and tears of love, sorrow, and joy say a lot.  Words spoken before and after the service, prayers uttered throughout the day, talks and music enjoyed in the sacred chapel, and written messages so lovingly offered, all combined to help us experience Heaven on Earth.
Know that I truly felt the Spirit of the Comforter all day, from Kay’s early-morning “hurry up — I’m ready” (as in Roseville), to my feeling embraced last night as I retired to bed.  A neighbor asked me at day’s end, “Are you doing OK?”  Taking it as plural, I replied, “Yes, we’re fine — it was all wonderful!”
Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of love, for hugs with smiles ... and memorable food that comforts!  Kay and I are truly together in life, expressing our feelings for you.  With gratitude and love.}

Together more than ever, but in a different way.  Now that she’s more aware, does she know my deepest thoughts of love for her, which I failed to fully express in this life?  Can she help me feel the Spirit and act, more than she did before?

Our Kay is probably busier than ever, basking in the love of family and friends who have passed on.  Her motivating, energizing feeling of love for people in mortality, is likely boundless now.  She was uplifted and driven by it in Detroit, and now ... I imagine ... is feeling it on a higher level in her new assignment to help fellow spirits find happiness.

Wondering as I write, listening to "Sleeping Beauty Waltz" (a Class.89-radio coincidence?) — does Kay have mixed emotions, missing those she left behind?  I believe so, as recently suggested by a friend.  We may find comfort in the thought, as we are warmed by memories of her love.  We are not forgotten.

Sister Cannon in Michigan for the Church
serving the Savior with love and truth

sister missionaries serving the people of Michigan
for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

time out for family at The Henry Ford, Dearborn
with our youngest, visiting from Georgia

Sharing Memories

The little girl is gone ... to a heavenly place of peace and joyful reunion with loved ones.  Youngest of eight Hinckley children, Kay is still thought of as the "baby" of her loving family.  We shed tears of love for her, knowing how happy and exuberant she is now; ("filled with or characterized by a lively energy and excitement.")

As a neighbor, I knew and always admired her parents, but did not pay attention to their "baby girl" until after their family mission and mine.  Missionary service for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a fitting, life-changing interlude for Kay and me, living separate lives with shared values and interests.

Yes, I confessed to "robbing the cradle" by marrying one so young, born years after I came into the world.  Through all the good times and difficulties, it has truly been a wonderful life!
And it goes on ... with love

Grandma loving our "baby girl" and her daughters

Kay leaving church with three grandchildren
the same age, and older grandson, 10 October

Fourth Quarter

What can I say?  A joyful reunion on the other side!  Saturday 2:22am — a time of indescribable love we will always cherish as a family.  Our five children — four here with Kay and me, and one with us by phone — shed tears of sadness and joy.  We are eternally grateful for the prayers and gifts of love from so many dear friends and family members.  We are so blessed, looking forward to Kay’s continued influence for good — with her special kind of love.

{Thank goodness it’s ... almost time for General Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Anticipation!
Friday 4:32am I further note that Kay is now set for several hours of peaceful sleep, if she puts her mind to it.  The conditions are favorable, and the jobs are done, so we can sleep till the doctor comes to talk at 9am).  This should be a wonderful autumn day.  Lord, please make it so.
> 8am So far, so good.  Kay is doing better now, sleeping again.  Prayers really do help.  With love
>>11pm As her health is failing, four of our children are gathered here to be with their dear mother and each other.  It is a sweet reunion, and our thoughts are also with our family in Arizona.}

(Quick addition Thursday 6:42am 10/4;
Kay decided to talk clearly this morning, understandably.  I won’t go into details except timing: 1:31, 1:53, 3:40, 5:53, and 6:33.  It was remarkable.  Now you can read between the lines, so to speak, and draw your own conclusions — two action verbs for the day.  (Oops, I missed one, if taken out of context.)
Yes, today is another day with Kay, whom I love dearly.
A blessed day!)

[Feeble, fragmented update this Wednesday 7am 10/3:
Yes, it truly was another Tuesday with Kay ... all the way ... until midnight.  Good helpers came, and good things happened — like receiving and eating delicious comfort food!  Faithful prayers brought tender mercies.
Thanks, everyone!  Kay and I love you! ]

Monday with Kay has been quiet and restful since meds were done at 3am.  Here we are, already the second day of a new week and the first day of a new month & quarter.  What will Q4 bring?

Kay is "sleeping in", bless her heart; she deserves all the rest in peace she can get, in more ways than one.

{11:35pm update: Peaceably accepted meds — no problem.  Sleeping soundly again.
Our five children, a daughter-in-law, and a member of our Michigan Family gathered here for lunch.  (So generous of our “kids” to bring healthy fast food.)
Memorable moments with mom.}

[10/2 6:26am fast note: Kay was relatively strong as we did the routine since 5:21am.  I said our prayer this time while she was drifting back to sleep.  Now silent night.  We know Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers.]

Coming up: another Tuesday with Kay.
With love.

three sweet sister missionaries and one older elder

at MTC in Provo Utah, 17 August 2017

Kay's final visit to Gilgal Garden, SLC Utah
19 June 2017, homeless, assigned to Detroit

our caregiver daughters with a dear friend
in Hawaii, so happy to see them