WHY AM I DOING THIS?

WHY AM I DOING THIS?

              For some unknown reason, a few weeks ago, I referred back to a blog that I started in October of 2007 which I called Avis La Fin--the Kennedy family motto--"Consider the End." (avislafin.blogspot.com.)  I abandoned the blog in October of 2012, thinking blogs were out of style, and quick little f/b entries were easier and faster.  I enjoyed the Facebook rage until February of 2014.  Not sure why...  Then, I realized how much I missed writing--real writing...thinking...creating, so here I am again.

               Today is September 1.  Our lives have changed since I wrote that last entry in 2012.  Vale no longer lives with us; he's now a southern California resident, senior in high school, and a budding musician.  Great-grandma, Margaret Kennedy, lives with us.  At 99, she's actually in fairly good health and, every day, muses over plans for her 100th birthday next May.  Our son, Steve, and his son, Kobe, are the residents of our basement apartment.  I'm serving a part-time, online mission for the Mormon Church, as a support person for FamilyTree.  I'll share more about that in another post.  Tom has finally started achieving a long-time dream of his--to have a "garden-like" yard.  Walk with me through what is fast becoming our garden-like yard:

                Here is the Before picture taken of our backyard about a year ago by our neighbor who did a panorama shot with her camera to try to capture the wildfires you see in the background..  Ours is the house with the rock wall and gazebo.  

             

  

The trees on the other side of the gazebo are an old abandoned cherry orchard.

UPDATE to the UPDATE:  October 25, 2015:

                   The panoramic view of the backyard has changed very little from the birds' eye viewpoint of the picture, but most other aspects of our lives, of course, have.  Grandma Kennedy passed away two weeks after her 100th birthday after teaching us a great deal about service to others, sincere gratitude, and true grit.  Shortly after Grandma's departure, Steve completed his captain's licensing and got himself a job at the University of Hawaii in the Marine Biology department on Hilo.  He is now Capt. Steve Kennedy, Marine Science Boat Program Coordinator.  Kobe is here with us, attending 7th grade at Henkle Middle School, and will join his dad in December.
                  We've been laughing a lot lately about our current "state."  We'd begun to notice that we are now some of the "older" members of our Church congregation and are being treated with dignity and a tad bit of deference.  We hear those "Dearies" and "My dears" so often that we began to re-examine ourselves.  We looked like we felt--completely exhausted and overwhelmed and, yes, we had to admit, a bit doddering.  So we began to take afternoon naps, changing our fix-it fast and on-the-go diet, and taking early morning walks along the river.  We both feel better.

                Tom is always happiest when he's outside puttering around in the yard or working on various and sundry projects, and, with renewed energy, he's winterizing the grounds and grubbing out an area that we've wanted for a long time to develop into "Annie's Garden," as a tribute to all of our children, but more specifically to our deceased daughter, Annie.  We haven't ever returned to a yard filled with squirrel feeders because we were setting the poor things up as prey for our dog, Astro.  However, Tom couldn't resist the lure of feeding unfortunate creatures, so he's affixed bird feeders in the gazebo.  Here's what he found a few days ago:

  He's also decided to spend his evenings doing his own genealogy.  We're quite a sight in the evenings, scrunched in front of his laptop computer, as I teach him the fundamentals of research.  He's doing just great and is beginning to branch out on his own, looking for elusive ancestors.

                     As for me, I'm still doing my online Church mission as a support specialist for the Mormon Church's genealogy site, FamilyTree.  The question I'm asked most often is:  "How's the weather in Salt Lake?"  So funny because I'm in my own living room looking out at Mt. Hood when I'm taking calls. Everything is done online--our meetings, our service, any friendships.  I answer calls, chats, and emails from English-speaking people all over the world who are using our site to research their ancestry.  It's a wonderful opportunity for me, being able to share a hobby that I've had since I was 12.  I recently had a very poignant call which will stay with me for a while.  A man called from Virginia and asked if I could help him find his birth father.  We don't usually give that type of service; our site is for research on the dead not the living, so I was hesitant until he said, "I'm 78 years old, and I want to find out who my father is before I die.  I am told that you Mormons are good Christians and won't scam me."  How could I resist?  He had at one time found his birth mother, who further rejected him by saying, "I gave you away for a reason."  Sadly, he had a list of four men who had been given to him over the years as "possibilities," and each of the four was either dead or could not be found.  He was so distraught, and I badly wanted to reach through the computer screen and give him a hug.  Finally, he gave a tearful sigh and said, "I have loved God all my life, and He has loved me.  I'm going to take Him at His word; He is my only Father now.  God bless you for helping me."  Indeed.
                    Our life is so good and so full.  We are grateful for nearly 45 years together and good health.  We wish as much for all of you!!  Love from here.  Mom