A Warden Day

It was a day for my mom and all the important Johanson family members were there, well almost all. We missed a couple besides you. It was another last look at Warden and it didn’t look that bad, only changed slightly here and there. There are more missing buildings, more new streets and tiny hanging baskets lining the main street. The words spoken at the cemetery were short and the cemetery was green and full of familiar names.

The Corral served us a nice lunch and even removed the vacuum and mops from the back banquet room. Nancy and Linda spent a long time visiting with Smokey Kisler so I think they are updated on the latest changes in town. When we left, Nancy was conducting a tour of your former homes and buildings your dad had constructed.

It was great having everyone together. It was not sad so maybe I will change my mind about funerals. The fact that my mom’s life was commemorated properly is important. Alberta had written many things and kept these writings along with every letter she ever received and every bill she every paid. This might have been written during a workshop and I can hear her preaching these uplifting sentiments. I sent it along for the minister to read but he did his own thing so I’ll share it here instead.

As the physical body needs a physical doctor for bones and boils so the mental mind needs a spiritual doctor to keep our mind healthy-a leap of faith-a loving Source. Our inner resource- We think our happiness comes from external events and material objects but truly our happiness is with us 24 hours a day. Especially when we are there for our friends to share their joys or sorrows, to accept what has been bestowed upon us. We already possess all we need to be genuinely happy. Gratitude, simplicity, order, harmony, beauty, joy are all we need-not gold and riches. We need the conscious awareness to appreciate what we have. Sit down with a pencil and paper and begin your list at once. Open your grateful heart to others. Happiness is a state of mine, quality thinking; let's aim for that 24 hours a day. A1 Priority! Happiness for those things we need, not want.

The most important thing in life isn't the amount of money that you make, the status you attain, or the honors you achieve. Rather, it's just being a friend.

Funerals

I prefer to skip them altogether and had this image of a few of us standing around the Warden Cemetery giving my mother a few words and putting her ashes next to my dad. A phone call to the Warden City Hall made all the plans simple and easy. Today I am thinking there might be a few more people involved than just the tiny group of us. This can be sad, very sad with more tears. Why do people have to be so nice? Why would they drive miles to nowhere to a small country cemetery to spend a few minutes and then drive all the way home again? Diana says funerals are for the family and it is hard for me to understand this since it is tough being around such nice people saying nice things. It is also tough reading sympathy cards. I try to read them aloud to the little boys and Miles pipes up with “Grandma why does your voice sound funny?” It’s all those nice words on the cards that cause my funny voice but I can keep reading and my voice gets normal again.

Alberta would love it all. Her sister and brother will be there and a few of her good friends with all the good memories of the wonderful Warden days. I guess when we look back they were all wonderful. We can forget the dust storms, the winters, the isolation due to being far from the big cities, and remember how things looked to us 60 years ago. I hope the Corral is open after all as the tavern in town is closed on weekends. Maybe we can fit a few people in there for lunch. In my mind it is a huge, lovely restaurant so I need to readjust my thinking perhaps.

You need to be on Facebook and then you can follow Willie’s adventures. Mostly it is entertaining to check his status as it goes from single to married and then back again. It drives me crazy trying to be in the know with the details. He must have fun with it.

Linda called yesterday and reminded me that I need to make picture boards of some of the important days in my mom’s life. I immediately purchased the boards and now I need to go paste on the photos. Luckily I have 1000’s of photos so this will be a fun project for the day. We will miss you in Warden.

For Those Who Don't Get The Spokesman Review

FJESETH, AlBERTA - Alberta was born July 8, 1917 in Lethbridge, Alberta. She passed away in Spokane on June 10, 2010. She was preceded in death by her husband, Palmer in 1990. She is survived by their daughter, Arla and by grandson, Brett Lewis, wife, Anna Medina of Spokane and granddaughter Cydney Nixon and husband Dave of Lake Tapps,WA as well as a sister, Betty Taylor of Camano Island, WA and a brother Ron Johanson of Leavenworth, WA. She is also survived by four great-grandsons. Alberta was a 50 year resident of Warden, WA and moved to Spokane eight years ago to be near her family. The family wishes to thank the staff at Harbor Crest for their kindness in caring for Alberta the past five years. There will be a gravesite service at the Warden Cemetery on June 26th at 1 p.m.

Alberta Leaves Us

She waited until almost her 93rd birthday and then decided it was time. Here is a photo of her with Lucas and Brett on Mother’s Day this year. After this photo she began refusing food and gradually drank nothing but Boost. She labored a few weeks with not much nutrition and very little hydration. Wednesday day and night she devoted her energy to breathing until her energy was depleted. I was mostly glad that I could stay with her until the end. It is a strange feeling to be without someone in your life who has spent 70 years with you. However her traits live on and I hear her voice often telling me to “stand up straight”. Actually it may be the reason I’m always stooping.

Uncle Ronnie came to spend the weekend with us the following day with the agreement that he would do work around the house if we agreed to feed him. He said something about home cooking but then said he would eat packaged foods also as long as he didn't have to prepare them. He talked us through the weekend which kept things upbeat and positive since he was calmly repairing things at my house as well as at Brett's house. Brett had a new kitchen faucet installed and two new yard lights are now actually lighting up the night. At my house he patched a crack in the fiberglass pool and put a closet door back on track. All these jobs required planning, shopping for materials and much prep time before they could actually be accomplished. I must say he is a very pleasant handyman.

He just phoned to tell me he does have the old Memorial Day photo albums in spite of fact that he denied having them at Memorial Day. He just didn't notice them in the closet. He said the albums would be nice for some people to see. Not him of course as he is not interested in them but someone may be. He helped look through my mom's things and said toss to most all of it. I did put things in the toss box but still more people can claim items before it is tossed.

It is warming up here so summer must be on the way. The pool is filled and running but still a little cold. Lucas is busy riding his bike anyway as he just learned how by himself on Friday. While we were all listening to Ron, Lucas was quietly testing the bike to see if it would balance and it did.

So we are planning a memorial service at the Warden Cemetery on June 26th at 1:00 followed by a luncheon at the Corral Cafe. The service will be short but memorable I'm sure. It will be fun to see how it feels to be in Warden again. Do you think anything has changed?

A Good Group for a Good Time