Letters from Mother 12

My Take

DiVoran Lites

September 6, 1983

Dear ones,

This day in 1957, you and Bill have been married twenty-six years. You share this anniversary day with your grandmother and granddad and Grandmother’s sister, Helen, and her husband, Ray.

We arrived safely at Helen and Ray’s. Ray and your dad have gone to get repair parts so that Ivan can fix their toilet. As you know, he does things like this for people wherever he visits. We had a long weekend up at Ernie and Audrey’s place above Sonora and Twain Heart in the high Sierras. You’ll recall that Ernie has been Ivan’s best friend since they were boys back in Canon City. Dad got a lot of things done for their house and grounds and loved doing it. They put R-30 insulation in the eaves of the attic room and repaired three door locks. They also got the shower fixed. The bathroom upstairs is a shower with a 2×4 frame around it, but there is no wall yet. We call out: “Lady in the showe,” when we go up there, and the guys respond: “we’ll be right up.” 

They brought a gramma and grandpa with them and their great-granddaughter, Zoe. Everyone was either eating and drinking or thinking about eating and drinking. 

It wasn’t a bad weekend/slumber party. I especially enjoyed Zoe. It was a joy to take her for a walk in her stroller; everything is exciting to a baby that age. We communicated with grunts and groans and later did some finger painting.  Yes, I cleaned it up when we were finished. 

Now back to Ray and Helen. Ray is so very tired; they shopped for lumber and stuff for your dad’s jobs.

Our visit with Mary and Jerry was nice. We had corned beef and cabbage again. We had it at Audrey’s too, but we didn’t tell Mary. She also got a big ham and cooked it one night, and the next night she got a turkey from the deli, all baked and ready to eat.  All delicious. 

Oh, yes, I am skipping around a lot because a lot is going on. We went to a barbeque. They served a delicious salad from a large trash bag with a rubber-gloved hand. There were shredded cucumbers in it, and it was nice. We chose our tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions. They also dipped the roasting ears into a big pan of melted margarine when they were done. We had cantaloupes, watermelon, and Crenshaw melons. I thought they had some very good ideas.

Helen’s so pleased to have us share the load for a while. It gives her a break from her immediate care of Ray. She loves following Ivan around and handing him things.  They have been good friends since they were born. Helen is Ivan’s and Lowell’s aunt, which means their mother, Marie, was the daughter of Helen’s mother. Figure that one if you can. 

Well, I’ve put my painting aside for now. Dad built a rack up and the shelf in the back of the truck. I’ve been crocheting pillow tops for Lowell’s two bar stools.

Lowell and his friend another Helen went to Canon City to see your grandmother; then he told Aunt Helen that Grandmother hasn’t been feeling well and hasn’t slept lying down for a long time. 

Guess I’ll close for now and think of more to say in the morning. 

Love you,

Mother

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

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