Mary Ellen's Birthday and Life Goes On

Today is a special day in our family because it is our youngest daughter’s birthday. I hope to see her before the day is over to hand her a card and gift. She works so hard that we do not see her as much as we’d like. She does it all—sells houses, keeps house, cooks often, helps Brian in the field sometimes, and helps their two young adults to be the success they are. Happy birthday, Sweetheart!

It has been a long time since I had a cold, so I guess I should not complain, but I am. In the meantime, while I sneeze, cough, and blow my nose, life at Woodsong goes on. We were torn between disappointment and pleasure when our geese married couple was followed by one tiny gosling. Evidently only one escaped the predators, and that was sad. But seeing that baby follow his parents swimming in the water was a sweet sight. Later they moved on to another lake as geese as the habit of doing. But we have had some others fly in and visit us with more and larger goslings following them.

Gerald has planted the asparagus thanks to cousin Bill Tweedy sharing plants with us. The deer have found them unfortunately. Tomatoes in the garden seem to be doing fine, and some watermelon, cantaloupe, and okra are planted. Strawberry plants have been ordered. Gerald is kept busy fighting the moles and mowing the yard that he keeps expanding. With all the rains and his care, it has never looked prettier.

We have watched a lot of softball the last two weekends. Not so much the first weekend since our Oregon Ducks won their two out of three quickly to advance to the Women’s College World Series. It was hard not to head to Oklahoma City, but a multitude of reasons made it seem unwise. We were thrilled for Geri Ann, and all of her immediate family including her three nephews was there to support her, and I know they had a great time being together. Mary Ellen watched with us, and we were thrilled if we saw Vickie and Aidan in the stands. I glanced at Mary Ellen’s phone and missed Erin decked out in yellow and green. The others were there beside them, I am sure, but we didn’t get to see them on the screen. It was sad to see the Ducks lose, but we are already looking forward to next year!

The reason I was glancing at Mary Ellen’s phone was a photo had just come in from Disneyland showing cousins Sam Cedar and Brianna Taylor together. The Marion Wildcats' band was there to see the sights and Sam would lead the band in their final march of the year in the Saturday night parade. Wish I could have seen that too! Sam is scheduled to be home today, and I am sure there will be lots to tell his mom. Brianna will be home soon as her spring internship is almost over. But the cousins were excited to be together down there in that magical place.

Now we are watching Florida and Michigan play for the championship. Both teams are so good that it is a joy to watch them. If Florida wins again tonight, the Gators will be the champions again this year. If Michigan wins tonight, they will have to play the third game for a two-out-of-three winner. It is hard not to be for both teams.