Day at the Beach

 

Friday, was a good day. We started at the beach and light house in South Haven. I was obviously more excited to be there than the kids, but I expected that because I'm the one that grew up going there periodically. We lakes down the pier to the lighthouse first and took pictures (a must when in South Haven). Then, we walked over to the shore, waded in the water, and played in the sand as we waited for my cousin, Sherry and her husband. 

Then, we went to a tavern for lunch with Sherry before walking around to the shops.

This was followed by another trip to Sherman's Ice Cream where we met up with my cousin, Clint, and his family. Then, we went to Kids Corner (a well known playground out there) and walked back over to the lake.

 At this point, it was finally time to go swimming. I took the kids back to our hotel (only 10 minutes away), left Sean there (at his request), and took Noel back to the lake. We swam and jumped into and over the waves for about an hour before heading back to shore to make dinner plans as Noel and Clint's girls played in the sand and weather a bit more. Then, I went back to the hotel room to shower and change before heading to dinner. 

We met at a brew pub by the harbor for one last meal before going our separate ways. 

I am very thankful to have had this day with my cousins making new memories. It was the best day of the entire trip!

MY Cousin

 

When we were kids and visiting our grandparents or each other's house, we were rarely seen apart. We have always click in a special way. When my family moved to Colorado, one of the hardest parts was that we couldn't see our cousins very much. We have spent most of our adult lives apart, raising our kids and living. Of all of my cousins, it has been hardest to be separated from her.

Now, she is most likely dying, and I changed my vacation plans to spend time with her. Even with her health struggles, we still click. She is still MY cousin. We will always have a special bond that none of our other cousins share. 

Exhausting Day

After an already long day, my cousin called today with a health update. She has been having heart problems for a while and was waiting to find out just how bad it is. Today, she called me with an update. She not only has a valve leaking, she has blockages and is going to have to have open heart surgery very soon. This means that she can't go to our cousin meet up in Michigan this summer because she will need to take the time to recover. 

I am both sad and scared. I'm sad that she won't be able to meet up with us at the beach. I love this cousin. She and I were glued together every time we visited our grandparents. Having a cousin reunion without this one cousin seems a bit wrong. I'm scared because I don't want her to die. I know I don't see her very often, but I still love her a lot. I'm also a bit mad because it just doesn't feel fair for someone who does so much good in the world to be facing this. 

She has been calling family members to ask for prayers, and I am more than happy to do this for her. I explained to the what the temple prayer roll is asked her if it was ok for me to place her name on it. She excitedly told me she could appreciate that. I think I will also fast for her this Sunday. This is all I can do from halfway across the country. I just hope it works. 

Emotional Week

I have had a difficult week. I have a bit of a health scare, and the cousin I was closest to growing up called to tell me she is having significant heart problems. Between the two issues, I have been exhausted. 

My health scare ended up to be a false alarm, but I have been worried for about 3.5 weeks. Last month, I went in for a regular mammogram, and they called be a few days later to schedule a follow up because there was an abnormality on the left side. The soonest they could get me in for more imaging including an ultrasound was 3.5 weeks out. In the meantime, I was able to look at the report and scans as my mind swirled with possibilities. As I checked in, they told me there was a possibility they would only need to do the additional mammogram images , but to plan on being there long enough for everything that was scheduled. After the mammogram images were done, I waited for the doctor to look everything over. Then, she did a handful of ultrasound images and left the room again. It was, then, determined I needed a few more images.at that point, the mysterious doctor behind the door said it looked good. The spot they were seeing was a lymph node with smooth boarders and good flow. It was such a relief! 

The night before this terrifying appointment, my cousin called in tears. Apparently, she had an allergic reaction to some shots in the fall when she renewed her foster license and ended up with double pneumonia. While she was healing from that, she had a “cardiac event” and waited until the next day to take the trip to the hospital. Since then, she has not been doing well. The problem is that they are not close to much medical care. The closest cardiologist has a 6 month waiting list. She was finally able to find on in another state that looked over her scans and discovered leaky valve. This doctor can see her sooner, but the earliest appointment available is in April. 

I am thankful that I am at least relatively healthy, but I am worried about my cousin. She has a lot of responsibilities and no energy. I wish I could take her place. She is one of the best people I know. The world is a better place with her in it. I hope she can continue to spread her light. 

My Cousin’s Wife

I am not close to my mom’s side of the family, but I keep up with some of my cousins on Facebook. This last Saturday, I hopped on Facebook, and the first thing that I saw was my cousin’s wife was missing. He had made a missing poster and asked for help. She had apparently left for work that morning and had not been seen since she left work early and made some kind of purchase at a local mall. Her phone had been turned off, and they had reason to be greatly concerned when she didn’t come home that evening. Being in a different state, the best I could do to help was share his post and ask my Utah friends and family to help. 

My cousin did everything he could to find his wife. He reported her missing, kept track of the places searched, followed up on the leads he could, and more all while taking care of their daughter. To me, this is super hero status. 

Unfortunately, it turned out that his worst fears had come true. After 6 days of searching, she was found in a parking lot only half a mile from her job. She had succumbed to her demons. Now, her family has to plan her funeral. 

I would never judge her for making this decision. I can’t. I have never been in the position where I felt leaving this life was the only answer. I feel sad for her feeling this was the only option. I feel sad for my cousin having to deal with this grief. I feel sad for her kids knowing how hard it is to live without a mother. I pray my cousin can feel a sense of closure and comfort during this time of immense grief and pain. 

He has a Go Fund Me to help pay the unexpected bills. Please, help him if you can. https://gofund.me/7fbdecd6

Cousin Reunion Planning

I have been missing South Haven, MI for a while. I have so many good memories of visiting there. The best memories include my cousins. The last two times I near them there were for my grandparents’ funerals. I want to see them again with good memories attached. This desire lead me to one conclusion; I need to organize a Mitchell Cousin Reunion. 

A few weeks ago, I made the first big step to make this happen. I made a Facebook group message to hater interest for a reunion in South Haven next summer for our grandparents’ anniversary. So far, everyone is interested and looking into making room in their schedules for the days I chose. 

Now, I am in planning mode. I am going to check out a couple of venues my dad suggested including the Methodist church that we had a few family functions when we were growing up. If there is a way to rent or reserve it, I am hoping to do a big dinner the night of the anniversary. If not, I will check out a state park by the beach my dad told me about. For the other meals, I am thinking everyone will be in charge of their own breakfast. The other three meals can be assigned to family groups. For example, Aunt Mickey’s kids can work on the first lunch, Uncle Bill’s kids can do the other lunch. and my sister and I can do the last dinner. Other than that, I know we need at least one day at the beach. The other day, I am going to do a bit of research on other activities available in the area. 

I am so excited for this reunion! Hopefully, planning it while finishing my last year of school doesn’t kill me. 

Final Day For Now

 We are leaving Utah in the morning, so today was our final day. It was a great day to be here. I started the day off going to church with my dad. Then, I sat and enjoyed my dad and sister’s company until my sister and I set off to Walmart to buy some water for Noel and things her kids forgot. That was followed by a lunch of Kraft macaroni and cheese with her kids and my daughter. At dinner time my other sister, Carrie, came over with three of her girls. Then, we watched the Nuggets game and enjoyed being around each other until Noel and I needed to head to bed. 

I am sad we are leaving tomorrow before we can do more things around town, but I will be happy to be home with my husband, son, and dogs. As an added extra, Eric will be coming by to pick up a few things. (I am always excited when he calls and plans to stop by.) 

I forgot to take pictures while Carrie and the girls were over, but I did get some before we went our separate ways for the night.