"We will remember your name forever. Forever your memory will burn as a light inside us all " -Ojibwa Song

 

On October 10th, my Dad decided it was time to reunite with Mom. The picture above was my last photo of the two of us together.  

When asked to describe Dad, the first word that came to my mind was humble. He has so many talents that he never thought they were good enough when he was younger. It wasn't until the last few years that he would talk about what a good job he did at things. 

Dad was a very talented mason. His brickwork is in so many homes in and around Faribault. He was such a perfectionist in everything he did. I remember in our French Lake home, he built a beautiful fireplace. After we moved into the house, he tore it all out and made it over again because it wasn't up to his standards. 

With only an 8th-grade Country School education and a GED he earned while serving in the Army, he went on to build two very successful masonry businesses. 

When he retired, he taught himself woodworking. He started making birdhouses, birdfeeders, trellis, and even doll houses for his great-granddaughters. All of us have them in our yards. 

I have so many great memories of what a great Dad he was. Every winter, he would take the fence down for the cow pasture and flood the little pond we had to make a huge ice rink for us. After every snow, he would be out there making sure it was cleared off so we could go ice skate. We had a huge hill that we spent many hours sliding on. Dad used to take a few rides down that hill on the toboggan. He was always ready to play with us. 

His gardens are famously weedless. He took such pride in them. Not only did he have gardens, but he also put in a small apple orchard. He would plant an acre of sweet corn, and when it was harvested, he would put it in the back of his truck, park it at the end of the road, and we would sell the corn. Dad taught me how to drive the tractor to work the field. 

When Dad was 66, he decided to start walking for exercise. I was also very into exercise, so we really bonded on it. He started walking more and more every day and started to keep track of how many miles he had gone. He set a goal to walk the same amount of miles that it would take to walk the distance around the earth, 24,901.55 miles. At the age of 76, he achieved his goal. I talked him into doing a 5K with me and my daughter Amy when he was 70.  I told him it was a run/walk, so he could just walk it. Unbeknownst to me, he decided that he was going to start running. So when it was race day, he ran the whole race. I was so proud of him. Nothing can top watching him running across the finish line. 

Dad went on to run two more races with us. At age 71, he ran a 5K in 29 minutes. At age 75, he ran a 5K in 35 minutes. 

He is my inspiration. I hope to continue to walk and run as he did into his 80s. 

Alzheimer's took Dad away from us in the end. It was so hard for him as he lost his memory. He was aware it was going away, and he hated it. It robbed him of so many things. It is an awful disease. 

When Mom died last year, it was so hard on Dad. They had been married for 64 years. They had been friends since they were teenagers. He was lost without her. She was his life. 

I look at this picture and I imagine that Dad was writing a love letter to Mom. 

Dad told us all over and over again that he was ready to go. He did not understand why he was still alive when Mom was not with him.  His only wish was to be with Mom. 

This has always been my favorite photo of Mom and Dad. They were young and in love, sitting under the willow tree in my Dad's family home. Because of this picture and my memory of that tree, I have always wanted a willow tree. 

So when we moved into our latest house, it came with a willow tree. The day that Dad died, the northern lights were so bright. 

I looked towards my willow tree and saw this. I believe Mom and Dad were sending me a sign that they were happily reunited again. 

It has only been a year since Mom died. Even though I know that Dad is happy now, I selfishly want him back. I am still learning to live without my Mom, and now I have to learn to live without my Dad...

Sharon 

During World War II, soldiers famously claimed they were fighting for “mom and apple pie.” Since then, apple pie has become a symbol of family and home for many Americans.

 

My mom was so proud that when she was 16 years old, she won the silent pie demonstration contest at the MN State Fair. 

After Mom died last year, I had to go through all of her papers. It was not a fun job as she liked to keep everything. But to my surprise and delight, I came across a folder all about her pie-making. 

It was cool to come across this letter from then-Senator Hubert H. Humphrey. She must have been excited to get it. 

I remember Mom baking all the time. And as she baked, she taught us all of her techniques. She passed her love of baking onto me, and I have passed it on to my children, who have now passed it on to their children! 

We got together for our annual apple pie-baking day a few weeks ago. I am way behind on getting this posted 😂 Some years, we have more people than we know what to do with, and some years, like this year, we only have three. 

We had three generations working in my kitchen to produce 23 apple pies!

Amy is always the peeler of the apples. 

Christa is usually the person who mixes ingredients with the apples. Since she was unable to come this year, Eli took over her job. Eli was a master of getting the apple cut and mixed with the spices and sugar. He told me he had so much fun that he would come back next year. He said he was demoting Christa to wrapping the pies 😂

I am always assigned the job of making the crust and filling the pies up. 

When we have the pies all made up we wrap them in tin foil and freeze them. There is nothing better than baking an apple pie in the middle of winter. 

It is always a great day for me to be with the kids and grandkids doing something that is not only fun but produces something delicious! 

    Making the pies this year was also bittersweet because Mom is no longer with us. If not for her teaching me we would not have this tradition....

I believe she was with us as we made those apple pies, watching over us and making sure we did everything right. 

Happy baking

Sharon