Dear Kids,
         Today is Charlotte’s eighteenth birthday.  I can hardly believe so many years have gone by.  We’re so grateful for all you kids, and the wonderful families you’re raising, and for our loved ones on both sides of the veil.
         Thursday night Scout stopped eating and drinking, and he was listless and miserable.  He spent the night crouched on our closet floor.  Sonia watched over him from Dad’s sock bin.  I got up every couple of hours to see if he looked any better, and he didn’t.  Friday morning he ate a couple of bites of kitten chow, but nothing else.  We’ve never taken sick cats to the vet before, but I couldn’t stand the thought that he might die, besides the fact that we’ve already invested so much money in these two cats.  So we drove down to Arcadia pet clinic in Heber, where we’ve taken our cats before.  Scout was terrified by the ride in the cat carrier, and not at all listless when we arrived.  He yowled when they took his temperature, and it was high.  The vet guessed he had an infection, maybe from a bite or a cut.  He gave  Scout a shot of antibiotics and a shot of “anti-inflammatory,” which was probably a steroid.  By the time we got him home he was already looking better, and within a couple of hours he was eating.  Saturday morning he was racing and chasing again with Tina and Sonia.  If you’ve never had a cat on steroids, you’ve missed a great show.  And we’re very happy that he’s recovering.
         April conference is coming up in five weeks.  What changes are in store for us this time?  It’s fruitless to speculate, although we were right last time about the two-hour block. I could roll out my wish list again, but it’s better just to wait.
         Dad got a call regarding our cabin: the joists have been ordered, and they take five or six weeks.  When they arrive, Dad was assured, they’ll “hit the ground running.”  I think the only thing that will be hitting the ground will be the joists dumped from the delivery truck, and after that they’ll probably sit for several more weeks.
         But it’s all good! Someday the cabin will be repaired.  Someday I’ll be well and my pain will be gone.  Someday we’ll have green grass and warm days.
         Love, Mom