I know you’re all gearing up for the reunion, starting Thursday night. I’m sure Tom will be getting out the schedule right away. I see he’s been contacting everybody about the tubes and rafts for the river, so we know he’s up to his ears in planning. I’m sure this reunion will be at least as much fun as all the others have been. Go, Ackersons!
I had another cat scan on Tuesday, and on Thursday I saw my oncologist, the very devoted Dr. Lewis. He showed me that my tumors are nearly the size they were last year when I started chemo, but they’re growing so slowly (he called them “indolent”) that the chemo wouldn’t be very effective yet. I told him Dr. Wooten was hesitant to do my hip replacement, for fear of blood clots, but Dr. Lewis said my risk is really low. He seemed eager for a reason to put off the chemo. (Plus, he said, my three toenails that have been removed can have more time to heal.) So he’s contacting Dr. Wooten to tell him to go ahead. And most of my serious yard and cabin projects are at a point where I can leave them for a while. My main cabin goal for the year has been to do the siding on the bunk house, but when I checked at Home Depot, they had absolutely nothing I could use. Donna says they’re sold out of practically everything, because of the virus. People are at home instead of at work, and they’re doing their projects. So I might have to put off the bunk house for still one more year. I’ve been re-doing the rock wall around the moose, and if I’d let let go even one more year, it would have disintegrated into a pile of rocks and I would have had to carry them back down to the river.
Bentley has started doing the MTC at home, in his bedroom, in front of a screen. He has the normal missionary schedule: get up early, exercise, companion study (he’s in a threesome) and then two blocks of classes, from 9:30 to 12:30 and from 2:30 to 5:30. Evenings he’s on his own. I think he must be really blessed, and all the other missionaries too! I never could have sat in front of a screen all day. I thought it was really confining even to be in a classroom all that time! Anyway, I’m sure Bentley can use your prayers, and he’ll get through it just fine. He’ll be going to Ft. Worth, Texas, until the Philippines are ready for him, but he’s still learning Cebuano at home. I had him say a couple of lines for me last Sunday. It sounds like a cross between Spanish and Chinese.
McGettigans came by on the 24th and we went to see the Kamas Fiesta Days, but it was a bust. So we drove up the Mirror Lake Highway, to Trial Lake and then to Mirror Lake. It was wall-to-wall people, but still beautiful. We always have fun with McGettigans. It doesn’t matter where we go or what we do; we mostly talk.
Last night Scout was out until 4:30 am, and I was the one to let him in. Dad was sleeping peacefully. Normally Scout yowls under the window and Dad gets up to let him in. It’s worse than having a teenager. But not expensive, like John’s cat. Blue’s $4,000 vet bill is our benchmark now, because almost anything we want to buy costs less than that. Aaron says it’s the same for them, too.
Lots of love, Mom
