THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER VOLUME 106 MARCH 2016

Dear Readers,

Sadly on February 15^th the time came to free Delilah from her suffering. The last week of her long life she refused any kind of food, and drank very little, apart from tea with milk and sugar from my cup, one of her favorite things in her old age. I had very much hoped that she would fade away in her sleep at home but she was a always feisty. The vet was very kind and I was able to have her remains cremated. I had originally planned to bury her in the garden, next to Tiffanee, but thought the ground might be too hard to dig up at this time of the year. I asked Coryn if I could store Delilah in her garage freezer until the warmer months since I have limited space in my kitchen fridge/ freezer. She was appalled by my suggestion. I questioned whether storing a cat was any different than a butchered deer or half a cow. I promised to package her very discreetly but she was adamant that other arrangements would have to be made. Becky and Coryn with their children showed up that day to help me through it. Despite being a very demanding lap cat Delilah was amazingly good with small children. Firstly she and Mia Woodbury were fast friends, then she bonded with Elena, Ava Claire and Lola Rose. Owen was always trying to grab a handful of fur. Despite having a full set of sharp claws she rarely scratched a child even when being decorated with doll clothes and princess necklaces.

Delilah came into our lives many summers ago when Bryn came racing into our family room at the old Y claiming that he had seen a tiny black and white face behind some bushes while he was out watering. This is recorded in one of the many letters I have that I wrote to my mother. Apparently I told him that it was probably one of Norm's grape eating baby raccoons or a skunk but he insisted I look. So I clambered up the slope into our backyard and began searching the many overgrown bushes. Ten minutes later I headed over to the gravel road by the farm gate and there was a tiny kitten watching me. I couldn't get close enough to see if it was being cared for so headed back into the house. The kids went out with flashlights to try and find it. The next day Coryn, Leslee-Ann, Bryn and Sean spent all day trying to catch it. Success finally came in the evening when I returned from work: I baited her with a piece of ham. So that was how a scrawny female kitten joined our cat family: Toby, Tiffanee and my beloved Sam. The kids named her Madison. I renamed her Delilah to compliment my big boy Sam.

Delilah was a very demanding cat, a whiner constantly in need of attention. She meowed when her food bowl was not as full as she liked, she meowed to be let out only to meow seconds later to be let back in. She meowed if her litter box was not as clean as she liked. She woke me up most mornings with her incessant noise forcing me out of bed and into the kitchen to check her food bowls and make myself coffee: as soon as I sat down in front of the television to drink it she would jump up on me , kneading my lap with her paws and claws, further shredding my cat tattered robe until she got comfortable. She would then purr so loudly that I would have to turn the volume up on the television .

Norm never took to her like his beloved Tiffanee, she was always referred to as that black and white cat. I have to admit that she had a mean streak, she terrorized poor Sheba who lived in constant fear of being attacked by her. It has taken a few days for Sheba to realize that her nemesis is gone – she was still surreptitiously sneaking up and down stairs and around corners expecting to be set upon at any second. In the many years that they lived together Delilah never accepted Sheba despite having always lived in a multi cat household.

Craig made a work related trip to Kansas City the first weekend in February and was most anxious to win his way back into Ava Claire's favor. Last fall when he was staying with me - along with her uncles Josh and Bryn - Ava Claire was a frequent visitor enjoying all the male attention. At some point Craig toasted an English muffin, spread peanut butter on it and started to eat it. Ava Claire said she would like one too. Craig offered her a bite of his but she wanted her own so being a kind uncle he made her one. She looked at it dubiously and questioned if it was the same as his so Craig picked hers up and took a bite hoping to assure her that it was exactly what he was eating. Ava Claire immediately burst into tears and screamed for Grandma, telling me that Uncle Craig had eaten her muffin. Poor Craig was devastated to find that his well intentioned bite had come back to bite him. Henceforth whenever Craig's name was mentioned Ava Claire would state that he was the uncle who had eaten her muffin and made her cry until Grandma came to her rescue. She would run away when he tried to Facetime with her.

Craig decided that he was going to win his way back into her favor with presents. Upon his arrival he greeted her at the door with a stuffed Olaf behind his back which she deigned to accept so before her feelings changed he raced back to his rental car for another present – a microphone that plays a lot of Disney songs and lets you Karaoke along too. He scored big with this, we had to endure listening to her singing 'Let it Go' from Frozen over and over again. Craig was forgiven. At two Ava Claire knows the power of a few tears trickling down her cheeks on the males in the family. What is also amazing is how long she can carry a grudge for – her poor future husband.

I sent two baby monkeys, a crib blanket and some burp cloths that I had made back with him so that when I next fly out I can travel light . (Coryn recently informed me that she was planning on sending along Owen's outgrown baby clothes with me, more space bags in my suitcase I guess).We are now just weeks away from the arrival of my newest grandson. I am on standby ready to fly to Orlando as soon as the stork makes his delivery. Mother will be in such a flap that I will probably be able to use my own arms to get there.

My other son-in-law Jeremy has been losing bits and pieces of his body recently, a vasectomy followed by the removal of four wisdom teeth. He has done very well with his oral surgery at his advanced age! We all hope that no dry sockets are in his future. Ava Claire assured me that she was helping to take care of daddy, bringing him ice packs for his cheeks.

My friend Becky Dickinson called me last Friday evening about nine thirty to see if I could stay with her in the ER at my local hospital so that her husband could relieve their neighbor who was staying with their daughters. I hurried over and found Becky huddled over complaining about terrible pain from a procedure she had undergone earlier in the day to bust up some kidney stones. After calling her doctor she was instructed to go to the nearest ER. She said they had been there for at least thirty minutes prior to my arrival and she was feeling worse with everyone. I immediately approached the admittance desk and suggested that Becky should be seen immediately given the fact that she had undergone a medical procedure and been sent to the ER by her doctor. Within seconds she was taken back. Unbeknownst to me at the time she was mad with husband Fred for not getting her in sooner and said she was calling Megan because she knew how to get things done! Frankly it might have been a coincidence that we were admitted after my arrival but it confirmed Becky's believe that Fred was not up to dealing with her medical emergency. I hastily defended nice guy Fred by pointing out that I could be a royal bitch if so needed! Norm provided me with a lot of experience in learning how to work with medical personnel!

Fred was sent home to check on the girls while I stayed with Becky. She ended up with a catheter, a two night stay and a stent. Her stone had not been passed and the whole procedure will be repeated next week. After a couple of hours I switched places with Fred, sleeping at their house for a few hours to be with the girls. Elena woke up about six that morning and was very matter of fact about my being there. I fixed a bowl of cereal for her just as Fred emerged to let me know that Becky was still in the hospital and that her parents were coming up to stay. I left for my bed and after filling Coryn in on her friend's plight I crawled into my own bed and slept until three that afternoon. I was exhausted because the previous night Ava Claire had stayed with me and awoke numerous times because her nose was congested. Mother's days of pulling all nighters are over.

Josh has been helping Marc do a partial remodel of his condo's bathroom. In my opinion it is a total gut job but my frugal sons decided to replace the toilet and sink, paint the existing vanity and clean up the tile floor. The disgusting blue bath tub remains. Marc indulged himself by adding a bidet - doubtless hoping to help his hemorrhoids. When I was growing up we had a bidet in our bathroom but it was strictly for females. Marc assures me that his is gender neutral, like himself I guess.

However instead of hauling the old toilet and sink to the dumpster Marc and Josh decided to turn them into a crappy piece of patio art - using the large ceramic pot and pump that I helped Marc set up as a beautiful plant filled water feature. They set the sink on top of the pot, and balanced the toilet on top of that and ran tubing from the pot below the sink to the toilet tank. Anyone walking by is treated to the sound of peeing water. Those of my readers who follow my blog will be subjected to a visual of this installation in a corner of Marc's patio that is hopefully hidden from his neighbors views. If only all this effort had gone into installing a new bath tub!

Sean is no longer one of my eligible bachelor sons, he has moved in with his girlfriend Sarah who is also an American working for Cerner in London. They are having a wonderful time traveling to different European cities on their weekends. Sarah took Sean to Rome, Italy for his birthday and for Valentines Day he gave her a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle which once put together revealed that he was taking her to Prague, Czechoslovakia next month. So romantic. They are in Edinburgh, Scotland this weekend. Frankly this has given me renewed hope for my remaining bachelor sons.

Coryn took Kay and me to a spa for a massage and hot stone treatment followed by lunch at a Thai restaurant and dessert at Irina's bakery – all just blocks away from my oh so conveniently located home. It was a Christmas gift from her and Jeremy that was put on hold until after my beloved Chiefs were out of the playoffs as I refused to make any commitments which might cause me to miss a game.

Owen is now pulling himself up and can walk around furniture if he holds onto it. He has also mastered stair climbing so he requires constant monitoring. Exhausting for Coryn as he only takes a couple of short naps during the day and still is not sleeping through the night. Ava Claire still tends to enjoy “accidentally” knocking him over or dropping a toy on him. She is usually very solicitous to him following these mishaps and he for the most part seems to find her highly entertaining. I certainly enjoy her attitude. Coryn told her to stop interrupting the other day when we were trying to have a conversation and Ava Claire admonished her mommy with “ I am allowed to talk.” She was given a time out and I almost had to join her because I was laughing so hard. It is almost impossible to find Ava Claire not talking, only when watching a movie or her shows on Utube is there any peace. Sometimes if I am slow to respond she will say “Grandma don't you know I am talking to you?”

Love from your mother who is expecting to find out the name of her newest grandson very shortly, I just hope it doesn't send me in a tailspin all the way back to Kansas!