THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 143 OCTOBER 2001

LOCHLAN EMRYS LOWE

BORN

AUGUST 27TH 2021

WEIGHT 7LBS 9OZ

Dear Readers,

The day after Ming Lee flew to the heavens I drove back to Kansas City knowing that Sarah and Sean were going to be welcoming their third child. in less than three years, that day. With her two previous pregnancies Sarah had birthed both babies exactly one month and two days earlier than her official due date so we felt sure that the pattern would continue but alas it was not to be. This baby had to be induced to leave the womb where he was safely cocooned from his siblings! I am sure if he thought about about coming out the screams of Emmy Lou and Liam over some outrage the other had committed against them would have been enough to convince him that the world was a dangerous place! This pregnancy was also different as Sarah developed mild gestational diabetes in her third trimester and as she approached her due date the doctor’s decided to induce her. I talked to her on the 26^th of August whilst I was still at Ming and Lori’s and learned that she was going to be admitted to the hospital the following morning. We had previously planned for me to take care of Emmy Lou and Liam when baby number three decided to arrive but obviously I wasn’t going to be there so their nanny volunteered to stay with them until I could take over.

My drive home from Indy was exhausting because I was sleep deprived, emotionally drained and worried about birth complications. I also had to deal with one slow down and a complete stoppage on the interstate due to two major accidents - besides the detour into down town Indianapolis and miles of road construction delays. Unfortunately no-one thought to call me with the news of Lochlan’s birth while I was driving – I never check my texts while driving and so didn’t know that all had gone well until I arrived back home that evening! Mother had imagined all kind of possible obstetric complications that could be keeping my hands free phone from ringing! I can guarantee that my heart is in fine fettle after this ordeal!

Fortunately Sarah had the foresight to ask that they break her waters before hooking her up to a pictocin drip and once her water broke she spontaneously went into labor, no drugs needed, – just three hours later Lochlan Emrys came into this world.

The next day, Saturday August 28th - after sleeping for ten hours -I headed up to Sean and Sarah’s to take over from their nanny Elaine until they came home with the new baby – which was about suppertime! Emmy Lou was much more excited to meet Lochlan than Liam! She actually wanted to hold him immediately and thought him very cute. She also calls him Emrys instead of Lochlan most of the time but it is a huge improvement over calling her baby brother “That” as she did with Liam for the longest time! Liam seems to be quite unfazed by the arrival of his baby brother and does not burst into tears if I hold the baby in his presence like he did with baby Alex.

Lori scheduled Ming’s visitation and funeral for the weekend of September tenth through the eleventh so this gave us all a couple of weeks to prepare ourselves for our final goodbyes to our beloved Ming Lee.

I opted to drive out with the Logues as Sean and Kay were both planning on attending too but were trying to minimize their time away from their newborns. Thus they planned to drive to Indy the day of Ming Lee’s Celebration of Life Service but it was unlikely that they would make the drive in time to be at the Funeral Home at the start of the proceedings. I felt that I needed to be there ahead of time. The Logues were planning on leaving after Coryn’s workday on Thursday, driving for a few hours before finding a hotel for the night in hopes of only having a few hours drive the following morning..

Owen had been staying with Grandma that week as he was banned from school for two weeks after a child at his lunch table tested positive for Covid 19- even though Owen tested negative! So Coryn picked Owen and me up from my home and drove us to her home to meet up with Jeremy and Ava Claire. This freed up my car for Sean to drive with Kay the next day, leaving two cars at Seans house for Sarah and her parents who flew in from Maine on very short notice to help out with the three little ones. Kay’s baby stayed with Richard but as a nursing mother she had to pump and freeze her milk to keep up her supply for the two days she was gone.

Coryn had activities for the kids – she had downloaded three movies onto their Ipads and a surprise box which contained at least thirty new fidget toys – good for about one hour of entertainment!

Trouble started before we had even backed out of the garage – Jeremy was driving, Coryn occupied the front passenger seat, Ava Claire and I sat in the second row seats and Owen had a single seat to himself in the third row surrounded by all our luggage. He was not happy about his placement at all and it was only with the assurance that he could change seats with his sister after we stopped for dinner that he was persuaded to get himself buckled up in his assigned seat. Coryn brightly suggested that the kids get started on their make up school work as they would be missing Friday’s classes – of course it took the promise of Ipad time in thirty minutes to motivate Owen! And then he must have asked every minute if the thirty minutes were up!

We stopped at a fast food place to pick up dinner and use the restrooms. We then piled back into the car and this time Owen had no interest in giving up his spot in the back seat despite his sister’s offer to do so! I just rolled my eyes.

As we all know Mother does not drink on long car drives, preferring to suck on hard candy to limit toilet breaks to only one every four hours or so but the Logues much to my dismay each carried a humongous cup of liquid with them into the car along with supper. I questioned the wisdom of such large drinks, especially for the kids but Coryn just shrugged and said potty stops every hour or so with the kids was the norm. I wondered if we would even make it halfway to Indy that night! We hardly seemed to have gone twenty miles before Ava Clare announced she needed a potty break!

We stopped in Effingham, Illinois for the night, with Ava Clare and I sharing a room while lucky Coryn and Jeremy shared with Owen!

Fortunately despite my misgivings we had driven far enough that night to leave us with less than a three hour drive in the morning to meet up with the rest of the family who were gathering at Lori’s for lunch. Marc and Bryn had flown a redeye from Los Angeles and Ming Jon had met up with the Remsburgs and their rental car at the Indianapolis airport. Josh of course was already there as he had stayed on in Indianapolis to help Lori and the kids through the last few difficult weeks.

Unfortunately our drive that morning had been extremely torturous due to Owen who wanted his Ipad as soon as we got into the car and his parents wanted him to do school work, read or do an activity book. Owen refused and began singing louder and louder that “Nobody loves me, nobody cares” as we sped along I70. For a short while we tried to ignore his behaviour – which never works in my opinion – so to garner more attention he undid his seat belt and tried leaving his seat. This caused quite a commotion and his mother told him to write lines as a punishment so I handed over paper and pen and for awhile we enjoyed peace and quiet until I turned around and saw that Owen was using himself as a work of art – drawing all over himself with my ball point pen! I muttered to myself that none of my kids would have done such a thing – well with the exception perhaps of Ming Lee! I wondered how we were going to remove all this ink from him in time for the service that afternoon! Fortunately Lori took on the challenge and cleaned him up from head to toe with rubbing alcohol. Thankfully for the remainder of the trip Owen was very well behaved, especially during the services for his Uncle Ming . However I determined that I was definitely not enduring the eight hour drive home in a car with Owen!

The family all stayed at the same hotel, the Drury Inn Suites. I shared with Leslee-Ann and Craig who had left Ray and Callie with a babysitter, The Logues had another suite as did Kay and Ming-Jon. Marc, Bryn and Sean shared another with Josh remaining at Lori’s house.

We had to deal with a near catastrophe when towards the end of Ming’s visitation Marc discovered that the entire sole of one of his shoes had left the upper part! Mother thought a new pair of shoes was needed but as usual it was pointed out to me by my boys that a cheap and quick fix would be gorilla glue!

The following morning as we were leaving the hotel to pile into our cars to drive to the church for the funeral services I noticed Ming Jon at the reception desk attempting to wrap packing tape around his suitcase. His siblings explained that his zipper had broken. Sean came to the rescue on this one offering one of his bags to Ming Jon for his flight home.

On Saturday after the very moving funeral and luncheon we all headed home. Josh was returning to Kansas City this time too so I elected to drive back with him, Sean and Kay in my own car. Both vehicles were well supplied with snacks for our eight hour drive home – Lori had insisted that I take a large cheese platter with me - so large that it lasted me for nearly a week!

After one of our bathroom stops with Kay busy setting up her breast pump in the back seat as we sped along she started frantically foraging through the numerous bags that surrounded us in the back seat. I asked what she needed – her cell phone. I immediately asked if she might have left it in the restroom but she didn’t think so although it was a possibility! I helped look through bags too but no phone was found so we left the interstate at the next ramp and all four of us searched. This time I decided to empty out the bags instead of just looking through them and thankfully found the phone in the bottom of the snack bag! After circling around we were back on the Interstate and you had better believe that I was keeping n eye on Kay’s phone the rest of the way! Thankfully we were back in Kansas City about eight thirty that night exhausted but grateful that we had all been together as a family for one of the most difficult days in all our lives.

I have been very busy this week so was unable to complete any work on this newsletter since the previous weekend. Ava Claire and Owen had this entire past week of school off in their district but it was not so in Coryn’s or Kay’s schools. Coryn and the kids spent Monday night at my house so she could leave early the next morning for a meeting. Alex was dropped off on Tuesday morning and greatly enjoyed by his cousins, especially since I introduced him to his first solids at lunchtime! He was very enthused with his first taste of applesauce – unsweetened of course! Wednesday I drove over to Coryns in Lee Summit for the day. On Thursday Richard dropped Alex off, followed by Jeremy with his two. Alex was unfortunately battling a runny nose and teething but we made it through! Owen went home with Coryn on Thursday evening but Ava Claire had her second sleepover of the week with Grandma. We played one of her favorite games that night – hotel where she is the receptionist and I am the guest and the more demanding I am the better she likes it as she gives me a tour of all my bedrooms and their amenities!

The next day Sarah came over with her parents, Liam and Lochlan. Ava Claire and Owen were thrilled! Emmy Lou has just started school this week so we didn’t see her until about three thirty when Sean picked her up and bought her over to Grandma’s daycare! Sarah and Lochlan went home for a bit while the rest of us had lunch together and Sarah’s parents, Cindy and Joe helped the kids with my cookie cutters and a big batch of playdough I made in my mixer with a dough hook. Liam actually didn’t eat any this time! I let the kids add food coloring and of course had a mess on every surface and needed to wash the entire kitchen floor that night !

Joe was very patient with Owen and played video games with him downstairs while we tried to get Liam to nap without success! Emmy Lou was very happy to see her cousins when she arrived and I must say that not having her on Fridays is going to be very hard on this grandma! But I will have Liam and Lochlan – once Sarah goes back to work next month and I babysit Alex on Tuesday’s and Thursdays! Emmy Lou may start having regular sleepover’s at Grandma’s!

Thanksgiving will be very special this year as we will have Lori, Blake and Claudia joining our Kansas City family – minus Josh who is currently in Orlando with the Remsburgs with plans to travel elsewhere soon I believe.

I think of Ming Lee many times throughout the day still, and only have to look to the sky to feel his presence still in my life. His birthday, November 21^st looms and for those of you who follow this newsletter on my blog I have included some pictures from past celebrations. We will all be singing Happy Birthday to you that day Ming!

Love always Mother.

Remember when I used to make the birthday cakes for you children?

 

Celebrating at Happy Joe's Pizza in Fort Madison - Ming Lee has two of his best friends with him, Steve Saunders and Bryan Allison

Ming-Lee's favorite was orange cake, orange frosting with orange slices and orange sherbet!

 

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER : VOLUME 142 SEPTEMBER 2021

MING LEE LOWE

NOVEMBER 21ST 1969 - AUGUST 26TH 2021

In my last newsletter I wrote about our amazing family reunion in June and how thankful we were for some special time with Ming Lee. I drove out to Indy to visit with him in mid July. His sisters and their families were visiting the Indy Lowes too. My visit overlapped with Leslee – Ann, Craig, Ray and Callie’s for a night and day before they left. The Logues had departed the previous day. They stayed in a hotel so that Ming Lee would not become exhausted by the high energy and noise! Lori told me that he had spent about five enjoyable hours one afternoon watching the four kids playing in the backyard with huge balls and utilizing the playhouse that he had built for Blake and Claudia when they were little. It did tire him out but he said it was so worth it to enjoy his nieces and nephews.

I stayed at the house and on my first night Lori woke me, needing help to change Ming's bedding. Being all too familiar with this operation I was glad to help out. I mentioned to Lori that I had discovered at some point in caring for Norm that double making the bed with two mattress protectors and fitted sheets meant you could roll your partner to one side of the bed and strip the first sheet and mattress pad off on the opposite side to them, then roll them over onto the second sheet and mattress protector and completely remove the top set and have a clean bed already made up underneath them. Lori thought it a brilliant idea so the next day while she was taking Ming-Lee to the hospital for an infusion treatment I and the Remsburgs went shopping for more mattress protectors and sheet sets so that it would hopefully make bed changes easier for Lori to accomplish, especially when alone with him.

I was so glad that Lori had organized home health aides to come on a regular basis to help her with showering, dressing and transferring Ming. She did an amazing job as a caregiver, doing everything possible to make his days comfortable. She may be physically tiny but she could heft Ming out of bed and into a wheelchair all by herself for months. Unfortunately by the time they got a Hoyer lift to help with this Ming became virtually bed ridden.

A couple of weeks after this visit Lori and Ming decided it was time for hospice care. Lori kept us all updated on his very rapid decline and with Blake and Claudia soon going to college Josh volunteered to return from Mexico to be in Indy to help out with his brother's care – we were all so grateful to Josh for doing this as we knew that Lori was not getting enough sleep and was exhausted from all the physical and emotional drains on her energies. Josh is able to work for his company anywhere in the world as long as he has internet access and he can set his own hours which gives him great flexibility.

By mid August Ming was suffering from headaches and nausea more frequently, classic symptoms of brain cancer. On August 23^rd I drove out to Indy again as after conversing with a Lori a couple of times: I felt time to be with him was running out. Thank goodness I went when I did – another day and Ming would not have known I was there. He could barely speak above a whisper, and only one or two words but he was able to let us know that he knew I was there. The very next day he lapsed into a coma like state and the hospice nurse advised us to give him morphine every two hours around the clock and of course could not give us an exact prediction of how close to his passing we were but we knew it would be a day or so at most in all probability as he had not eaten anything without vomiting for the past few days. Ming was a devout Catholic and I knew he was at peace with being taken from this life in the believe that eternal life awaited him in the heavens, closer to his God.

Sometimes we took it in turns sitting with Ming, other times we would all hang out in his room, listening to old vinyl records on an ancient record player that Josh had set up. Claudia stopped by a couple of evenings to visit and eat after her Martial Arts classes – the fridge and freezer were packed with donated meals and Josh made supper for us every night I was there trying to free up some space. A few special friends came to say their final goodbyes to Ming over the next couple of days and it was obvious that Ming meant so much to them too.

On the morning of Thursday August 26^th the hospice nurse saw changes in Ming that indicated he might only have hours left. Lori called Blake who drove home from college to be at his dad’s bedside. Late that afternoon as Ming slipped away from us the heavens opened, thunder and lighting, strong winds and torrential rain heralded Ming’s flight to the heavens. It was quite a send off.

Claudia, a church deacon and a priest made it through the terrible storm to pray together with Lori and Blake over Ming Lee. I think we all took great comfort in knowing that Ming Lee was no longer in pain and completely at peace with his death.

I first met Ming Lee on October 4th 1974 when he was almost five and I was twenty two. I arrived in this country from England on the very day that Ming Jon and Ming Lee lost their birth mother and I quickly became their primary caregiver. Ming Lee was a challenge: he was equally good at being an angel or a devil!

It only took me a couple of days to realize that the boys had been taken care of by a patchwork of babysitters, neighbors and kind friends. There was no routine, very few rules and even periods of time when Ming- Jon, just seven, was left in charge of his brother. Norm's idea of breakfast was Tang Orange drink and a box of donuts, left for them on the kitchen table - as he went to work before they got up! Someone would hopefully show up to take Ming-Jon to school and Ming-Lee to his babysitters or preschool. In true Mary Poppins form I swept in and made drastic changes. Milk became the drink of choice and home baked fruit and nut filled muffins or bread and granola or bran cereal became the new norm. Instead of picking up fast food I cooked! Baths and tooth brushing became routine as did a set bedtime and I kept them busy with trips to the parks, piano lessons, baseball, craft activities and play dates.

In five short months we became a family when Norm and I married – the boys were very instrumental in this decision as we had bonded well and I couldn't bear to think of them not being in a stable, loving home. Over the next few years our family grew and each new sibling was warmly welcomed by their big brothers.

Five year old Ming Lee determined his career path – he was going to be a pilot! Most kids will pick various jobs throughout their childhoods but Ming Lee never veered off course. In fact he earned his pilots license before his driver's license as he won a flight scholarship at Missouri Military Academy and they paid for all his pilot training. He then went onto Purdue University and graduated with the hopes of finding an entry level job with a commuter airline, and subsidizing the very low pay by becoming a flight instructor. While he was a student at Purdue he met Lori, fell in love, married her and once he was established with FedEx they welcomed Blake and Claudia into their family.

Ming's job allowed him to fly in and out of many peoples lives on very short notice sometimes. As a child Ming did not enjoy life without friends and lots of them. Alone time was not his thing at all. So it was not surprising that he would try to fly routes that would bring him to a city where he could spend time with one or more of his seven siblings or play a round of golf or hit the tennis courts with a friend.

When we lived on Melody Terrace in Fort Madison our house and yard was always full of kids. Ming could make a game out of anything and his toddler siblings only added to the fun.

He loved summer camps and was a Camp Counselor as a teenager at Camp Lookout in Montrose. Unlike many of his siblings living in a rustic cabin with a bunch of noisy kids with no air conditioning and plenty of mosquitoes was heaven to him. He liked being outdoors, hiking, swimming, sitting around a camp fire and getting to know new people. From his early years he was a charming, funny extrovert who loved to hear about other peoples lives and if he befriended you he would help you out in any way he could. Ming was the guy you called if your sink backed up, your car died or you just needed advice.

Lori had told me on a previous visit that Ming had been very involved in planning his own Celebration of Life Ceremony and Funeral Mass as he didn’t want the burden to fall on his family after his death. His work as a grief counselor had shown him how stressful it could be for the surviving spouse. He had decided to be cremated and felt that there was no need to have an immediate funeral so Lori arranged the visitation for Friday, September 10^th and the funeral for Saturday. September 11^th. He also insisted that the luncheon following the funeral should be catered not provided by church volunteers. He wanted the members of his church attending his funeral to be spared kitchen duty. So thoughtful.

Our long time family friends Lori and Roger Griswold were both there to share their love of Ming Leewith fond memories and like everyone else who spoke noted how much his faith and family meant to him. I was delighted to visit with Rudi and Bryan Allison who had driven from Iowa to attend. Ming and Bryan spent a lot of time together when we were neighbors on Melody Terrace in Fort Madison. Rudi had even taken the boys to the Indy 500 a few times when they were kids! It is an interesting coincidence that Ming spent his adult years in that city! Another lovely surprise was seeing Heather Welch who became good friends with Ming-Lee through his godparents Sue and Carl Saunders – Heather is their niece. I also got to visit with Martha Hellman, one of thirteen kids from Fort Madison. She had married a FedEx pilot and they live in Indy too! The Hellman family actually bought the first house we lived in on Black Hawk Heights back in 1975! Life is full of amazing coincidences!

Ming Lee truly lived a very full life: he accomplished more in a day than many could accomplish in a month. He was blessed with boundless energy – well maybe I did not always consider this a blessing when he was a child – and this energy was centered on Lori, Blake and Claudia. They took many family trips both in the United States and overseas, Ming-Lee was always involved in all their school activities – probably signed up for every field trip!

Ming Lee was so also a self taught craftsman. He built some amazing pieces of furniture for their home, heirlooms for generations to come and he could tackle any home improvement problem with positive results. Ming did not sit – he did. The passion he had for living a full meaningful life was very much rooted in his strong Catholic faith which guided his every moment on earth.

Now every time I look to the sky and see an airplane, bird or butterfly I think of Ming Lee flying free, no longer trapped in his sick body, soaring above us but always ready to swoop down and hold us in his heart as we hold him in ours for ever more.

          The family attending The Celebration of Life held for Ming on Friday, September 10th 2021

Standing in back row: Blake, Josh, Sean, Claudia

Sitting in front row : Coryn, Lori, Leslee-Ann, Bryn ,Craig, Mother, Kay, Ming-Jon, Marc

 

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER :VOLUME 141 JUNE 2021

THE LOWE FAMILY REUNION EDITION AND THE ANNOUCEMENT OF

THE BIRTH OF OUR NEWEST FAMILY MEMBER.

MY FIRST GREAT GRANDCHILD

ALEXANDER MICHAEL FLAIG

Dear Readers.

June has been an exciting month the Lowes. Ming Lee, Lori and Claudia decided to visit Kansas City for a change of scene and most importantly in-person time with our ever growing Kansas City family! Lori sent out a group text to the family announcing their intention of making the drive - if Ming-Lee felt able to do it. Bryn was the first to announce that he would joining us, followed by Leslee-Ann, Ming-Jon, and eventually Marc - once he felt confident that Blake was acclimated to living in Torrance and commuting to Santa Monica for his internship. This meant that all eight siblings would have an opportunity to spend time with Ming Lee, Lori, and Claudia.

Fortunately my house is perfectly organized for someone who cannot climb stairs or move around easily! After a year of having no house guests I decided to upgrade my beds with fluffy new mattress toppers and sheet sets. They were actually peddling these sheets on one of the television network morning shows as being a fantastic quality, and so luxurious to sandwich yourself between that you would never want to get up and bargain priced! Mother immediately tapped into Amazon , found the brand and placed her order for four sheet sets and mattress toppers. I was certain that these additions to my bedrooms would put me into the top tier of the local Bed and Breakfast Business (continental style breakfast only of course since I am not a morning person.) Ming-Lee was so impressed with these sheets that Lori bookmarked the site.

                                            Bryn, Ming-Lee, and Josh

Claudia, Bryn, Ming-Lee and Coryn after our Taco supper

Bryn was the first to arrive in Kansas City on May 28^th as he had to return to Los Angeles on June 4^th : he was expecting out of town house guests for a long planned visit but he got to spend Thursday evening and a good part of Friday with us before flying home. Once again he drove the Ford Focus up to the airport and left it in the parking garage with the keys hidden in a magnetic box under the car as Leslee-Ann and Marc were both flying in later that evening. Apparently they had quite the time searching for the car! My kids will go to any lengths to save a buck! Ming Jon arrived Thursday night and stayed with Kay and Richard. Leslee-Ann slept at the Logues and Marc at Sean and Sarah's . I had elected to only have the Indy Lowes stay with me as I knew Ming-Lee would need some peace and quiet between family visits.

On Thursday, June 6^th the Indy Lowes pulled into my driveway around five in the evening! Bryn and Josh joined me in giving them welcome hugs as we worked out the logistics of getting Ming out of the car and into the house – fortunately I have kept the ramp in the garage which I had built to get Norm in and out of the house once he was wheelchair bound. Coryn, Ava Claire and Owen were also there to welcome our guests of honor and to enjoy my taco supper – Ava Claire and Owen had fish sticks instead!

Lori and Ming were installed in my bedroom which has a walk in shower – further upgraded by Josh with a hand held spray and safety bar! Claudia and I slept upstairs and were perfectly comfortable. However Bryn had elected to sleep at my house since his week long arrival and I had to listen to his endless complaints about how hot my upstairs was compared to the cool air he enjoyed in California every day! Every bedroom has a ceiling fan, and the air conditioning was running – out of his bedroom window unfortunately as he insisted that the hot and humid air-flowing in was cooler that the air circulating in my house. Complete nonsense of course. I suggested on numerous occasions that he might be more comfortable at Coryn's house because her guest bedroom is in the basement and always a little on the chilly side for my liking. However he seemed to prefer complaining to me! He also claimed to be terribly congested so I pushed as many medications into him as I could – hoping he would take down enough Benadryl to alleviate my misery and his with hours of extra sleep.

We did have to remove the bathroom door for Ming-Lee to get through with his rollator – should have thought of that before he arrived because I had no bathroom door for years when Norm was confined to his wheelchair. But he was able to get into the living room and dinning room to socialize with the family and enjoy the culinary delights of Kansas City barbecue and dim sum from the unlikely named

ABC cafe! Ming Lee's appetite is literally on steroids so he is able to enjoy plenty of food unlike most cancer patients! Lori is doing a stellar job of making him highly nutritious foods and protein shakes and keeping the sugars and carbohydrates to a minimum.

Claudia supervising her younger cousins

Ava Claire helping Liam enjoy the splash pad

Since Kay and Richard had to work on Friday, Ming Jon was dropped off at my house earlier in the day so was able to see Bryn before he left us and have some time with Ming-Lee before all the siblings arrived. Claudia helped me inflate and fill my new pool complete with rainbow sprinkler, one deep pool and a less deep pool with a connecting slide which I hoped would be entertaining enough for the little kids to keep them and their fun filled noise outside for part of the day. We also set up my splash pad and Grandma's backyard became a fun filled water park! I had purchased new swimsuits for all the kids and a change of clothes so that we didn't have to rely on parents remembering to bring them! Plenty of sunscreen, towels and snacks too! It worked out great!

Ava Claire left to go shopping for vintage clothing with Coryn and Claudia after lunch. Claudia loves fashion from the 1940's era and they found a couple of pieces and a pattern to sew. I stayed with the other kids and it was almost relaxing! Owen and Emmy Lou played together for about two hours in the pool while Liam napped in my arms! Owen is so good with younger kids – he wrapped her up in towels when she got out of the pool; fetched her snacks and put up with her need for his undivided attention. Occasionally some one would wander down from the deck to see if I needed anything but by spreading ourselves out it allowed everyone to have their special time visiting with Ming-Lee who would often hold court in my comfortable bed with a couple of siblings when all nineteen of us became exhausting!

Sarah came to check out Grandma's water park!

Missing Bryn but other seven pictured!

We tried to get a family picture on Saturday which was not the best – unfortunately we were missing Bryn by then and Craig, Ray and Callie who had stayed home with their new puppy. But the good news is that the Remsbergs and Logues are having a mini vacation in downtown Indianapolis in a couple of weeks and so will be able to visit with the Ming-Lee, Lori and Claudia then! The Remsburgs actually met up with Claudia in St. Augustine the previous weekend when Claudia was in Florida with her martial arts group.

Later in the day the kids were playing in the basement and I was fascinated to watch Owen playing with Emmy Lou on the game system Josh had hooked up to my downstairs television. They were both frantically pushing the controls on their hand sets and somehow Emmy Lou managed to win three games and amazingly enough Owen was as surprised as I was at this result and showed not one shred of his usually highly competitive nature that results in a meltdown if he loses!

Since my dinning room only comfortably sits eight a number of us enjoyed our meals out on the deck overlooking my blooming garden that was swarming with bumble bees , the drone of which was drowned out by the traffic on Quivera unfortunately – although many of my guests were reluctant to walk too closely around my garden beds for fear of being stung by a bee! I have gardened among them for years and only been stung once and it was entirely my fault as I squeezed one in my hand inside of a hibiscus flower thinking it was a Japanese beetle! Of course the very day Ming-Lee arrived our unseasonably cool weather was replaced by uncomfortable heat and humidity! But at least I can easily fit twelve diners on my deck so all nineteen of us could sit at a table to eat! I did notice that my deck never seemed to reach capacity seating though so I suspect that some of my children were probably opting to dine on a sofa inside of my house. Thank goodness Bryn had left us by this point! He would probably have paid for a seat in my air conditioned dinning room!

There was so much laughter, love and tears between us as we all pulled together to affirm our appreciation for all that Ming Lee has done to help our family stay connected - and to assure him that whatever happens he will always be with us and that we will all be there for Lori, Blake and Claudia too!

My declining reclining sofa's were heavily criticized by my children during our family reunion: I always sit in the same spot and have adapted to the footrest being permanently elevated and know that if one does manage to close it -it will open as soon as you sit down again. Kay in her ninth month of pregnancy had the misfortune to sit in my chair and have the chair fly back on her and the foot rest lift her legs from under her. Poor Kay was quite startled – most of us laughed of course! She was in the perfect position to deliver the baby! Another time Sean picked that seat and banged his elbow on the armrest – in places the wooden frame is no longer covered in padding – I know how to manipulate it back into place of course having dealt with the issue for years. I must admit that the fabric looks very thin and shiny where I sit and overall my grandchildren's spills, spit ups, and diaper leaks have taken their toll over the last few years but I was reluctant to replace them as I have many more years of grandchildren to enjoy and I really don't want to ban all eating and drinking outside of the kitchen. How can you cuddle with Grandma on a kitchen chair while drinking hot milk and licking a teaspoon of peanut butter? That's a snuggle on the sofa situation especially when you have multiple kids!

The decision to replace them came when the other sofa developed footrests that refused to close too! Coryn and I have always enjoyed shopping together so we decided to venture out to Nebraska Furniture Mall as they have the best selection supposedly. Coryn and I drove there arriving just after ten o'clock- amazed to drive into a very empty car-park. As we left the car and started walking towards the entrance an elderly couple informed us that the store would not open until 11:00. Neither of us had thought to check the store hours assuming they would open at the same time as most mall stores. We shopped elsewhere in the vicinity until we could return to shop.

My goal was to find some configuration of seating that would work in my space. Unfortunately the layout of my room does not make sectional seating a practical choice so that probably eliminated half my choices. Then we were down to the creams which I love but are of course totally impractical. There were plenty of gray choices and rich browns but I really wanted something that would blend with my existing décor and perhaps be a bit lighter in color than my present set. We walked for what seemed like miles up and down the aisles, even stopping in the clearance section but nothing that appealed to me was to be found there either – apart from the prices of course. We decided to drive back to Overland

Park and visit a store on Metcalf where I found a leather unit with a chaise in a color which would look good with my brick fireplace. We talked to the salesman and of course the price went up as delivery was not free and the availability was questionable as Covid has impacted the furniture industry greatly. But I was ready to hand over my credit card when Coryn suggested that we have lunch and run home to make sure it would fit my space. She snapped a photo of the furniture tag with her phone as I was fumbling in my purse for pen and paper. I am constantly reverting to pre- cell phone habits!

Thank goodness Coryn didn't let me commit to the sofa because once we got home. and grabbed a tape measure we discovered that it would stretch so far along the back wall that it might stick out in front of the window and would definitely not allow for side tables. We were both shocked that it was so much bigger than my existing big three seated sofa! We decided to put off further shopping for another day.

That weekend Coryn and Ava Claire face-timed me from Big Lots in Lee Summit and showed me all the sofa's available there. At first I was not very excited about purchasing from a low priced box store – I am afraid that a little of than inbred British snobbery still shows up occasionally but I consented to drive over the next day to take a look. Ava Claire opened the door to me with a big grin on her face – she was supposed to be in Summer Camp but apparently the night before she had explosive diarrhea and thought she should have a quiet day at home – but shopping and lunching with Grandma were fine activities. Unfortunately we have been living with monsoon conditions here in Kansas City for over a week and we became thoroughly drenched running from the car into the store. I was amazed to see well known brand name furniture – like the Broyhill sofa and love seat I decided to purchase. It was the right color and although not a reclining set I decided I could find an ottoman to put my legs up on at the end of a long day! Decision made we approached an assistant for help. Unfortunately they only had the floor model which was not for sale but had a couple available in Independence – which is about twenty minuets away from Coryn's. We asked if we could pay for it at the store we were in but that was not allowed – nor could we make a credit card payment over the phone. But they would put a hold on the set for twenty four hours. We asked about delivery and quickly realized it outweighed the benefit of my $1000.00 sofa set. Coryn volunteered Jeremy and his truck for the job. Ava Claire had grown bored while these discussions were taking place and had wondered off to the toy section where she found some squeezy gizmo that exploded in her hand sending tiny liquid filled balls everywhere. Tears formed in her eyes as we assured her it was no big deal as we cleaned up the mess and asked for a trash can at the checkout and were told there would be no charge for the mess!

We headed off to lunch and found a prime parking spot right by the door where we made a mad dash into the restaurant only to be in a sea of drenched would-be patrons who were patiently waiting for tables to open up. We opted to dash back to the car and try another venue. This place was dead in comparison to our first choice with a skeleton staff to cope with a a few senior citizens perched at the bar – probably a daily occurrence. But despite the rather worn appearance of the place we seated ourselves and patiently awaited for the one and only waitress. There must have been only one cook too as it was quite some time before our orders appeared. We consoled ourselves with the thought that we were dry and Coryn used the wait time to call the Big Lots in Independence to see if they really needed someone to be there in person to pay for the set to have it remain on hold until we could arrange to get it picked up. In fact she called with questions so many times that she was soon on first name terms with Jeff, their furniture department manager. After a mediocre lunch we went back to Coryn's where I left her my credit card as she thought she and Jeremy could probably pay for it and pick it up the following day. I saw her carelessly toss my card on her coffee table – I would have immediately put in my purse but for once I managed to keep my mouth shut and what a mistake that turned out to be!

The next morning Coryn calls to say that she has been to Independence to pay for the sofas but she had to use her card instead of mine because she couldn't find mine anywhere. She and Jeremy had spent three frantic hours looking for it that morning. We offered rewards to the kids later in the day if they could find it but no luck. I spent forty minutes on an automated phone system to get a new card authorized.

The next day she and Jeremy rented a U-Haul and set off in the pouring rain to pick up my new sofa's. We were going to move my old ones out into the garage until I could get some one to haul them off but I checked it out on the web and saw that 1-800-GOT-JUNK could frequently come within the hour and give an estimate and if agreeable take care of it at that time. I called and twenty five minuets later my well worn sofa's were gone – for twice what I expected to pay but it saved me from having to move them into my garage and park outside in our weather! The timing worked out brilliantly as they pulled out of my street just as Coryn and Jeremy arrived. And best of all we got a break in the rain as we carried my new furniture in. No sooner had we unpacked it and attached the legs then Kay, Richard and baby Alex arrived! I reimbursed Coryn but she refused to take the whole amount as several of the kids had offered to pay for lawn service for me this summer which I don't really need so the money was used for my new sofas instead so thanks very much! I am so blessed to have kids that are so generous!

Just two days after most of the family returned to their homes I got a call from Kay to discuss the possibility of her being in labor – she had told me a couple of days earlier that she thought she had lost her mucus plug so I predicated that delivery day was probably imminent. Ming-Jon missed being in Kansas City for the birth by one day as he returned on the 7^th ! Congratulations to Ming-Jon on becoming a Grandpa!

ALEXANDER MICHAEL FLAIG

BORN JUNE 8TH 2021 AT 10:01PM

WEIGHT 8LBS 4OZ

For those of you who read this newsletter on your devices you will be able to enjoy some lovely photo's of our newest family addition! Coincidentally Owen was also born on June 8^th, six years earlier! Some of us might think that Kay should have held off pushing for a couple of hours to avoid the possibility of having a child with some of Owen's characteristics! After a rocky start with treatments for high bilirubin levels and a return to hospital care for a couple of days all is going very well now. Alex is nursing well – unfortunately especially during the night! Hopefully he will soon sleep for at least a four hour stretch! I was lucky enough to spend part of Kay's 30^th birthday with her and Richard's first Father's Day on June 20^th! Of course I mostly held Alex!

Proud parents of Alexander Michael Flaig!

Just born!

Meeting his Great Grandma!

We celebrated Ava Claire's 8th birthday with a family event at my house which included two ice cream cakes! I also attended her dance recital where she appeared in about five numbers – all requiring a different costume of course - which was held at Center High School which coincidentally is the school district that Coryn has contracted with for the next school year. I also attended a dance competition that she was participating in at the Overland Park Convention Center the previous week and her group did very well. Ava Claire loves to perform and it shows! She is a great little dancer!

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celebrating Ava Claire's 8th birthday at Grandma's!

In mid June I took Josh to the airport where he has flown the coop to Mexico – Bryn is planning on joining him there sometime this month! We all miss his handyman skills! His nephews and nieces who adore their fun uncle hope for his imminent return too which is most unlikely because Josh has been feeling very cooped for the last year due to Covid 19!

Sometimes I think I am as blind as a bat when searching for my glasses -which I am already wearing - but I found myself going batty today trying to discern if a dark shape twenty feet up in the air on my vaulted family room ceiling was a bat or a fungus of some kind from all the recent rains. I closed every door in the house so that I would not go bat shit if it flew off whilst I was gathering my supplies to tackle the problem. I got an oven mitten, bucket and towel to cover the bat once I got it in the bucket. I got a step ladder and the longest handled garden tool I could find but it was unreachable. So I duct taped two six foot garden stakes together to form a nearly twelve foot pole and was easily able to prod the blob on the wall with it. The sleepy bat obligingly climbed onto the pole hanging on for dear life as I carried him outdoors – stopping to take a couple of pictures before I hung him over my garden fence. Hopefully he will fly away tonight.

The bat high on the wall!

The bat safely outside clinging to my improvised garden stake pole remover!

Love from your batty Mother – driven that way by my children who out bat each other with their endless jokes at my expense.

Claudia with Liam

Claudia  with Emmy Lou and Liam

Claudia with Liam, Coryn in background

Blake enjoying his internship in Santa Monica!

Lori with Emmy Lou!

 

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 140 MAY 2021

Dear Readers,

On April 1^st I flew out of Kansas City to Orlando to celebrate Ray's 5^th birthday and Easter. Josh very kindly offered to drop me off and pick me up at the airport so I could avoid the hassle of economy parking and shuttle busing into and out of the terminal. We drove to the airport with plenty of time to spare – we all know how anxious I get about unexpected happenstances that lead to the possibility of missing my flight- so I was relieved that Josh was at the wheel, not me, when we were preparing to leave I635 for the ramp onto I29 which takes us to the airport. The ramp was barricaded and a detour sign posted. If I had been driving I would probably have lost control of my bowels immediately. Josh stayed calm and followed the signs – which seemed to be few and a great distance from one another – why they do not post signs every hundred yards to let you know that you are on the right detour road to the airport as a public service is a mystery to me! After what seemed a very long time and a considerable distance out of our way( to me – not Josh) we finally connected to I29 and I was very relieved to be on a familiar road!

Once in the airport I dashed in to the restroom and prepared myself for a long security line which turned out to be totally unnecessary as I was second in line and through the security check in record time. I was pleased to see that everyone was masked but social distancing was not possible as all the gate areas were full. I found a seat and plopped down. Pulled out my phone and let the Remsbergs know that my plane was on time. I was contemplating the best time to make a potty run before boarding when I heard that our gate number was changing so along with a lot of other travelers I picked up my stuff and moved. Once again I was settled in when it was announced that we were changing gates yet again. Since it was quite a walk to our next gate I decided to use the bathroom enroute and barely made it to the gate before boarding began! I always try to avoid using the bathroom on board the plane. It was a crowded flight out – once again no social distancing but I only pulled up my mask enough to slip a peanut in!

Leslee-Ann and Ray picked me up at the Orlando airport and soon we arrived in Oakland to see Craig and Callie! Seeing your grandchildren on Zoom and Facetime is just not the same as being physically there with them. Covid 19 had kept me away from them for over a year and I definitely missed out on Callie's baby hood. She is such a happy, easy going toddler and loves to be with Ray! I was amazed by her ability to swim under water, and come up for air and dive down again. Craig and Leslee-Ann are teaching her to swim to the sides of the pool or steps so she can be as safe as possible in the water.

On Friday it was decided to celebrate Ray's fifth birthday a couple of days early since it actually fell on Easter Sunday and Leslee-Ann and Craig thought two celebrations in one day involving a lot of sweet treats might be better with a break in between. Craig's dad, Roger, came over that afternoon to join in the party, unfortunately Judy is having memory issues that require her to live in an assisted living facility but she did get to host a birthday celebration there for Ray. The Logues had sent some Star Wars light lasers which Ray and Callie both enjoyed – especially when attacking Roger and me with them! Pretty easy to play dead at our age!

On Saturday morning we headed out bright and early (especially for me) to a nearby farm to pick blueberries and I was very pleased to see almost everyone wearing a mask! The kids were very into picking blueberries and of course eating them! Callie seems to need something in her mouth most of the time! I also noticed that she is a real daddy's girl – poor Craig has to pick her up and carry her when ever her arms go up and she grabs her shoes when she wants him to take her on a walk -which seems to happen several times a day! I almost dropped her the first time I picked her up as I was unprepared for her heft – you definitely need to bend your knees and take a deep breath to hoist her up!

Sunday morning the children were running around the house excitedly searching for their Easter Baskets ! After breakfast, finding their gift baskets and getting dressed we headed outside to hunt for Easter Eggs that Leslee had hidden all over the front yard! There must have been a hundred of them. A little girl who lives a couple of doors down came over to join in the fun and another set of neighbors who have grown very close to the Remsburgs came out to watch the kids running around and filling their baskets!

Roger came over for our Easter Feast and we had fun sorting through the contents of the kids eggs and baskets. The next day I headed back to Kansas City to take on my garden chores and the piecing together of the baby quilt I was making for Kay and Richard's June baby.

Fortunately I finished my rag quilt in time for Kay's baby shower on April 17^th, which was hosted by her friend Misty who is wonderfully organized and a lovely person. It was a virtual and in person event. Friends from afar and those who were not vaccinated zoomed in whilst those of us two weeks out from our last Covid 19 shots were allowed to attend in person and how wonderful it was to finally be able to mingle in public again! Kay had so many cute and practical gifts that I think she and Richard would be very challenged to find anything to buy for the baby themselves!

We have had a very rainy and windy April but also enjoyed some very warm and sunny days – in fact it was actually warmer here in Kansas City then it was in Orlando during my visit! I have already had to mow three times!

Sarah and Sean decided to combine my birthday celebration with Liam's this year as mine is on the 11^th and his is the 13^th. Many of my children seem to have colluded on their garden gifts to me this year as I received a very large gray snail ornament with an oversized evil looking mouth which I have strategically placed in a bed of similar colored Lamb's Ears where hopefully it will not be too noticeable when my neighbors invite themselves over for a garden tour. My still desperately needing to be power washed and repainted deck is now adorned with a solar lit color changing cat with a head that continually bobs up and down and an owl, bird, and frog that sport car headlights for eyes. My grandchildren adore them all of course!

On April 30^th I was driving across Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and part of Indiana to be able to hug Lori, Ming-Lee and Claudia for the first time in over a year! Thank goodness for the Covid 19 vaccinations that made it possible to for us all to be together. Ming-Lee's spirit is as bright as ever despite the physical limitations that his illness and treatments are causing his mind and body. He is having problems with short term memory loss, loss of vision and a marked weakness on his left side making his arm and leg difficult to move. Lori is a master of organizational skills as she keeps track of all his daily medications, doctor and treatment appointments, and does her utmost to keep his calorie intake up with healthy meals and protein shakes with every healthful ingredient she can pack into them. Fortunately Claudia loves to cook and helps out as much as she can.

On Saturday I spent some time with Ming-Lee while Lori went with Claudia who was getting her very long hair cut off to donate to a charity that will use it to make wigs for children with hair loss. Ming and I decided to take a short walk around the neighborhood with Ming-Lee using a walking stick to help balance himself. Because of his vision issues he has a very limited ability to see – even large cars if they are in a blind spot for him and I had to shuttle him out of the way of cars a few times and we had one one rather scary instance when an older lady was reversing down her steep driveway , backing way out into the street without even seeing us - within touching distance of her car at one point. I waved my hand and Ming his walking stick but even that failed to get her attention. Getting home proved a bit of a challenge as I am not familiar with their neighborhood and Ming-Lee became a bit confused about which way we needed to turn to go back but was able to figure it out after a couple of wrong moves. I was getting ready to pull up google maps on my phone when we finally found the street!

Ming-Lee and I enjoying time together after more than  a year apart due to Covid

It was such a beautiful, sunny day that we decided to eat lunch out on the patio and enjoy the hawks circling overhead. I was grateful to share some special moments with Ming as we waited for Lori and Claudia to return home for the big reveal of the new hair cut! As soon as Claudia stepped out onto the patio to join us we loved her new look! The new bob cut frames her face beautifully!

On Sunday I drove home making a couple of quick stops for gas. I have spent the bulk of my time since my return out in the garden, pulling endless weeds, digging out border edges, planting Canna bulbs and putting together container plants.

This past weekend we celebrated Mother's Day. Kay and Richard invited me over for a delicious lunch – salmon on the grill- on Saturday and on Sunday Coryn hosted brunch with a wonderful selection of cheeses, quiche, muffins, a variety of waffles, sausages and bacon all washed down with Mojito's decorated with mint leaves and raspberries! She also had beautiful table settings and a gorgeous table- scape that she had created. I wish that I had thought of taking a picture but with four grand-babies there I was much too distracted! Josh spent the weekend in Indy stopping by my house that Sunday evening to deliver a card from Ming and Lori – he must have left his card for me somewhere !

The Indy Lowes – minus Blake - are planning to drive over to Kansas City for a few days in early June to see more family member's. They are staying in my house as I have a bedroom and walk in shower on the main floor to make things easier for Ming-Lee but we do have three other homes with spare bedrooms to offer the rest of you! Bryn is planning to come home for a few days around the same time so we can have something of a family reunion. Blake has been offered a summer internship in Santa Monica and so will be out in LA with Uncle Marc! I hope Blake enjoys cleaning! Marc's condo looks more like a student's pad than Blake's college dorm room probably does! In all seriousness though it is so wonderful to have such a big family willing to work together to take care of each other!

Love from your green thumbed, withering on the vine but always in bloom Mother - when in the presence of family and friends!

Liam and Emmy Lou all dressed up for Easter! I made her dress and headband and made same dress in different fabric for Callie