THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER : VOLUME 138 JANUARY 2021
Dear Readers,
We had some wonderful news recently from Ming-Lee and Lori after a recent MRI showed some shrinkage in his brain tumor! This was such amazing and uplifting news as he is currently foregoing any aggressive treatment. Perhaps this a perfect example of having a Positive Mental Attitude when seeking to overcome seemingly impossible adversities. With this in mind I would like to share with you something that Ming-Lee expressed back in his high school years.
On January 8th 1988 Ming-Lee became the General Douglas MacArthur cadet of the year and in his acceptance speech at Missouri Military Academy he stated:
“General MacArthur lived by three words: Duty, Honor, Country. There is a lesson in this motto. No matter what besets you, if you set your mind to it, you can overcome your problems. If you believe in yourself you can take advantage of your problems rather than fail to them. I challenge you to take advantage of your trying situations and to work them to your benefit.”
I think that we can all agree that Ming-Lee has faced life head on and with the support his strong faith, family and friends forged ahead no matter how big the mountain of obstacles! We are all so proud of him – he truly does seem possessed of super human powers as captured in this very special family portrait commissioned by a good family friend.
We were unable to celebrate the holidays with any of our family outside of the Kansas City Metro area this year due to the ongoing Covid pandemic which makes travel hazardous to your health!. But all twelve of us here had Christmas Eve dinner at my house and we did a lot of Christmas present opening that night as we decided the kids would better appreciate their gifts if we split the gift giving over two days! And this meant that I didn't have to load up my car and drive them to Sean's house the next day!
The next morning I headed to Sean and Sarah's house around noon with lots of dessert items remaining from the previous evening's feast plus all my Christmas dinnerware that we had also used the night before! I definitely still need twelve of everything and I think that number is going to keep increasing! As I came through Sean and Sarah's door with one of many containers, Emmy Lou was running towards me when she slipped and fell on the hard wood floor: cracking her chin open and obviously needing stitches. She and her parents were covered in blood as they tried to comfort her as they headed out the door. I took over caring for Liam and Josh watched over the smoker and grill as the Logues arrived. Kay and Richard missed the drama as they were celebrating the day with his parents and brother. We were all concerned about Emmy Lou and hoping they would find an urgent care open nearby. Unfortunately Sarah had left without her cell phone and Sean was not allowed into the clinic with them due to Covid restrictions so he had to wait out in the car with no idea about what was happening. Emmy Lou required four stitches in her chin !
After about ninety minutes they arrived back home and the food was about ready to eat! Emmy Lou refused to change out of her bloody Christmas dress and seemed to have recovered well from all the trauma! As we were tucking into our delicious Christmas dinner, featuring steaks, ribs, and chicken, Owen began rubbing his eyes and soon his face was covered in hives. Realizing that he was having an allergic reaction I asked Sarah if she had any Benadryl which thankfully she did. Coryn was worried that he would go into anaphylactic shock but I assured her that he would have done so already if he was going to. Everyone had an opinion on the cause – everything from playing with the kittens to getting barbecue sauce into his eye!
Sarah and Sean spent most of the afternoon trying to get Emmy Lou to nap as they were worried that she would go tearing around the house with Ava Claire and Owen otherwise. Understandably they didn't want her to have any more accidents that day! By late afternoon after all this drama I was ready for a quiet evening in my home with a glass or two of wine.
January 20th 2021 was a day of great relief for all of us anxious to put the madness of the last four years behind us as we face another year of living with the ever present threat of catching Covid 19 and being one of the hundreds of thousands who die from it. Thankfully the vaccine is now being administered to a small percentage of the population. Coryn is the first member of our family to have been vaccinated - being a school psychologist is deemed to be a high risk factor. Kay was scheduled for this month but has had her appointment canceled due to a vaccine shortage. As a sixty-eight year old I am in the next group but doubtful it will happen for some time as Kansas as a whole and Johnson County in which I reside is especially low on vaccine supply. However I am registered and ready to roll up my sleeve at a moments notice!
Marc Andrew flew in from LA last week when it was revealed that one in three people there are testing positive and that the hospitals and medical staffs are totally overwhelmed and out of beds and resources to take care of sick people . So if you are a hypochondriac like Marc - who thinks he is constantly on the verge of being diagnosed with a dire illness - not being able to see a doctor , leave alone occupy a hospital bed if needed was too stressful! So he has fled to Kansas City and is now seeking refuge at Sean and Sarah's house, along with Emmy Lou, Liam, Joshua and two kittens. What a wonderful wife Sarah is to put up with three Lowe boys for an indefinite time especially considering how moody two of them can be! I did try to lure Marc Andrew to stay with me but I am afraid no gaming system, no gourmet meals and one decrepit cat could not compete with all that Sean and Sarah can provide for their guests!
I think I have figured out why the United States Postal Service may be failing and I have to take responsibility for my part in it's problems. This week I realized that my home has become a drop-box for my children's packages! Kay and Richard dropped off presents for Coryn, mailed by Ming-Jon. Coryn dropped off big boxes of toys for Sarah and Kay, Sarah dropped off a package for Kay and a container for Coryn. Then my car was turned into a mail truck when Coryn put out a plea to her neighborhood for toddler furniture, toys and clothing for a work colleague who suddenly found herself charged with raising her 18 month old grandson after her daughter who lives in Texas decided that mothering was not her thing. Within hours Coryn had everything from a crib to toys and clothes donated by generous neighbors! But days later stuff was still trickling in: so on a visit to her house she asked me if I would bring it to my house so that the Grandma could pick it up from me as I live much closer to the poor woman.
The first weekend in February was one I will never forget! On Saturday Coryn came by to drop Ava Claire off for a sleep- over at my house and invited Marc to visit with us too for a couple of hours! Ava Claire was not overly thrilled with this arrangement as she was anxious to practice sewing straight lines on my sewing machine! However she soon threw herself into showing Uncle Marc all her dance routines and great flexibility. Marc Andrew was persuaded to try a couple of moves but after failing miserably – the poor boy can not even touch his toes without bending his knees - Coryn diagnosed him with frozen hips and suggested he try Yoga and Pilates! Once they left Ava Claire and I hustled downstairs and sewed for awhile before making ourselves a healthy diner of chicken strips in the air fryer and corn and peas on the stove which she watched over. Of course we played school, had coloring competitions and watched T he Babysitter's Club on TV- which is Ava Claire's favorite thing. She is reading all the books too and very anxious to be old enough to babysit and start her own club. At seven that might be a few years away but she was very excited that Emmy Lou and Liam were going to be with us the next day while their parents ran errands and cleaned house. Ava Claire had an alarm ringing to wake me up in the morning so that we could be finished with breakfast and dressed by the time the kids were dropped off early that morning. Ava Claire presented Liam with a cloth book that she had made the night before using sewing and drawing skills and he was very taken with it as was Emmy Lou who loves books!
Ava Claire is so good at entertaining
her young cousins so I was able to start preparing a simple soup
lunch for us and Kay who often lunches with me on Sundays.! The
children were getting hungry before she arrived so I made them a can
of chicken noodle soup knowing that my huge pot of Minestrone soup
would not be acceptable to the girls although Liam would probably
have downed a bowl as he loves any kind of food! Shortly after the
kids lunch Coryn , Jeremy and Owen appeared so I mentioned that Kay
was coming for lunch and asked if they would like to join us as I
added more water to the soup. Then Josh texted that he and Marc were
on their way with lunch- probably enough for four adults at most- but
I decided that whatever they were contributing would be stretched
between us all too as I added more water to the soup and gave thanks
that my cheese bread could be very thinly sliced. Kay walked into a
full house – expecting to see only three children but was met with
six unexpected family members!
The boys had picked up some burnt ends and pulled pork and bread rolls for sandwiches so we stretched the food between all ten of us! A couple of hours later everyone but Kay, Emmy Lou and Liam had left my house so I made a cup of tea for Kay and I to enjoy with hopes that the babies might take a nap. Then I got burned – literally. I set my tea cup down on my side table and just as I was sitting down I somehow managed to knock my right arm into the tea cup which somehow flew up and poured hot tea all over my right arm. It took a second for me to comprehend what had happened but the pain was immediate so I ran into my bathroom stripped off my sweater and began laying wet washcloths over my arm. Emmy Lou had run in after me and watched in fascination as I tried to cool my burning arm. Kay was simultaneously keeping Liam happy and cleaning up the spilled tea.. I used cold packs and aloe to help with the pain and finally swallowed a couple of Advils which worked. The next day my arm was a red swollen mess covered in huge blisters but fortunately I was pain free! However in the last couple of days since the blisters have burst the raw skin underneath is extremely sensitive and uncomfortable but bearable! For those of you who read this newsletter online you will be seeing photos of my burned arm and I am sure you are wondering which of my children rushed to my aid? With the exception of Kay the rest of them had a wonderful time texting puns at Mother's expense.
Ming-Lee: not sure how quickly pasty UK skin heals from burns compared to our Asian epidermis.
Josh: Mother is setting a blistering pace for the new year!
Ming-Lee Aloe the puns begin.....
Marc: I am just glad it was not Sheba who was hurt!
Josh: things seem to be boiling over
Ming-Lee: that sounds apeeling
Bryn: Mother has not been showing up for game nights, I guess she has been a bit flaky
Ming-Lee: well now she has a new bubble!
Sean :Sick burns guys
Coryn: At least their burns are of the third degree
Josh :This must be the bubbly personality shes always touting
Leslee-Ann: Right! Would hate to burst her bubble on that.
Only Ming-Jon, Kay, Sarah and Lori showed any real concern for my well boiled arm! Good thing I can take a roasting!
Sarah and Sean gave me a real Fitbit for Christmas to replace my knock off version and this has really motivated me to get outside to walk every day that I can. I am fortunate to have my good friend and neighbor Charlene with whom to walk and we try to get in at least three miles every time. We have been fortunate with the weather most of this winter, just a few days of snow and ice.
I think I mentioned in a recent newsletter that Coryn had set me up with Roku to give me more television stations and viewing options other than the limited channels captured by my antennae. However, for a long time I had a black line running vertically up and down my television screen which would disappear after the television was on for awhile but recently more lines appeared, fading but not disappearing. Thus I decided it might be time to get a new smart television and Sean picked one out for me that would fit the space and offer even more options. It arrived the next day and Josh came to install it and now I can watch Amazon Prime and Netflix (thanks Bryn). This has opened up binge watching to me ! I spent hours watching Bridgerton! Josh took my old television in hopes of figuring out the problem and fixing it! They enjoy watching multiple sports games on multiple screens at Sean's house! Mother likes to fully immerse herself in one game on one screen!
Right now I am watching the Super Bowl halftime show and feeling burned by the awful play of the Kansas City Chiefs. Someone needs to light a fire under their butts and put some heat on the players who keep giving the game away with penalty calls. I hope we are not going up in flames in the second half! Tom Brady has definitely deflated my hopes of a victory! Love Mother
P.S. Unfortunately my loudest bellows did nothing to spark a flame in my boys last night, there was never even a flicker of hope.
Pictures of the Kansas City family celebrating Sean's birthday with Marc in town!
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| The Kansas City cousins spending a day with Grandma! |
