THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER :VOLUME 145                                                   MAY 2022

Dear Readers,

Apologies for keeping my anxious readers without a newsletter for three months! I am so very busy! I completed a crib organizer for Lochlan, with rag quilting and a hot air balloon applique- and I suspect that a pillow bed may be requested in a few months!

Since three of my four kitchen chairs have been pressed into baby and toddler highchairs  - booster seats service I decided that my chair seats would be much easier to clean with all the spills and food stains if I replaced the fabric covers with wipe clean vinyl ones.  After all, I had found time before the holidays to recover Sean and Sarah’s bar stools (which I will probably never use) so I decided to do a project that would benefit me for once! And of course at least three days a week are devoted to my grandchildren and what spare time I have is spent in the garden or cleaning the house!

My newly covered chairs!

One of Emmy Lou and Liam’s favorite games is to pretend that a mouse lives in my house and uses the whole house vacuum system to get from room to room. They run around opening the little doors that conceal the vacuum plugins  enjoying the whooshing sound and frequently threatening to clog the pipes with the flashlights they shine down the tubes in an effort to spot the mouse. If those little hands drop those flashlights I imagine walls would have to be torn down to recover them and enable the dust bunnies to be sucked up again. However the mouse in the house game became a reality when Kay was visiting one Sunday and exclaimed that she thought she had seen a mouse or perhaps a large spider scurry across my kitchen floor! I was skeptical at first – after all, my kitchen floor – well any floor in the house really - is covered in crumbs several days a week with all the small children eating here so surely I would have seen it or noticed droppings? The second time she saw it run  across  the kitchen I sprung into action and pulled the fridge away from the wall which caused the mouse to run out and dive under the dishwasher! Kay beat a hasty farewell with Alex as I headed up to the hardware store for mouse traps! I knew it was much too fast for me to catch ! Within hours it was executed and trashed. I set traps in the basement and caught five more!

Unfortunately this was not the last of my mouse in the house reality show. Much to my embarrassment another mouse was spotted in my spotless Martha Stewart like kitchen by a house guest! Mary Brockman, her daughter Elizabeth and grand-daughter Mia were visiting for a few days in mid April and on their first evening in my home as we were chatting and sipping wine, Mia announced that she had just seen a mouse emerge from under my fridge and run towards the dishwasher!  My storied mouse history was about to write another chapter! Mary bravely offered to help me hunt it down but I knew neither of us was fast enough to catch a tortoise let alone a mouse! Elizabeth is terrified of mice: when she found one in her Kansas City home many years ago she slept at my house until Brent had dealt with it! I assured my guests that the mouse would be caught in one of my fail proof traps that night  - as indeed it was. However I am sure my guests were searching every nook and cranny of their bedrooms that night in fear that more than dust bunnies were hiding under the beds!

My friends had arrived with several gift bags for me containing a wide variety of gifts found in Fort Madison and many of them were cat themed as we all know how fond of felines I am. Unfortunately  last July I had to have my beloved, beautiful and very sick seventeen year old Sheba euthanized. She had stolen my heart when Sean was having his senior pictures taken out on a rural farm in Illinois back in 2004. The photographer's beautiful garden was full of kittens and stray cats that she was hoping to re-home. I tried to focus on Sean’s photo session but could hardly take my eyes off this kitten who had befriended me as soon as I stepped into the yard. Sean was pressed into including her in a couple of his shots – frankly it was hard to decide which of the two was the cutest! The photographer urged me to take her home, and Sean thought we should adopt her too although I did worry that Norm would not be happy about having yet another cat in our house but not enough to prevent me from bringing Sheba home with us! 

Mary, Elizabeth and Mia all thought another cat was a necessity and suggested a trip to the local animal shelter the next day to remedy my mouse infestation. Some of my children had also urged me to adopt another cat – Sean even offered me his cat! However all my cats have led long lives and I fear that my next cat may well outlive me and then who would take care of it children? I would need legal documentation from one of you that the cat would be taken care of in that eventuality so that I could happily become a cat owner again!

On Good Friday morning, after my visitors had hopefully slept well,  and had breakfast,  Jeremy arrived with Ava Claire and Owen who did not have school so were spending the day with me as Coryn was working in her school district. This worked out very well for Ava Claire who was delighted to join my guests for lunch and shopping on the Plaza! Owen elected to stay with me knowing he would get more screen time than usual! I was going to be busy organizing a taco buffet for sixteen and figuring out where to seat everyone!

By the time the girls had returned from their outing everyone else had arrived. Since Covid has kept everyone apart for so long they met Sarah, Richard, Sarah’s parents Cindy and Joe (who were also spending Easter with us) Emmy Lou, Liam, Lochlan and  Alex for the first time! Quite overwhelming  but it reminded them of the good old days back in Fort Madison when our house was always full of our children and a lot of others it seemed on many days!  I had organized an egg hunt in the backyard before supper in hopes that my energetic grandchildren might  burn off some energy before meeting my guests but as Sean pointed out any energy burned running around was completely replenished and then some by all the candy they were eating from the found eggs!

Sean helping Liam, Emmy and Owen egg hunt!

I sat Sarah’s parents, my guests, myself and Coryn in the dining room with a seat for Jeremy if he was able to join us. Thinking of my carpeted dining room floor I sat Sarah, Sean, Kay, Richard, Alex and Lochlan around the kitchen table knowing that a lot of the babies food was going to land on the floor rather than in their mouths! Today’s parents are not into spoon feeding: they seemingly believe that it is developmentally desirable to encourage the child to mash his food all over his high chair tray, then grab it with his hand and attempt to find his mouth. Frankly most of it ends up on the highchair, the bib and clothes, and of course the floor! A major clean up for a minor amount of food that actually makes it to the child’s stomach.

Ava Claire, Owen, Emmy Lou, and Liam sat in the hallway on stools around my rustic pallet table giving the dining room guests some delightful entertainment. The kids all refused to eat taco’s of course so I made bowls of Ramen for them and they soon decided they would rather play than eat so they abandoned  their bowls and chopsticks (which they insist on using even though they have very little proficiency in this skill).  Liam remained and moved from stool to stool slurping up all the leftover noodles. Unfortunately at least half of them landed on the tile floor so it was a big clean up job!

Ava Claire was so taken with Mary, Elizabeth and Mia that she begged to spend the night so of course  Grandma let her! The next day my guests went  to lunch with one of Elizabeth's co-workers from her library job  a few years ago in north Kansas City. Ava Claire was able to have lunch with me and play one of her favorite games – pretending that we are fabulously wealthy fashion designers! I drove her home that afternoon and later enjoyed dinner with my friends at Boling’s just up the street from my so conveniently located home.

Mary, Elizabeth and Mia elected to return home on Easter Sunday so they could spend some of the day with their other family members and so unfortunately missed out on our big family cook out at Sarah and Sean’s, celebrating Easter and Liam’s second birthday! There was  a lot of entertainment – Ava Claire and Emmy Lou teamed up to present a puppet show and Liam was into singing and dancing with cries of  “Bravo” and head bows after his every performance !

The  weekend previous to Easter I had flown to Orlando to visit the Remsburgs and celebrate Ray’s 6th birthday! I took Friday, April 8th off from babysitting and headed to the airport in plenty of time for my Southwest evening five O’clock flight. As usual the economy parking lot was jammed so I had to park as far away from where I would have liked to be as possible. I nervously noted that I could not see any shuttle buses circling the lot and calmed myself in the knowledge that I had arrived early enough to accommodate any unforeseen delays!  I waited at the bus stop for about fifteen minutes when a car pulled up and the driver offered me a ride. I noticed the KC airport Logo on the car so decided to risk accepting the offer and when I   opened the back passenger door to store my suitcase I saw a young couple sitting back there so I felt more comfortable. After all  who would be desperate enough to lure an old grandma into their car when there were plenty of younger victims to be caught. Immediately the driver explained that he was the Shuttle Bus Supervisor but they were currently thirty-nine bus drivers short and desperate to hire but had no applicants. So in any spare time he and others drove company cars around picking up as many people as they could – especially on bad weather days like this! Next time I might consider the more expensive garage parking right across from the terminal.

Leslee-Ann picked me up from the Orlando airport and we drove home where I was warmly greeted by Craig and their newest family member Miles – a medium sized  mixed poodle breed that has a lot of energy! He is an awfully cute dog and at least he doesn’t make the awful sounds that their  pugs Brutus and Sassafras made just to breathe!  Ray and Callie were already asleep by the time I arrived so  I didn’t get to see them until the next morning! Saturday was party day at Monkey Joe’s, a kid’s paradise full of video games and bouncy fun houses for all ages. Craig’s dad Roger joined us for the event to which several of Ray’s friends were invited- we were to keep track of Callie while Leslee-Ann and Craig supervised the birthday boy and friends. I was glad that I had decided to wear leggings instead of shorts- the place was freezing! It reminded me of how chilly it was here the year before when I came. This was an indoor event and the arctic cold air conditioning would have had polar bears in heaven whilst I was hellishly cold! Thankfully this wasn’t just my old age as several other people noted it – many of them wearing sweatshirts which unfortunately I was not. Monkey’s Joe’s set us up with a private dinning room for a birthday lunch of pizza and cake. Ray was seated at the head of the table in  a huge throne. I did a quick Google search of this place to see if there was one in Kansas City as I am sure Owen would love it but unfortunately the nearest is in St. Louis.

Ray sitting on his Birthday Throne!

Craig having as muc as Callie and Ray I think!

As soon as the party was over we were heading to Ray’s soccer game. It reminded me of the time I visited Ming and Lori’s - they were frantically preparing for a trip to a park to watch July fourth celebrations. Just like the Indy Lowes many years ago there was frantic activity loading all the paraphernalia  needed from the trunks of cars into a huge wagon to go watch the game. Half a dozen chairs, snacks, drinks, blankets etc. I was hoping the walk from the car park to the field might get my blood circulating but all I felt was chilled to the bone – a very strong north wind blew around us and witnessing my teeth chattering Craig walked all the way back to the car to get his spare jacket for me which I gratefully donned along with a blanket. I felt sorry for the kids playing in shorts and short sleeved tops in barely fifty degree weather! I am sure Leslee-Ann probably texted you all a picture of me freezing in Florida! Once again it was warmer in Kansas City! Ray played very well and won a medal for team sportsmanship.

On Sunday I awoke to find Leslee-Ann making pancakes, eggs, and bacon for breakfast! First time I had experienced such a sight! I usually only see Craig in the kitchen. The kids were given a couple of choices for outings that day and chose to go blueberry picking again like we did last year. I was glad I had a winter coat in my bag as Sunday was still chilly early in the morning.  After picking blueberries, and eating lunch we headed over to the children’s playground where I was finally feeling some Florida sunshine so I tossed my coat in the wagon. Ray was delighted to run into some of his school friends and was soon off with them leaving Callie to entertain herself which at just two she is able to  do very well.

That afternoon Craig and Callie attempted to swim in the pool but the water was so cold that they jumped out almost as fast as they jumped in! The pool heater had been turned on earlier in the day but  had malfunctioned. Florida was proving to be a hotspot  for polar bears. Amazingly enough I did manage to get a sunburned nose despite the chilly weather! 

Ray and Grandma lunching outside - glad I had a long sleeved top!

Sunday afternoon Callie and I were finally able to feel some sun!

On Monday morning I said my goodbyes to Ray and Calie as they left for school and daycare. In a couple of hours Leslee-Ann dropped me off at the airport in plenty of time for my flight home.   When the time came to get in line to board I was in the second A boarding group as I had opted to pay the extra fee to ensure that I wouldn't be bumped  or have to check my bag once the overhead bins fill up.The flight was completely full- as always- with plenty of children and the victorious cheerleaders from Kansas State who had just won the national championship in Orlando and were anxious to return home to Manhattan to celebrate. 

Once all the passengers were seated , buckled up, and given the safety spiel we taxied out to the runway and began increasing our speed when suddenly the pilot announced that we would have to abort take off and return to a gate as a red warning light had come on in the cockpit which meant the plane was not safe to fly. We were told to close the window shades to keep the plane as cool as possible while we waited for the mechanics to board. After a while the pilot announced that it was not going to be a quick fix so we would deplane  and meet at another gate while Southwest tried to organize another plane for us. All those with connecting flights in Kansas CIty were directed to check with the desk.Thank goodness I wasn’t in that group of unfortunates.

About an hour later they announced  a new plane had been found for us  - now they just needed to find a bagage crew to reload all the bags and then we could board once again. This was all very stressful but what I was most concerned about was my phone: As a high tech savvy seventy year old  I had made the decision to download my boarding pass to my phone only and had no paper backup copy. I realized that my battery was running low - probably because I kept checking to make sure I could still access my boarding pass- and so had  plugged my phone into a seat charger but it seemed very slow. However it was charged up enough to allow me to board a second time - some people were in a panic when they couldn't find their paper boarding passes - probably left them stuffed in the seat back pocket on the previous flight! But they gave them new ones and soon we were all aboard again and  taxing away from the gate when again the pilot spoke to us.He apologetically explained that our plane was having a communications issue which meant that the pilots could not communicate with each other or the tower so they were going to have some technical experts come on board to assess the problem. We were asked to close the window shades once again  to help keep us as cool as possible. By this time  some people were a little hot under the collar. The pilot claimed that this had never happened to him before.

Some time later we were informed that we were going to have to deplane, meet up at another gate in hopes that a third plane could be found. Unfortunately an elderly lady a  few rows ahead of me lost control of her bag as she attempted to pull it out of the overhead bin an  it hit a small boy on top of his head. This incident required a medic to be called to the gate who gave the child a quick exam and plonked an icepack on his head - which soon started melting but fortunately a passenger came to the rescue with a ziploc bag to hold the dripping icepack as the poor kid complained of feeling sick.

Once again I found a seat with an outlet to charge my phone and Ipad as I had practically read an entire novel on it with all the delays. I remarked to an elderly gentleman sitting next to me that I certainly hoped we would make it to Kansas City this time. He pulled his ticket out and asked if this  was the gate for North Carolina .I explained that we were attempting our third departure of the day out of this gate. He said he  did hear  that his flight was delayed so thought he would check it out with the desk. He came back and thanked me profusely as he was sitting at the wrong gate! He quickly woke his wife up and hustled her off to the right gate. I surmised that his flight was delayed and the gate changed  because the plane had been hijacked for my flight! We all agreed that traveling is so stressful! Whilst a third plane was being readied for us we were informed that a  $100:00 voucher towards our next flight would be emailed to each passenger - I wondered how many of us would fly Southwest again after this experience

We did not depart Orlando until after I should have been home with my feet up drinking a nice cup of tea. We were so late getting to Kansas City that I had to drive home in the dark which is not my forte with my not quite ripe for removal cataracts!

On April 27th I returned to the airport to pick up Josh who had flown home from his months long exploration of Costa Rica and Panama.  I offered to drop him off at Sean  and Sarah’s but he felt sure I was planning on welcoming him home with lunch at my house. Thank heavens for bagged salad and frozen pizza!

Ming Jon recently visited Marc in LA where they attended a Pearl Jam concert that proved to be a Covid super spreader. Marc Facetimed me a few days ago  sounding and looking terribly ill convinced he was at death’s door despite relatively mild symptoms - such a hypochondriac!!

Apparently Pearl Jam’s drummer was diagnosed with it too at the same time. So far Ming Jon has tested negative. Fortunately they met up with Bryn before attending  the concert. And further on down the East Coast the Remsburgs are dealing with Covid too!I think the only family members who have not contracted it yet are the Indy Lowes, Ming -Jon, and  Josh! I just got my second booster!

Ava Claire has been participating in several dance competitions recently and doing very well in both her solo and group numbers. Her parents have invested a small fortune in dance costumes  and of course the expense of traveling as far away as Daytona Beach, Florida  in June! One of her competitions was held in March at the Overland Park Convention Center so many of us were able to attend some of those performances to support her and the team. Emmy Lou was thoroughly entranced and insisted on signing up for another session of dance classes - Sean has nightmares about all the skimpy dance costumes, false eyelashes, and makeup that his little girl finds so fascinating - he’s hoping she will turn into a tomboy! Ava Claire competed in Omaha, Nebraska a couple of weeks ago, Liberty, Missouri last weekend and will have her dance recital which this devoted Grandma will be attending this weekend.

Lori and Claudia spent Spring Break with the Remsbergs enjoying much better weather than I did and were actually able to swim in the pool! Lori has also been to the Grand Canyon with her dad recently and she and Claudia will hopefully be coming out to Kansas City soon to enjoy our large contingent of Lowes here! Blake will be spending another summer interning on the West Coast!

Mother’s is hosting this summer with a splash pad, two swimming pools, tents, crawling tunnels and enough bubble liquid  to ensure the cleanest fun in the neighborhood! Love your bubbly  Mother!

 

 

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER : VOLUME 144                                                 JANUARY2022

Dear Readers,

Thanksgiving was bitter sweet this year as Lori, Blake and Claudia came to Kansas City to share in the experience of our first Thanksgiving without Ming Lee. There is so much comfort to be found in creating new family memories.

Lori and Claudia were very much looking forward to meeting Alex and Lochlan who had not been born on their last visit to Kansas City in June. Blake had not been here at that time as he was doing a summer internship in Los Angeles and had not even met Liam yet!

Once the Indy Lowes parked in my driveway they were greeted by thirteen of our Kansas City family members! We welcomed them into the family room which as you can see from the pictures looks like a bona fide day care center! It is hard for the adults to reach a seat without stepping over and around heaps of toys, books, play mats and jumparoos – not to mention babies!! Later in the evening I think a lot of the guys elected to play video games downstairs to escape the chaos!

That first evening we had a lasagna supper and I sat eight adults in relative comfort in the dinning room whilst Claudia volunteered to sit with me in the kitchen with Ava Claire, Owen, Emmy Lou and Liam. Of course I had to make chicken noodle soup for the kids who would not touch my lasagna! No salad either but they did manage a garlic breadstick! I had home made apple cake and pumpkin bread for dessert with ice cream of course!

Sarah and Sean had offered to host Thanksgiving this year as Sean was planning on preparing a range of meats on his smoker. This was the first Thanksgiving in many years that I did not have to deal with the stress of roasting a turkey – usually with a lot of unwanted suggestions from my boys who have talked me into everything from sea salting the bird and soaking it in cranberry juice for twenty four hours; cooking it breast side down with a very dangerous flip to breast side up midway through roasting; cramming into an oven bag or partially wrapping it in foil and stuffing it with herbs or a can of beer! And of course to further add to my stress they always question how juicy my turkey will be!

The Indy Lowes had wisely elected to stay in my home to give themselves a reprieve from kids if needed- of which I suspect Blake was especially appreciative! I think he might have preferred Sarah and Sean’s cat, Mochi, to the babies!

Blake enjoying Mochi

After breakfast on Thanksgiving morning we all drove to Sean and Sarah’s with our contributions to the meal! Everything from Kay’s green bean casserole to Jeremy’s sweet potato casserole, and Lori’s homemade apple pie and hot mulled cider which was very popular! We drank mimosa’s and nibbled a vast array of appetizers for a few hours before sitting down to our Thanksgiving feast!

Blake meeting Lochlan

b

Left to right: Liam, Emmy Lou, Lochlan, Ava Claire and Claudia

Ava Claire with Claudia and Alex

Alex with Claudia

Blake and Claudia

Lori with Lochlan!

Once it became dark outside Sean suggested we bundle up and head out for a short walk to see some neighborhood Christmas lights. I knew that Ming Lee would approve of our sight seeing as he loved any activity that got us all up and moving – although as Lori said he would have added a few more blocks to our outing! Richard volunteered to stay home with Alex and Lochlan as we thought it too chilly for the babies to be out – we arrived home to baby cries but a calm Richard! I think it actually took us longer to find warm gear for everyone that it did to see the lights – which are amazing in their neighborhood! They even have annual bus tours drive through!

Claudia spent a lot of time playing with her six younger cousins – she has the energy to keep up with them and a natural talent for relating to them. We would love to have her help anytime! But she is a busy girl, the Indy Lowes had to make the long drive back to Indianapolis the very next day as Claudia was teaching Saturday classes at her Martial Arts school! At least Blake got a day or so to recover before his trip back to Purdue!

This year Bryn came for Christmas and the Remsbergs planned on coming out a few days after Christmas so their visit would overlap with Bryn’s. We were all excited to have a large gathering for the New Years festivities! But unfortunately we all got the same Christmas present and it was the gift that kept on giving – Covid!

On the 23^rd of December Sean informed us that Covid had breached our vaccines, boosters, masking and sanitizing. Their nanny Elaine’s husband had tested positive – after a business trip to the West Coast. Elaine went into quarantine although she tested negative at that point. Sean’s family all tested negative too so we decided to go ahead with our family gathering at my house for Christmas Eve. Frankly I was not very concerned about catching Covid knowing that I was fully vaccinated, boosted and it fine fettle healthwise. Far more upsetting to me was the possibility of not being with as many of my grandchildren as possible over the holidays! Besides most of the kids had had colds recently and I had survived two sleepovers : one with Ava Claire and another with Emmy Lou where both girls had coughed and sneezed over me all night long.

Sean had assured me that Bryn and the Rembsurgs were going to be staying with his family - implying that his house was more his siblings cup of tea than mother’s peaceful retreat. However the very day of his arrival Bryn announced that he would be spending the night at my house. Apparently Bryn thought he might spend his nights in our four different Kansas City family homes! I had just spent the previous few days preparing my bedrooms for the Remsbergs after Leslee-Ann had called to see if one of my twin beds would fit into one of the bedrooms with a queen sized bed – I assured her that it was doable but mentioned that Sean seemed to think she was staying with him. It was a possibility she allowed but she thought my house with the three vacant bedrooms might work out better than Sean’s basement bedroom and sofa bed in the family room for the kids. Ray was not used to sharing a bedroom and Callie was not sleeping well - frequently coming into her parents room at night to sleep on the sofa in there.

Now I was going to have rewash the sheets of which ever bedroom Bryn chose and scrub the bathroom again! And of course ensure that Bryn was banished from my house for the duration of their stay! Of course my children do not see the necessity of planning ahead like I do as they probably don’t care about clean sheets, scrubbed bathrooms or inch thick dust bunnies everywhere!

Since the Logues and Flaigs were going to be spending Christmas day with their families this year we elected to have our present exchange with them on Christmas Eve at my house and soon my floor was covered in wrapping paper, boxes and lots of new toys and clothes. The day was unseasonably warm which turned out to be extremely fortuitous! We opened windows and doors and had the ceiling fan circulating- it was over 70 degree’s and I was literally melting in my snowman sweater as I slaved in the kitchen preparing appetizers and toppings for my shrimp and loaded baked potato do it yourself buffet I was hosting!

I had given Ava Claire and Owen the Amazon gift catalog I received in the mail a few weeks ago suggesting that they circle items they would like for Christmas – in my price range! I had gifted her an LOL bubble kit. I thought it was like a bath bomb but fortunately Jeremy knew that it would cause a very big explosion and took her out onto my deck so that it would be covered in bursts of color instead of my family room! Thank goodness it was so warm outside that day! I actually thought about eating outside but had all ready put all the seat cushions away for the season! Who expects Florida like weather in Kansas City at Christmas time? I was so happy that I didn’t have to listen to Bryn complain about the excessive heat or cold for once!

On Christmas Day I went to Sean and Sarah’s house with gifts for them, their children and Bryn! Sean had smoked salmon and grilled steaks for our dinner which was delicious!

I had noticed the previous evening that Lochlan was not his usual happy self, and was suffering from goopy eyes and a runny nose. However since many of the kids had had similar ills over the last few weeks we attributed it to that rather than Covid.

On the 27^th of December the Remsburgs informed us that they were going to cancel their trip as Ray had been sick since Christmas Eve and now Leslee-Ann was sick too. She spent five days in bed, one night in the Emergency room for IV fluids and a confirmed diagnosis of flu – testing negative for Covid like the rest of the Remsburgs. Thank goodness Craig was able to take care of them all!

On the 28^th of December I was babysitting Liam and Lochlan. Later that morning Sean took Lochlan for his four month check up and about an hour later he came rushing into my kitchen, wearing a mask but not carrying Lochlan. He told me that Lochlan had tested positive for Covid at the doctor’s office and thus he was going to take Liam and head to Emmy Lou’s daycare to pick her up too and quarantine at home. I suggested that he just bring the baby in and let me feed Liam lunch – it was already cooked – while he picked up Emmy Lou but Sean was adamant that I not be exposed a second longer than necessary – despite the face that I had just spent two days with them and had been holding them, changing their diapers and feeding them all morning! I knew I was almost certainly infected by now! Once Sean peeled out of my driveway with his boys, Bryn applied himself to the search for at home Covid tests and a couple of hours later found a store that actually had a number in stock. We all tested negative I think on that day except for Liam . Bryn decided that it would be better to fly back in Los Angeles that evening while he was symptom free and had a negative test. Much to my amazement he was able to book a seat out that night despite all the horror stories about all the flight cancellations on the news. I dread to think how much it cost him!

On New Year’s Eve Bryn let us know that he had tested positive and suggested we should all test again which we did. I still tested negative but had a scratchy throat, congestion and a cough. Interestingly enough we realized that the at home tests were not as effective in diagnosing Covid as a lab test- several family members tested positive on a lab test after testing negative on the in home test! Probably why the government is giving them to us for free!

Kay, Richard and Alexis gifted Richard’s parents with Covid and the Logues became infected a week or so after the rest of us somehow! Fortunately no one had any serious effects and it was definitely harder on the unvaccinated babies, especially Liam – probably because the two younger nursing babies had some protection from their vaccinated and boosted mothers!

Some of you may have realized that there has once again been a long delay in getting this newsletter out to you: the reason being I have had very little time to do so lately due to the needs of my grand children. I have recently spent eight days in a row babysitting and four nights hosting sleepovers! My neighbors must be amazed at the traffic one house can generate as an endless stream of cars seem to be dropping off and picking up kids here every day!

But as we all know I am so grateful that I have the energy and good health needed to be such an active Grandma whose greatest happiness is being with her grandchildren – even when they tattle tale on me! Richard was highly amused yesterday when he was picking up Alex and witnessed Ava Claire and Owen telling Coryn that Grandma had said three bad words that day! Trust me they were not that bad – the British word for a donkey was one of them!

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2022! Love Mother

 

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