A LOVING MEMORY...

Cynthia Eyre Kiser
April 1951 - July 2020

It's always startling news to find out that someone I know who is younger than I am has passed away.  My nephew Paul Eyre called me the other day and left a message.  "Call me as soon as you can.  I have some sad news I don't want to share in a voice mail."  Of course I called immediately after hearing that message. 

Paul told me his sister Cynthia had died, but not of COVID-19.  I was thankful for that small detail, but also saddened with the unexpected news.  Later Paul shared with me the details of Cynthia's funeral which her son Kyle was planning.  Kyle had asked Paul to give "the gospel talk" about the Plan of Salvation, and also asked if I would give a 10 minute "loving memory" about Cynthia during the service.  A zoom meeting--the virtual/online meetings we have right now.  Funeral in Rawlins.  Paul in Texas.  Me in Colorado.  Other family members in other states.  It is now the norm.  Life is so different!

I shared in my last post the dilemma I had about remembering something--anything--as Cynthia and I had not even spoken to each other in the 21st century.  Even after memory prompts from some family journals, I was only able to write a couple of paragraphs before going to bed one night discouraged with my inability to write something--anything.

I woke up about 1 a.m. thinking about this assignment and lay there for an hour, again wondering just how I was going to pull it off.  I got out of bed.  I went upstairs to the computer.  But before I sat down, I kneeled down and prayed, "Help me write something that will bring a modicum of comforting happiness to Cynthia's family."  By 5:30 a.m. I had  typed the last sentence, then proofread what I had written and felt satisfied my prayer had been answered.  My words must have rung true to Cynthia's family because her son Kyle told Paul that evening after the funeral, "Georgia's story and closing prayer reminded me of days past and how much I miss my family!"   I was glad!

Here is what I shared at the funeral:

“A LOVING MEMORY” 

OF MY NIECE CYNTHIA EYRE 

My pretty sister Marie married Keith Eyre when I was only three, and they moved into a brand-new little house just two blocks down the street from our family home in Rawlins.  Oh, that was such a fun place to visit with its glass-door kitchen cupboards which displayed colorful dishes and a delightful collection of pepper and salt shakers.  Plus, Marie and Keith had a furry black little Cocker Spaniel named Smokey that was fun to play with.

Then one day Marie told the family she was “expecting”.  What exciting news!  We could hardly wait during the several months that followed.  Finally, that long-awaited day arrived, and Cynthia was born on April 16, 1951.  I hadn’t even started school yet.  Yet here I was aunt at the tender age of five to a beautiful baby girl, who as the first grandchild in the Melvin Reed and Maude Marie Crane Huggins Family, was way more than just another baby come to earth.  She was OUR baby.  Our very own little Huggins grandchild.

This baby’s arrival had been happily anticipated, even though we didn’t know if Marie was going to have a boy or a girl.  We were just excited we were going to have a new baby in the family.  But, we did know that if Marie’s new little baby was a girl, her name was going to be “Cynthia”.  I don’t remember if Marie and Keith had picked any boy names.  Didn’t matter.  We got our cute little girl doll named Cynthia.

In those days—the early 50’s—little girls played house with dolls as their pretend children.  And now, here was this live baby doll for us to play with when my sister Marie came up 8th Street those two blocks to visit Grandpa and Grandma Huggins.  

Cynthia was such a sweet baby to hold, take turns feeding and even change her CLOTH diaper.  I was so proud when we went to church to turn back the soft blankets and show off my little niece to everyone. Marie up-combed Cynthia’s hair into a little wisp on the top of her head, kind of like a Kewpie Doll.  And in addition to the feminine little dresses with rumba pants underneath (In case you don’t know, those were ruffled plastic covers for the cloth diapers), she wore cute little footed pajamas.  It was just like dressing a doll!

When it was meal time at Grandpa and Grandma’s, Cynthia sat in the old wooden family high chair right by Grandpa Huggins who would make sure she had a proper supper.  He would say, “Get this baby some meat!” as we all laughed because that baby didn’t even have any teeth! And Grandma Huggins would tie a clean dish cloth around Cynthia’s neck as a bib to make sure she didn’t soil her pretty little dress.  Talk about queen for a day!  We all loved to see the baby eat, making faces at some unfamiliar food or picking up a stray morsel on the tray with her tiny fingers that could zero in on the tiniest crumb.

When Cynthia was about a year old, her father’s employment at Tri-State Lumber in Rawlins transferred the family to Garland, Utah, for a short time.  Oh, how we missed baby Cynthia.  When we had a chance finally to go visit, here was baby Cynthia all grown up, walking and talking like a little girl!

Fortunately, Keith's work away from Rawlins brought them back again about a year later.  It was so nice to have the Eyres home—in their same little house where it was so convenient for me to stop in and rest on my way walking home from Church.  Just couldn’t get enough of that little girl who was more like my own little sister.  We would play together at my home, too, long hours down the basement where the doll furniture and play dishes were, along with my doll buggy which we would wheel around the neighborhood.

I didn’t get to be the official baby sitter, though for a long time.  One of my older sisters was right in line for that very responsible job when Cynthia’s parents Marie and Keith would go out for the evening.  First it was Glenda.  Then a few years later after Glenda grew up, Marcie got to be the real babysitter.  And a few years after that when Marcie was involved in other activities, it was my opportunity to tend Marie’s kids. Cynthia and now her little brother Paul, too.  Every Tuesday night when Keith and Marie went to the movies, I got to be the babysitter.

As time went by, Cynthia grew into the little school girl I’ll always remember wearing pigtails.  When she would come the two blocks up the street to visit, Grandpa Huggins would quiz Cynthia about school, and when she answered Grandpa would tell her she was a “sharp tack”. He called her Cynthie-girl.  Grandma Huggins was so proud of her, too.  She always had a little treat of mints tucked into the dishtowel drawer in the kitchen to share with Cynthia.

More years went by.  The Eyres moved into the big house on the lot when Keith’s mother passed away.  I loved to have sleep overs there because Cynthia’s room was in the attic!  We didn’t have an upstairs in our house, and having an attic room seemed like something straight out of the books I read.  You could look out the window and see the cars go by.  In time it was looking out the window with Cynthia to see if her boyfriend was driving by.  By then I was in college and she was enjoying high school.

Elementary school, junior high, high school.  Cynthia was not too far behind me all the way.  During those years there were a lot of memories of school programs, birthday parties, and holiday get-togethers.  I also have a lot of memories of being in the Snowy Range with my parents who were Grandpa and Grandma and Keith and Marie and Cynthia and Paul.

It was Cynthia I took to Denver with me for a visit after I graduated from College and accepted a job there.  Ross and I were planning to be married by then, so he took us all over Denver to show Cynthia around.  We had such a good time that weekend.

Cynthia got married herself the following year, and I was lucky enough to be visiting in Rawlins when Amy was born.  Our baby had a baby! 

After that there wasn’t much opportunity to spend time with Cynthia as her own family grew and so did mine.  Plus we lived in Denver.  I remember fleeting visits  in and out as Cynthia came by Marie’s to pick up her kids.  But I am sorry to say, there were never again the opportunities to sit down and really get to know each other, this time as adults talking about parenting or work or family.  We missed out on a lot not being able to do that.  However, I cherish those special first years with the family’s first grandchild, my little niece.  Nothing will ever replace those memories.

Though all of you remember Cynthia as the responsible woman and mother she became, I will always remember Cynthia as the cute little girl who was my first niece and my playmate for so many years.

I invite you to reflect on your own loving memories of Cynthia, either as sibling, mother, aunt, co-worker, or friend and be grateful for her example to you in so many different ways that have enriched your life.  It will be that legacy which will stand as a monument to her turn on earth.  Let that be comfort for your deep loss at this time.

 

CORRECTION!

My 69 year old niece Cynthia Eyre died a few days ago.  Her son Kyle asked me to give a 10 minute "Loving Memory" of her at the virtual funeral held for her yesterday in my hometown of Rawlins, Wyoming, where Cynthia lived for her entire life.

I was honored that Kyle would choose me to say a few personal words about Cynthia, but it has literally been years since I had even seen her.  I think at her dad's funeral in 1998 was the last time.

A flood of thoughts came to mind as I contemplated this assignment, one of which was, "What could I say that would be relevant since our association in later years was pretty nil?"  

So, I went to the family's personal history books and began to read.  As I perused those pages, images and memories surfaced until I could finally put to paper something that would reflect a small glimpse of Cynthia's early years as the first Huggins grand child...and my special place as aunt to a babe when I wasn't much more than a baby myself.

However, in that perusing of personal family histories, I found out that I had incorrectly related the story about my sister Marie's wedding in a blog I wrote in June 2019.

You might recall I wrote about our night stranded in the car during a horrendous flood-producing rainstorm and being rescued by the forest rangers the next morning then treated to a pancake breakfast at the nearby ranger station.

Only as I read, I realized I had put that event BEFORE Marie's wedding instead of AFTER the ceremony at the Idaho Falls Temple in June 1949.  By the time my parents and I, and possibly a couple of my sisters, had this hairy sleepover in the car, Marie and Keith were long gone on their honeymoon to the Black Hills.

Just wanted to set the record straight.  

Let this be a lesson to you:  DON'T GET OLD!  The old memory ain't what it used to be.  And THAT, dear Readers, is why we are admonished to WRITE DOWN and RECORD our personal history.  

I learned this little proverb years ago when I was teaching a lesson on journal writing.  Still holds true.

THE PALEST INK IS BETTER THAN THE STONGEST MEMORY....

JUMPED FROM THE FARM RIGHT INTO THE RIVER...!

Got an email notice last week that our Windsor Colorado Stake was going to meet together in a ZOOM meeting today at 11 am for the purpose of reorganizing the three wards that meet in the Johnstown Chapel which is in our Carlson Farm neighborhood. 

So, dutifully at 11 am following our family Sacrament meeting this morning, we tuned in to the ZOOM meeting and found out that instead of three wards meeting in our building, we are now only going to be two wards attending Church meetings there. 

Boundaries run east and west with Highway 60 which has the main road (which borders our neighborhood on the south) as the dividing line between the Big Thompson River Ward and the South Platte River Ward. 

That means we are going to be in the Big Thompson River Ward and have the same bishop and the 2nd counselor who moved up to 1st counselor with a new second counselor. We're going to have a lot a people in the ward that I don't know. But then that's because they will be from the area north of us which extends into the annexed area of Johnstown all the way up to Hiway 34 in Loveland. 

Burgandy in her new house in Milliken will be in the South Platte River Ward. New bishop and counselors, also all unfamiliar to me. 

It should be interesting as each ward is now at the 500+ mark. Coincidentally, both have 80 children in Primary. There are going to be lots of new ward positions as the Primary president, among others, are in the other ward. The ward organist is also in the other ward. 

Maybe, just maybe I might be able to play the piano for Primary or the organ for Sacrament meeting. I have soooo missed having a calling where I PLAY music. Then again....maybe nothing at all close to that for a calling. Time will tell. 

Also, following recent talks between Elder Anderson and Carl B. Cook of the Area Presidency, it looks like we will be returning to "Church at the Chapel" in the near future. Change at Church is always exciting! And this is a BIG change from the way things have been for the past several years. 

I, for one, am looking forward to it....

WELCOME TO THE RELIEF SOCIETY MYSTERY BAG NIGHT!

Boy have things changed.  And they've gotten pretty creative, too, in light of the restrictions and limitations required for social distancing during COVID-19.  Case in point was the email I received a few weeks ago from our Carlson Farm Ward Relief Society with this message:

Please come to the west side church parking lot (drive-thru style) between 6:15-6:45 pm Thursday, June 11, 2020, where you will be given a small mystery bag and yummy dessert.  You will stay in your car, and exit through the east side church entrance. We don't want to give away the surprise, but you will then drive back home and use your mystery bag to participate in a short 7pm RS Zoom activity.     

As it turned out, I had a STANDBY assignment that day with United to sit at the airport for several hours in case I was needed to take the place of an absent flight attendant.  When my required time was finished, I drove home and still had enough time to change my clothes, eat a bite of supper, and drive down to the church parking lot for this out of the ordinary activity.  

It was fun to be greeted by real people as the Relief Society presidency and Activity leader  were there in a line to pass each sister a goodie bag full of yummy desserts as promised and a mystery bag as we slowly drove by and exited on the other side of the chapel. 

When I got home, I read the instructions on what to do to prepare for the short ZOOM activity.

There were three random objects which I was supposed to share how I would use one or all of them to teach a gospel principle/life lesson to family members or a friend.   We were also invited to use anything else we had at home to help out with this mini lesson.

We were assured there was NO pressure, just something meant to be fun, or funny, but not stressful.  "Just join the RS ZOOM link to chat and have fun sharing your ideas from the contents of your bag."

Though I failed at ZOOM technology ONCE AGAIN, I loved the clever idea of the mystery bag.  So, while I didn't get to share with all of the sisters that night, this is what I came up with for my "homework".

I got the Mystery bag with a box of Jello, a paperclip, and a birthday candle.  It immediately put in mind that there is literally a parade of principles throughout the scriptures.  The principles themselves never change, but there are a myriad number of ways we can live them.  

For example let's just say that the Jello, the paperclip, and the birthday candle represent the principles of faith, ministering, and remaining steadfast.

Jello can be made according to the package directions with the end result of a bowlful of jiggly dessert.  Or while liquid, it can be poured over a newly baked cake with holes punched in it.  Voila!  Poke Cake--one of my family's favorites.   Likewise, we can exhibit faith in a variety of ways including just the basics of reading the scriptures, trusting in the Lord's timing, praying.....etc.

Not only can a paperclip fasten a pile of papers, but it can pick a lock, or keep the drapes in a hotel room closed so the parking lot lights are shut out.  Ministering can also take on many different guises.  Doesn't always have to be a formal "helping out" assignment or a lesson, but a smile, a listening ear, and a friendly hello all count as ministering, too.

A birthday candle would normally be used on a birthday cake.  But in a pinch, it could light the way for a brief moment or make a celebration out of a normal day.  Remaining steadfast might include a simple task like feeding the missionaries, going to the temple, or standing up for what is right.  There are lots of different ways to remain steadfast.

When Nephi and his brothers were commanded to return for the Brass plates, that task required three different approaches before it was successful.  Correspondingly, there isn't just one way to accomplish what the Lord has asked us to take care of in our journey through life.  The "HOW" of living the principles might be different for each one of us, but the goal is the same.  

And...it all counts as long as we are moving forward on the covenant path.

MYSTERY SOLVED....

THEY DIDN'T EVEN WAIT UNTIL I DIED....

OLD PEOPLE--READY TO DIE

For the past three or four years when I have received my latest General Conference CD's in the mail, I have also received either an accompanying email or phone call from Church Distribution.  (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).  They want to know if I am AWARE that there are other options to listen to General Conference without having to use a CD player.  YES, I am!  But I am now a septuagenarian and am in my car an inordinate amount of time as I drive to Denver International Airport and back for my job as a flight attendant with United Airlines.  It is soooo much easier to just slip a CD into my car's entertainment system while I am driving so I can hear the latest  messages from the prophets --or even former messages since I have all the General conference CD's in a box in my car all the way from 2003.  So, please, please continue to produce these important CD's.  I don't want to have to download anything or mess with technology I know is out there but which I'm not savvy about.  Then I always end the communication with this statement:  "I know you are just waiting for people like me to die."  Sometimes they chuckle....

I use the same statement when I am at work and there is MORE new technology we have to master just to do our jobs--a meal app, an unaccompanied minor app, a reimbursement account, even yearly requalification.  Please just let the world go on the way it was until I check out.

At United there is usually some kindly YOUNGER person who pooh-poohs my observation by telling me I am SO much better than a lot of senior people they've flown with who are still using the announcement book (because they have the whole demo memorized) instead of our hand held version.  It's a dead give-away  even to me because those "standard" announcements leave out all the new stuff that has been added over the past few years.  And, they continue, those people don't even have a clue how to access anything!

Still, I knew there was going to come a day that things changed.  And I was right.

When my April General Conference CD's came in the mail the other day, there was also a notice in the packet that said the General Conference CD's and DVD's will be discontinued after 2020.  Wah!  That means I have only one more Conference that I can listen to in my car by slipping a CD into the car player.  And then, I will have to belly up to the modern technology bar and find out how to use an MP3 or download the broadcast to WHEREVER or WHATEVER format I'll need to be "hip". 

Can do, I guess.  I got this far.  I remember when Schuyler used to tell me "Good job, Momma!" when I learned how to run the check acceptance machine at King Soopers' check out stand.  That was years ago when he was just a little kid.

Frankly, I don't think I'm ready for all this jazz.  And there must be more people like me out there because  I am amazed at all the "old" stuff I can get on YouTube.  Somebody remembers how life used to be before it got complicated.  Looking back, it's astonishing I was even able to move into the world of CD's to begin with after growing up first with 78 speed breakable records, then 45's, then vinyl 33 lp's.

Bottom line...the world is moving forward.

And they didn't even wait until I died!

SCHOOL'S OUT !

SCHOOL'S OUT !

School is over for another year in my small town.  There weren't any of the subtle--or not so subtle--signs that have appeared in other years to announce the last day of school for 2020.  The end finally came after weeks of online Zoom classes and lots of new ways to get used to "going to school" at home. 

Now that I don't have kids in school anymore and am not privy to the local school schedule, I depended on other signals to help me keep track with the end of the school year.  One was to note the cessation of school buses which typically arrived at the bus stop three different times in the mornings and afternoons every day.  The gaggle of parents visiting with each other at the neighborhood pool parking area while they awaited the departure or arrival of their children would suddenly be absent.  And of course, the kids themselves were no longer parading down the front sidewalk or neighborhood walkway with quick steps in the morning to catch the bus and a more leisurely pace in the afternoon once the school day was over.

THOSE subtle signs disappeared with the COVID-19 dictum that schools were to be closed until the end of the year.  Two plus months early. 

Once it got to be past the middle of May, I figured it was about time for the school year to be over, just didn't know what day.  Until Friday when we began to hear horns honking.  And they continued to honk for quite some time.  First far away, then closer and closer. 

I told Louis it reminded me of Saturdays in my hometown when I was growing up.  Saturday was wedding day at the Catholic Church, and after the Hisipanic couples got married they drove in a caravan of cars with their friends through Rawlins, all the while honking their horns in celebration of the morning's nuptials.  Some Saturdays the mobile festivities lasted until early afternoon, if there happened to be more than one couple getting married.  I thought it was a cool  tradition to advertise a wonderful event.

So, when the first cars appeared on our street lst Friday all decked out with signs and placards each announcing the name of a 12th grader, I realized it was a celebration for all the graduating seniors who had been denied a commencement ceremony because of the Coronavirus which has disrupted the normality of our lives for the last several months.

The parade had begun at the elementary school, drove past the middle and senior high schools, and then slowly drove past the administration building where each senior was handed his/her diploma before driving through each of the neighborhoods where the kids live. 

I'm pretty sure the same kind of thing happened all over the country, each with its own flavor to fete those who were graduating.

In the years to come when we are hopefully once again celebrating in traditional ways with those who finish their schooling, the students who graduated in 2020 will have a unique memory of speechless convocations and well-wishes with no personal contact.  (Maybe that ain't such a bad thing, after all!)

What a great memory....

Happy commencement to the Class of 2020 !

STAYCATION...

One of the positively plus rules that came out of the eventual flight attendant merge of United and Continental workers in October 2018 was the inclusion of the old Continental option that a flight attendant could "sell" her vacation back to the company.  That way she would receive recompense for scheduled days off, AND if she wanted, she could let the Crew Desk know she would like to "fly through" those days, as well.  In short, get the vacation money and fly some extra hours during that "time off".  A win-win!

I had planned to have my red SUV paid for in a year after I purchased it in 2017.  But since I had never sold my Mitsubishi Eclipse after I got the new car, there was no big hunk of money to put toward the principle.  That's when I began giving plasma to earn more money to start paying down my car loan.

I still had about $3,000 left to pay when it was time to bid for vacation last November.  I had been too chicken to give up my vacation time--even for money--the year before.  Then I remembered  how much easier it is now to arrange schedules for time off (once I learned how to do that).  I sold all but six days back to the company, and then bid those six days to have a vacation near our anniversary on May 12th.

Everything worked out perfectly!  I got the vacation money when it paid out the end of February.  It was enough, and to spare, to kill the loan.  Plus, I got my first vacation choice which I parlayed into 12 days off by choosing a schedule that had days off both before and after the six vacation days.  Whew!  That was a coup!

Now....where to go?  I know Louis would LOVE to go on another ocean cruise.  Not for me.  In fact, we do much better on shorter trips.  Not the whole 12 days, but  a few days where we could go and have a good time.  Someplace we haven't been before.  Someplace with a temple, lots of scenery, and quirky little shops and antique stores that always optimize my vacation time. ( Some of my most cherished Nativity pieces were procured during those mini vacations.)  And a place not to difficult to travel to, either.

Nova Scotia!  United has flights out of Newark.  We could get to Newark, change planes for Halifax, rent a car and be on our way until the following week.  We even bought the plane tickets because I didn't want the nerve-wracking hassle of stand-by travel.  All doable and something/someplace we haven't done before.  I started looking forward to it, and had a brand new passport in my possession so I didn't even have to worry about any expiration dates.

Then Coronavirus reared its ugly head.  The borders to Canada closed for all but flight crews and Canadians.  There went our little get-away.  We got our money back for the tickets, and put the rest of the plans on hold....for how long?  Who knows.  And our lovely vacation-to-be got repurposed into a "staycation".

So, when I turned the calendar over to May, there were 12 perfect days with nothing scheduled.  Too bad there is no place to go.

This STAYCATION hasn't been fun at all.  We did drive out to Fort Morgan one day.   Just because it was a different direction than we usually go. Another day we drove up to Estes Park.  And on the last day of my staycation, we drove down to Deseret Book by the Denver Temple.  That is one of the few  Distribution Centers in the US outside of Utah and Idaho that had just opened again in the first phase after COVID-19 lock down. (Louis needed new garments and called the store to see if they were open before he made an online order.) 

Grocery stores are open.  We can still pick up food in the drive-through or at the curb if we want to eat out for a treat. But for the rest of the 12 days, it has been nowhere to go, nothing to do when we got there, and nothing new to see.  Once thing for sure, it will be a staycation we remember for a long time to come because it was so....

B O R I N G!  

      
PS Already making plans for a real vacation next year....hope it works out!    I'll send you a postcard, if it does.