Day 1063 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Greetings from the Winn Family Farm in Umatilla County Oregon!

Today we paid our respects to a man that I am proud to refer to as my favorite uncle. My Uncle Bob and I had a special bond. He was my mother’s younger brother and he outlived her by 18 years. He was a special connection not only to my mom, but to my grandparents. My grandmother passed when my mother was in her early teens, and my mother moved to California after marrying my dad and finishing college (Oregon State if you are keeping score). I had little connection to my grandfather, but it was Uncle Bob that made the family connection to past generations come alive.

Bob, a.k.a. George Robert Winn, was famous in his youth for painting on a wall, “Please call me Bob!”  I think that he loved his name as a palindrome because he made sure that the rest of us knew our name backwards. I am Tnarb and all of my kids also know their backwards names – Nosyarg, Nitsua and Nerual. Today if I ask Grayson what his name is backwards, he will say “Nosyarg Deer”.

During my junior high school years I used to come up for several weeks during the summer. During those summers, Uncle Bob gave me the first opportunity to drive (an old pickup truck through the fields), taught me to ride a motorcycle (at the age of 13), and shoot a 22 rifle – things that a LA city kid just couldn’t do. I also got to move irrigation pipe in the field, hoe weeds, work harvest – other things that a kid from LA could not imagine.

We worked hard and we played hard. Those summers made a lasting memory and a lasting impression on my life. My cousin Jasper today asked me how many summers I visited. When I replied 2, he was astounded. All of the things that we did and all of the memories we made he was certain that I came up for 4 summers or more. Isn’t it amazing how our impressions overwhelm our senses to create bigger than life memories? I think that it is a wonderful testimony to the number of things that we did together to fool our sense of logic and allow the wave of family fun to crash over us and make our actual experiences to become larger than life.

I am so grateful that Regina, Grayson and I made the effort to attend Bob and Imogene’s 65^th Wedding Anniversary Celebration last June described here on Day 931. When we left that weekend I had no idea that I would be back here so soon. In fact, if I had not been in Seattle on business travel this week it is unlikely that I would have been able to make it as most of the flights were already booked. I was fortunate to be able to reschedule my return flight and take the beautiful drive from Seattle to Weston, Oregon on Friday.

The memorial service was held in the barn that was built by my grandfather in 1916. No longer a functioning barn, it has been lovingly converted to a banquet hall by my cousin Preston and his lovely wife Arlene. It is the same location where we held the anniversary last June. After the service we packed the living room of the old house and sang hymns and shared memories of Bob. Bob was truly a wonderful man who touched the lives of many people. We will miss him.

Tomorrow I drive back to Seattle and I fly home on Monday.

Pax!

Brant

Day 1057 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today was a sad day and a day of rejoicing. My Uncle Bob was called home at around noon today. This is the uncle whose 65^th anniversary we celebrated just last June 3^rd and I described in this blog on Day 931. The day was sad for all of us because of the certain knowledge that we will no longer be able to enjoy his wit, culture and conversation while we dwell on the earth. However we rejoice because of the equally certain knowledge that he is happy to be home with his Father and is no longer suffering. I shed tears this afternoon, then spent hours in conversation with several of my cousins. Keep his dear bride Imogene and his 4 children in your prayers this day.

I’ll be heading to Seattle for the week so tonight I am packing. Regina has a very busy week also so keep her in your thoughts as she juggles responsibilities with grace as always.

Pax!

Brant

Day 1056 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson was a champ once again going along with us as we went to various locations and solidified our choices for materials in the master suite remodel. Our long day was productive as we managed to tentatively select materials for the bathroom counter that coordinate with the walls and flooring. Now we will wait for a few weeks to get the replacement exterior door (the old one was rigid only because the termites were holding hands!) During the wait, the focus will shift to the bedroom where we hope to put on a full court press and get finished so that we can be moved out of the living room prior to Thanksgiving.

Never a dull moment at the Reed Haus!

Pax!

Brant

Day 1055 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson’s caregiver shared that it was a slow start today with little focus early. As the day wore on he became more focused and this evening he was quite alert – and quite affectionate. He was clearly looking for hugs this evening when we went to dinner and he was quite cuddly all evening. Sometimes this proves awkward in a restaurant or when trying to carry on a conversation, but I’m happy to take the affection.

Do you ever find yourselves missing the hugs of your kids when they were little? One of our blessings is that we get them from Grayson constantly.

Pax!

Brant

Day 1054 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Thursday night football! Our Trojans recovered after spotting the Utes 14 points in the first 3 minutes of the game. The final score was 38-28 with the Trojans out on top. The Reed Haus cheered on our boys on a weeknight for a change! Next up – the always troublesome Huskies from Washington.

Grayson was a little off his game today - we may be getting to the end of the current up-cycle. He is still curious and active, but going back to his non-verbal ways. Let’s hope that a weekend of activity can turn that around!

Pax!

Brant

Day 1052 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today was another scorcher here in the Southland – another 100° + day. Tomorrow it should start cooling off – a balmy 87°!

Grayson was showing signs of the end of his “up” cycle – he was very inattentive and non-verbal today. Let’s hope that he will be rested in the morning and that the up-cycle remains with us!

Pax!

Brant

Day 1051 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

October and 105°. Welcome to fall in LA!

Today was a scorcher in the Southland. Grayson was alert and verbal (for Grayson) all day, but he was repeating himself today – a common thing for Grayson when he becomes verbal. The upswing times are always interesting – and frustrating – to watch. Interesting because of the increased responses; frustrating because of an increased level of activity resulting in an inability to sit still and a pattern of standing up and wandering around (often with a book). The wandering with a book thing gives us some anxiety around stairs. We call that the parent gene.

I had the opportunity to represent The Boeing Company at my alma mater, USC, this evening as a mock interviewer. What a fun evening! The students were all very bright and engaging, and also very nervous! Most of the students were from various Asian countries and for many English was a second language. This was an opportunity for them to make relationships with companies representing many fields while becoming more comfortable with the current interview processes and actually “living” the experience. For those of you that haven’t participated in the hiring process recently, you will be shocked that the trend is moving quickly to panel interviews with structured questions. When I was hired, a family friend gave my resume to some coworkers and the next thing I knew I had interviews. Today that practice is quickly fading – and is completely gone at my company. It’s a new world out there and I am pleased that the student groups at USC are exposing their students to it.

Pax!

Brant