I Have a Great Talk with Niece Lynne

Monday January 25, 1993

I slept real well. I took Tylenol every 3 hours for the shoulder pain. I awake with indigestion, probably from too much Tylenol. I manage some cereal and orange juice. I lay around until 11 a.m. Finally I shower and have a tuna sandwich for lunch. I feel a little better but I still have a terrible backache so keep taking Tylenol and Digel for the indigestion. I spend the day relaxing on the couch.

At 6 p.m. we go out for spaghetti and pizza. I don't feel well after I eat it. I have a stomach ache and indigestion persists. My arm is aching. It's Tylenol time.

Frank goes square dancing. I feel a little better about 8:00. I have a great talk with niece Lynne when she calls.

So glad to hear that Frank went square dancing when Mom was not up to it. I think Mom's visit with her niece Lynne, pictured above at my baby shower in 1992 with Mom, lifted her spirits. Lynne was very close to Mom, and even spoke at her funeral. Mom was the kind of woman that people turned to for advice because she was very wise. After Mom passed away, there was a bit of a role reversal. Lynne's mother, my Aunt Cathy, became my surrogate Mom and we have become quite close, just like Lynne and Mom were.

It doesn't seem like spaghetti and pizza was a good choice when Mom already has indigestion and upset stomach. Too spicy!

Abdomenal Tumors

Monday September 21, 1992

I had alot of pain in bed last night, probably from eating too much too late. It seemed I could find no comfortable position to lay. All the pain is in the lower abdomen where the tumors are. The cancer on my abdomen wall gives me a full or uncomfortable feeling.

I drive Maria to the doctor in Panorama City. We have a nice visit.

At home I do the laundry and feel pretty good today.

We go square dancing at 7:30. I feel a bit tired and edgy so come home early at 9 p.m. We watch TV.

Frank went to Guardian today and bought a frame for mother's toilet to help her get up and down. Also a grab bar for her shower. Gene will go next weekend to install them.

I admire a man who is a good handyman, like my Uncle Gene, like Frank, and like my husband Ric. I am not handy at all. When I talked to my Aunt Cathy this weekend she told me how Uncle Gene always has a project around the house that he's working on. That keeps him active, both physically and mentally, and keeps him healthy.

It's no wonder Mom has difficulty getting comfortable at night with all those tumors on her abdomenal wall. One of the classic signs of ovarian cancer is feeling full and bloated.

We Enjoy Being With Gene & Cathy

Sunday March 15, 1992

We're up and out by 10:30 on our way to Pasadena where we'll meet Gene and Cathy at the Doubletree Hotel for a travel show. We spend a couple of hours there, then go to lunch in "Old Town." We enjoy being with Gene and Cathy. We always have alot to talk about. After lunch we go to see Perry and Cathy and their new home addition. It's huge and lovely. It's not finished but soon.

We get home in time to eat dinner (pizza), get dressed, and go to Larry's square dance in Northridge with friends. Great fun! Then Bakers Square.

Mom's brother Gene Thomas was 6 years older than Mom, and they had different fathers, but in spite of the age difference, they were very close. Both Gene and his wife Cathy were attendants at my parents' wedding, and continued to be good friends with my dad after my parents divorce. They are good people, well into their 80s now, with lots of friends, and lots of great stories to tell of their world travels. The photo above was taken approximately 1950 around the time they were married.

It seems that no how matter how busy their days are, they are almost never too tired to go square dancing in the evening. Northridge is a 20-mile drive from Simi Valley where they lived, and Pasadena is almost 50 miles from Simi Valley. Both Mom and Frank seemed to have boundless energy.

Open House at Guy & Lisa's

Sunday December 15, 1991

Crazy dream upsets me and wakes me at 6 a.m. Can't get back to sleep. Get up at 7 a.m. to get ready to leave at 9 a.m. for square dancing at the Police Academy to raise money for the Midnite Mission. Marty and Kathy meet us there. Not a great turn-out (6 squares) but we have a good time. There are 3 callers. Frank and I get a Purple Heart for dancing in a square with 3 callers. We run into Carol and Ray.

After the dance at 12:30 we go to Lawry's for lunch. They are closing Lawry's January 3. We have a good lunch.

We arrive at Guy's Open House at 2:30. They put us to work. They have a good turn-out and lots of food. We see Gene & Cathy, Perry & Cathy. Lynne is in New Zealand.

We arrive home at 7:00 tired.

I wonder why Mom doesn't mention what her dream was about. Maybe that's her way of not giving it power over her.

I did a little research and found that there are hundred of fun badges that square dancers can earn. The Purple Heart is earned by dancing with 3 callers.

Guy Thomas is Mom's nephew. I'm so happy that Mom held a family reunion a few months before this journal entry and took a photo of the extended family, shown above. In the top row on the left is her husband Frank Reina. Next to Frank is her nephew Guy holding his daughter Allison and son Patrick. Next to Guy is Mom's mother, Grandma Helen Richardson. Next to Grandma Helen is Mom at the center. Next to Mom are me and my husband Ric, then Mom's nephew Perry and his wife Cathy, both of whom are mentioned at the Open House. In front of Frank in the second row is Lisa, Guy's wife. Next to Lisa is my Aunt Cathy Thomas holding Perry's two girls Lindsay and Brittany. Next to Aunt Cathy is my cousin Lynne and then Uncle Gene, Mom's brother. So my Uncle Gene and Aunt Cathy had 3 children, first Perry, then Guy, then Lynne. My brother Gary and his wife are in the center of the front row, and left of them are their 2 boys Joe & Gabriel with my son Justin Reyes between those two.

Uncle Gene's Birthday Party

Sunday September 8, 1991

We have a leisurely breakfast and read the paper, watch the birds and check out the patio plants. Frank leaves for Lemona. Chris calls. We have a good talk about Thanksgiving at Chris' and problems with John Reyes (her ex).

I go shopping for a comforter and buy one at Mervyns. I stop for a hot dog. I'm still having trouble being hungry alot. Maybe it's the chemo, maybe not. I pick up a yogurt to share with Frank. He's had no lunch. I feel bad. The bathroom floors are almost done. They look nice.

At 4:15 we leave for Gene and Cathy's. It's Gene's birthday dinner. Guy and Lisa are there. Alyson is much more friendly. The baby is walking. He's so cute and looks just like Guy. Some neighbors are there and we have a great filet mignon steak dinner. Lynne does most of the work. We're home by 9:15 exhausted!

Mom's brother Gene was 6 years older than Mom and had a different father. In 1991 he was turning 63. He will be 83 this year (2011) and is still going strong. He and his wife Cathy have lived in Pasadena for many years and built their house on a hillside when their boys Perry and Guy were little. Gene's son Guy and his wife Lisa are at the birthday party with their two small children, Alyson and Patrick. Funny that Mom thinks Patrick looks just like Guy. I don't see much resemblance. Guy is tall and lanky like his dad. Patrick, who is 20 now, is built like a football player, strong and husky. In fact he played football all through high school and Alyson played soccer. Alyson is currently on the soccer team at her college in Texas. Lynne is Gene and Cathy's youngest. She was and is a gracious hostess, always helpful, yet laid-back. She and her husband Everett currently live in Seattle, WA and have 3 small children Emerson, Eloisa and Ellington.

Earthquake!

Friday June 28, 1991

Up early again to leave with the boat for Pollock Pines at 8 a.m. Frank leaves to get gas in the truck. I'm curling my hair upstairs at 7:45 when a 6.0 earthquake rocks me nearly out of my chair. Frank's mom called all shook up. Frank returns--he didn't feel a thing while driving. The radio says Pasadena was hit the worst so I call Cathy. She says alot has fallen from shelves. Luckily, according to the radio, no major damage except Pasadena, some old buildings.

We're OK with the earthquake and leave for Pollock Pines. It's raining lightly. When we get close to Sacramento, it really rains hard all the way to Donna and Bob's. Marck, Ivana and Heather are all there and we all have dinner lasagna.

The trip was fine except I'm achy all over from the walk yesterday. My back is still bothering me too. Otherwise, I feel fine.

The earthquake was later revised downward to a 5.8 magnitude. It occurred on the Clamshell - Sawpit Canyon fault, an offshoot of the Sierra Madre fault zone in the San Gabriel Mountains. Because of its depth and moderate size, it caused no surface rupture, though it triggered rockslides that blocked some mountain roads. Roughly $40 million in property damage occurred in the San Gabriel Valley. Unreinforced masonry buildings were the hardest hit. Two deaths resulted from this earthquake -- one person was killed in Arcadia, and one person in Glendale died from a heart attack.

Gene

My brother Gene was an important part of my life. He's six years older than me, and I always looked up to him. In my eyes he would do no wrong. He kept me in line with teasing and often tormenting me, but I didn't mind. He was several steps above me socially and there were some painful reminders of that at times. He had his own grandmother and aunts and uncles and we did not share the same father. He was a one and only in that family and they spoiled him terribly whenever he went to visit them. He had nice clothes, a fancy bike and always had money. He used to tease me a lot about the skirts Mother made for me from feed sacks. In those days the animal feed sacks were printed and colorful and after the chickens, rabbits, ducks and goats had finished the feed, mother would make me a new skirt.

Mom remained close to her brother Gene throughout her life. He is still going strong at the age of 81. Like mom he has alway loved adventure. He and my Aunt Cathy, pictured above in 1950, belonged to a snow skiing club long before skiing was popular. I remember visiting them at the ski lodge when I was a girl and being amazed that it took 20 minutes to lace up the boots and then snap onto long wooden skis before heading to the rope tow. They continue to travel all over the world as they have for most of their 50+ years together. My uncle Gene still skis and has even tried snowboarding in recent years. He also went bungee jumping in New Zealand a few years ago.

How humiliating for mom have to wear a feed sack to school. That must have really hurt her self-esteem. Imagine that today when teenage girls insist on designer labels.