GON Reader Letter
#1
Summarize an Old Diary into a Family Story
My grandmother kept daily diaries for many years. I recently had the opportunity to read those for the 1940s. It is amazing how our lives have changed since then. They were a farm family that dealt with weather, health issues like measles, mumps, etc.
They had a son and nephews in Europe in WWII. They had marriages, grandchildren born, and an endless list of farm chores.
They got electricity and modernized their home, including indoor plumbing. She wrote brief notes each day.
I summarized her notes into a story for my family.
- Shirley Oehling
GON Reader Letter #2
Prioritize and Do the Best You Could
Maria,
I have been a subscriber for several years. Your newsletters are always very relatable to me, especially in the last couple of months.
My mom recently moved from an apartment to a nursing home. I live out of state and had planned to stay at her apartment for a week while sorting through her belongings for her to keep, donate, or give to a
friend or family member.
I had expected to have her apartment empty within that week and was I ever wrong! She had much more than I realized, and people weren't able to pick up their things
when expected.
It was also hard to find boxes.
I have a sibling who lives there and they weren't able to be there a lot to help go through her things.
I realized after the first day that it wasn't going to be finished while I was there, which was really frustrating.
Getting her clothes, belongings, etc. moved was the biggest priority, so we concentrated on that. We were able to get rid of most of the furniture before we left.
Things were dropped off at a food bank and the local thrift shops.
It still isn't completely empty, but thanks to what I've learned here from you, I was able to prioritize and just do the best that I could.
-- Theresa M.
GON Reader Letter #3
A Feel Good Workout in 10 Minutes
Many thanks for all your excellent
advice!
A recent posting about caring for a family member and not being able to leave the house inspired me to mention an exercise routine that I restarted during the pandemic. It’s the “5 Tibetan Rite." There’s an excellent description on Wikipedia, and many demonstrations (including modifications for health issues) on YouTube.
It takes time to work up to the 21 repetitions, but I can now do the whole workout in about 10 minutes. This is such a “feel good” workout that I hope you will give it a try and feel that it is worthwhile sharing with your community.
-- Nancy Schroeder at 79
