Honnoring my son for Memorial day.

We were so happy to have a baby at last. He had a lot of curly blond hair when he was born ,but as you can see it quickly disappeared and I soon found he had inherited my father's unmanageable hair. Daddy was so meticulous about his, he must have combed twenty times a day. This was not in his nature at all. He often looked like a wild boy. He was colicky the first few months and I thought I would not survive this.His dad was driving truck but when he got home after very little sleep, I would meet him at the door and say "Take this kid." Terry was small so would fit in his large hand and he sat up in bed sleeping but still tittering the baby. It was a sight to behold. I would try to grab a few winks while I good. This eventually passed and we actually started to enjoy him.
The second picture is he and Michale,. Flora and Darwins baby. We had all been waiting for a long time for this happy event. Flora had miscarriages and I couldn't get pregnant. When we finally got the little darlings we could spend hours just admiring them. They were so cute and extra smart we felt.

We were living out to the radio station west of Cedar City. When Terry was just over two I was mowing the lawn and suddenly missed him. Talk about a panic. I jumped in the car and went down the road after screaming and running around frantically. About a half mile down the road. I see my precious baby pulling his little red wagon. I asked him where he was going. He said" Going to town". He had a pair of clean overalls and his teddy bear in the wagon. All the important things. I was so grateful there was no traffic on that road at that time. This was portent of things to come. Terry was always on the go and hard to keep track of. he was fearless which didn't help my nerves. Driving wildly, climbing ledges, and riding in Boulder rodeos when he had virtually no practice.

I'll try to post a picture of Terry with our dog Tux. The dog had chosen Terry as a favorite and he knew what he was doing. Terry was very tender with all creatures all his life. One time Tux had to have a tick removed from his ear and as he started coming out of the anesthetic he was flopping around as animals seem to do. Terry sat up all night holding his head so he wouldn't hurt himself. When Terry went to Escalante to school about a half hour before time for the bus to be at our house Tux would go out and sit waiting for it. He and Terry would be so happy to see each other,

Unfortunately it was about this time Terry began his painful journey of Alcoholism. Of course this became a bigger difficulty as he grew up and went in the service. He came home from the army with an Austrian wife and two darling little girls. It was a battle of wills from the beginning, and drinking added another very difficult element. It was a relief when the marriage finally ended. Terry loved his daughters with a passion and always tried to do the best he could by them. He taught himself all the elements of construction and got his license without having to attend a great deal of school. He taught himself all the computer programs needed for his work. It seemed his timing was always off, as far as making money even though he did beautiful work.As he got sicker and sicker, I tried everything I could think of to help him to quit drinking. It seemed three months was about his limit to stay sober.He was fun loving and attracted many women but this only seemed to add to his problems. He told me sometimes he felt he was hanging on by his fingernails.

I, of course felt we had been bad parents and done everything wrong. I was talking about this with Terry one time and he told me that his very best memories in life was all of us as a family sitting around the kitchen table making jokes and laughing really hard. Those Hall men were all witty. Randy said at Terry's demise that he had more fun than all the rest of us put together. He was right about that. It has been ten years since his life ended and it still feels painful, not only to me but his father and two brothers. As you think about it from my present perspective it seems his life was too short and surely too painful but we who loved him learned some great lessons from him. We remember his tenderness and his laughter.

I love my Kinle

The first book I down loaded was Dear John as I like Nicolis Sparks. It was so boring. Nothing ever happened. Then I bought "The Help" by Kathryn Stockinette and totally loved it. It is set in Mississippi in the sixties. That doesn not seem that long ago so it is hard to imagine that things were so bad just that many years ago. We have came a long ways. The writter was raised in a typical gentile white family with the mandatory colored maid. Except she wanted to be a writer,which her family just could not imagine. She worked constantly with notes, journals and a small local newspaper. She kept trying to get the right idea for a publisher in New York to show some interest. Finally she hits on the idea of interviewing the colored maids to see what it felt like to be one for all the white familys. Each one seemed to fall in love with the babies, and then of course would have to leave them. They were all very nervous about talking to her because they knew there would be repercussions, They were worried constantly about being fired and it was their lively hood. Kathryn did such a wonderful job of characterization that you feel you know each of these maids personally.(Made me feel I wished I could hire one.) In any event Kathrryn could not write the book while living in Mississippi. She eventually gets a job in New York and writes the book there. She claims it is fiction but still factual in most aspects. She refers to Martin Luther King and Megar Ever's murders as well as President Kennedy's association so it really takes the reader back to those days.

It reminded me of Trevor when he first went to school back in Illinois and they were talking about Martin Luther King. He immediately called me to see if I knew about that.When I said I did, he said, "Well, did you know how bad it was?" I told him I did and I felt a strong implication from him that if I did why didn't I fix it.

At any rate I highly recomend this book. If you haven't read it alread, rush to the library.She is so easy to read and the story flows seamlessly. That is the only bad thing about the Kindle you can't pass your good books along. I am VERY grateful for it though,

This years flowers.

My house looks like a field of tulips. I have vases and vases of every color and it is very much like Spring and one more special Mother's day. Roses are usual my holiday gifts but this year Robert bought me tulips for valentine and I happened to mention to Lucinda how much I enjoyed them, so I got several dozens in mary lovely colors. It is quite inspiring to have your home filled with flowers that you feel were sent with love. My yard has great pink roses so I will pick a bouquet of them for contrast..Robert bought me a delicious lunch yesterday. and Larena and boys sent special cards. Laena's was beautiful. The sentiment especialy touching. I told her when she called she must have inherited a card picking gene from her father. Terry was always exceptionally good at finding the perfect card for the occasion. I love cards and calls the very best. I must say I like being honored on mother's day as it makes you feel you have done your job well.

Friday night I went to a chocalate and wine party with friends and it was a great atmosphere of celebration. Much laughter and delicious food.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL OF YOU MOTHERS OUT THERE.