"Sing Her That Song You Sang To Me"

(A poem I wrote years and years ago as a tribute to my sister's and my mother,

Dorothy L. Chiles, 1920-2001.)
When I was in Heaven before I was born,
God saw I was lonely & oft looked fore-longed.

He looked down on earth to see what He had
And sure enough there was Mom & Dad.

"Okay, my little angel, it’s time to go.
You’re due there in spring right after the snow."

The earth was full of a very strange noise,
But this little kid darn kept her poise.

I looked into the eyes of Mom & Dad,
And I saw in his eyes something sad.

As if he would shortly say good-bye,
And take my place in the Heavens up high.

But in my mom’s eyes I saw strength & courage.
I knew she would nev’r let me be discouraged.

And just before my father went
From Heaven above a package was sent.

Bald headed, chubby, big eyes of blue,
She looked up & smiled; she was too good to be true!

And then Father left us so terribly alone,
But God sent me a message by a whispering song.

He sang low & deep enough for me to hear.
He told me that Di & I shall have nothing to fear.

“I left a mother strong & capable.
She will bring you up right as best as she’s able."

Now that Diana & I are out on our own.
I remember long ago the words of that song.

"She’ll give & give until her heart will break.
You’ll never be lonely, for She I won’t take.”

Through all the years that have passed by,
Mother has steadfastly stayed by our side.

The greatest Christmas gift that God could give
Was given to us that Mother would live.

And now I pray for a gift from above
That there will be grandchildren soon for her to love.

And, God, here is a little song to You.
All You said about Mother was all quite true.

She has shown us love more than any other.
We can proudly say she is our dear Mother.

Now keep her in health & happy too.
Never let her be lonely I pray to You.

And when the gates of Heaven welcome her above,
Make sure she knows, how much, she was loved.

(The good Lord sent three grandchildren: a brunette, 1979, a blonde,1984, and a strawberry blonde, 1985!)

"Hum, What is Happening to the Imholzes?"

“T-H-E... A-P-P-R-O-A-C-H!”

Traveling from Oklahoma City, OK, to Mountain Home, Arkansas, isn’t complicated. There is my bright college graduate, married daughter up in Missouri asking herself, “And Arkansas is….?” Okay, the turnpike conspiringly took a different direction using a long bridge to jump over Arkansas, maybe, but there was Haley with her daughter, Haven, in Branson, MO. The next day tornadoes hit Missouri where Haley had traveled….dancing tornadoes.

The first part of March, Haven's, (Andrew and Haley’s youngest child), eye glued shut due to a cold. It was nasty. A couple of days later, Haley’s eye glued shut; plus Haley was quite sick with a cold. Gibson managed to qualify for sick bay as well.
His daddy wasn’t affected. Andrew drinks enough Dr. Pepper that I think all his organs will be preserved long after Andrew's soul leaves this earth.

Oma, that’s I, drives to Oklahoma City on the week-end of the 4th & 5th to stay with the children while Haley and Andrew did some odds and ends. Haley is pregnant with child #3. Since she’s planning to see me in a few days, Robin and I take Gibson, her oldest at 3 years old, with us to Arkansas on March 6th.

Ah, but of course, Oma begins to cough, to sneeze, to have a tickled throat and a chest that is wheezing. The cough worsens until I’m hacking with these bizarre sounds. Gibson says to me as I’m gasping and hacking and blowing my nose, “Oma, it's okay.” His sweet concern did make me feel better in theory, not in reality. I was sick!

Robin, my middle child, begins to have problems with her right eye becoming sensitive to the light, but it wasn’t similar to Haley's or Haven's eye. In a couple of days we called the doctor, as Robin's eye was weeping as well. She had contacted a viral infection in her eye, but we had caught it soon enough before complications.
Phew, what’s next?

When I returned to Arkansas on the 6th of March, I was excited to see my youngest baby, (20 & ½ years old). Annaliese was on Spring break! Healthy, vibrant she had Gibson swinging on swings in parks and sliding on the slides. They both whipped up furious energy especially together. And I kept up with them in a wheezy sort of way. Saturday, Annaliese left for college. In a few days in the wee morning hours, Annaliese would find herself at the ER sicker than a dog. A good dose of antibiotics saved her hindy.

Fortunately, Haley and Haven made it down to Arkansas (after their brief tour of Branson, MO), to see Annaliese before she left. In between my coughs and wheezing I told everyone how it meant to me to have my whole family under one roof. The first two nights Haven was suffering from fever and these strange little bumps…oh, oh, yea, good, old chicken pox. Neither Haven nor her mother slept very well those first couple of days. This was supposed to be Haley’s down time, a little vacation, before having her third child in August… (a little boy by the way).
I think God is preparing her.

In a few days, Haley, Gibson and Haven leave for their home in Oklahoma City; Ruedi leaves to drive a charter bus to Colorado for 6 days. Our cat, Little Bit is missing and had been for two days. The weather had turned cold and ugly, so on Sunday, the 19th, Robin sets out to look for her. Robin finds her down the ravine beside our steep driveway. We had the vet meet us on a Sunday at the animal hospital. It was obvious her injuries were fairly serious, but her core temperature had dropped perilously low.
Our Little Bit didn’t make it that night.

I sit here writing about these last few weeks. And a thought came to me. People were injured in the tornadoes that hit Missouri; my daughter missed the tornadoes by a day. What‘s a little detour?

Oma could have been coughing and wheezing all by her little self, but she had family surrounding her. Annaliese's return trip to college was accident free. Haven’s chicken pox was mild. When she felt better, she slid down the big slide and touched a cold, cold lake and hugged her big brother, Gibson. Gibson threw rocks; he’s happy. He also saw “Toy Story” eight times. When could he do that at home?

Robin’s eye responded well to treatment and quickly too. Our Little Bit knew before she died that we had found her, and I think she fought death until we did. Today is March 24, 2006; I’m coughing and wheezing. I can hear Gibson say, “It’s okay. It's okay, Oma!”
It is.

New Year's letter 2006/ Belated Christmas 2005

I'm running so late with my Christmas greetings because I suffer from my fatal disease: PROCRASTINATION. It's progressive I am afraid. Already my New Year's resolutions are backed up to February 29th, 2006,...7... or 8 whenever Leap Year is. The good news is I have declared my New Year's salutations in 2006! Yea!

This is the time to think about family and friends and what they mean to us. Hold on! "I'm thinking!" Now about us...

Ruedi is enjoying driving for Mountain Home Charter Bus Company. Having watched the Andy William's show in Branson, five times now, Ruedi's rendition of "Moon River" has his family praying he'll spread his wings out and beyond... shortly. (Truthfully, he has spread his wings. Lately, he's been thinking about playing the violin!) :-)

Reflecting on my past Christmas letters, I have depicted my oldest as either pregnant or giving birth. This Christmas is a DITTO! Haley is expecting her third child! Her oldest, Gibson, is 3 years old. Haven turned 2 on the 23rd of December. The good news since Haley and Andrew have one boy and one girl, she'll have clothes for either/or on this third one. God's little gift is due in August; Andrew is picking up the pace at the Dell Company for his growing family.

My baby daughter, Annaliese, is on true love boyfriend # 3, Bret. He's truly a nice guy! His family owns horses! I've already named them in my mind: Flicker, Black Beauty, and Trigger. (However, if I see them, I'll be good and call them by their real names.) Annaliese is a Junior at Austin Peay State University. She plans to be on TV as a reporter or hostess. And she would be great! If she'd ever becomes famous, I have all those tapes when she was little and burping-ready to go!

Robin is staying with us. We're encouraging her to obtain her driver's license. Her last driver's test she flunked every point except directional signalling. The officer giving her the test returned with white knuckles, white hair and a ghostly, petrified look on his face. We've put a temporary halt to this goal. Robin sang last month in two Christmas programs and looked radiant.

For me, I am not going to say the word "diet" for having overused the word in the past. Besides no one believes any more. Thank goodness my New Year's Resolutions are far enough away that I can take a break regarding that "d" word.

Family and friends, you are in our thoughts and prayers.
May the New Year be your best yet, and may Christ be in your hearts!