Boy, am I good! I managed to talk my way out of the hospital long enough to make a pilgrimage to Memphis. Physically it was a challenge, but worth every second to be immersed in southern language, food and family. My siblings and I were there, together, for the first time since 1968 and no, that's not a type-o. My dad has two siblings living and we so enjoyed being with them and their families and hearing so many great family stories. Bottom line: I've called several places 'home' over the years, and they have been, but the pull to Memphis will never go away, nor do I want it to. I love my southern heritage--the graciousness, the barbeque, the fireflies, the giant thunder storms, but especially the rhythm of Memphis' language which stands apart from all other southern dialects. Put ten Southerners in a room together and I'll tell you, by the way they talk, which one is from Memphis.

So yes, as promised, I'm updating. I'm back in the hospital but I feel total peace and confidence that my doctors will figure out the latest and get me back on track. In the meantime, thank goodness for a mini lap-top and access to the internet, plus, I'm doing a lot of writing and some genealogy--making sure I've cited sources. Most of this is what I'd be doing if I were home anyway. My spirits are good. Just keep those prayers flying upward and picture me taking another trip South to do more research. For other genealogists, a couple of lines keep calling me. You know what I mean. When I get out of the hospital I'll post some pictures.

I Love You, Still

This was supposed to post on Valentine's day. I don't know what happened. 2nd in a series.

Because you’re a fighter

a wriggly wiggler

a bed-time breaker

and a soccer ball kicker

I love you because you love rock and roll

porcelain dolls

eating at the Mecca

and anything on which to climb, even me

I love you for the way you move with a destination in mind

play your music

kiss those little fingers

and belch like a sailor

for the tomatoes, the potatoes, the corn

and because after all these years

you talk about that venison steak dinner, still

I love you because you love hats

like me

and pet rats, um, not me

for late night chats

for the sharp sound of 'crack' every time you got up to bat

and I miss those days

but I have my memories

I love you because she slobbers

a lot

and you don’t mind

for that home-made macaroni and cheese

and because your lemonade is too sour

but your enthusiasm makes up the difference

I love you for saying yes

for not asking why, though I think you knew

your expressive hands

your fat toes

and your tight little butt

Ok there

I said it

I love you for allowing the anguish

to push you up, not down

for after dinner walks

for walking the talk

talking the walk

and Grammy, come see the moon!

I love you for your apple trees

your apple crisp

your sparkling apple cider

and the Unbelievable Apple

I love you because you’re generous

you sing with your whole soul

kiss with your mouth open

and 'do when the spirit say do'

I love you for the squeak in your laugh

the bounce in your dance

for teaching me how

and for what Jessica Rabbit said about Roger

I love you for surprises

big surprises

I mean, really—Big Surprises

and for that time

eating plums from a tree in the dark

I love you for your work ethic

your working man

your working man’s hands

and for giving me my first pair of earrings—gold, Trifari

I love you for your wild bushy hair

their buzzed heads

and mine too

1-2-3

I even love your bih

your buh, your do, your duh

and your fro

because I’m your guh

and you’re my bo

I love you for your art

drawings that fly and blast create chaos

like bombs and rocket ships and farts

and make you laugh out-loud

I love you for the raisins

the easy hugs

the way you hitch up your pants because you walk

just like him

and no one tries harder than you

I love you for your French fries

your give-it-to-me-straight philosophy

for being the slowest to anger I've ever seen

and sparklers on the fourth of July

I love you for tri-tip on the grill

June bugs

your stubborn will

for telling me the truth

even though

it made me cry

and camping in the hills above Burley

I love you because you get it

you got it

and that’s good

I love you now

I loved you then

I loved you before

and probably

I've loved you forever

I love ya

I love ya, darlin’

I love you—still

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to my Apartment...

The day that I was moving into my new apartment, June 18, is the same day that I got a call from Dr. K (my oncologist) telling me to check myself into the hospital. I had had a CT scan done earlier the same day and the results showed some problems with my lungs. I told him that I couldn't go because I was in the process of moving. He paused--I'm sure he wasn't anticipating that kind of response, and then he said, "But you can't breathe!" I realized he was right--I was having a tough time of it. Then a friend from church called just to check in and see how I was doing, and she ended up taking me to the hospital while Chantel supervised the others as to where to put my furniture in my new place.

That night Dr. Henry appeared at my bedside in the ER and I felt immediate confidence in him as he explained my options. Later, Austin and another elder came over and gave me a priesthood blessing which gave me instant comfort. Dr. Henry operated the next day by doing a pleurodesis--a fancy word for a procedure to permanently prevent the accumulation of fluid around the lung. This is a surgery that I had talked with Dr. K about several times and had already decided to have done. I had even made an appointment to see Dr. Henry--and thought I would have the surgery later in July or August. The way it happened was so sudden that I didn't have time to worry or stress about it. And the recovery is going just fine. When I came home from the hospital, it was to my new apartment and almost everything unpacked and put away, thanks to my amazing girl.

I love my family so much. And when I say that I don't mean just my children and grandchildren, but my mother, my siblings, their spouses, their children. I'm grateful for each one of you, for what you contribute to each others' lives and to mine, for the way you choose to live, for your love for each other. We are a blessed family.

Easter at Pop's House 1966

Martha, Rachel and John, hamming it up (pun intended!).

These pictures go with an entry I posted on May 7, 2007.

---

I have done so much genealogy

that I know some families really well. Above is a picture of my grandmother with three of her five sisters and below another picture of the whole family from about 20 years earlier.

Eva (Granny), Josephine, Katheryne, Clara.

All the Pearce's on 5th St in Memphis (house is no longer there) 1916. The couple on the front right are my grandparents with their first baby, my Uncle Lester.

I know who Granny and her sisters married and when, where they lived, whether or not they had children, which children died, when, why and from what, how far apart they and their spouses died, which ones divorced, which ones remarried, who had money, what they did for a living, and all kinds of other details that naturally appear when putting family puzzles together. One thing I know for certain: My granny and her sisters loved each other and were the best of friends, especially as they got older. Granny's parents, Ora and Edward, were gentle people who loved their children and had a deep faith in God. I have the same picture of my granny and her sisters on my laptop as I do here. I've seen it every day now for over two years. I showed Owen the picture the other day. "Look, Owen! There's your great-great Grand Aunt Clara, your great-great Grand Aunt Katheryne, your great-great Grand Aunt Josephine, and there's your great-great Grandmother!" He looked at the picture a minute and then said with an excited smile, "Did Granny come over on the Mayflower?" I could almost hear her laughing...

I Love You

for the way your eyes crinkle at the corners when you laugh
for obligatory dance parties
for how cute you looked in braces
I love you for a laugh that's all yours
I love you for the face you make when something sounds gross
and for all the recipes you gave me that start with 'one stick of butter'
I love you for the compassion you have for the down and out
for eating my spinach
watering my plants
and feeding my cat
I love you for teaching me how to lead music
for your tender heart
for your bizarre sense of humor
and because you understand mine
I love you because you keep getting back up
I love you for the way you snuggle with your children
and love palm trees
and burritos
and chocolate
and traveling
I love you for sitting with me in silence day after day
and because you love hydrangeas
and gardenia bushes
and the smooth sound of a car's perfect engine
I love you for forgiving me when I stayed out of your life for awhile
and for loving me when I came back
I love you for the way you balance your checking account,
even though I do mine just the opposite
they still come out the same
I love you for teaching me to love puzzles
to play star wars and deep sea creatures and Settlers of Catan
I love you for the way you giggle
and squeal
and run with your feet crossing over each other
because you just can't help the happiness
I love you for your freckles
your long eye-lashes
your piggy toes
your dimples
and even your moles
I love you for all those times you washed my car
and took out the garbage
and helped weed the flower beds
and sent me funny cards that made me laugh
I love you for going with me to the ballet when you didn't really want to
and I even love you for laughing out loud when you weren't supposed to
I love you for the way you looked at me then
and the way you look at me now
I love you for teaching me how to laugh at the most absurd
pray for the most awful, and believe in the unbelievable
I love you for introducing me to Thai cuisine
for all those long walks and long talks
for girls' nights out and the mcbc
I love you for the way you fell in love with parenthood
for the way he adores you
the way you love him
and listening while I cried
I love you for calling me Sis
for calling me Mom
for calling me Baby
for calling me Poose, and Guh, and Monkey Mama
and just for calling
I love you for the first time we met
and for the next time we meet
for your resilience in the face of adversity
for all the pies and homemade bread and beet pickles
and because you love Jesus
I love you because you send me funny emails and serious ones
and some in between
I love you because you sat with me when I was going through chemo
I love you because you drove me to the hospital in the middle of the night
I love you for your beauty that spills out in your writing and in song
for the sound of your voice when you say, 'Hey, Buddy!'
and because you know just where to scratch when I say 'hairy patch'
I love you for our shared experiences
for going first at the Senior Thesis Event
for the things we could tell about Justin and Tina and Kate
I love you for building me a garden when I could only watch
because you dance even though sometimes, you can't
for knowing I'd still love you even after you told me about waking up inside a bass drum
I love you because you made sure that I had snow chains in my car
you believe I can do anything and that makes me try harder
you forgave me, more than once
and the look in your eyes tells me that I hang the moon

I love you for every minute and every hour and every day we've shared
for hanging in and holding on and never letting up or letting go
I love you for adding your own special color to the fabric of my life
I, simply, love you
Happy Valentine's Day!

Florida

was fabulous. Not because we stayed in condos right on the beach, the water was refreshing, and the meals were delicious. It's because I was surrounded by people who love me. And I met family members who I felt instant love for, just because they are mine! It was awesome to stand arm in arm with all my siblings, but it was even more wonderful to stand with them and realize that everyone else was ours, too. The Bruch's have a strong penchant for dark eyes and I have to say, beautiful women as well. We missed those who couldn't be there but rejoiced in the ones who were. I think Madelyn and Jeff came the farthest distance--the San Juan Islands. Uncle Don came the farthest distance by car. And we took generational photos. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures to post. I started to take them, but I felt overwhelmed, and I realized that I would miss all the visiting if I spent all my time trying to take photos and not miss anyone. This doesn't mean that pictures weren't being taken. I think there were at least four cameras going all the time. Those photos will be posted to a site such as snapfish or photobasket and we can see them there. All in all, the reunion was a great success thanks to Diannah's hard work and to families willing to join us. Mark your calenders. The next one is in two years, and that's just around the corner.

Gratitude

I am so thankful for my family. I know that's a phrase that gets tossed around a lot sometimes, but I wonder if my family really knows how much I love each of them. You, and you, and you, and you...My Mom flew out from Utah this year. She's such a little bird now! My older sister Madelyn and her husband Jeff flew down from Washington, and their son Alex came out from Nashville. There were 14 of us around a giant table in Marty's new house. Madelyn made a toast "to all the family who aren't here today," then names came up individually all around, "Leah...Brother John and his family...Chantel and Austin...Owen and Soren...Larry...John and Jasmine...Estee and Mike..." I sat and listened, watched faces, heard names, and I felt so blessed to not only love my own family, but know that my brothers and sisters feel the same way. We had an amazing meal (Bruch women can cook!) and Rachel taught Andrew how to dip truffles. He's a natural at it! I will try to get a photo from Rachel or Sheila and post it for y'all to see. Anyway, if you're reading this post, know that you've touched my life, from you I have learned, and for you I am thankful. I have many other things to be thankful for as well, but nothing is as important as our love for one another.