The Slow-Paced Life Of Castle Dale

Am sitting here with my laptop (no paid work right now) in the rocker and my mom is napping on the couch with her foot propped up on a mountain of pillows. She had surgery Wednesday, spent the night in the hospital and then dad and I brought her home to CD with a waiting wheelchair and a crew to lift the wheelchair into the house. Poor lady--she has to be nonweightbearing for 6-8 weeks and it's tough on her, and quite honestly hard for my dad and me physically, as she needs help getting to and from the bathroom and she goes probably 20 times through the day and night. Let's talk sleep deprivation. Can't imagine leaving my dad here alone, so have extended my stay, busy doing emails and making arrangements. The good Lord willing, her foot will heal and she will be mobile this fall.

Jared joined Rafael and Victor last night w/the Priests to go see Bill Larsen (one of the Priest advisors) race his track at the drag strip. That should have been fun for them.

It's getting close to time for the boys to go back to school. Ooohh they hate that word.

Tony is settled in Oklahoma City. His companion is Elder Mortensen from a town about an hour from Las Vegas. They work w/a Spanish Branch and T says that the members are very generous and good to him. I think having the name Gonzalez is an added bonus. It has been very hot and typical Oklahoma humid and so this has been a change for T. When he first arrived, he was exclusively on his bike, as they have the sisters' car (evidently were in an adjoining area), but there was no mileage left. Now they use the car very judiciously and supplement w/their bikes. He says that he's understanding more and more the language, but struggles in being able to have the courage to jump in and create sentences, but he has a good attitude and knows that he is making progress. He loves the Hispanics and his letters are very positive. Just yesterday my dad brought in the mail from the post office and there was a letter from Tony, a four-page letter!! And to think that T said not to expect any communication other than a weekly email saying he was still alive.

Well, I'm really tired and I think I'll put this laptop to the side and maybe catch a quick 5-minute nap. Fingers crossed.