Family . . .

We are off to North Dakota for a few days. My Bob's family is having a reunion in Kulm - a little town south of Jamestown. His dad grew up there on a farm as the oldest of 12 children and Bob has memories of spending time each summer there. This is a reunion of the "cousins". Their grandparents came from Sweden and started out life there in the late 1890's. It is a road trip of about 700 miles - thanks goodness for XM radio and lots to talk about. Flying out of Montana to North Dakota would be crazy - you would have to fly south to Denver and then back north - or east to Minneapolis right over North Dakota and then back west to North Dakota. In either case you would then rent a car and drive again for a couple hours. So it is easier to just load up the car and head out.

I was in Missoula on Wednesday and I am going to go back each week to spend time with Mom and Dad. It is a difficult time for all of us and we need to have lots of family hugs especially now. Dad will need to stay in the nursing home a while longer and Mom wants to sell her house and get into something smaller and more manageable. My brother, sister and I will gather there each week for a day or two to help. All part of the life path.

"One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest." Maya Angelou