Tom & Brenda's Family Journal

I have one more thought to share about my trip to the doctor after my fall while running.  The doctor was explaining signs that I should watch for such as dizziness, confusion etc.  Then she uttered words that I had never heard from a doctor before: "At your age".  She was explaining that when I tripped I couldn't stop myself as easily as before.   I had never thought that I was at that age but I guess I am.  But I am pleased to report that my recovery was very fast and I resumed running on Wednesday with no ill side effects.   I found an At Your Age website that tells you great accomplishments made by people when they were your age.  I entered my age expecting some wonderful, amazing events.  Here's what I found: At age 58: Sony chairman Akio Morita introduced the Sony Walkman, even though nobody seemed to like the idea prior to its release. President Thomas Jefferson introduced the custom of having White House guests shake hands instead of bowing stiffly. Jacob ...

Last week I told you about my fall while I was out running.  This occurred the same day the Hollywood actress died from her injuries in a simple fall while skiing.  This news spurred my daughter to insist that I get checked out by the doctor.  I went to see Dr. Davis that afternoon and she agreed with my opinion that I seemed fine.  However, her instructions for me was the prescription that I'm sure all of you would love to have: 1.  Get lots of rest & sleep 2.  Eat well 3.  No running for a couple of weeks That kind of life sounds great.  I did relax a bit more than usual the following day.  But then Tom & I babysat the four grandkids for three days and I forgot all about the resting part.  I think I always eat well especially since Sherry left several meals for us. I hope to return to running tomorrow because I don't seem to have any repercussions from the fall.  Even the scrape on my face is almost all healed. We have decided to put our house up for sale and that mea...

Yesterday it was 72 degrees here so we took off on the motorcycle.  It was the first ride of the season for me.  Tom had been out a couple of times last weekend.  The weather has turned cool again so I'm glad we went.  It was a beautiful day. We headed toward Lake Odessa and found the DQ open.  Great place to celebrate spring! This morning I encountered another sign of spring-a pothole.  Joyce and I were running and I didn't see the pothole because it had an asphalt patch around it and we were running in the dark. I went flying down and couldn't stop myself.  It felt like I was in slow motion.  I'm fine but have a split lip and some scrapes on my face, hands and one knee. I'm putting the pictures to show off my sports injuries-I haven't had many.  Joyce and I have been running together for 16  years.

Last Friday we left for the Soo around 9 AM.  As you will notice in the pictures there were boys in the car.  Tommy, Jay and Jack went up with us to spend time with Grandpa while the girls were away. I used the time in the car to try out some new writing lessons on the kids.  (Poor kids to have a grandma who teaches writing).  They worked very hard and we have a cute book now about what they would take to grandma's house.  It was based on the book 'The Bag I Take to Grandma's House' by Shirley Neitzel .  By the way, Shirley won the Frostic Award from the Michigan Reading Association last week.  She formerly taught at Kettle Lake School and was Eric's teacher for 3rd grade. Jack sat next to me and had even brought homework from school to work with me.  They called it playing school and called me Mrs. Benedict.  I think playing school is much more fun than real school. We arrived in the Sault and spent some time visiting my parents.  Then the girls left and met at the...

Several years ago, my sisters and I started planning a weekend to get together to celebrate my mom's birthday which is on March 18.  This year we are meeting in the Soo on March 13 - 14 at the EUP Learning Center for our party.  These pictures from last year show the kinds of things we do-nothing too much but spending wonderful time together. Last year we even let Dad take part in some of the activities.  The activities included crafts, touring a home that Susie was considering for the Center and lots of food.

8400 miles and 22 states    In slightly over seven weeks we traveled across the US and back to Michigan.  We saw Jen in North Carolina, Kristen in Phoenix and Eric and Jess in Minneapolis.  We visited friends in Temecula and Shafter , California and Tom's cousins near Santa Cruz California.  We crossed many mighty rivers-Ohio, Mississippi, Red, Colorado, Missouri, Kansas and the Wisconsin.  We saw Hoover Dam, Hearst Castle, Midway aircraft carrier and many more wonders.  I think my favorite spot was San Juan Capistrano but everywhere we went we saw beauty and majesty.   It will take me a long time to process it all.  (and organize my pictures). We saw Mom Benedict this afternoon and she is doing very well.  Tommy, Sherry and the grand kids came over tonight for dinner.  It was so good to see them.  We missed them so much.   I'm back to work at Grand Rapids Public Schools on Friday.  It seems like a lifetime ago that I was there last but it was the day before we left on our a...

It all started on Saturday when we sat in a small restaurant/bar in Stockholm, Wisconsin.  I commented that this was what I had always imagined an Irish pub would be like.  Jess told me it really wasn't because she has been to Ireland and had tried a pub.  Yesterday we watched a documentary on Netflix called "Pubs of Dublin" and I learned lots about Irish pubs, literature and history.  They are all connected.  So today Eric & Jess took us to The Local.  The Local is an authentic Irish pub right in downtown Minneapolis.  It was actually built in Ireland and assembled here.   Before that we did some serious shopping at Ikea .  So I have really been around Europe today-Sweden and Ireland. Eric and Jess are very comfortable in downtown Minneapolis so we had a nice tour including the Sky Walk which is a series of indoor walkways between all the buildings downtown.  You do not want to be outside here in the winter.  It is sunny today but the wind has a bite to it.

"Once upon a time a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin in a little gray house made of logs."  That is the beginning of the Little House series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Yesterday we took a road trip and unexpectedly found the original home site of the Wilder family in the Big Woods.   We drove along the St. Croix River that separates Minnesota from Wisconsin on the Wisconsin side. Near Pepin, we found the home site of the Ingalls. This is a re-creation, I'm sure, but it was fun to imagine what life there must have been like many years ago. On the way home, we traveled along the Mississippi River in Minnesota.  It was a beautiful sunny day and everything glistened with the snow.