When I was Relief Society President, the woman serving as my Visiting Teaching Coordinator was Margaret Hanni. Her husband of 60+ years had passed away a few weeks before I was called. I visited her every month to get the VT report once she had it gathered. In September I received a text saying that she had passed. Adam was very accommodating to make a weekend family trip up north so we could attend the funeral. It was so wonderful to be in that ward house again, hearing testimonies of a life so sweetly lived. She was so kind, so soft spoken. I was so grateful that we could be there - I was able to see so many of the people that I grew to love so much during our time on Raymond Ave. I told Adam it was like feeling closure from leaving and getting released, because it was pretty hard to feel that during all of the emotions of moving. As we drove by her home and I pointed it out to the kids, I remembered what a haven that was during those three years. With all of the stress, all of the meetings, all of the people complaining about this or that, I knew that when I was in that home all I felt was love and acceptance, and above all happiness that I was there. Definitely a blessing to have served with her.
We stayed at a hotel downtown (the kids, especially crying Isaac, insisted on getting on the money horse), and were able to drive up highway 89 to get some apples and peaches (huge boxes, but none were cooked and only one got kind of rotted, because my peach-eating buddy Isaac and I usually ate 2-3 a day. So yummy!), and of course to Warren's for lunch that we ate at the purple park (40th Street Park). It was a gorgeous day, and now that we are getting so settled in here I'm always surprised that little remembrances of that area make my heart hurt so much. Just that few of 40th and the tennis parks brought back about 12 memories. We met Matt and Jana and kids at Ikea for some shopping and a bit more food. I really miss living closer to them, too.
