Dear Macbeths-

Thanks to you all for the beautiful flowers! I was the lucky one who got to take them home with me after the memorial. They are still on my dining room table over a week later, a reminder of a wonderful, emotion filled day.

We were surprised and thrilled to see Karen! We had expected Uncle Jay, Aunt Elsie and Dennis, but not any other Macbeths.

It was a bit of a deer-in-the-headlights day for me and my brothers and sisters. Not only were we seeing cousins from both sides of the family, Macbeth and Houdyshell, that we hadn't seen in years, but others as well. Because Mabel was the school nurse at most of the schools we attended, we were also seeing our first and second grade teachers, high school teachers, and other school folks we grew up. It was a kaleidoscope of people and emotions.

It was hard to talk about pictures and families that day with so many emotions, friends and family swirling around. We had been careening through old letters, pictures, yearbooks, and family histories that were buried away in her house so we could create our talks, displays, Powerpoint and projected picture presentations for the memorial.

I know that Uncle John loved to tell stories, and so you all probably heard many from his childhood over and over again. For my mother, her childhood was so painful, she would not talk about it. We barely heard any stories at all as children, and then later on, as adults, what we heard was not very pleasant. Time and emotion can play on memory, so we probably won't ever have a clear picture of my Mom's early life. My Mom chose to focus on the present and not spend too much time on the past. It was too painful for her. She adored all her brothers, though, particularly Uncle John.

Thanks for having us in your thoughts. Karen, thanks for making the trip to the wilds of California to represent the John Macbeths!

Hugs & blessings to all the cousins, 2nd cousins, and 3rd cousins-

Rayna Clare Macbeth Houdyshell Hamre