Sept. 16, 1987
Dear S____,
First let me apologize for being so late in answering your wonderful letter written more than two months ago. We went to the cottage at the end of June and were plunged immediately into a round of family reunions.
B__'s brother and wife have built a new home down the road from the Prairie Club and celebrated that with a two-day open house for family and friends. That coincided with their 35th wedding anniversary, so 6 of their 7 children were there with assorted spouses and all 5 grandchildren. Naturally, we were totally involved with that branch of the family.
At the same time, we had B__'s aunt, her daughter and husband and three sons visiting -- some stayed in our cottage. S____ and her children had arrived several days before we did (they stayed for seven weeks, and it did a world of good for her -- she was a different person when she left -- drove back to California in 3 days and pronounced it "easy!"
Anyway, for 10 days this summer all our kids and all seven grandchildren were with us at the cottage -- we had anywhere from 16 to 25 people for dinner every night! Ad as the month of August wore on and our kids left, other family members showed up to either spend a weekend or longer with us or to rent a nearby cottage and help swell the ranks around the dinner table occasionally.
So -- now we're back. And the busyness of our New Jersey life begins. Z____ is in 3rd grad and taking piano lessons on Tuesdays, swimming on Wednesdays, soccer practice on Thursdays, and soccer games on Saturdays!
Sept. 17th
I didn't get very far yesterday -- and now I'm watching the celebration in Philadelphis of the 200th birthday of the Constitution.
I was very touched by your letter -- we all were as I shared it with B___ and our kids. In fact, I quite envy you. Yours is the third letter I have had like that -- actually the second in which Fr. _______, the priest in Portland, Maine had almost the identical experience.
Jim ______ met C______ maybe twice, but I think only once in the hospital when he took her communion. Bud and I had attended church at Episcopal Cathedral in Portland two or three times when C_____ was in the hospital, which is where we met him. He came out to North Conway to conduct her funeral and was so kind and loving to us. A young man who is one of the staff underlings at the Cathedral, we never heard from again until last year when he sent us the letter, a copy of which I am enclosing.
Intellectually, I know that what you say is true -- I have never had any doubt where C____ is and that she is whole again. I wish I could have the same experience.
Thank you for sharing it with us.
Our love to M______ and the children, and of cours to you.
N_______
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10 December 1986
Dear N_____ and W_____,
I just found your address last week in a file that I was cleaning out. One never knows what these "things" mean but I had a dream about C_____ a few months ago. At this point, I can only remember the sense or outline of it, but I know upon waking that she was well and happy and whole. Her own heart had been taken into the heart of Jesus.
I hope that writing this to you after the two years you have had to recover is not upsetting. It seemed to me that my dream was full of good news and light for C______.
I hope you all have a glorious and blessed Christmas.
Jim
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