I haven’t really figured out how to take pictures of snowflakes during a snowstorm. There is definitely an art to this! I got up Sunday morning to big flakes falling from the sky, accumulating at about an inch per hour. Then it changed into rain. Then finally it quit. By the end of the day, all the new snow was gone and much of the old snow has melted as well. Our forecast is for temperatures in the low to mid 40° for the rest of the week and we may not have much snow left. However, I’m sure we have not had our last snowstorm of the year.

Nina and I went to Rexburg on Saturday to a Book of Mormon Symposium and had a delightful time there. I enjoy sessions where I learn new things and Saturday was full of those classes. It was well worth our time. On Sunday I spoke in two Wards as the companion to the High Council speaker. That was also enjoyable. Meanwhile, Nina made the newspaper … big article on page 3 about her working at the prison and the project to make baby hats and lap blankets. I went downtown to pick up several extra copies of the newspaper when dad called Nina to say that mother was having a heart attack and that the ambulance was on its way.

We dashed over to Soda Springs (Nina pushed her luck by driving significantly over the speed limit!) and met them at the emergency room at Caribou Memorial Hospital. By the time we got there, the diagnosis was pretty complete: no heart attack, no stroke, but probable stomach flu coupled with dehydration. They decided to keep her overnight for observation. Since we didn’t want to leave dad alone at the house, we decided we better stay the night.

Staying presented another problem. We hadn’t brought anything with us, and for me in particular, I needed my nasal CPAP machine or else I wouldn’t be able to sleep. So, when mother was ready to go to sleep, we drove dad over to the house, Nina stayed with him, and I drove to Pocatello to pick up the things we needed and drove back to Soda Springs. I got back there about 10:15 p.m. and as we were getting things ready for bed, I discovered that while I had brought the CPAP machine, I had forgotten the hose and the mask. So, I drove back to Pocatello, spent the night there, and drove over to Soda Springs this morning.

Mother was released from the hospital about 10:30 a.m. this morning. My sister Terry drove up from Ogden and will stay with them a couple of days. Mother is doing better and in a couple of days should be back to normal. For that I am very happy.

Now, the plan is to pack a small bag to take with us the next time this happens so we don’t have to make so many back-and-forth trips. Nina says I should make a checklist to put with the bag so that I bring everything that needs to come with us, including all parts to the breathing machine! That’s a good idea. Those senior moments are quite frustrating!