Things that I am Thankful for......

1)…..That I met and had the sense to marry Orv Mortland. The marriage lasted for nearly 52 years and, while there were ups and downs, it was a happy one with lots of love and respect. This was miraculous since most of our families gave it only 6 months. Guess we showed them, huh?!
2)….That he gave me five beautiful, fantastic and loving children. They are an ideal mix of both of us and they seemed to acquire all of our “good” genes.. Since we had only planned to have two, I am glad that plan fell through - big time.
3)…..That he encouraged my involvement in Sweet Adelines. If he had known how involved I would have actually been, I wonder if he would have changed his mind about that. He recognized the personal growth the organization afforded me. He never said “no” to anything and rooted me on whenever I decided to tackle something new. He never complained to me about being stuck with the kids while I was away…..though little birds hinted that it got to him sometimes.. He was truly the “wind beneath my wings”!
4)…..That he loved to travel and wasn’t afraid to enter unknown areas wherever we went….That sometimes made me nervous but still it was fun to watch the prostitutes in Frankfurt Germany as well as Vancouver, B.C.. When we would go to Mexico he always wandered up the side streets which were a bit dicey. He loved the numerous camping trips which climaxed in the BIG trip around the U.S. in our motor home. That was a trip of a lifetime and we both treasured it.
5)……That he taught me to love dogs…I had never grown up with dogs because my mother was allergic to them. Just before we got married we acquired the first of the many we would have. It was a pure bred beagle that we name Rimo……for Riches and Mortland. We ended up with Fritz and Kimo. Fritz went on the trip with us and we got Kimo the day Orv started his first chemo sessions. He loved those dogs deeply and would call for them constantly when he was in the hospital. You can read about “nurse Fritz” further on down this blog.
6)……That he showed me how to become interested in the world around me…particularly politically. He was a true conservative and would yell back at the TV when something upset him. He only tolerated liberalism when those espousing it were people he loved deeply. He watched Bill O’Reilly faithfully every night at 5 O’clock. He was having a lot of trouble with recent events, however, and actually ventured into thinking he might not vote a strict Republican ticket the next time around
7)…..That he instilled in me a love of reading…He would read everything from books to cereal boxes and we were able to pass that love down to our children.
I am going to stop at 7 because that was our “lucky number” ( we were both born on the 7th) I will always hold dear the memory of his love and respect right up to the end. How lucky can one woman be to know that she was loved so deeply? Goodbye, dear friend and husband….it was a great ride…..thank you so much for everything.
Ann