A Letter from Margaret Korte
Dear friends at Faith, this is a much belated thank you for your prayers, phone calls and condolence cards after my husband, Bill, passed away at Enloe Hospital from pneumonia as a result of Influenza A on March 24. We had been married for 56 years.
Not wanting me to be alone at the senior living facility, our daughter, Jennifer, drove to Chico 3 days after Bill died and brought me to her house in San Francisco. I have been here ever since. Jen’s family consists of her husband, Chris, who now works at home, Calvin, their college age son, and soon-to-return-home college-graduate son, Alex, plus his three dogs. Five months ago, this was a house with two empty nesters. Suddenly, it became a bustling dwelling of three generations!
At this juncture, Covid-19 shows no sign of subsiding, so going back to Chico to live among other high risk seniors does not make sense. Continuing to pay a large monthly fee for my apartment at the senior living facility makes even less sense. So, I gave away most of my furniture, and had my worldly belongings packed up and brought to the Bay Area. Jennifer and her husband have kindly offered for me to live with them for the foreseeable future. I am grateful for the opportunity to be with family. Their guest room is quiet and comfortable. It has a bathroom, and a small sitting room that opens to the backyard. If I lift my eyes to the hills, I can see the Big Easter Cross on Mt. Davidson, when there is no fog.
Now I need to make a confession, and offer an apology. Last month I struggled to connect to the Faith Lutheran Live Virtual church service on a Sunday and encountered greater than usual difficulty. In a moment of desperation I clicked on Facebook hoping to get a better connection. Well, I didn’t. Instead, it showed me a bunch of names of people I know who wanted to “Friend” me. This would be great if I was ready to navigate the realm of social media. But I am not. Not right now, because I don’t have the spare mental energy. So, to those people hoping to connect with me on Facebook, I apologize that you won’t get a reply from me. But then, I won’t “Unfriend” you either because I don’t know how!
I am doing fairly well considering the circumstances. I have had time to recover from the exhaustion of being a care giver. Now in my spare time I like to read (non-fiction) and listen to classical music, which also helps with healing. And there are also the many boxes of stuff to be unpacked. They will just have to wait…
Do wear your mask when you go out, and stay healthy! In peace, Margaret Korte.