Maren

We spent Thanksgiving in Utah taking care of Gary's oldest sister, Maren. She has Down's Syndrome and is 53 years old. That's really getting up there, considering. At this stage in her life, she suffering from congestive heart failure, and probably won't be with us too much longer.

She is such an amazing girl. She has done more in her life than you might imagine possible. She graduated from High School. She worked at DI for many, many years. She got herself there on the bus every day. She took art lessons and is very good. She plays the piano. She has a sense of humor that somtimes surprises you with it's depth of understanding.

Even now, she reads her scriptures every day. When I say every day, I mean every day. I don't know how much she gets out of them any more, but if there are blessings to be had just from being obedient, then they are surely pouring down on her. She is the oldest of six siblings, and holds her own with them like you can't believe. She is not about to be told what to do by them, and always let's them know where she stands. Some of her favorite expressions are, "Oh Brother," "Good Grief," and "I'm flexible."

The first time I met Maren I hadn't been dating Gary for too long. Her first words to me were that she liked me better than Renell. (His previous girlfriend) I don't know how she decided this in just minutes, but I was okay with it!

It was an interesting experience being with her for a few days now that her health is declining. Her heart is causing her all kinds of problems, poor oxygenation, small strokes, poor kidney function... the list goes on and on. Sometimes she is confused and even angry these days, very un-Maren-like. She is often tired and sometimes sad. But there are moments still when I swear she is more lucid than you or I have ever been. As Gary hugged her good-bye, she told him she might not see him again and pointed upwards. I think the veil is perhaps always thin with these choice spirits, and is seems particularly so now.

I wrote this just to express how grateful I am to be Maren's friend (although she did threaten once this weekend to kick me out of her house if we didn't eat Thanksgiving dinner at the time she wanted, never mind when the turkey was done!) She is an inspiration, and she has more bravery and grit in her than I could ever hope to. Every once in a while she'll say to me, "I'm glad you married my brother." So am I Maren. I got one of the greatest sisters-in-law ever out of the deal. Love you.