A letter from Mar 28, 2025

Dear FutureMe, Big changes have happened since I wrote you last. I found out today that sweet kittyface Fitzgerald who lived at Stein Family Farm died of cancer. It hit me pretty hard and I am crying as I type this.  It has been nine years since dad passed when you get this. I will not forget that at the end, he said "Saunie says hi" and "she's a good girl." It was on this date in 2016, Dave and I rented a boat and spread his ashes in Mission Bay where we were greeted by hundreds of Moon jellyfish. It was cloudy, but the sun came out just for a few minutes as we said goodbye. Grandma has been gone almost six years now, i still remember her answering the phone "hello sunshine" and closing with "goodbye darling." We drove to Texas for the total solar eclipse and cousin Terri put us up in a real nice hotel. We got clouded out, but the clouds parted for one brief second, and I saw the eclipse. We went to White Sands National Park on the way home. That place is awesome. Zoey became unmanageable and non-compliant shortly after our return, and has been living at Aunt Tina's almost a year. The transfer of guardianship was granted last week.  We raised lots of Monarchs last year, tried to keep count, but only know it was hundreds.  The season was cut short when we bought a big house with a pool in Yuma, and moved over the summer. I farmed out the chrysalids all over east county, so they weren't without food or mates.  It was 118° one day last summer (now the hottest temperature my body has experienced. The old record was 117° in Vegas on vacation with dad). I saw one scorpion during that extra hot spell.  Kevin still works at SDGE, and stays at his dad's house during the week. He comes home late friday nights and leaves on Monday mornings. His mom passed away a couple years back, and his dad's wife died last year. It's good Kevin is there for him.  I found homes for most of Grandma's plants that could not survive here. Kristen has a lot of Grandma's heirlooms. Patrick and Connie have strawberries. I brought grandma's cactus and a few others that I thought could stand the heat. Some survived, and the cactus did set out a dozen or so, flowers. Mom lost her mind in late August and went back and forth from hospital to rehab hospital for months. While she was at rehab, Steve died all alone at their apartment. Kevin and I drove up to Reno over Christmas and picked up their dog Tommy Chu. He's 13 and a good boy, but has gone deaf from old age. We visited mom every day for the week we were there, but she was not thriving and just sleeping a lot. She gave me that diamond ring she was always talking about and it sure is pretty. She prayed with me, and let me pray on her. But she kind of just gave up, and wasted away. She died the Sunday before Valentine's day.  We got to see burros on our way to Reno, and on the way home. We fed them apples and hay. We even spotted a few wild horses just outside of Reno. Kevin and I went to Christmas eve mass at the pretty church downtown Reno. My neigbors are real nice. But, the elderly man, Butch, who lived next door, that used to check in on me while Kevin was hone all week, suffered a fall and died last month. Tom's ****** is serving a 25 years to life sentence. It still hurts. I miss him. I still stay in touch with Dad's brother Richard a couple times a month. Aunt Mil died after a short battle with cancer. I miss her, and will miss visiting to pick peaches and cherries. I do stay in touch with Bonnie and Wayne, they're still in North Carolina.  The virus is still lingering, but I don't wear a mask, but am careful to shower after getting people-y. And still wipe all the groceries down. Nothing is a coincidence. Don't forget to kiss that sweet Kevin. You ARE changing the world. From 2024 It will have been eight years since Dad passed, when you get this. I will not forget that at the end he said "Saunie says hi" and "she's a good girl." Grandma has been gone almost five years now. I sure do miss hearing her say hello sunshine and goodbye darling. It was on this date 8 years ago, we spread Dad's ashes in Mission Bay. Hundreds of Moon jellyfish greeted us in the bay. It was cloudy, but the sun came out just for a few minutes as we said goodbye.   Lots of Monarchs last year. I think around 300. We had some off-season Monarchs and let 4 healthy butterflies go this week. There's 4 or five caterpillars still eating.  A lot has happened in the past year. Kevin's Mom passed away on Mother's Day. His dad and step mom are not well. The garden got tons of rain. Grandma's cactus bloomed real good, but we lost her pink rose.  Her chrysanthemums were really pretty, and lots of strawberries coming in, but fighting bugs for them. Her cyclamen didn't bloom, but new leaves are popping out. Her blackberries just putting out leaves now and her Geraniums have been blooming good for a couple of months. The lemon tree is full of flowers and smells really good. The Night-blooming jessamine was pretty spectacular. Zoey is in 4th grade and almost caught up to her grade level. Her speech is very much improved. Still a handful.  We are going to Texas next week for the total eclipse of the sun and visit cousin Terri. Tom's ****** was found, convicted and sentenced 25 years to life. It still hurts. I miss him. I still stay in touch with Dad's brother Richard a couple times a month. Aunt Mil died year before last after a short battle with cancer. I miss her, and will miss visiting to pick peaches abd cherries. I do stay in touch with Bonnie and Wayne, they're still in North Carolina. Mom and Steve still hanging in there, living in Reno.  The virus is still around, but not as much.  I still wear a mask out, and sanitize groceries. Nothing is a coincidence. Don't forget to kiss that sweet Kevin. You ARE changing the world. ****** From 2023 ********** It will have been eight years since Dad passed, when you get this. I will not forget that at the end he said "Saunie says hi" and "she's a good girl" Grandma has been gone almost four years now. I sure do miss hearing her say hello sunshine and goodbye darling. Her plants live on, the Christmas Cactus had a spectacular year, her rose bush is still here, but hasn't bloomed yet. The Cyclamen did not bloom, but kicking out a few leaves. The Chrysanthemum bloomed but got lots of aphids. Her geraniums are all happy. We have had a really wet year. It's raining as I type this. We raised probably a couple hundred Monarchs last year. No sign of them yet this year. Zoey is a handful, but she can read now, and loves school. We took her to the snow at Palomar for her first snow angel and wild corn dogs. Tom's ******** was found, convicted and sentenced 25 years to life. It still hurts. I miss him. I still stay in touch with Dad's brother Richard a couple times a month. Aunt Mil died after a short battle with cancer. I miss her, and will miss visiting to pick peaches abd cherries. I do stay in touch with Bonnie and Wayne, they're still in North Carolina. The virus is still around, I still wear a mask out, and sanitize groceries. Nothing is a coincidence. Don't forget to kiss that sweet Kevin. You ARE changing the world. From 2022 *********** It will have been seven years since Dad passed, when you get this. I will not forget that at the end he said "Saunie says hi" and "she's a good girl" Grandma has been gone almost three years now. I sure do miss hearing her say hello sunshine and goodbye darling. Her plants live on, the Christmas Cactus had a really spectacular year, her rose bush is still here, bloomed about ten days ago. The Cyclamen is very happy, and the Chrysanthemum bloomed but got lots of aphids. We raised some Monarchs maybe a couple hundred. We fought eight months in court to get Zoey, but she came to live with us late October of 2021. She's learning so much but sometimes is difficult. It must be so hard for her. I don't think I've even mourned Megan properly. The court fight was awful, and expensive. The virus is still around and I'm not working. Tom's ****** is still un-prosecuted, I miss being able to call him with insect questions. I stay in touch with Richard, but he didn't send seeds this year. Aunt Mil is recovering from cancer and moved back East. Mike Marta passed away about month ago. ************** Dear FutureMe, It will have been six years since Dad passed, when you get this. I will not forget that at the end he said "Saunie says hi" and "she's a good girl" Grandma has been gone almost two years now. I sure do miss hearing her say hello sunshine and goodbye darling. Her plants live on, the Christmas Cactus had a spectacular year, her rose bush is still here, and the Cyclamen is very happy. The Chrysanthemum didn't bloom this year. I raised a whole bunch of Monarchs in 2020, because in March, the virus shut down everything, and I haven't worked the dog job since. I was home and it was a crazy Monarch Ranch for about two months. Tom Merriman my mentor was ******** on Jan 1, then on January 6, I got a call that dear Megan had died. I have terrible guilt that I didn't try harder to find her. Found Zoey, and currently waiting on a court date to get guardianship. In the midst of this turmoil, we have to move-the landlord moving his kids in here. The market is a nightmare, but found a little house right down the street. Richard still spreads seeds, and I call about once a week to him and dear Aunt Mil. Nothing is a coincidence. Don't forget to kiss that sweet Kevin. You ARE changing the world. *********************** From 2021: Dear FutureMe, It will have been five years since Dad passed. I will not forget that at the end he said "Saunie says Hi, and she's a good girl" I no longer get to hear my Geandma say hi sunshine and goodbye darling during our nightly calls. She passed last year. I miss her something awful. Her plants live as a reminder. Her cactus bloomed pretty good, got one Chrysanthemum, and her little pink rose is blooming this week. We didn't raise 300 Monarchs last year, but we did raise a good bunch. 30+ caterpillars found at New Years all flew but one. Richard still spreads seeds and I keep in touch. This virus going round has everyone crazy panic buying. Nothing is a coincidence. Don't forget to kiss that sweet Kevin. You ARE changing the world ***************************** From 2020: Dear FutureMe, It will have been four years since Dad passed. Never forget, he said at the end...Saunie says Hi and she's a good girl. I hope you still get to hear grandma say hi sunshine and goodbye darling. We raised hundreds maybe 300 Monarchs and Dad's brother Richard says he still goes around town spreading milkweed seeds. He sent a big bunch of seeds for Christmas a couple years back. Nothing is coincidence. Don't forget to kiss that sweet Kevin. You ARE saving the world.