The hardest thing was when my siblings died. I had two older siblings who died. The sister I was closest to was younger than I when she died. I think that was three or four years ago. When my last brother died, that was the lowest point. That was depressing. I had a hard time. He died in November and that Christmas was just terrible. It was hard to face and hard to accept, but you just do what you have to do.

I had retired in August and he died in November. It was November 11. That was hard because he was the last one of my brothers. My brothers were awfully good to us. Every year we used to have reunion. Every year they would take turns having all of us over in the back yards for a barbecue. There were about 80 of us. We’d all have a big party before we went to the retreat center. Of course now there is no one left to do it. But I guess that’s part of life; something we have to face.

I’ve lived a very, very good life. I’ve had a good husband and wonderful children. We never had any trouble with any of them. None. And they’re all good friends. They call one another all the time. I have one son who lives in Vancouver, Washington. When he comes to visit everyone comes over. They e-mail each other all the time. My oldest daughter was 21 when my youngest daughter was born. I was pregnant all my life. They’re very close, very close, very close.

All my kids are in high tech except for one daughter who is a tour guide in Washington, DC. Juanita, my youngest child, sings. She sings over in Santa Cruz at the coffee house at the top of the bridge. It’s a place called the Ugly Mug. They also sing at a little tiny Grungy coffeehouse that I really like called the Dana street café.