Hallelujah!
Please don't mourn for me, I am free of that nasty Dementia, confusion, and brain fog! Yah! "I can see clearly now", I have so appreciated all the love, patience and compassion of my family, friends, medical staff and the saintly caregivers at the Kamloops Gemstone long-term care home.
Love and Hugs to all of you xoxoxo
I was blessed to have a charmed life, I loved it!
I was born in Kimberly, BC, to Eric and Agnes Karlstrom. I had a great childhood growing up with my 2 sisters and 4 brothers, lots of chores, adventures and shenanigans. I got thru grade 7, and then headed to the woods for a long interesting and fulfilling career in the logging industry.
I met the love of my life Marie, in 1957, after 3 short months of courtship, we tied the knot at the hitchin post in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. We had 62 years of wedded bliss, growing together, creating and attaining our dreams.
We were so blessed to have 2 wonderful daughters; Kim (Roger) Rhodes, granddaughter Lynn (Jayro) Ortega Rhodes, great grandsons Jairrel and Jaden; grandson Michael (Tasha) Rhodes; and daughter Kathy Karlstrom (predeceased Richard Erlam), granddaughters Carly (Sharath Vittal) Burton, and Chloe (Jake Wessel) Burton. They are the center of our lives, we have loved watching them grow and become independent, good people. Families are truly the foundation of a happy life.
So many fond memories of the years Marie and I forged our way together. Beginning in Penticton, winding our way throughout BC and Alberta. Many of those years spent in Barriere, where we had great friends and neighbors. Camping and canoeing were favorite pastimes.
We lived a simple, modest life, but never felt we went without, in fact we felt rich, happy and content with a comfortable home on our own lot. We always had a garden and cold storage for preserves; it was our chosen way of life.
My employment of choice was truck driving, I hauled more than my share of logs in the North Thompson valley. Hats off to all my old truckin' buddies, those were the days and we probably wouldn't change a thing, it was a good life. To end my trucking career, I had my dream job for 10 years, hauling off-highway loads at Moya Bay on Vancouver Island, that was great!
Marie would say I was a "Jack of all trades", I did my best to build or repair whatever I could. In my retirement years, I learned about timber frame construction and one of my proudest and satisfying projects was standing up our garden shed, Marie was right there helping me. Another retirement interest was reading, I was fascinated with stories about Templar Knights and studied the "Earth Chronicles" by Zecharia Sitchin.
Marie and I loved to help our daughters and their families however we could. We helped Kim and Roger with a house reno and spent many hours helping Kathy on the farm.
We always felt blessed to have our family living close, it brought us so much joy to celebrate and share dinners together whatever the occasion.
Sage advice from this old trucker: "express love and gratitude every day, you might not know if your health situation is changing."
"Going home to the light, I can see clearly now..... "
Just a closer walk with Thee.
Heaven Bound, Hammer Down!
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