A series of miracles made it possible for me to fly out to California to celebrate one of the most amazing people I know, Ahma. It was a super short trip (two nights in a row on a red eye flight) but so worth it. What a legacy Ahma has. The amount of people from years and years of her life came to celebrate her.
Ahba had 2 siblings (Uncle Bud and Aunt Louise) and we would get together with their families every holiday. My best memories of my childhood include these wonderful people. My second cousins were as close as my first cousins. Ahma is the last of that generation left - and they all came to celebrate her. All of Aunt Louise's kids were there and one of Bud's drove down from Utah. Not only their kids came, but the grandkids - and great-grand kids came. 5 generations of Ellsworth's came to celebrate this incredible woman who just radiates love, kindness, acceptance and joy.
At one point, near the end of her party, I noticed her alone in her wheelchair just looking over all the people who came to celebrate her. Everyone was talking, laughing, catching up on years of not seeing eachother. I went over and asked if she was ok and if she needed anything. She looked up, her eyes shinning with joy, and simply said, "I'm just loving watching this." Having everyone together, strengthening those family bonds that she and Ahba worked their whole life to cultivate was the best gift we could have given her.
At the table is me, Madison (Alysa's daughter), Ethan (Chris' son), Taylor (Alysas) Alysa, Joy, Chris, Josh (Chris'), Ligaya, and Chase. The next picture is me with my cousin Lisa. We were the best of friends growing up. Fun fact, our wedding rings are almost identical. I missed her wedding to Karl because I was bedridden, pregnant with Ben, but she came over the day before to visit me. She is always the kindest and most thoughtful person.
Joy got a bouncy house for all the little kids - which even the big kids enjoyed! They served all of Ahma's favorites: taco bar, hot dog bar, chips, salsa, and even the owner of her favorite Balboa bar stand came and set up a station and created personalized balboa bars for everyone! 5 Generations of Ellsworths.
Aunt Louise's daughters, Diane and Dottie. You've never seen trouble makers like these two! I love that everyone was in pink. One of Ahma's favorite colors. Then all five kids (Joy, Ralph, Suzie (Bud's daughter) Dale, Diane, Dottie, Jan, and my mom Joan.
All the grandkid that could make it. Peter, Meleah, Adam, Mary Katie, Brandon, Heather, Dale Jr. Alysa, Chris, me, Krista, and Brandon. Missing: Sandy and Trevor (Ralphs), Mike and Shelley (Joan's) Karly (Dale's) and Kelsey (Jan's) My cousin Adam's wife, Heather, is a pastry chef. She makes the most amazing cakes. Here is her cake for Ahma. (double chocolate - it was heavenly!)
As Ahma has gotten older she has stayed sharp as a tack! But there are lots of great grand kids and sometimes it is hard to remember who belongs to who! So I made her a little book that is like a genealogy book so she can track who belongs to which family. Ahma, who never cries, even teared up when she saw the front cover, one of my favorite pictures of her and Ahba in their grove in Glendora.
Each great grandchild had a picture like this - which of Ahma's 5 kids they belonged to (joan and Barry), which grandkid was their parent (Katie and Christopher) then their picture (Andrew) with a family picture on the same page so she could track the family. I used the same picture for the parents and family picture so it would be easier for her to track. The best part of making this book was connecting with all the cousins I haven't seen in forever and putting faces to names of their kids and spouses!
This was the forward to her book. Ahba always said "sure love you!" so I had to sign it that way. And I love that photo of Ahma.
After spending the day having my cup filled with reconnecting with uncles, aunts, cousins, in-laws that I haven't seen in 20 years the day wasn't over! I had an hour before I had to go to the airport and Kim, my best friend from high school, met me in La Verne and we ate in-n-out burgers in my rental car and got all caught up on life for an hour. It was heavenly!
Then I was back in LAX, on a plane, getting ready to go back to real life. Andrew and Zack were amazing and took such great care of Nick and Xander. Everyone was so impressed I would leave my 16 year old in charge while I flew across the USA. I told them he is responsible and could handle it - especially with Zack by his side. And they did! Andrew even found time to score a great deal on new motorcycle helmets for him and Christopher! What an awesome family I have!
