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If we had to do it over I think we would have sought counseling individually and as a family. Emotional scars stayed and changed the way we all dealt with life.

Our life was was very busy for the next three years. Three teenagers were a challenge. Eric earned his Eagle Scout Award and tested the patience of many a scout leader, some of whom still have much love for our son. Michelle and Kali attended each year of Girl’s Camp and enjoyed the friends in the Young Women’s program of the church. David was in Cub Scouting, earning merit badges. There were always daily meals to fix, endless loads of laundry, Saturday chores, church dances, Driver’s Education classes, myself teaching children to drive. One time Eric backed out of the driveway with me in the car and instead putting the car in drive, mistakenly put it in reverse. He came within inches of hitting the landscape railroad ties with our rear bumper. It was all I could do to remain composed.

In 1990 Frank and I discussed how we could manage financially to help our children through college. I had been teaching piano and voice lessons from home for years. It was unreliable as a regular income because monthly amount frequently fluctuated up or down. I decided that I needed to find a job with a predictable paycheck to help out Michelle at BYU.

I worked as a temporary hire for the Department of Social and Health Services (Support Enforcement) for three months. My next job was with Children’s Services in the Daycare Licensing section. I continued to get on the State Register by testing to qualify for higher paying jobs. I worked for Juvenile Rehabiltation as a Secretary to the CEO. Then I was transferred to the Regional Welfare office as a Clerical Supervisor. I applied for and was accepted into Computer training classes where I learned WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Powerpoint and Publisher. I became proficient in troubleshooting printer problems and copier problems. My training gave me a working knowledge of the computer. This helped me later when I worked on church copiers and my own printer and computer at home. I was extremely grateful for that training and knowledge I gained.

In 1996 I became a Naturalized citizen of the United States. My co-workers celebrated my great accomplishment! I was thrilled that I could finally vote for the first time since 1963 when I had moved here.

In 1990 I was also diagnosed with Osteo-Arthritis and took Naporsen and Prednisone in small amounts for nine years. One Christmas I was in so much pain I could not pull the clothes out of the washer. One of the kids had to do it for me.