Sikik Grace Eegeesiak, Louisiana's far northern Alaskan friend, responds to her friend's email after Louie has written to her.
August 27, 2005, Alaska Time, Barrow, Alaska~
Dearest Louisiana~
Hello! Thank you so much for writing back; I am glad to hear from you! I really enjoyed hearing about how well things are going for you, but at the same time I am sorry to hear of your taking a leave from work. I do hope your mind is doing better now, maybe you needed a break away...seems that you had been working too hard!
I am doing okay; I have my bad days, and I also have my good days. I still miss Father very much, and I also miss Mother; but I do know that they are no longer suffering, and that they are in the Northern Lights, looking down over me and watching over me. Whenever I see the lights, I still get sad, but I also feel a sense of peace and calm, and I know that Mother and Father still live on in my spirit and in my heart.
I saw my brother, Igri, and his family the other day; they came over to check up on me. We had a very nice visit, but when he and his family left, I did what I always do: I cried. I hate it when my family leaves; I guess I am scared that I will lose some of my family as well, and I don't like the thought of living alone and having nobody, especially in such a desolate location like Barrow. Barrow, Alaska, can be such an unforgiving place, especially during the long winter. But he told me that my other brothers and sisters are doing well, so I can rest easily now.
Congratulations on the additions of Arjun, Rani, and Janica; how wonderful! But you already have so many children now in your beautiful Northern Lights Family! How DO you do it? I still can't imagine being the parents to so many children, especially since so many of them are so disabled!
Speaking of children, I really enjoyed having Johnny and Barbara up here. I don't know if Johnny enjoyed himself, but Barbara did, and she loved meeting my brothers and sisters, and she even tried to learn some basic Inutpiat, our language, and she did like the salmon and the seal meat. Maybe she is part Inuk in spirit, perhaps?? *grins* Please give Johnny and Barbara all my love, and tell them to write to me; I am still waiting to hear from them!
How is your daughter, Ronee'? I am glad that she made it through her hip surgery and that she is now recovered. She is such a strong spirit, and I admire her courage in difficult times! Give her a hug and tell her hello from me as well! Tell her to drop me a line, too! I love to get mail!
How is your husband, Bill? I bet he is as big as a nanuq, judging from the pictures of him in your books...he is sooo tall! I hope Bill is doing well!
The weather here is getting colder; the days are starting to wane, and fall colors are starting to appear here on the tundra. The lights are starting up again, and I will be taking some pictures of them and sending them to you if you would like. How is the weather there in Tennessee? Is it still hot there? I hope not; I don't do hot weather very well...(To me, I can't tolerate any temperatures higher than 65-70 degrees...and seventy degrees is pushing it...LOL I don't know how you southern people do it...I hear of the incredible heat down there, and then I am glad that I am here in Barrow, where it doesn't get out of the sixties or seventies during the "hottest" part of the year! LOL) Hopefully it will start cooling off down there soon!
Not much is new here, still the same old boring life for me...but I have been having some puzzling symptoms (blurred or double vision, balance issues--I have fallen twice already in the last several days, and I fell at least six times last week!--, and tremors in my legs), and I am so worried that something might be wrong with me. I have scheduled an appointment with my doctor next week; hopefully he can tell me what is going on with my body because up until very recently, I have always been brimming with good health! I will let you know what he says, but keep me in your prayers and pray that it is nothing serious!
Well, Louie, I have managed to depress myself again at the talk of my problems with my health, so I will go now. Besides, I have to go to the store to get some groceries; my neighbor, Yapu'uk, is going to take me. I will write again soon; please do the same and next time, please don't wait so long! I hate not knowing anything!!
May the Great Spirit bless you and your beautiful Northern Lights family! I love you with all my heart!
(((HUGS))) and love, your Barrow, Alaska, friend, Sikik Grace. :)
The weather here is getting colder; the days are starting to wane, and fall colors are starting to appear here on the tundra. The lights are starting up again,
And thanks to you, Karen, I can somehow picture it all!
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August 27, 2005, Alaska Time, Barrow, Alaska~
