1 Jan 1999

Source:
Letter addressed to Ken Ewald, 801 NW 40th St.  Lincoln, NE 68528  from "Ewald" 1815 Lucas Rd.  Knightdale, NC 27545

Content:
Dearest Ken,
I was going to do all this on the E-Mail but computers... having a mind of their own...well here I am doing the snail-mail thing instead.  This year on your Birthday I thought I would write to you and share some thoughts with your so please bear with me while I reminisce a bit.

I remember the very first time I ever saw you.....lying in a bassinet beside my hospital bed....bare naked..... and wailing to let the world know of your arrival.  You were so white....and your hair seemed so red....and I wondered whose child you were and why didn't they come pick you up and comfort you?
You reminded me of Van Johnson....(he was an actor....long since dead) and I thought you would grow up to be an airline pilot..Silly the things you think of.  When I found out that the child was mine I rejoiced because you were so perfect in every way...I checked all your little fingers and toes and was so amazed at how very complete your small body was....You were perfection!  And for the first time in nine months I didn't start the day clinging to the now familiar porcelain throne!  You had a quick smile and made these cute little cooing sounds when you were happy.  You slept thru the night right away and never gave me a moments worry.  Your siblings loved you beyond measure....Jim would spend long hours beside you......talking to you and telling you of his adventures for the day....and later would wonder why you always wanted to be with him.....guess he made life sound really exciting.I can recall from time to time thinking of your future....what would you grow up to be? I knew that you would be the best at whatever you chose to do. You were always the child I could rely on...if you said you were going to be home by 3p.m.....you were home by 3 p.m....if you told me you would wash the dishes then I could count on the dishes being washed....you always kept your word....and I could trust you to do what you said you would do......a quality I still admire as one of your many strengths.
Far too quickly you saw brighter lights in New Jersey and you went to live with Frank...one of the hardest days of my life was putting you on the plane knowing that I might never see you again....and then wondered if I had done the right thing.I think you were given some new and very different opportunities while you were in New Jersey....some of which helped to mold the man you are now.

Over the years I have watched as you grew......I was so proud of you the day that you became an Eagle Scout and wished I could be there at the ceremony....and proud to be there when you graduated from High School.  I guess when you told us you had been baptized was a really big moment for me...although I was still spiritually "young" and I knew it was a big step in your life.  However, I would not understand that fully for a long time.  I will never forget the night you called and told us you wanted to serve a mission...I have every letter you wrote home and from time to time I re-read them and feel your strengths and frustrations...your joys and pains....your growth in the gospel...and I am strengthened.

You came home from your mission and Our Heavenly Father blessed you with a wonderful Eternal Companion...I knew from the very beginning that this was a marriage that would be Eternal...I always think about how many struggles you and Sandy had from the beginning of your [relationship]..always wanting to do the right thing and in the end...marrying in the Temple. You will never know the joy my heart felt......as you and Sandy knelt across from each other and were sealed for time and all eternity.

You have always seemed to be able to see the eternal perspective of all things and I have admired you for that.  You have known, somehow, how to strengthen your family when they need it most...and discipline when needed....some times I have mistaken your reactions because I have been far too sensitive...and react far too quickly....I am trying to learn not to react but to [prayerfully] consider the situation and then act appropriately. I will continue to work on that this year.

Another thing that I realize about you that absolutely puts me in awe of you...is not your ability to earn money...although that in itself is awesome...but your ability to maintain your lifestyle and keep your priorities in order.  People tend to live to the maximum of their income....You seemingly have resisted this temptation.

Once you sent me a letter following a phone call that must have been very painful for you....you had been to the Bishop for financial help and it was a humbling experience.  The letter was beautiful and I framed it and kept it next to my computer.  I read and re-read it over the years because it gave me strength during the lean times.  When your children are little it seems so easy for them to say.."I love you, Mom"..but when your children are grown and they thank you for all that you have been to them in their lives....that becomes really special.  And for me...a treasure.

Something else that always makes me take stock of where I am...spiritually..is the way you always seem to find the good in everyone...I won't go into detail...just to say that it is a truly great quality that most of us lack.

You have such high standards for all your family...and maybe that is because you do see things in an eternal level.  Sometimes it is difficult to meet all those standards because not all of us are up there where you are yet.....but until such a time as we grow sufficiently to reach those heights.

I am so grateful to you for your steadfastness in the gospel.It is a comfort to know that you and Sandy love us and that our mission is happening because you have sacrificed to make it happen.Maybe some day we will be able to find a way to show our appreciation. For right now we are striving to make this the most memorable mission ever and we hope we can impact our co-workers in a positive way that will leave the door open for further contacts from the church....We know this is the only true church on the face of this earth and that the gospel has been restored by Joseph Smith to the earth in these the latter days...and that temples will dot the earth in the end times....and that, through the Holy Priesthood powers...this very earth was created.  We know that we have a prophet on this earth today, Gordon B Hinkley...who is such a great example to us.Having watched his tenderness with his sweet wife we were brought to tears. What finer teacher than one who practices what he teaches...
Suffice it to say that I love you beyond measure because of who you are.....and who you have become.....and who you will be in the years ahead.  I could not have asked for a finer son....and My Heavenly Father has blessed me....I look forward to being an Eternal Family...

Signed "With great love - Mom"