Personal Journal — May 2026
May 2026 — What an incredible month this has been. I will briefly mention some of the highlights. Steven and Emily are now settled in a very nice apartment in Saratoga Springs, and they surprised us early in the month as they told us they were expecting a baby. We were the first family members they told, and they asked us to keep things quiet until they make a public announcement and a ‘gender reveal’ toward the end of the month. We hope this wonderful opportunity will bring further unity and closeness to this good couple. We were also delighted to have John tell us that he plans to ask Noreen (Noie) to marry him very soon! This also will lead to greater closeness, love, and closeness to these two wonderful souls. John ordered the engagement ring at Shane Company in Salt Lake City, and he entrusted me and Susan with the task to go to the company and pick up the ring. We will meet him in Fillmore in the coming days to give him the rings. What a great thing for them. Our wonderful and talented grandson, Houston, will be graduating from Provo High School this month. He has been so involved in his schooling, participating in athletics, student government, choirs, tours, and many other activities. He is very talented in producing music and videos also. He plans to attend Utah Valley University for one year and then serve a Church service mission or proselyting mission. He will have a very successful life. Susan’s foot continues to improve following her toe surgery last month. We now walks with a boot, and each day she is a bit more ambulatory. My foot wound continues to make slow progress, and I am very grateful. I pray that during this summer I will see total closure of the wound and that I will be able to wear shoes again. I am excited that I have decided to completely retire from the practice of anesthesia in the next few weeks. I completed by anesthesia residency in May of 1984 and have been in active practice since that time until now (except for our two years in New Zealand). I have enjoyed my practice but will also enjoy my new-found freedom. I will continue to serve on the Verisys credentialing committee that I have been involved with for many months now. We are still trying to eradicate the bed bugs from our basement that became an awful part of our life several weeks ago. We have now torn out all of the carpeting in the basement, along with all the baseboards and a large section of sheetrock. Thorn Pest Control has been treating the pests for many weeks now, but we still have much to do. Following a few months of bug-free life, we will then start re-doing our basement. All this has come at a very large price tag. I continue in my service as assistant stake clerk, and I love my association with our great stake presidency members.
May 18, 2026 — Today is the 108th anniversary of the birth of our wonderful father and mentor, Elder Glen L. Rudd. Charles has initiated some incredible plans to push for $108,000 of donation over the next 108 days for the Glen L. Rudd Foundation. It is a worthy cause in which money is used to fund scholarships for deserving Polynesian young people who cannot afford their own university tuitions.
May 19, 2026 — I have been contemplating on the course of my life recently, and some inspired thoughts have come to my mind. I am amazed at the incredible things Susan and I were able to do in our late fifties and early sixties, that perhaps would have been much more likely in the later years of lives. I am thinking of: 1) the amazing experiences we had in Scouting with Woodbadge and Operation On Target, including my serving as a Course Director for Woodbadge 2) serving as the bishop of a YSA award for over 3 years 3) our incredible opportunity to serve in the Spanish-speaking ward here in Provo for over 3 years 4) our unbelievable opportunity to serve a 2 year proselyting mission in New Zealand, with Charles and Annette as our mission leaders 4) the transcendent opportunity to serve at the Provo Missionary Training Center for over three years. The way the Lord wove these opportunities into our very busy lives is beyond comprehension, and the way that the Lord placed work opportunities in my way at just the right times is beyond comprehension. Now that we are in our ‘golden years’ with the severity and frequency of our health issues and family challenges, we see the hand of the Lord giving us opportunities earlier in our adult lives. We are and were so very blessed.
May 24, 2026 — I recently made a donation to the BYU Choral Department, and I received this very kind, personal, hand-written reply from Dr. Andrew Crane, the Artistic Director of the BYU Singers and the Director of the BYU Choral Area — “Dear Michael and Susan, I wish to than you personally for your generous recent donation to the BYU Choral Endowment. Your donations go a long way in providing opportunities for students and in carrying forward the mission of the BYU Choral Program. On behalf of myself and all of the students in the BYU Choral Program, we offer our sincere appreciation. Best regards, Dr. Andrew Crane.”
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