The Bouncing Ball....

OK...keep up if you can...this is going to be like following a bouncing ball
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It does feel a lot like Christmas....snow on the ground, a nip in the air, lights in the bushes, garland around the front door, wreaths up.....how can it be, Christmas????
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Let's make it official, I'm sick of being sick - enough already!!!! You know me, always up for a good challenge, but this, this is almost more than I can bear some days........
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It's hard to believe, two years ago today, Sara Hope was born, she is an amazing little girl - beautiful, smart, loving - you can't be around her for two seconds and NOT believe that there IS a loving God!!!
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My first Christmas as an 'orphan' - I'm determined to make it a joyful holiday season for my family, for Sara and the triplets....and my brother and sister. We have all been through so much the last 4-5 years, with our parents' failing health. I'm finding it very hard to be joyful....but, Mom and Dad would have it no other way.
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YIPES, Elmopaloosa is going to throw up all over my house tomorrow....Sara's official birthday party is going to be here, and it's ALL about Elmo....seeing red will have whole new meaning!!!
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Spent most of a week in Texas with all 'my girls' and my favorite son-in-law. When you have an 8, 4, and 2 year old in the house it gives all new meaning to the word 'busy'. Vance would be/is so proud of Tabitha and her family - I know that I am.
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I love my new almost finished redecorated living room - it feels so much like 'home' to me, comfortable, intimate, cozy - it feels like me, and I love that......
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It is that holly jolly time of year......

Spaces.....

Here I sit, at the 'desk' I used all the way through Jr. high and high school - an antique library table that came from my Grandma Smith's house - that Amy painstakingly refinished - when I had it the top was painted a scary color of green, and the 'base' black....Grandma painted everything black, in that 'art deco' kinda way that WAS all the style back in the day, and now back 'in style'.

I find myself 'living' in the most comfortable of spaces. Living among a mix of old and new - beautiful, and comfortable new furniture and 'old' pictures, mementos, and lots of family items. It feels like 'home' in a very special way - and I know this is where I will likely spend the rest of my earthly life, and that feels 'OK'. I've learned, never say never, "life" has a way of changing what I THINK will be and should be - really, I think it's God reminding me that HE IS REALLY IN CHARGE!

I've found myself really missing Mom and Dad recently - can't tell you why, well, maybe it's the looming holidays...the first ones without either of my parents here on this earth...if for some reason I couldn't be with them (which didn't happen often), I could always call and here their voice. Now, there is silence, a void that no one else can fill - and yet, they are both very much with me now, in a very special way that I could never have imagined. It is quite the human conundrum.

As I sit here at my laptop, to my left is the cordless phone/answering machine combo, a dual picture frame with 8x10's of my Grandfather Lincoln and a facing picture of Nancy when she was about six or seven together with Mom when she was maybe 12-18 months; and, then a small candle and a couple of small gourds. To my right is my Jesus head from Jerusalem, a picture of CJ and I when I was about 4 and CJ was about 18 months old; and, a picture of Grandma Smith and I - that was taken in one of those little photo booths - I'm sure taken on a birthday trip downtown, I was probably 5 or 6. Over my shoulder Mom and Dad are literally smiling down on me - a picture taken at the farm - before illnesses began to ravage them for the last times - the picture sits perched atop the new entertainment cabinet/console.

Everyone is smiling in the pictures - we were all so much younger, especially me. Sometimes I long for those days - when the world wasn't so damned complicated - when we left the front and back doors unlocked all the time and you didn't worry about who came in - because it was either going to be family or friends; when Mom had dinner on the table every night and Dad predictably got home between 1700-1800; and, when picking up my toys was the 'big deal' of the day - days that none of us appreciate until we can only look back over our shoulder at times past, and have thankful hearts for those times.

I am a very thankful and grateful woman.

Who is that masked woman...Monday

The obvious answer - me! But, sometimes I have to ask myself exactly what I'm doing - often, while I'm doing it!

It starts with my cleaning ladies knocking on my door at 0800...still hard for me to believe that I have cleaning ladies....but they were here and did a stellar job, so I'm good for two more weeks.

This morning made a flurry of phone calls...mammogram scheduled (maybe this qualifies as too much information!); Salvation Army in the cue to pick up all my living room furniture early Friday morning; Ethan Allen in the cue to deliver all my new furniture Friday afternoon; taking Becke out for lunch and a movie tomorrow for her birthday....

This afternoon had conversations with both the chimney sweep guy and the concrete guy - need some chimney work and 'sweeping' done....ya think, there is a TREE growing OUT of my chimney!!!! And, then, there are the front steps that are starting to crumble and the back stoop, one of the steps has a huge whole in it, like a step into it up to your knee and break your leg kind of hole! My parents are up in heaven watching this all unfold, wondering how it will all play out - me too!!!

Then, I had to go to the bank...trying to figure out how to best 'settle' my part of the distribution on the smallest of Dad's IRA's. When I took the stack of forms from Key Bank and another stack from Schwab (for two of the different accounts) to Hubbard and Cravens last week to try and figure out I read some of the 'fine print' and there were pages and pages of fine print, so the 'operative word' is SOME!!! Anyway, seems if you are 'disabled' and are going to be disabled for at least 12 continuous months or are going to die (I would qualify for the former of the two, thank you) you can take your distribution on the IRA without penalty - and it is a hefty penalty. So, I stopped by the bank to verify if my understanding of what I was reading was correct - and it is, and to check on the IRS form - when I have to file it, where it is, where it comes from. So, tomorrow, I will get that pile of paperwork in the mail...the Schwab raft of papers got sent today - Schwab is a whole different kettle of fish!

Got on-line and made my plane reservations for New Orleans...have my seat assignments...today I got my letter from UMCOR verifying receipt of my 'application' and advising me of my 'acceptance' - so I decided it was safe to buy those non-refundable tickets!

Dropped off a pair of new jeans at the tailors to get them hemmed up - and have a seam repaired in some dress pants. Have my 2007/2008 daytimer up to date. And, to complete my day got a manicure and pedicure, it was delightful.

On the crappage front....another 100# of clothes to Thrifty Threads and miscellaneous household items. My attic is about 85-90% cleaned out and the dumpster is about as full....I'm quite a picture in a haz-mat decontam mask...and you have to love the energy of a 17 year old, man did they run up and down those attic steps a lot!!! My bedroom closet is all cleaned out and my bedroom is looking pretty good...now just need to get the guest bedroom under control - my next goal in the coming two weeks....it just never ends.

So, as you can see, sometimes I gotta wonder who this woman is - who still pretty much looks and thinks like me...but seems to be 'morphing'....if one person say's 'maturing', I'm gonna wring your neck!!!!

Well, it is officially Tuesday when you live in the EDT zone...and Curves is in my imminent future - like at 0645!

Geez....

You know - I'm not exactly sure where the week has gone....here's the condensed version....

**Curves three times this week

**No MD appointments this week....YEAH...but one trip to the hospital to drop yet more cash on
prescriptions....argh....

**made contact with a 'chimney sweep' to clean and repair my chimney - I gotta love a company
that ends their voice mail with 'God Bless, and have a blessed day'! My neighbor uses the
company, so I know they do good work....if only all the 'contractors' I use can be this good!

**a whole day spent at 'disaster training' at church Thursday...there are those who might contend
I'm a 'disaster' unto myself, that I don't need 'training'....and I was recruited to go to New Orleans for
'Disaster Boot Camp'....the Conference pays, so why not! Then had choir that night...of course,
it ran over....it's an orchestra week...and 'side by side' orchestra/youth playing an instrument
next to an adult...I was exhausted by the time I got home

**I'm turning a bit 'nutty grainy'...see http://www.farmfreshdelivery.com/... all in an effort to be more healthy, get within 30% of my ideal body weight, and 'be smart'. Cost wise it might be a little more
pricey - but that old adage, you get what you pay for, IS true....and then there is that
great intangible - CONVENIENCE!!!

**I owe Tabitha a callback...on the top of my 'to do list' - where did the time go???

**teenagers are coming to the house today to help 'unload' my attic....hey, the dumpster
is in the driveway and they are willing to do the work...yeah I'm paying their efforts, but it's for a great cause - a concert tour of Italy next summer...and I'm not able to run up and down the stairs - so, it works!

**I want to call Scott - haven't talked to him in what seems like forever. AND Lori - want to see how her week went and what the MD had to say....well, free weekend minutes!!!

**Monday got my nails done...that is a little slice of heaven

**dinner out tonight at what I think is the best Greek place in town - Santorinis

**Tony is suppose to come cut the grass today

**lunch with Margaret yesterday - it was great food, great conversation, great laughs...you know,
what would I expect, Margaret is a great person and friend

**hung out with Sara yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours while Amy put groceries away for
the next couple of weeks and did some meal prep - more than a fair exchange, since Amy does
most of the cooking these days...and I'll never turn down the chance to 'hang' with THE BEST
22 month old, EVER....she makes my heart happy

**house decrapification continues...Thrifty Threads is loving me...and I'm loving getting rid of the
"stuff", it really is quite liberating!

And, so it goes - just the the nuts and bolts of life...

Sad but true...

As most everyone knows I've got these very pesky and inconvenient health issues to deal with. And after several months I think I've finally managed to get my head around everything...no, I don't necessarily like it all - but being unhappy, depressed and bitchy about it all isn't going to change a thing and just make me and everyone I love and care about unhappy and maybe not love and care about me!

So, part of my personal campaign and crusade is to get myself as healthy and 'in shape' as I possibly can. Friends - vanity is no longer the issue - it really is about life and living to see my grandchildren and nieces and nephew grow up into the fabulously amazing and successful people I know they are all going to be. To get a lung transplant gotta be within 30% of my ideal body wieght....so since I'm craving at least a sense of a little bit of 'control' in a situation that has been and to a large extent will always be way out of my control this get healthy crusade IS something I can control.

Dieting per se is a stupid concept - it's a setup for failure, it's a bandaid concept. No, girls and boys, it really is about a paradigm shift...what you eat, why you eat, how you eat, when you eat, where you eat....kinda takes all the fun out of it doesn't it?!?!?

So, in addition to the obvious 'eating' part of this crusade there is the inevitable dirty word....exercise. Now, I'm not morally opposed to exercise, really at this point it's become more about my ability to breathe when I'm exgaged in activing - anything more than walking about 10 yards makes me tired to think about it. BUT - I come from a very long line of bucker-uppers - and I learned a long time ago that sometimes you have to suck it up, and that most things in life that are worth having and have meaning very seldom come easily....you know the 'character builders' of life. (Really, at this point in my life don't ya all think I've got more than enough character...)

Sorry, I digress.... Anyway a little more than a month ago a friend of mine from church (that'll teach her for offering to do whatever she can to be of help and support!!!") started going to Curves....the exercise place for women. I've pretty faithfully gone at least three times per week....rolling out of the sack and onto the floor about 0615 so I can get there by 0700....everyday I have to remind myself why exactly it is I'm doing this to myself!!!

A week ago tomorrow was the first wiegh-in, remeasurement....yes as if it isn't humbling/humiliating enough that they weigh you they measure you....everywhere - arms, thighs, butt, gut, waist. Well, I knew I'd lost a little weight, but in the first month I lost eight inches from the various measure areas.

Yeah, yeah - that is great news, but the sad part is that there were eight inches to loose....and the even sadder news there are many more to loose!!!! Don't get me wrong, I really am delighted....BUT, are you kidding me....I want to say, "how did this happen"....but again, I know the answer to that question and really, I don't like it much!!!!!

Oh well...so, I'm off to the kitchen to grab a nice sweet....apple!!!

Picture this....

Yesterday afternoon I arrive on the scene next door at Amy's house and am greeted from the top of the stairs by the cutest 21 month old ever and her mother....my sister, Amy - with these words " the professional is here - we'll ask her"!!! I later learned this was a slightly better greeting than my brother-in-law received when he got home...."Rob, we have a situation....".

Seems Amy got home from the grocery - parked Sara in the living room, gates in place, and her toys in play. Amy was a bout 15-20 minutes putting stuff away, went into the LR, armed with the ever popular Rice Krispy Treat - Sara in her ever so polite way said "phease"....and received a piece of the treat. Then Sara walked over to a clothes basket sitting in the middle of the floor (that toys are typically put in) and said "yucky"....about 45 seconds later she said "yucky" again....at which point Amy took notice.

Weeellll......upon inspection, seems that there was a dead mouse in the basket....they have four cats and live in an old house....the good news, the cats are doing their 'job', the bad news is they feel so obligated to deposit their prey in the middle of the living space...they are so proud!!!

So - how did the mouse get into the basket - Sara or cats??? How much up close and personal inspection did Sara do??? How up close and personal did it get????

Amy asked me "what should we do?" Well....I'm thinkin' - CALL THE PEDIATRICIAN. Children vs. dead mice are way outta my comfort level, if you know what I mean!!!!

When the pediatrician called back, Amy was given the 'all clear'!!!

My one sage piece of advice for my sister...put the pediatrician on speed dial!!

Summer Time...

I'm officially over it....summer time and the summer weather. We are now at 31 days of having temperatures above 90 degrees - our annual average is either 17 or 18 days. It's not bad enough that it's hotter than blue blazes...but of course the humidity is rising - my little corner of respiratory hell...in case I haven't mentioned it before!

This past long holiday weekend was able to spend time at the lake each day....and it was perfectly delightful!!! I spent most of my time stretched out on the above loveseat....took a little snooze, with a nice breeze on Saturday!!! Yesterday, took 'the plunge' into the lake - it was HOT and not much of a breeze...and let's say the water was 'refreshing' - in a kinda take your breath away for a second way!

Aunt Elaine and Cousin Beth graciously hosted me at the 'E&B Inn' Sunday and Monday evenings - it was delightful!

The covered part over the boardwalk was a stroke of genius - and the comfy furniture...it's like being at an island retreat!!!

Next year the old cottage will be coming down - and new year 'round home will be built - CJ and Shaorn are doing an amazing job....the 'new management' is great!

Though I spent a lot of time driving this weekend, it was delightful....and I do love driving my new car!

It's all about....

.....perspective!!! That little life lesson was brought home to me on Friday. After an MD appointment at the Clarian North MOB/medical office building that is really part of the hospital I had gone to pick up a prescription and then ducked into the Atrio/restaurant to get a drink. I ran into an older gentleman from church and inquired about what brought him to the hospital, his wife Grace was a patient and will be needing surgery this week.

So, after getting my drink I trucked up to the 5th floor (my stomping ground) to visit Grace. It was perfectly lovely - she's very sweet, albeit forgetful, but, only a few months away from 90 or is it 89 - she's earned the right to be a little forgetful.

When I was leaving she thanked me - and told her husband and daughter what a 'sweet YOUNG woman' I was. So - OK....the sweet part is definitely up for debate....but I thought, YOUNG - are you kidding me?!?!?

Driving home I was still chuckling to myself about her remark - a sure sign I'm not even close to young! But then it hit me....at her age, 50 is 'young'....someone 40 years my junior would only be 10....a child, for heaven's sake!

So - the truth is true...it IS all about perspective!

A Day....

You know, there are some days you just want to be done with - and this would be one of them.

My day started with a modicum of dread - had a lunch meeting with someone I would not choose to break bread together with on any kind of regular basis....but it was/is church business, and the person is a church employee - so I can suck it up for the greater good..... So, lunch is progressing, the conversation is somewhat awkward and my cell phone rings...

I check the caller ID and know that "I know" the number....but can't place it....and decide I'll be rude and pick up the call. It was the brother-in-law calling from the ED at Clarian North....Sara is sick and in the ED - he needs to leave for class and doesn't want Amy stuck there alone. Well - it was "high oh Silver" for me, I was gone.

There is a reason I have never been, nor will ever be a pediatric nurse.....oh, there is nothing more tragic than a sick kid....and when it is a child you love - well, game, set, and match over! Sara seems to have something viral - and is still pretty puny.

After getting everyone home I got to go to the grocery, for the first time in three weeks....hey, I had to go - the milk was going bad, the bread was stale, and I didn't have any eggs!

Meeting at church tonight - home around 2000...

Yeah, I'm pretty much ready to close the chapter on this particular day.

The Sky Isn't Falling...

No, the sky isn't falling - it's just that wet stuff that we haven't seen in weeks and weeks...RAIN!!! Amy and I were driving north tonight, trying to get to a Mexican restaurant - and you would have thought there were 2 feet of snow on the ground, people had totally lost their mind with the rain.

A friend of mine recently told me it looked like an axe murderer had taken a swing at me, and missed...kind of, just grazed me!!! Well - it is an intentional cut....and I'm ready for it not to hurt and to heal - argh! But, it can make for some great 'black' humor!

Took Reginald to the vet this afternoon...he will be loosing his 'manhood' on Thursday - he knows something just isn't right! He's also going to be loosing his front claws....I'm about to spend a fortune on some new furniture, he's loosing his claws!

I'm so ready for fall time....should I end up going to the land of red creatures with long red tails and pitch forks for eternity, I'm pretty sure it is going to be like the weather we've had today...and many days for the last month. My car 'thermometer' said it was only 75 outside, but it felt like 90, with air you needed to slice through in order to breathe!

Things you never thought....

There are some things in life I've always been pretty sure I'd never say or do - for instance - bungee jumping, are you kidding me - my little corner of hell; or, take one more scholastic math class; and/or, be concerned about farming and farming issues.

Now, two outta three remain true and intact. However, recently while talking to my Uncle Paul - Dad's brother - I heard myself say five words I didn't know my brain could string together..."how are the soybeans doing...??!!??". Then a couple of nights ago CJ, Amy, and I had an impromptu 'estate meeting' - and there the three of us are talking about the price that corn is selling for....the world was spinning upside down for that brief moment!!!

Since Dad died, life has given all of us some new "learning opportunities" - as we liked to say in the medical arena....translation - we don't know what the hell we're doing or really how to do it....but, this is what it is - and we WILL figure it out, and we WILL be successful!!! Call it tenacity, or stick-to-itiveness, or just plain old Ketner stubbornness!!!

CJ and Amy are neck deep in attorneys, surveyors, auctioneers....I'm available on a 'need to know' basis on all this - and for Amy to vent when she is ready to throttle Aileen (aka: Big Red) the estate attorney....she's very good at what she does - but SHE knows it!!!

So, just another lesson in life about - NEVER say NEVER!

Random....

It never ceases to amaze me, the randomness of my thoughts sometimes. Usually, it is about family and close friends - how much people mean to me and how thankful I am. I'm certain part of it all, at least at this point, has been the past seven months, pretty much all of 2007....and really the spectrum is much bigger than these last months.

Anyway...there really isn't a much sweeter sound than to hear "Aan - SEE...." coming from the lips of my almost 20 month old niece - well, "Grandma" ranks right up there too!

Sara and I spent the morning together we tackled Sams, Costco and Bill Estes and then moved on to the Fashion Mall....for a close encounter with Restoration Hardware. I have two words....BIG MISTAKE - on the aunt's behalf! Now, I should be smart enough to know that MY niece would be not only intrigued and curious with all the 'stuff' there....but "hello" - lots of glass items....on every isle. So, I maintained a firm grip on one of her paws and stopped frequently as Sara admired all the "prrretteee" stuff in the store. And....wouldn't you know it, they didn't have what I needed!!!

Chickfilet is a kid magnet on Saturday around noon. Though I will confess, it seems to me that parents who bring their small fry to the Chickfilet are far more courteous and seem to have better parenting skills than those at most kiddy kinds of fast foot restaurants!

While attempting to supervise a very nosey and curious little girl who was downing her chicken nuggets, waffle fries, fruit cup, and milk my cell rang....it was the princess ring, from my very own grown up princess (HRH Tab!!! That would be princess, as in a beautiful, fairy tale princess - as in almost too good to be true!)....as it turned out it wasn't Tab - it was a great moment in time, as it was Belle, the amazing oldest granddaughter - giving Grandma an update on how she was feeling...she's been a little under the weather for a few days.

Let's just say, I'm pretty certain I hit the jackpot at that moment - surrounded by the most pure, unconditional love of the human kind - that of a child.

While tooling around the north side of Indianapolis today I found myself pondering how I want to fill my days - as the uncertainty of the future is often more than I can wrap my head and heart around. The answer was very clear - clearer than most things have been in many months. I shall fill my days with life - with things, people, activities that give life meaning and purpose, not only for me and those I love and care about; but, hopefully, some greater good.

Yeah, I know - sounds a little lofty for some middle aged woman from the Midwest - but, it is how I see things...it's my hope and prayer.

Toto....

...there's no place like home, there's no place like home.... However, last night I wasn't entirely sure of that! When we pulled in the driveway from the airport I immediately noticed all the windows of my house were opened....never a good sign, in the middle of the summer in Indiana!!!

So, after blowing off some steam of my own getting everything unpacked and put away I ventured down to the basement cursing as I walked down the stairs, and then praying to Jesus as I flipped the breaker switch in an effort to 'jump start' the AC - THANK YOU Jesus!!! It clicked on - left the windows opened to cool down the oven (aka: my house!) as quickly as possible, in the middle of the night I even needed a blanket, so we're getting back on track!

Spent the majority of the day getting the post-vacation stuff taken care of....banking, bill paying, grocery shopping - add to the mix getting disability and travel insurance forms filled out and mailed (certified, of course!)....and then, my monthly IVIG infusion.

That IVIG really makes me feel lousy - shaking chills, terrible achiness in my back and kinda everywhere, chest pain....argh. Think getting hit by a semi!

Schlitter....what?!?!

Obviously, I DON'T get it....posted this last night, but....it didn't post.....argh!!!!! So, I will 'recreate' the proverbial wheel and move on from there!

It has become very, very, very clear to me that I am not longer 25 or 35 or even 45!!!! There is enough energy in this house, with a 8, 4, and 2 year old to provide energy not only for the entire eastern seaboard, but, perhaps the entire country in the event of a future "blackout"!!!

Yesterday the 5 of us....Tab, Will, Isabel, Jill and Grandma (that would be me....I know a scary thought, don't 'ya think!) spent the day at Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, TX (I make no promises about any of the spelling of those proper nouns!). http://www.schlitterbahn.com/brochures/NB.pdf

On the flight from Chicago to Austin I was perusing the Southwest Airline magazine and they had an article on the '5 Best Water Parks in America" and #1 on the list was....you guessed it....Schlitter- whatever! After spending the better part of a day there, I think the 'title' of "THE best" is well founded. The girls had a great time - and so did the adults!! My days of being a maniac on water slides is over - but I did groove on the 'lazy river' and the 'not so lazy river' that had some pretty good 'rapids'!!!

After spending a day a full tilt yesterday, today, Tab and I spent the day at the spa - facial, full body sugar scrub and body massage, haircut and style - a fabulous 'spa' lunch.....NOW you are talking MY language!!! However, 'sticking' to the sheets post sugar scrub was a rather intriguing experience!

Tomorrow I leave for home, and though it will be nice to get back - I'll really miss the girls, and Tab and Will. Wish Vance were here to share all of this, he would have an a amazing time with these three little girls - he'd be a great Grandpa.

Yee, Hah...cowboy!

OK, so I don't have a clue how to spell that Southwestern lingo, but, you get the idea!

First, let me say, Southwest Airline is so far superior to Northworst Airline (and no, that's no typo!) that I don't even know where to begin to start! Lets just say, that the flights were on time, everyone I dealt with from curb check-in to flight attendents were more than pleasant and helpful, they 'served' peanuts and Ritz chips with the complimentary beverages on the flight, AND they didn't loose my luggage!!! Really, after the great Northwest debacle, it doesn't get much better than that!!!!

Now, those 2.5 hours of sleep I got Wednesday morning before I had to "get up" to shower and dress weren't exactly adequate - but, it was what it was....there was that nap I took yesterday afternoon and then the three hour nap this afternoon....!!!!

Texas, is well, Texas - hot and humid...I know, what do I expect in the middle of the summer. They have had so much rain here, you need a machette to cut through the air!!!

Today was my youngest granddaughters birthday - Maya turned two!!! We went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse tonight (go figure!), then to a playground for the girls to burn some energy - and finished up at Amy's Ice Cream - it's been featured on the Food Network, for good reason.

Whenever I'm here - or able to spend time with Tabitha I feel especially close to Vance - she reminds me of him in so many ways - her eyes are just like her Dad's and she has his sense of humor and quick wit. I know he is looking down from heaven and so proud of her and the life she and Will have built - and so pleased that Tabi and I remain closer than ever. I am so blessed to have this amazing relationship with her - Will and the girls are icing on the cake!

OKEY DOKEY...

OK, so I don't exactly have this whole blogging thing down to a science...it's been a little over 11 months since my initial post, it seemed like such a great idea at the time.

Now, I stand by that initial post! And quite frankly that niece of mine has probably been the saving grace of my sanity the past 11 months! Dad's diagnosis with brain cancer and the months of caring for him (with a lot of help from family....especially Amy and Aunt Elaine), then his death in
February.....and then just when I thought I could take that long deep breath and return to some kind of normalcy, the bottom falls out - healthwise!

So, maybe 'normal', is overrated - but then, I couldn't tell you because I'm not even sure that the whole concept of normal exists in my little corner of the world!!!

Figuring all of this out is a real adventure - not one I would have willingly signed up for....but I've got it, and you know me - once the gauntlet has been thrown down, 'let the games begin'!

So here I am, typing this, after midnight and I'm going to be on an airplane on my way to Texas in seven hours. Am I done packing - heck no.....but at least I'm started, and really everything is pretty much under control - or at least as under control as it can be in the middle of the flippin' flappin' night! Talked to Tabitha a while ago and told her the only thing I knew for sure about this trip right now was, I'm taking a nap after I get there tomorrow afternoon - oops, that would be THIS afternoon!!!! I can hardly wait to cool my heels at Midway airport for more than three hours in a few hours, "later" this morning...since when is 0700 'later' in the morning!?!?!?!

Oh well....tick-toc, if I'm not going to pack anymore, I need to try and get a little snore in, before the alarm goes off at 0407...don't ask me why I picked that time, I don't have a clue!