My dad's 70th birthday

Today would have been my dad's 70th birthday.  Earlier in the year, we had received word that today would be the day our town's foundation would be honoring new funds with plaques being placed in the tree grove that is in a town park.  Our family's fund plaque was placed years ago, but I could think of no better way to honor my dad on 70th birthday than to attend this ceremony.  I was able to get the day off from work, and it seems as though my mom and sister felt the same way I did.  They both planned to join along, although Mom ended up being (as I suspected) too tired from last week's surgery.  Andrew took a personal day to join me. I had never seen our fund plaque on the tree, and Andrew and I set out to find it shortly after we arrived.  My sister arrived, and lots of pictures were taken.  It was absolutely the perfect way to honor and feel connected to my dad on his milestone birthday.

My sister had a particularly emotional morning.  Before the ceremony even began, my sister had an appointment with my grandmother.  Grandma is essentially beginning to "give up."  I can't blame her.  She is 93 years old, and today marked the 11th of my dad's birthdays that has been without him.  Earlier in the month it was my grandfather's birthday.  In August he will have been gone 20 years.  Grandma is tired of living the way she is living, and she is tired of living of living without her loved ones.  She has outlived all of her siblings and their spouses, her husband, his siblings and their spouses, and her son.  My sister is also the one my mom is leaning on in her recovery.

I'm so grateful Andrew was able to have a day off and spend it with me.  While I've been emotional at times, I also know that my dad is with us every day, and I'm so grateful how much I was able to feel him today.  I know he is proud of us and is looking down and smiling on us.

Why I've been quiet

I've been staying away from the blog a lot.  There is so much going on, and while things are okay, it's definitely been emotional.  Grandma was in the hospital last week, but I'm happy to report that she was released early this week.  Thanks to my aunt and her actions (or lack thereof) that added to family drama.  Mom had surgery to remove her kidney mass this week.  I'm happy to report that the surgeon reported that all went according to plan.  Her first evening was really rough, but even just 36 hours after surgery she was doing better.  I know it is going to take some time for her to really be back on her feet again.

My kids though, have been the biggest source of emotions.  Their stories are their stories and not mine to share.  There are a lot of changes on the horizon, and some of the changes are good, some of them aren't, and all of it just ramps up my emotions.

It's hard when our home doesn't feel like a peaceful oasis of relaxation.  To that end, I'm so, so grateful that I enjoy my job.  I don't love early mornings, but I do really like my job.  I'm grateful for the distraction it provides when times are tougher.

I know things will work out, and I know that eventually a feeling of peace will be found again!

Spring break 2024

Spring break has been over for two weeks, but I wanted to make sure to record some memories before I completely forget them!  This is the last year that Andrew and I are going to have the same spring break for awhile.  At one point I had thought it would be a good time to make a less expensive trip to the ocean, but there is too much going on in life for that to be an option.

The break began with one of my favorite weekends of the year...the men's NCAA basketball tournament.  There were some decent upsets in the first round, but as is generally the case, they didn't make it out of the first weekend.  Monday-Wednesday of the week brought household work and some work at school just to keep things going (and to earn a bit of a paycheck...I don't get PTO!), but there was lots of time for relaxing as well!

The best part of break was the day we headed to Columbus.  We were able to get a great rate at a motel, and stayed at Easton, where everything is walkable.  We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, went to a movie, had some drinks at a pub, and took advantage of having HBO Max to watch the Friends Reunion episode from a couple of years ago that we had never seen.  With Matthew Perry having passed away, it added to my emotions as I watched it.  I've watched that show and laughed with friends, with my husband, and even with my children and mother-in-law during our Thanksgiving tradition.  That show has brought some laughs during some really rough times.

Friday morning we got up and drove over to get my mother-in-law and bring her back for Easter and an extended visit.  We had a lot of fun while she was here.

As with every break, it flew by too quickly.  But the good news is that I really like my job!

It took my breath away

My grandmother is in the hospital.  She is not critically ill, and I'm grateful.  She has a serious infection and needs IV antibiotics.  She isn't in any pain and she doesn't feel awful.  These are all good things.  At the same time, she is 92, and that is simply reality.

I made a trip to the hospital to see her this afternoon.  I needed to stop by her assisted living facility and pick up her glasses.  I decided to take the back roads to the hospital from there, and in doing so, I drove past the house she and my grandfather lived in for the first 29 years of my life.  Oh goodness, driving down that road literally took my breath away.  I was so blessed to have grown up with both sets of grandparents living within a five-minute drive of my home, so many, many trips were made down that road.  It all just felt so surreal.

I don't think this is the end for Grandma, but I do know that she is weakening.  Reality is that she may not be able to return to assisted living...we really don't know what the future holds.  I told her I loved her as I was leaving and she became emotional.  Oh goodness, it's been quite an afternoon.

Eclipse

Today was the Solar eclipse.  I'll be honest, I didn't particularly care.  I knew we'd be in totality here, but other than the fact that I was thrilled to have a day off work as a calamity day, I didn't really care.  I had done virtually nothing to prepare.  When we knew that my mother-in-law would be here for Easter last weekend, I encouraged Andrew to either take her back after just a few days or to wait until next weekend.  I was pleased that she agreed to stay.  Andrew and I had begun to panic about not having glasses available, but we hadn't done anything to make that happen either.  Fortunately, we seemed to be the only people who didn't plan ahead and we were able to get the glasses from my office.

Catherine was back at her school apartment, but Andrew, Thomas my MIL and I grabbed chairs and our glasses and parked out front.  It was neat seeing it start, although without the glasses you couldn't really see anything.  We were scheduled to be in totality for over two minutes.  As totality grew close, it dimmed, but then all of a sudden it was dark.  We could hear cheering and gasps throughout our neighborhood, and it was so cool!  I was so grateful we got to share it together.  As a neighbor put it, he was completely prepared to be underwhelmed, and that didn't happen at all!  It was dark and we could see stars, and then all of a sudden, the sun came out again!  So glad it was much less cloudy than originally anticipated.  It was a moment I'll never forget...and I'll also never get to experience again!