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!

Easter 2024

Our Easter looks a bit different this year.  To be honest, I just wasn't up to hosting a big meal.  And to be further honest, there was a pretty serious lack of enthusiasm throughout the family.  My mom had said she didn't feel she was up to coming down yet, and we knew my sister wouldn't be particularly interested.  We had decided we would do a bit of a nice meal on Saturday evening, but then Catherine informed us she was having dinner with her best friend and family as the best friend turned 21 this week.  Certainly couldn't argue about that, but we had already told Thomas he could spend today with his girlfriend and her family.  We decided it would be fine, we'd just take the four of us and eat at the state lodge buffet.  We called to make reservations as they were recommended, but things were completely booked.  Perhaps it should indicate reservations are "required".  I went yesterday and purchased things for a very simple meal.  This morning, Andrew took his mother to Mass, then we all joined them at our church.  Andrew lectored for the service, and Thomas's girlfriend joined us as well.  We then rushed home, threw together our meal, and then cleaned up.  It was all done by 2:00, and then nap time was upon us!  Another nice thing is that for the first time in four years, we don't have to work tomorrow.  It's really nice having tomorrow off!  He is risen!

Our wall of memories

I've written before about how I love having photo memories surrounding me.  I've been this way since high school.  I started noticing last fall though, that my wall of memories was in need of some updating.  For one thing, I had put the photo collages together last century (literally), in some cases, and frame styles have changed.  I also realized that because I had put the collages together before even meeting my husband, his family was not as well represented as I would have liked.  I was motivated, though, when my husband's cousin sent us a years' worth of digitized photos as Christmas.  I had purchased a bunch of new collage frames, and finally got my act together a couple of weeks ago to order the prints I wanted.  There are several from my husband's family, a few from when the kids were little, some with friends, on and on.  We finally got everything hung today, and I find myself standing in the hall and just smiling as I scan the photos.  The wall is full of so many wonderful memories.  As I've turned 50, while I certainly hope there are plenty of more years in front of me, I also have to acknowledge that there are more years behind me than there are ahead of me.  My biggest hope is that the people in those photos enjoyed making those memories as much as I did.

A week in March

In 67 days, it will be the last day of my school year.  I'm absolutely not wishing away the next two months, but I am absolutely recognizing how unbelievably fast time is passing.  It just doesn't seem real.

My mom had a heart procedure yesterday.  It went very well, and hopefully she'll have a little more energy.  I'm not completely convinced she is going to have as much energy as she wants, but the good news is that this should lessen some issues she has been having.  Her surgery for kidney cancer will be in just over four weeks.

Thursday evening, west central Ohio was pummeled with severe weather leading to a bunch of tornadoes.  The worst was an EF-3 that hit the Indian Lake area.  I stayed up well into the night watching the coverage.  So much of the down has damage, and a great deal of the town is completely destroyed.  I was emotional as I watched it, because that was where my dad had his cottage.  Our family made so many memories in that town.  the side of the lake my dad was on seems to have been mostly spared, but the towns of lake View and Russell's Point are another story.  Oh goodness, my heart ached as I saw pictures.

To be completely honest, my heart aches a lot these days.  That is our season of life though, and I lean on my faith.  The additional sunshine in life since last week's time change helps with that significantly!