And here we were...
my son, the groom, and I...
dancing to MY WISH, by Rascal Flatts.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Another Year Already?
Geez, the time goes by so fast!!!
I hope everyone had wonderful holidays. Ours were very nice!
I'll back up a bit - last I wrote, I will still mourning the loss of Milo (and probably always will). I still think of him every day, still miss him, but can look at pictures of him without crying.
We decided to stay a one-cat family, and Otis seemed to be okay with that. Then Precious called and asked us to adopt one of her cats. Bigs, his name is. He's black and white, and HUGE! A twenty-pounder! He has a head like a lion, but he's a sweetie. After six years of living with Precious, her husband and our mom decided he was too much of a problem to keep around. So Bigs came to live with us in mid-October. Precious flew up with him in a pet carrier. Picture it - a 20-lb. cat crammed into a carrier for a 7-lb. animal. He looked like a ship-in-a-bottle, if the bottle was three quarts too small for the ship. But he adjusted immediately and despite some early "What the heck are you - I don't think I've ever seen anything this big and it scares me!" hissing from Otis, the two have become fast friends. L&M loves Bigs. He keeps a heated blanket on the couch for him. As if the 'little guy' doesnt' put out enough BTUs to heat the house, on his own!
On November 11th, L&M's newest grandson was born. He's a real keeper - big, sweet, and very well-behaved.
Thanksgiving was spent at L&M's brother's house. Unkie R and Sis-In-Law unveiled their new kitchen. It's gorgeous. Huge. State-of-the-Art. I went home and threw rocks at my house... It was a nice day.
Our family dinner on the Sunday before Christmas with Kal and Wifeypooh, The Girl, The Boy, BG and his fiancee, L&M and I was a lot of fun. As always, Wifeypooh makes a fantastic dinner - roast ham (not for MD, but everyone else loves it), spinach lasagna (mine, mine, mine - but I share!), broccoli, salad, Italian garlic bread...yum! Wifeypooh is a hell of a cook. We have shared this tradition since Christmas of 1994, when Kal and Wifeypooh were having their first married Christmas together. This is our meal - it doesn't vary. I like the continuity. I bring the tortellini wreath with pesto dip, and they're always a bowl of pistachio nuts on the apps table. And for dessert, Wifeypooh makes eclairs. Homemade eclairs. With chocolate or vanilla frosting. Decorated with little frosting candy canes and wreaths and snowflakes. Totally delicious. We usually need to wrestle BG for the eclairs. He gets piggy!
The kids are wonderful. They're getting SO big. It exciting to watch, but hard at the same time. I still remember The Girl's first Christmas with us, when she was six months old. Now, she's going to be a teenager. As I said, exciting and sad at the same time.
L&M and I got a chance to spend Christmas Eve at BG's and Lady's house with her family and friends. Her family is wonderful, I really like them and I think we're going to be a great blend. And her friends are totally wonderful. I want to adopt them.
Christmas was really nice! We finally did a 'name draw' on Thanksgiving and it was so nice to need to buy two presents for the adults instead of ten. Of course, Niece still gets a gift as she is only 18, and the cutoff is 21 for gifts from everyone. And of course, the one person I did not want to draw, the one who has never worn, used, or acknowledged a gift I have given her, is the one I drew. So I got her some nice things focused on 1) her new kitchen, and 2) her son's impending marriage next summer. And she cried. I was so touched.
We saw everyone, with the addition of Precious and hubster, Nephews and Niece-in-Law, on December 30th when we had the Rehearsal Dinner for BG-and-Lady's wedding! The food was fantastic, the company was wonderful. It was a happy night.
On New Year's Eve Day, I spent time getting my hair and makeup done for the wedding that night. Of course, it snowed like crazy all day. The judge, a friend of Lady's for the past ten or more years, almost didn't make it due to the travel down the 128 corridor. She and her kind husband had to pull over and take the train from 128 to Providence! But they made it, and the wedding was beautiful. Short. To-the-point. No frills. I watched my son's face as his bride came down the aisle (that's what I do - I'd rather watch the groom's expression than the bride's procession). I've never seen him so happy. And the poor guy was sick as a dog for three days before the wedding. But you'd never know it. He was radiant. She was simply, elegantly beautiful, and looked very happy. I have to admit I cried a little, just a little...I didn't sob through the whole thing like I did when Kal and Wifeypooh were married. But I did cry, a little.
The reception was a lot of fun. Sort of like a big New Year's Eve party with a wedding thrown in for added entertainment. Everyone at our table danced their shoes off. Big Red, Precious' younger son, loved sitting by the dance floor and watching this one girl who was quite a 'busy' dancer, and whose dress top was having trouble staying up. Yeah...she flashed him. Yeah...he enjoyed it...
I'm very proud of my boys. They're good people. And I'm proud of the women they chose. And I'm totally in love with our grandkids.
Am I a lucky girl, or what?????
I hope everyone had wonderful holidays. Ours were very nice!
I'll back up a bit - last I wrote, I will still mourning the loss of Milo (and probably always will). I still think of him every day, still miss him, but can look at pictures of him without crying.
We decided to stay a one-cat family, and Otis seemed to be okay with that. Then Precious called and asked us to adopt one of her cats. Bigs, his name is. He's black and white, and HUGE! A twenty-pounder! He has a head like a lion, but he's a sweetie. After six years of living with Precious, her husband and our mom decided he was too much of a problem to keep around. So Bigs came to live with us in mid-October. Precious flew up with him in a pet carrier. Picture it - a 20-lb. cat crammed into a carrier for a 7-lb. animal. He looked like a ship-in-a-bottle, if the bottle was three quarts too small for the ship. But he adjusted immediately and despite some early "What the heck are you - I don't think I've ever seen anything this big and it scares me!" hissing from Otis, the two have become fast friends. L&M loves Bigs. He keeps a heated blanket on the couch for him. As if the 'little guy' doesnt' put out enough BTUs to heat the house, on his own!
On November 11th, L&M's newest grandson was born. He's a real keeper - big, sweet, and very well-behaved.
Thanksgiving was spent at L&M's brother's house. Unkie R and Sis-In-Law unveiled their new kitchen. It's gorgeous. Huge. State-of-the-Art. I went home and threw rocks at my house... It was a nice day.
Our family dinner on the Sunday before Christmas with Kal and Wifeypooh, The Girl, The Boy, BG and his fiancee, L&M and I was a lot of fun. As always, Wifeypooh makes a fantastic dinner - roast ham (not for MD, but everyone else loves it), spinach lasagna (mine, mine, mine - but I share!), broccoli, salad, Italian garlic bread...yum! Wifeypooh is a hell of a cook. We have shared this tradition since Christmas of 1994, when Kal and Wifeypooh were having their first married Christmas together. This is our meal - it doesn't vary. I like the continuity. I bring the tortellini wreath with pesto dip, and they're always a bowl of pistachio nuts on the apps table. And for dessert, Wifeypooh makes eclairs. Homemade eclairs. With chocolate or vanilla frosting. Decorated with little frosting candy canes and wreaths and snowflakes. Totally delicious. We usually need to wrestle BG for the eclairs. He gets piggy!
The kids are wonderful. They're getting SO big. It exciting to watch, but hard at the same time. I still remember The Girl's first Christmas with us, when she was six months old. Now, she's going to be a teenager. As I said, exciting and sad at the same time.
L&M and I got a chance to spend Christmas Eve at BG's and Lady's house with her family and friends. Her family is wonderful, I really like them and I think we're going to be a great blend. And her friends are totally wonderful. I want to adopt them.
Christmas was really nice! We finally did a 'name draw' on Thanksgiving and it was so nice to need to buy two presents for the adults instead of ten. Of course, Niece still gets a gift as she is only 18, and the cutoff is 21 for gifts from everyone. And of course, the one person I did not want to draw, the one who has never worn, used, or acknowledged a gift I have given her, is the one I drew. So I got her some nice things focused on 1) her new kitchen, and 2) her son's impending marriage next summer. And she cried. I was so touched.
We saw everyone, with the addition of Precious and hubster, Nephews and Niece-in-Law, on December 30th when we had the Rehearsal Dinner for BG-and-Lady's wedding! The food was fantastic, the company was wonderful. It was a happy night.
On New Year's Eve Day, I spent time getting my hair and makeup done for the wedding that night. Of course, it snowed like crazy all day. The judge, a friend of Lady's for the past ten or more years, almost didn't make it due to the travel down the 128 corridor. She and her kind husband had to pull over and take the train from 128 to Providence! But they made it, and the wedding was beautiful. Short. To-the-point. No frills. I watched my son's face as his bride came down the aisle (that's what I do - I'd rather watch the groom's expression than the bride's procession). I've never seen him so happy. And the poor guy was sick as a dog for three days before the wedding. But you'd never know it. He was radiant. She was simply, elegantly beautiful, and looked very happy. I have to admit I cried a little, just a little...I didn't sob through the whole thing like I did when Kal and Wifeypooh were married. But I did cry, a little.
The reception was a lot of fun. Sort of like a big New Year's Eve party with a wedding thrown in for added entertainment. Everyone at our table danced their shoes off. Big Red, Precious' younger son, loved sitting by the dance floor and watching this one girl who was quite a 'busy' dancer, and whose dress top was having trouble staying up. Yeah...she flashed him. Yeah...he enjoyed it...
I'm very proud of my boys. They're good people. And I'm proud of the women they chose. And I'm totally in love with our grandkids.
Am I a lucky girl, or what?????
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Take Good Care of My Baby
Dear Lord,
His name is Milo. I sent him to you today. He was 17 years old on August 4th. I was hoping we'd have more time together.
He died today. He had a large menangioma, a brain tumor that was slowing killing all his neurological functioning.
He didn't really know who he was, or what was going on, anymore. But he seemed to know us. He smiled when we'd cuddle him for hours, sitting in the chair or couch, watching TV. He loved being touched, and was soft and warm very, very beautiful.
He'd forgotten how to eat. That's okay, I fed him with an eyedropper. I was happy to do it. He deserved that kind of treatment for the years of loyal and unconditional love he had given me.
He'd forgotten how to use the bathroom, too. I let him 'go' wherever he wanted and just cleaned it up when he was done. It was okay. He deserved that much from me.
He would never tell us if he was in pain, but the blindness in his left eye and the weakness in his left legs made us wonder.
He loved canned milk. Please see he gets lots of it. And chicken, too - please find him some of that. And butternut squash. That was his favorite of all favorites.
He died like a champ. Cradled in my arms, he just stared up at me with the most beautiful blue-green eyes in the world. When the needle went into his portacath and the doctor said it would take ten seconds, he never flinched or moved as the drug went in and did its work. He just stared up at me as I bawled hysterically with his usual curious expression.
Then the most amazing thing happened...his looks totally changed. His hair flattened out really smooth, darkening the top of his head and flattening the tufts on each side of his face until he looked just like his brother. He was absolutely gorgeous. And courageous. And classy, to the end.
I will miss his little quirks, his kneading of my fat arm flesh, the way he used to crawl up on my right shoulder and fall asleep, and especially, his purr. He was a purr machine. It was loud and warm and joyous. You could hear him from across the room.
I will miss him climbing on my bed every night and sleeping on top of my head.
I will miss the way he and his brother had 'kitty battles' for possession of the brown chair or the prime spot on the dining room couch.
I will always love him, and never forget him. Cats leave footprints on your heart.
So please, Lord, take good care of my baby. Make sure that he joins my other parted loves - Heidi, Casey, Beth - and make sure they take good care of him until I can get to meet up with him again in later years.
I know, intellectually, that I did the right thing for him. So why do I feel so guilty? He trusted me, all of his life.
Did I let him down?
Please, Lord, let him hear me singing my last song to him whenver he gets lonely. Let him know that there isn't one day that goes by, for the rest of my life, that I won't think of him. Let him know that his was the best male relationship I ever had. He was always home, always loving, and never once took my agenda.
If you have time, please cradle him in Your arms once a day, and let him purr to you.
You'll enjoy it. Milo was Love, personifed.
So I give Milo into your loving hands. This is my kitty, in whom I am well-pleased.
Thank you, Lord. Amen
His name is Milo. I sent him to you today. He was 17 years old on August 4th. I was hoping we'd have more time together.
He died today. He had a large menangioma, a brain tumor that was slowing killing all his neurological functioning.
He didn't really know who he was, or what was going on, anymore. But he seemed to know us. He smiled when we'd cuddle him for hours, sitting in the chair or couch, watching TV. He loved being touched, and was soft and warm very, very beautiful.
He'd forgotten how to eat. That's okay, I fed him with an eyedropper. I was happy to do it. He deserved that kind of treatment for the years of loyal and unconditional love he had given me.
He'd forgotten how to use the bathroom, too. I let him 'go' wherever he wanted and just cleaned it up when he was done. It was okay. He deserved that much from me.
He would never tell us if he was in pain, but the blindness in his left eye and the weakness in his left legs made us wonder.
He loved canned milk. Please see he gets lots of it. And chicken, too - please find him some of that. And butternut squash. That was his favorite of all favorites.
He died like a champ. Cradled in my arms, he just stared up at me with the most beautiful blue-green eyes in the world. When the needle went into his portacath and the doctor said it would take ten seconds, he never flinched or moved as the drug went in and did its work. He just stared up at me as I bawled hysterically with his usual curious expression.
Then the most amazing thing happened...his looks totally changed. His hair flattened out really smooth, darkening the top of his head and flattening the tufts on each side of his face until he looked just like his brother. He was absolutely gorgeous. And courageous. And classy, to the end.
I will miss his little quirks, his kneading of my fat arm flesh, the way he used to crawl up on my right shoulder and fall asleep, and especially, his purr. He was a purr machine. It was loud and warm and joyous. You could hear him from across the room.
I will miss him climbing on my bed every night and sleeping on top of my head.
I will miss the way he and his brother had 'kitty battles' for possession of the brown chair or the prime spot on the dining room couch.
I will always love him, and never forget him. Cats leave footprints on your heart.
So please, Lord, take good care of my baby. Make sure that he joins my other parted loves - Heidi, Casey, Beth - and make sure they take good care of him until I can get to meet up with him again in later years.
I know, intellectually, that I did the right thing for him. So why do I feel so guilty? He trusted me, all of his life.
Did I let him down?
Please, Lord, let him hear me singing my last song to him whenver he gets lonely. Let him know that there isn't one day that goes by, for the rest of my life, that I won't think of him. Let him know that his was the best male relationship I ever had. He was always home, always loving, and never once took my agenda.
If you have time, please cradle him in Your arms once a day, and let him purr to you.
You'll enjoy it. Milo was Love, personifed.
So I give Milo into your loving hands. This is my kitty, in whom I am well-pleased.
Thank you, Lord. Amen
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Where did 2008 Go?
Hullo, dear ones!
I know, bless me, family, for I have sinned. It has been ten months since my last post...
...and I'm contrite.
It has been a busy year, and an absolutely NUTSO summer.
A way-long story, and I'm going to spare you the details. 2008 has seen the following:
1. Ushering in the New Year at Precious' home in MD. I was there for Christmas. She called and said "Hey, we haven't had Christmas together in 30 years. If you want to spend one with The Rents, you'd best come, because I have a feeling that you won't get another chance!" So I left L&M in the capable care of his family and my sons, and took off for 17 days. I'm glad I did. The day before I left for Maryland, Precious called me to say that her little four-month-old grandson's babysitter was coming down the stairs in socks, while carrying the baby, and she fell down the whole flight of stairs, landing on his left leg. (He had a badly fractured femur and spent six weeks in a Spica cast.)
2. Big Red and Sweetie got engaged in January. BG and Lady started to plan their wedding after settling in their beautiful brand new home. Wedding date is set for New Year's Eve, this year, and will be a smashing, beautiful (and expensive!) gala event.
3. L&M continued with his medical workups. The aneurysm is stable. The mental decline continues, slowly.
4. L&M was placed on SSDI, throwing him into a final depressed state that took several months to adjust to. As I've said, the man defined himself by his work. Being placed on SSDI was helpful, and miraculous on the first try, but brought home to him that he cannot work any longer. He knew it, of course. But it's one thing to know something in your heart, and another to have the goverment say "Fuggedabout it. You're too broken to ever work again" and realize that every day that you're living, one day at a time, is the best you're ever going to get.
5. The grandkids turned 12, 10, 9, and 5 (soon to be 6!) and the 'baby' starts kindergarten next week. Man, where did THAT go???
6. We found out that we are having another grandchild! L&M's son and his lady are having a baby boy, due in November, but by all reports will probably be born early. We're very excited, but our excitement is tempered by the fact that our new baby will be living 2400 miles away, in Colorado, and we will see him only in limited times of exposure during visits.
7. L&M and I went to MD for Big Red's Sweetie's bridal shower. Precious and I made the cake. My first foray into marzipan calla lillies...Precious' first foray into the Wilton decorating tubes. It came out so pretty. And was totally delicious. Precious is one helluva cook! (If you ever do something like this - go to the local JoAnn's or Michael's and pick up the Wilton packaged buttercream frosting. Best buttercream I've ever tasted!)
8. Precious and I started making Sweetie's bridal gown. It's an original design - she told me what she wanted, I designed it, drew up the pattern, and fit it. To date, Precious and I have sewn on about 3,000 Swarovski crystals and pearls, and beaded about twenty lace appliques. It's a work of art.
9. Motherdear's mother dear spent the year having TIAs (mini-strokes) weekly. On June 30th (Precious' last officeal day at work, having taken an early retirement buyout from her high-pressure job of 20 years), MD's md went into congestive heart failure (CHF) and almost died. Long story short (I say that a lot but it never seems to work out that way, does it?) - she ended up being diagnosed with an MI (heart attack), the silent variety. Her second in two weeks. She ended up with quadruple bypass surgery on July 7th. Precious and I were beading appliques during the surgery (kept us off the streets and out of the pool halls!) MD's md rehabbed in a nursing home. I was there before the surgery and after, for 17 days. MD's daddy is starting to look very much like roadkill. He stayed with her in the hospital from June 30th to the night of her surgery. He's 82. He has a tissuepaper heart himself. And he is a totally devoted husband. (Which is admirable, but leaves Precious and I with TWO parents to worry about because he wasn't taking care of himself and certainly wasn't listening to any of us! The man's gonna do what the man's gonna do.)
10. BG and Lady provided me with a new 'granddaughter' - a six week old beagle puppy, on Mom's Day. I, of course, fell instantly in love with her and the feeling is mutual. And she loves her grandpa, too. She's a stubborn little shit sometimes, but absolutely gorgeous and the most fun you can have without a case of "C" batteries in the house! She comes over to stay with us sometimes, and I miss her like an amputated limb when she goes home with her mommy and daddy!
11. After BG and Lady took a cruise to Alaska in August (right after I came home from md's surgery) and we got to have my four-legged bundle-of-energy 'granddaughter' for a week. L&M and I then went back to Maryland to be with The Rents so Precious could take her first vacation in ten years. She had planned it in April and wasn't going to go due to md's health, but I forced her to do so. First, she'd have lost a ton of money (they rented a four-bedroom beach house, and all four of their combined children came for the week, plus the wives/girlfriends and Precious' baby grandson, now a year old). While they were there, the baby started walking! Precious was so proud...and so happy he decided to do it on their vacation! But second, and more important than the money issue - the girl was exhausted and needed to get away. L&M and I were more than happy to stay with The Rents so she could have this quiet time with her family. She'd been running non-stop since June 30th.
12. L&M and I hung out for a few days after their return from the vacation. It was supposed to be Precious' summer off (the first in 30 years), but more drama ensured with MD's md. Again, long story short - she went back into CHF and spent several days in the hospital. She's seen a lot of doctors (neurologist, nephrologist, cardiologist) and the upshot is this:
My mom is dying. She probably has three to six months to live. And she is ready for it. She's tired, and needs for it to end. Naturally, MD's dear dad is having a very hard time with this. He's spent 60 years of his life with one person.
13. While we were gone, Sir Milo Pisskitty decided he was going to star in his own drama...he has either a brain tumor, or a blood clot in his brain. We're spending lots of time cuddling the little bugger. I only half-joke that he's been with me longer than any of my husbands (17 years!)...and I know what the inevitable will bring. Luckily, we do not have to put our pets through the same kind of torture that we put our loved ones through when it's 'their time'. I just don't want to let go, you know??? As long as he still recognizes me and can eat something, I'm going to pull for the little guy. I have to feed him water with a syringe, but his daddy (L&M) holds him and kisses the top of his head, and he doesn't seem to mind. I just hope I don't hold on to him too long. It's hard to tell with cats when they're in pain. They're so stoic. I'm just praying that he goes in his sleep, sweetly and gently, in the arms of an angel.
And I wish that for my mom, too.
And truth be told, I wish that for us all.
I know, bless me, family, for I have sinned. It has been ten months since my last post...
...and I'm contrite.
It has been a busy year, and an absolutely NUTSO summer.
A way-long story, and I'm going to spare you the details. 2008 has seen the following:
1. Ushering in the New Year at Precious' home in MD. I was there for Christmas. She called and said "Hey, we haven't had Christmas together in 30 years. If you want to spend one with The Rents, you'd best come, because I have a feeling that you won't get another chance!" So I left L&M in the capable care of his family and my sons, and took off for 17 days. I'm glad I did. The day before I left for Maryland, Precious called me to say that her little four-month-old grandson's babysitter was coming down the stairs in socks, while carrying the baby, and she fell down the whole flight of stairs, landing on his left leg. (He had a badly fractured femur and spent six weeks in a Spica cast.)
2. Big Red and Sweetie got engaged in January. BG and Lady started to plan their wedding after settling in their beautiful brand new home. Wedding date is set for New Year's Eve, this year, and will be a smashing, beautiful (and expensive!) gala event.
3. L&M continued with his medical workups. The aneurysm is stable. The mental decline continues, slowly.
4. L&M was placed on SSDI, throwing him into a final depressed state that took several months to adjust to. As I've said, the man defined himself by his work. Being placed on SSDI was helpful, and miraculous on the first try, but brought home to him that he cannot work any longer. He knew it, of course. But it's one thing to know something in your heart, and another to have the goverment say "Fuggedabout it. You're too broken to ever work again" and realize that every day that you're living, one day at a time, is the best you're ever going to get.
5. The grandkids turned 12, 10, 9, and 5 (soon to be 6!) and the 'baby' starts kindergarten next week. Man, where did THAT go???
6. We found out that we are having another grandchild! L&M's son and his lady are having a baby boy, due in November, but by all reports will probably be born early. We're very excited, but our excitement is tempered by the fact that our new baby will be living 2400 miles away, in Colorado, and we will see him only in limited times of exposure during visits.
7. L&M and I went to MD for Big Red's Sweetie's bridal shower. Precious and I made the cake. My first foray into marzipan calla lillies...Precious' first foray into the Wilton decorating tubes. It came out so pretty. And was totally delicious. Precious is one helluva cook! (If you ever do something like this - go to the local JoAnn's or Michael's and pick up the Wilton packaged buttercream frosting. Best buttercream I've ever tasted!)
8. Precious and I started making Sweetie's bridal gown. It's an original design - she told me what she wanted, I designed it, drew up the pattern, and fit it. To date, Precious and I have sewn on about 3,000 Swarovski crystals and pearls, and beaded about twenty lace appliques. It's a work of art.
9. Motherdear's mother dear spent the year having TIAs (mini-strokes) weekly. On June 30th (Precious' last officeal day at work, having taken an early retirement buyout from her high-pressure job of 20 years), MD's md went into congestive heart failure (CHF) and almost died. Long story short (I say that a lot but it never seems to work out that way, does it?) - she ended up being diagnosed with an MI (heart attack), the silent variety. Her second in two weeks. She ended up with quadruple bypass surgery on July 7th. Precious and I were beading appliques during the surgery (kept us off the streets and out of the pool halls!) MD's md rehabbed in a nursing home. I was there before the surgery and after, for 17 days. MD's daddy is starting to look very much like roadkill. He stayed with her in the hospital from June 30th to the night of her surgery. He's 82. He has a tissuepaper heart himself. And he is a totally devoted husband. (Which is admirable, but leaves Precious and I with TWO parents to worry about because he wasn't taking care of himself and certainly wasn't listening to any of us! The man's gonna do what the man's gonna do.)
10. BG and Lady provided me with a new 'granddaughter' - a six week old beagle puppy, on Mom's Day. I, of course, fell instantly in love with her and the feeling is mutual. And she loves her grandpa, too. She's a stubborn little shit sometimes, but absolutely gorgeous and the most fun you can have without a case of "C" batteries in the house! She comes over to stay with us sometimes, and I miss her like an amputated limb when she goes home with her mommy and daddy!
11. After BG and Lady took a cruise to Alaska in August (right after I came home from md's surgery) and we got to have my four-legged bundle-of-energy 'granddaughter' for a week. L&M and I then went back to Maryland to be with The Rents so Precious could take her first vacation in ten years. She had planned it in April and wasn't going to go due to md's health, but I forced her to do so. First, she'd have lost a ton of money (they rented a four-bedroom beach house, and all four of their combined children came for the week, plus the wives/girlfriends and Precious' baby grandson, now a year old). While they were there, the baby started walking! Precious was so proud...and so happy he decided to do it on their vacation! But second, and more important than the money issue - the girl was exhausted and needed to get away. L&M and I were more than happy to stay with The Rents so she could have this quiet time with her family. She'd been running non-stop since June 30th.
12. L&M and I hung out for a few days after their return from the vacation. It was supposed to be Precious' summer off (the first in 30 years), but more drama ensured with MD's md. Again, long story short - she went back into CHF and spent several days in the hospital. She's seen a lot of doctors (neurologist, nephrologist, cardiologist) and the upshot is this:
My mom is dying. She probably has three to six months to live. And she is ready for it. She's tired, and needs for it to end. Naturally, MD's dear dad is having a very hard time with this. He's spent 60 years of his life with one person.
13. While we were gone, Sir Milo Pisskitty decided he was going to star in his own drama...he has either a brain tumor, or a blood clot in his brain. We're spending lots of time cuddling the little bugger. I only half-joke that he's been with me longer than any of my husbands (17 years!)...and I know what the inevitable will bring. Luckily, we do not have to put our pets through the same kind of torture that we put our loved ones through when it's 'their time'. I just don't want to let go, you know??? As long as he still recognizes me and can eat something, I'm going to pull for the little guy. I have to feed him water with a syringe, but his daddy (L&M) holds him and kisses the top of his head, and he doesn't seem to mind. I just hope I don't hold on to him too long. It's hard to tell with cats when they're in pain. They're so stoic. I'm just praying that he goes in his sleep, sweetly and gently, in the arms of an angel.
And I wish that for my mom, too.
And truth be told, I wish that for us all.
Friday, November 16, 2007
2007 Update, Part II
I last posted in June, so I thought someone might be interested in an update. If you aren't, don't worry. I'm not much interested in my life, myself!
So we got as far as June, and me wailing about sick Mommy and surgical Daddy and My Precious with her back, poor kid...it's still a problem.
The Rents stayed with Precious through the summer, where there were multiple events. Mommy had her surgery. Daddy slowly recovered from his own. There was a baby shower for Nef and Nef's wife and baby. This was the miracle baby, a little boy-child who was much desired and anticipated, and is Precious' first grandboy. The pregnancy was going beautifully. The shower was fun, but I thought Niece-in-law looked a bit puffy. But she was indeed beautiful, and oh, so happy.
They do a strange thing down there...the girls have a "girl's shower" and then the menfolk come in and have a "men's shower". Which roughly means they sit around, bust each other, and get crocked.
L&M was invited down for the men's shower, so we both trucked down and helped with preps and all. Precious, Mommy, Big Red's girl (I'll call her Sweetie, because she is!) and I catered the event. The food was well-received.
As we ladies were preparing to clear out for the men's shower (aka 'the Debauch'), L&M tried to jump into the car to go back to the house with us ladies. Precious kicked him out and made him stay for the men's shower. We got reports later that all he did for six hours was sit on the couch and not talk to anyone. Well, L&M isn't known for being gregarious, and he doesn't drink, so I wasn't all that surprised. He's not exactly your basic Life-Of-The-Party.
I was a little tiffed that he went all that way and couldn't put an effort forth to be even a little sociable. He could have hung with my brother-in-law. They get along well, although L&M doesn't talk much (sometimes, not at all). And to boot, the one thing L&M had to remember was his gift for the baby's Daddy. He left it on the dining room table at Precious' house.
Okay, I'm used to this sort of thing so I didn't think too much of it. More will be revealed later, stay tuned.
July saw more and more work, and less and less of L&M doing any of it. I was really out straight with it all. He watched a lot of TV. I put in for a vacation for him, for the second week of September, thinking he was exhausted.
August was 'interesting times'. First, BG and his Lady got engaged. They started building a house. They were due to go on a cruise to Europe in the first part of August. Good times.
About a week before they were to leave, BG was doing his stretches on the living room loveseat, talking to his Lady on the phone, and something 'went' in his back. He ended up on the living room floor in a heap. He called me, I sent over emergency meds and requested he immediately go to the ER because I suspected a lumbar disk herniation. Of course, Motherdear is a fat stupid cow and doesn't know what she's talking about, so he treated it at home for a day or two, ignoring my continual pleas to at least see his PCP. He decided instead to try a chiropractor. How he drove his truck the quarter mile to the office is beyond me. He saw the chiropractor, who without an MRI or even a stupid X-ray, laid him on his side, pushed his shoulders forward with his hand and then pushed backward on BG's hips with the doc's knee, using his full weight. Something went 'crack, snapple, pop, KERPLOW' in BG's back, and he was unable to use his legs. Literally, his legs would not hold him up.
The next day, Lady helped him crawl to her car to take him to the PCP. In the one mile between his townhouse and the office, he started having spasms so bad that by the time they got to the office, he couldn't get out of the car. Four nurses and the doctor came out to the parking lot to help him. In the end, the little Chinese doctor who is BG's (and now L&M's) PCP said "Call an ambulance!" It took four firemen to get BG out of the car and onto a stretcher. They took him to the local ER and did an MRI. Severely blown L4/L5 disk. (Yeah, I'm a fat stupid cow, all right.) Long story short, three days on bedrest, and surgery on Monday. Severe pain, spasms, and God bless the little button that you push to get pain meds into your little body in a big hurry. My boy was one hurting unit. His Lady took right over and did a stellar job. I was right proud of them. They were only engaged for two weeks when this happened. Some couples don't work together this well after twenty years of marriage! (And I should know, having accumulated 31 years of marriage between three husbands!)
Needless to say, the cruise was off. But at least he can walk now.
The week after BG got out of the hospital, L&M went on a road trip to do some inspections of multifamily housing complexes. It was mid-August in Virginia, 90-degree heat, and he was running all over. The last day, he went to National airport to come home, and because of the way the travel department books the flights, he missed it because he had to return the rental car, get to the airport from the leasing facility, and go through security, and there just wasn't enough time to get to the flight. He called me, bitchin'. He said they had him on a later flight. He sounded funny...and repeated the call four times. Even at the airport, he couldn't seem to make it onto the flight.
Long story short (again), L&M had a major meltdown. He became confused and disoriented, was 'captive' in the airport for 24 hours before he let me put a stranger onto the phone to get him to the gate for his flight home. I had to look the gate up on the internet; he couldn't read the flight board. He kept telling me he was trying to get onto a boat. He thought he was flying out of Providence and not Washington. I called his daughter, and his son-in-law and brother met him when he finally got in, took one look at him and heard his nonsensical conversation, and took him right to the local ER.
They admitted him for delirium and bradycardia (a heart rate in the 50s. No, this is not an athletic man.) He flunked all the psych evaluations. I went in the next day to visit and stay with him, and the covering MD basically told me that he had dementia, and I should take him home and find a residential placement for him.
Punch me in the gut with a 2x4, would you? It would have hurt less.
I knew he had been declining, memory-wise, for awhile. I knew he had a hard time finding words, especially when stressed. I knew he was 'withdrawing' socially, but I thought he was depressed and anxious.
I'll cut to the chase - he hasn't worked since then, and won't again. He has pre-senile dementia, which is basically akin to Alzheimer's, or like the brain dysfunction people get in their older years (their MUCH older years). He's been worked up all over hill and dale, and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it except try to forestall the decline.
Some day, my husband will wake up next to me and will know I'm familiar, but won't remember my name. And there's not one damn thing I can do about it.
While we were working everything up, we also found out that he has an aortic aneurysm. He's still undergoing evaluation for that. We won't know if he will need surgery to replace his aorta and aortic valve for awhile yet. His last test was Thursday, and we're waiting for the specialist to make the determination. One thing is for sure, he will require the surgery at some point. We just don't know when it will be. Could be in six months. Could be in two years.
So now, my big, strong husband is looking pretty frail, is understandably depressed, and very angry. Angry at his body for betraying him (which, in truth, may be somewhat his fault since he hasn't seen a doctor in 25 years.) Angry at not being able to work. It's how he defined himself. Work was everything, his constant in life, and he was very good at it. Now he can't write two coherent sentences. And most of all, he's angry at me because I keep pushing to get all this stuff fixed as much as can be fixed so I have him around long enough to wake up next to me and not remember my name.
It's been fun.
The bright side...the grandkids are healthy. BG's back is healing nicely. Kal seems happy in his new job. The Rents are still alive.
And I still get to wake up next to my man. Who at this point, can remember my name.
So we got as far as June, and me wailing about sick Mommy and surgical Daddy and My Precious with her back, poor kid...it's still a problem.
The Rents stayed with Precious through the summer, where there were multiple events. Mommy had her surgery. Daddy slowly recovered from his own. There was a baby shower for Nef and Nef's wife and baby. This was the miracle baby, a little boy-child who was much desired and anticipated, and is Precious' first grandboy. The pregnancy was going beautifully. The shower was fun, but I thought Niece-in-law looked a bit puffy. But she was indeed beautiful, and oh, so happy.
They do a strange thing down there...the girls have a "girl's shower" and then the menfolk come in and have a "men's shower". Which roughly means they sit around, bust each other, and get crocked.
L&M was invited down for the men's shower, so we both trucked down and helped with preps and all. Precious, Mommy, Big Red's girl (I'll call her Sweetie, because she is!) and I catered the event. The food was well-received.
As we ladies were preparing to clear out for the men's shower (aka 'the Debauch'), L&M tried to jump into the car to go back to the house with us ladies. Precious kicked him out and made him stay for the men's shower. We got reports later that all he did for six hours was sit on the couch and not talk to anyone. Well, L&M isn't known for being gregarious, and he doesn't drink, so I wasn't all that surprised. He's not exactly your basic Life-Of-The-Party.
I was a little tiffed that he went all that way and couldn't put an effort forth to be even a little sociable. He could have hung with my brother-in-law. They get along well, although L&M doesn't talk much (sometimes, not at all). And to boot, the one thing L&M had to remember was his gift for the baby's Daddy. He left it on the dining room table at Precious' house.
Okay, I'm used to this sort of thing so I didn't think too much of it. More will be revealed later, stay tuned.
July saw more and more work, and less and less of L&M doing any of it. I was really out straight with it all. He watched a lot of TV. I put in for a vacation for him, for the second week of September, thinking he was exhausted.
August was 'interesting times'. First, BG and his Lady got engaged. They started building a house. They were due to go on a cruise to Europe in the first part of August. Good times.
About a week before they were to leave, BG was doing his stretches on the living room loveseat, talking to his Lady on the phone, and something 'went' in his back. He ended up on the living room floor in a heap. He called me, I sent over emergency meds and requested he immediately go to the ER because I suspected a lumbar disk herniation. Of course, Motherdear is a fat stupid cow and doesn't know what she's talking about, so he treated it at home for a day or two, ignoring my continual pleas to at least see his PCP. He decided instead to try a chiropractor. How he drove his truck the quarter mile to the office is beyond me. He saw the chiropractor, who without an MRI or even a stupid X-ray, laid him on his side, pushed his shoulders forward with his hand and then pushed backward on BG's hips with the doc's knee, using his full weight. Something went 'crack, snapple, pop, KERPLOW' in BG's back, and he was unable to use his legs. Literally, his legs would not hold him up.
The next day, Lady helped him crawl to her car to take him to the PCP. In the one mile between his townhouse and the office, he started having spasms so bad that by the time they got to the office, he couldn't get out of the car. Four nurses and the doctor came out to the parking lot to help him. In the end, the little Chinese doctor who is BG's (and now L&M's) PCP said "Call an ambulance!" It took four firemen to get BG out of the car and onto a stretcher. They took him to the local ER and did an MRI. Severely blown L4/L5 disk. (Yeah, I'm a fat stupid cow, all right.) Long story short, three days on bedrest, and surgery on Monday. Severe pain, spasms, and God bless the little button that you push to get pain meds into your little body in a big hurry. My boy was one hurting unit. His Lady took right over and did a stellar job. I was right proud of them. They were only engaged for two weeks when this happened. Some couples don't work together this well after twenty years of marriage! (And I should know, having accumulated 31 years of marriage between three husbands!)
Needless to say, the cruise was off. But at least he can walk now.
The week after BG got out of the hospital, L&M went on a road trip to do some inspections of multifamily housing complexes. It was mid-August in Virginia, 90-degree heat, and he was running all over. The last day, he went to National airport to come home, and because of the way the travel department books the flights, he missed it because he had to return the rental car, get to the airport from the leasing facility, and go through security, and there just wasn't enough time to get to the flight. He called me, bitchin'. He said they had him on a later flight. He sounded funny...and repeated the call four times. Even at the airport, he couldn't seem to make it onto the flight.
Long story short (again), L&M had a major meltdown. He became confused and disoriented, was 'captive' in the airport for 24 hours before he let me put a stranger onto the phone to get him to the gate for his flight home. I had to look the gate up on the internet; he couldn't read the flight board. He kept telling me he was trying to get onto a boat. He thought he was flying out of Providence and not Washington. I called his daughter, and his son-in-law and brother met him when he finally got in, took one look at him and heard his nonsensical conversation, and took him right to the local ER.
They admitted him for delirium and bradycardia (a heart rate in the 50s. No, this is not an athletic man.) He flunked all the psych evaluations. I went in the next day to visit and stay with him, and the covering MD basically told me that he had dementia, and I should take him home and find a residential placement for him.
Punch me in the gut with a 2x4, would you? It would have hurt less.
I knew he had been declining, memory-wise, for awhile. I knew he had a hard time finding words, especially when stressed. I knew he was 'withdrawing' socially, but I thought he was depressed and anxious.
I'll cut to the chase - he hasn't worked since then, and won't again. He has pre-senile dementia, which is basically akin to Alzheimer's, or like the brain dysfunction people get in their older years (their MUCH older years). He's been worked up all over hill and dale, and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it except try to forestall the decline.
Some day, my husband will wake up next to me and will know I'm familiar, but won't remember my name. And there's not one damn thing I can do about it.
While we were working everything up, we also found out that he has an aortic aneurysm. He's still undergoing evaluation for that. We won't know if he will need surgery to replace his aorta and aortic valve for awhile yet. His last test was Thursday, and we're waiting for the specialist to make the determination. One thing is for sure, he will require the surgery at some point. We just don't know when it will be. Could be in six months. Could be in two years.
So now, my big, strong husband is looking pretty frail, is understandably depressed, and very angry. Angry at his body for betraying him (which, in truth, may be somewhat his fault since he hasn't seen a doctor in 25 years.) Angry at not being able to work. It's how he defined himself. Work was everything, his constant in life, and he was very good at it. Now he can't write two coherent sentences. And most of all, he's angry at me because I keep pushing to get all this stuff fixed as much as can be fixed so I have him around long enough to wake up next to me and not remember my name.
It's been fun.
The bright side...the grandkids are healthy. BG's back is healing nicely. Kal seems happy in his new job. The Rents are still alive.
And I still get to wake up next to my man. Who at this point, can remember my name.
Friday, June 1, 2007
If it ain't broken...
...why fix it???
Geesh, I know I havent' posted in awhile, but Blogger has gone and screwed the poochie big time. I'm a simple(minded) woman. I'm old. Me hate change.
So I thought I'd update both of you who read this once in a bit, and I had to go through the tortures of the damned to create a 'new blog' with the 'New-and-Improved Blogger'. Yick. There wasn't a thing wrong with the old-and-unimproved-Blogger. Now I have to start from scratch.
And the rate at which I get to ol' Stevie Viao, here...it should be the Second Coming before I get this set up. So bear with me, dears. Things are tough at The Home.
Okay, update since February...
March - Motherdear's mother dear had a stroke. Not a bad one, but a stroke. One in which she had the joyous event of not being able to speak. Mind you, this is a woman for whom the world of speech is the Golden Palace of the Himalayas..a lady who never met a silence she could stand, who was never without a clever phrase (or a constant one), one who was vaccinated with a phonograph needle...
(...yeah, I take after my mother. So shoot me. I actually write more than I talk. But my fingers do talk a lot.)
Anyway, Mommy was left with an inability to put two words together after 4 PM in the afternoon. If you wanted to talk to her, your best best was before 10 AM. And she developed an 'out' word, one which would signal us all not to make her talk any more than replies to simple yes-or-no questions. Meaning she couldn't get the words together, so don't embarrass or frustrate her by asking anything else. The word???
CORNUCOPIA.
Yeah. Funny word to say when you're out of words, huh?
She also had septicemia (blood poisoning). No one knows how she got that! But hey, this was in Florida, where the medical profession is often, shall we say, unsure of much. Leave it at that. Don't get me started...
March also saw the final collapse of My Precious. She blew the remaining 60% of her L-4 / L-5 disk (the other 40% having ruptured and been removed in 1999).
And L&M killed the car. No, he wasn't hurt. But poor ol' Car died. Requiem in Pacem, LittleCar. (Not so little - a 1994 Buick Regal. Thank goodness. Otherwise, Car would have worn L&M as a fresh bug spot on the inside of the windshield. He rear-ended a Ford 350 in an emergency stop.)
Of course, all this happened in one week. It was fun. Never ends.
We got through that and all the aftermath, and along came April.
My Precious had surgery to remove that disk, and I flew down for ten days to be her private nurse. That one is a post of its own. Saved for another day. You'll love it.
L&M was out of state on business for ten days. A bright spot in my life! But the report writing more than made up for that!
Mommy, who was still reeling a bit from the medical events of March, got up in the middle of the night to go to the john, fell down the stairs, and broke her tailbone clean off. Yeah, THAT hurt!!! (And still does.)
May came, and the grandkids made their First Communion. THAT was a fun time, they were adorable. LittleGuy was thrilled because now he has a white suit and can REALLY do an Elvis impersonation! LittleGal looked like a little bride. In fact, she looked just like her mom did on the day she and their daddy got married. Spooky when a face recycles into a next generation, huh?
The Boy turned nine. What a handsome, smart young fella is my grandson! Kal and Wifeypooh picked out a great face for that kid, I'll tell ya. He's turning into a little charmer, too. What a cutie.
Mom's Day was great. Kal, Wifeypooh and the kids joined L&M, Brother Goodson, BG's Lady, and me for dessert after a wonderful meal prepare by BG and BG's Lady. The Girl managed to eat some of the meal, too. Don't know where she puts it. But she's growing like a weed and she's going to be a foot taller than her ol' grandmother by the time she turns 11 this month!!
My birthday was six days after Mom's Day, so I went out to dinner with BG and BG's Lady (L&M was there, too) at a very nice restaurant. Had tiramisu for dessert. If I got to heaven when I die, the only foodstuffs served will be mangoes and tiramisu. (Hey, it's my Heaven, right? I can have fruit and dessert all I want and still not pack on the tonnage.)
On the next day, Sunday, I went to Kal's house for a wonderful homecooked meal. Kal and Wifeypooh are great cooks. She makes the best vegetable lasagna and something wonderful called broccoli salad (leaving the bacon out, just for me. Isn't that sweet?) And she made eggplant parm with smoked mozzarella...ever had that? Man!!! Talk about mouthwatering! And she made a banana split cake, too. She's made one for me every year since I turned 50. It's my favorite cake. Keep your Carvel cakes (YICK!)...I'm going to add the banana split cake and her other dishes to my Heaven Menu. Yeah. Gotta do that. Too good not to bring with me.
This past week was interesting. Wrote (and wrote and wrote and wrote) 25 reports for L&M over the past couple of weeks, and that was fun (NOT!). Especially since he just watches TV or mows the lawn or does all sorts of not-helping-with-HIS-reports stuff as I writhe in the chair and type. Sometimes he sits next to me and just plays online cribbage.
My best nature doesn't come out when he does that. It's all I can do to restrain myself from stabbing him in the brain with his letter opener! Troll...
So this week, Mommy had another stroke. A mini-stroke. But good came from it. They found that her carotid artery is 85% to 99% blocked on the right side. (Of course, they did the same tests in Florida and didn't find a thing.... GRRRR....) She'll have surgery in a month to open that artery and put a stint in. It's called a carotid endarterectomy, and it's a good thing. Maybe now we can prevent her from having the major stroke that will put her into puddingdom.
Daddy had surgery, too. Guy surgery. We won't talk about it. Let's just say he's coming along, but he's a hurtin' unit, especially since his bride of 58 years is in the hospital and he isn't there to take care of her. They don't make husbands like that any more!! (Not that I've seen, anyway, and I've had three of them!)
My Precious has all of the duty on this one, as the Rents are at her home and she's taking care of them. I need to be down there. But it ain't happening. Someone has reports that need to be written.
Frustrating. Truly frustrating.
Okay, you're caught up. I hope someone finds this since they won't let me play with my old Blog any more!!!
Love you guys!! All of you!!!
Geesh, I know I havent' posted in awhile, but Blogger has gone and screwed the poochie big time. I'm a simple(minded) woman. I'm old. Me hate change.
So I thought I'd update both of you who read this once in a bit, and I had to go through the tortures of the damned to create a 'new blog' with the 'New-and-Improved Blogger'. Yick. There wasn't a thing wrong with the old-and-unimproved-Blogger. Now I have to start from scratch.
And the rate at which I get to ol' Stevie Viao, here...it should be the Second Coming before I get this set up. So bear with me, dears. Things are tough at The Home.
Okay, update since February...
March - Motherdear's mother dear had a stroke. Not a bad one, but a stroke. One in which she had the joyous event of not being able to speak. Mind you, this is a woman for whom the world of speech is the Golden Palace of the Himalayas..a lady who never met a silence she could stand, who was never without a clever phrase (or a constant one), one who was vaccinated with a phonograph needle...
(...yeah, I take after my mother. So shoot me. I actually write more than I talk. But my fingers do talk a lot.)
Anyway, Mommy was left with an inability to put two words together after 4 PM in the afternoon. If you wanted to talk to her, your best best was before 10 AM. And she developed an 'out' word, one which would signal us all not to make her talk any more than replies to simple yes-or-no questions. Meaning she couldn't get the words together, so don't embarrass or frustrate her by asking anything else. The word???
CORNUCOPIA.
Yeah. Funny word to say when you're out of words, huh?
She also had septicemia (blood poisoning). No one knows how she got that! But hey, this was in Florida, where the medical profession is often, shall we say, unsure of much. Leave it at that. Don't get me started...
March also saw the final collapse of My Precious. She blew the remaining 60% of her L-4 / L-5 disk (the other 40% having ruptured and been removed in 1999).
And L&M killed the car. No, he wasn't hurt. But poor ol' Car died. Requiem in Pacem, LittleCar. (Not so little - a 1994 Buick Regal. Thank goodness. Otherwise, Car would have worn L&M as a fresh bug spot on the inside of the windshield. He rear-ended a Ford 350 in an emergency stop.)
Of course, all this happened in one week. It was fun. Never ends.
We got through that and all the aftermath, and along came April.
My Precious had surgery to remove that disk, and I flew down for ten days to be her private nurse. That one is a post of its own. Saved for another day. You'll love it.
L&M was out of state on business for ten days. A bright spot in my life! But the report writing more than made up for that!
Mommy, who was still reeling a bit from the medical events of March, got up in the middle of the night to go to the john, fell down the stairs, and broke her tailbone clean off. Yeah, THAT hurt!!! (And still does.)
May came, and the grandkids made their First Communion. THAT was a fun time, they were adorable. LittleGuy was thrilled because now he has a white suit and can REALLY do an Elvis impersonation! LittleGal looked like a little bride. In fact, she looked just like her mom did on the day she and their daddy got married. Spooky when a face recycles into a next generation, huh?
The Boy turned nine. What a handsome, smart young fella is my grandson! Kal and Wifeypooh picked out a great face for that kid, I'll tell ya. He's turning into a little charmer, too. What a cutie.
Mom's Day was great. Kal, Wifeypooh and the kids joined L&M, Brother Goodson, BG's Lady, and me for dessert after a wonderful meal prepare by BG and BG's Lady. The Girl managed to eat some of the meal, too. Don't know where she puts it. But she's growing like a weed and she's going to be a foot taller than her ol' grandmother by the time she turns 11 this month!!
My birthday was six days after Mom's Day, so I went out to dinner with BG and BG's Lady (L&M was there, too) at a very nice restaurant. Had tiramisu for dessert. If I got to heaven when I die, the only foodstuffs served will be mangoes and tiramisu. (Hey, it's my Heaven, right? I can have fruit and dessert all I want and still not pack on the tonnage.)
On the next day, Sunday, I went to Kal's house for a wonderful homecooked meal. Kal and Wifeypooh are great cooks. She makes the best vegetable lasagna and something wonderful called broccoli salad (leaving the bacon out, just for me. Isn't that sweet?) And she made eggplant parm with smoked mozzarella...ever had that? Man!!! Talk about mouthwatering! And she made a banana split cake, too. She's made one for me every year since I turned 50. It's my favorite cake. Keep your Carvel cakes (YICK!)...I'm going to add the banana split cake and her other dishes to my Heaven Menu. Yeah. Gotta do that. Too good not to bring with me.
This past week was interesting. Wrote (and wrote and wrote and wrote) 25 reports for L&M over the past couple of weeks, and that was fun (NOT!). Especially since he just watches TV or mows the lawn or does all sorts of not-helping-with-HIS-reports stuff as I writhe in the chair and type. Sometimes he sits next to me and just plays online cribbage.
My best nature doesn't come out when he does that. It's all I can do to restrain myself from stabbing him in the brain with his letter opener! Troll...
So this week, Mommy had another stroke. A mini-stroke. But good came from it. They found that her carotid artery is 85% to 99% blocked on the right side. (Of course, they did the same tests in Florida and didn't find a thing.... GRRRR....) She'll have surgery in a month to open that artery and put a stint in. It's called a carotid endarterectomy, and it's a good thing. Maybe now we can prevent her from having the major stroke that will put her into puddingdom.
Daddy had surgery, too. Guy surgery. We won't talk about it. Let's just say he's coming along, but he's a hurtin' unit, especially since his bride of 58 years is in the hospital and he isn't there to take care of her. They don't make husbands like that any more!! (Not that I've seen, anyway, and I've had three of them!)
My Precious has all of the duty on this one, as the Rents are at her home and she's taking care of them. I need to be down there. But it ain't happening. Someone has reports that need to be written.
Frustrating. Truly frustrating.
Okay, you're caught up. I hope someone finds this since they won't let me play with my old Blog any more!!!
Love you guys!! All of you!!!
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