"That Little Dash In Between"

Hope. Simple as that.

2011-09-21T16:07:00.003-04:00

"HANDS OF HOPE"

This past weekend, my sister P held a fundraiser at the hair salon she works at. It was called "Cutting for a Cure" and was held in memory of our Mom as well as P's boss who also lost her Dad to Alzheimer's. At the end of the day, we took all of the balloons and each person who has lost someone to Alzheimer's released one. The above picture I took from inside the circle of balloons. I called it "Hands Of Hope" because I can only hope for a cure for this F'ing disease. Excuse my swear/slang!

This coming Sunday is the Memory Walk and I will post pictures from that next week. Please pray for us and pray that we can raise money to fund a cure.

Thanks!
-G

The Party's Over

2011-08-25T11:46:00.006-04:00

Back to work for me already! Wow, I blogged on the last day of school for Pal, and now he is going back to school on Tuesday. 7th grade. Holy crap.

Summer has been good, at times I was a little bored staying home but cured myself of that quickly by making lots (and lots) of plans for us to get out of the house. Therefore, I never got any projects done at home before returning to work this past Monday! There's the rub.

With Summer dwindling down and Fall on the horizon, we will once again walk as a family in the Alzheimer's Walk in Boston. Our team seems to change every year, with last year's team being our largest. My cousins walked with us, because their Mom who is my Mom's sister, also has Alzheimer's. Aunt M is in the stage that my Mom was in when we started to realize she couldn't stay alone at all. We started looking at nursing homes and assisted living facilities, but my cousins and Uncle are not quite there yet.

The walk is on Sunday, September 25. Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers. I miss my Mom so much sometimes it hurts. Other times, I feel like I lost her a looooong time ago. That's what sucks about Alzheimer's - it robs you of your loved ones long before they're gone.

Update on my health and weight loss - I am down 47 pounds! Still going at it, slowly but surely. Summer was harder, but now that I am back at work and on a schedule, I hope to continue in that direction. It was nice to go "back-to-work" shopping for myself and realize what size jeans I can fit into again!!

We are going camping in the pop-up for Labor Day weekend with 3 other families. We've done this a few times now and it is always a good time. I can't wait. Pal turns 12 next week - I can't believe it. He is getting to that age where it's hard to buy gifts for him, because he doesn't want toys anymore, but what he wants for electronics cost a fortune! He ended up asking most people for money so he can buy what he wants. Happy Birthday to my precious little man. He'll be a big man before I blink.

Enjoy the rest of the Summer and bring on the Fall!
-G

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

2011-06-21T11:31:00.005-04:00

This is our lake that we camp on. My caption on Facebook was "Life is good."

Today is the official start of Summer. Not only the Summer Solstice and the longest day of the year (as far as daylight is concerned, that is), but it is also Pal's first day of Summer vacation. It is the day you live for when you are a kid. Or, if you are me and you have Summer's off, too! I've been out for a month, so I had some quiet, luxurious hours alone for the last month. Now that will all change!! But that's okay, because I love that Pal is out of school. No more schedules, packing lunches and backpacks, homework, etc.

For the last day of school he asked if he could walk home instead of taking the bus, and as far as I'm concerned, if he wants to exercise - I let him! So I said yes, and while he was walking he met up with some friends who asked if he wanted to walk down to the local pizza place for lunch. Yikes - he is growing up so fast. I said yes, and of course he didn't have money on him, so I had to bring him some. Then I went on to the grocery store and he proceeds to call and ask if I can pick up him and his friends at the pizza place. They've been out of school for 2 hours and it's already starting!!! But, I went anyway, because I have Taxi & Sucker written on my forehead.

When I picked them up, they all start telling me this story and I was stunned into silence: On their walk to the pizza place, they notice a ziploc bag with "suspicious contents". So, they called the police to report it! I wanted to laugh here, because the thought of four 12-year-olds (or almost 12 in Pal's case) taking it upon themselves to call the police just cracked me up. I would never have done something like that as a kid! When the police didn't respond quickly enough for Pal's liking - he called them a second time!!!

When the police officer came, he smelled the "contents" and determined it was tea leaves. But, he thanked the boys for calling him and told them they did the right thing. In town just that morning, an 8th grade boy was found in a parking lot and the rumor is that he had overdosed on heroin. That's the saddest thing I've heard, and I'm sure the officer was thankful that our boys thought enough to call them because if it were drugs they'd found, at least it would be off the street. We've heard nothing further on the condition of the 8th grade boy, but I sure hope he is okay.

This is the world we live in, and I am scared for Pal to be out there experiencing the harsh reality. I would have preferred he came home from school and lived in the safe little bubble we've created. I just hope he is smarter than the 8th grader and chooses to stay on the safe side of drugs, like calling the police about them.

Vacation is off to an exciting start but I hope it gets "boring" very quickly!!! I love to think of Pal and I waking up late, going to the beach or hanging out at my brother's pool. That's the Summer I am hoping for, anyway!

Happy Summer to everyone!
- G

Update

2011-05-16T14:23:00.002-04:00

After the nationwide vote....the doctor said my blood sugar is now back in the "normal" range, and BP was down 10 "points" on each end. Phew. Total weight loss as of today: 33 lbs!

I have a long way to go as far as weight loss goes, but I have to admit it feels really good for people to notice it.

Oh, AND, This past weekend my chorus won 3rd place in our regional competition!! We were 3rd in our division, and 5th out of 16 overall!

TTFN,
-G

Taking Back The Control

2011-04-22T13:35:00.003-04:00

Has it really been almost four full months since I wrote a blog entry? Shame on me. But, I have good news - there is less of me to shame!!! Let me document my journey for you.

In January, I turned 40. Ugh, right? Well, I was pretty okay with it. I have a great life; a wonderful husband who loves me unconditionally, a beautiful healthy son, great siblings, a great in-law family, good friends, a good job, an awesome chorus to sing with, etc. etc. etc. I can't complain. Well, yes I can.

I have been overweight since I was 17 years old. Initially it was manageable, I could go to Weight Watchers and lose the extra 15-20 lbs. Then in my 20's I started putting it on and keeping it on. I lost weight for my wedding, like most brides do. But pretty much since then, it's been no-holds-barred. I have no excuse, other than absolute laziness. My hubby loves me no matter what weight I am, so therefore there is no motivation to be thin anymore. It's way more fun to eat whatever I want, all.the.time.

That all changed on February 7, 2011 (which also happens to be Garth Brooks' birthday) when I went for a physical. At my last doctor's appointment my blood pressure was elevated, and when the doctor looked back at the last few BP's they were also slightly higher. She came in and told me that I had borderline high blood pressure and needed to act on it, now. She mentioned BP medications, and I don't want to do that. So, we discussed diet, exercise and all the other things I wasn't ready to deal with. The Doc delivered the ultimatum: I either had to lose 10 pounds by May or I would have to go on medicine.

Sounds easy, right?!?! Huh! I went home and told my family that I would have to change my eating habits and get serious about this. I was firm. However, like with every diet I've ever tried, I start to give myself leeway and eat things I shouldn't. Until.....

A letter arrives in the mail 3 days later from the doctor saying that the results from my blood tests showed that I also have high blood sugar. WHAAAT???? No way. Not me. I almost dropped the letter out of my hands. This cannot be my life. I will not be a diabetic. NO FLIPPIN' WAY.

At first I was too ashamed to tell anyone. My hubby had to deal with me all on his own...I actually sobbed one night before going to bed. I was so devastated that I had let my health get this out of control. Eating whatever I wanted for the last 15 years came with a price, and I was not ready to pay. Due to my ferocity that I could not, and would not, be "that person" (you know, the diabetic who has to use insulin, who also had a stroke because of their high blood pressure,who everyone says "Gee, if only she would stop eating herself to death." Or at least in my own head that's what people are saying...I digress...) I have taken control back. Instead of being ashamed, I have shared my story with a lot of people and have gotten so much positive support and reinforcement from my family and friends. I can honestly say that I am a much healthier person today and have completely revamped my eating habits at this point. And the best news of all? I am down 28.3 pounds as of today. Don't you forget that .3 - I've earned it!!!!

This is just the beginning of my journey. I can only be hopeful that the road I've traveled thus far will pay off in that next appointment with the Doc. I'll keep you posted.

Have a wonderful and blessed Easter.

- G

The Year Without A Santa Claus

2010-12-21T14:26:00.003-05:00

I remember when I found out that there was no Santa Claus. I asked my sister, C, to tell me the truth and she did. I was probably about 8 or 9, and I was probably a little relieved to know the truth. Who wants some fat guy in a red suit creeping into our house while we slept? The thought actually gave me shivers! My brother took delight in showing me all of Mom's hiding places for our gifts and took even more delight in showing me how to unwrap them (just a little) to see what they were!! I know, that's horrible, and we only ruined it for ourselves. But we also couldn't resist the temptation.

Pal found out this year. He had been teetering on the verge of knowing, deep down, but his buddy decided on the eve of Easter to tell him. The buddy's parents had clued him in, and he was busting at the seems to tell someone. Unfortunately, Pal was the first person he saw that day. Pal is still crushed. I was definitely crushed, and it ruined our Easter. It's hard when you only have one child because all those days of "pretend" are now over. The absolute funniest "dawn-on-marble-head" moment was when the Christmas Carols started playing on the radio and he heard the song "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" - he looked at me with this incredulous look and said with sarcasm..."Really?"

So, this year will be a bit different at our house. I don't think it will keep Pal in bed any later, because I still think the excitement of the holiday itself is what wakes him up. I can remember waking up my exhausted (and probably a little hungover) parents at 5:00 a.m. They always got up and went through the pretense of seeing if Santa showed up, whether we believed or not. My Dad used to make us wait on the stairs and he would go downstairs to put the tree lights on, and he'd yell up to us - "Santa didn't come this year - go back to bed!" Ha ha. It's something we do to Pal every year and it infuriates him!!!

Don't get me wrong, I do believe in the magic of Christmas. I believe that Christmas is always changing and our traditions are what keep us happy and hopeful.

May Santa be good to all of you this Christmas season. Remember the reason for the season, too - the birth of our saviour. Happy Birthday, Jesus!

- G

Thanks Giving

2010-11-19T21:50:00.002-05:00

I love Thanksgiving. I think that I love it a little more than Christmas (which for me says a lot!) because it is just a day to hang out with family and eat lots of yummy food. I've never hosted a Thanksgiving so I might have a totally different perspective than some of you cooks out there! I simply love all things Fall, and the smells and foods that go with it. Here are some of my favorite things about Thanksgiving that remind me of my childhood and being with my family:

Waking up to the smell of turkey cooking
Celery sticks filled with cream cheese and sprinkled with Paprika
Whole walnuts and other nuts, with large metal nutcrackers
Fresh oranges and grapes on the table
Olives (there were always black and green olives whenever my Mom was involved!!)
Setting the table the night before with Mom's china
Mom's apple pies (luckily my sister C has carried on that tradition...yum!)
Dad cutting into an apple pie on the night before Thanksgiving
My Grandpa coming over for dinner and my brother and I would play in his wheelchair after he fell asleep!
Hot turkey sandwiches around 6:00 p.m.
More apple pie
Mom making me go to Marty's Caterers to BUY gravy because hers was (admittedly) awful!
My sister C holding a chisel and hammer over my Mom's gravy to demonstrate the awfulness!!!
Everybody being sleepy and watching football in the living room

As the years went on and our family expanded, we all couldn't fit into my parent's kitchen, and so we had to put banquet tables through the living room and den. There was never a kids table, we always sat together. Once my Mom started getting older and it became evident that her memory was failing, we started having dinner at my sister's houses. Now my brother has hosted this "event" a few times as well, and that's where we will be this year. I know my Mom will be looking down on us and she will be thankful that we are all together, in one place, carrying on the family traditions. I feel very grateful that she gave me so many great people to spend Thanksgiving with. I love you, family!

May your holiday be filled with traditions, great family and more apple pie than you can possibly eat in one day!

- G

Favorites

2010-09-30T15:58:00.003-04:00

Another blog I like is continuing a meme she saw today, so I thought I would play along too! Thanks, Georgie of Decisionally Challenged!

It’s called Favorites!

Favorite Actor:
Probably Tom Cruise (oh, stop gagging already!). He's been in so many movies I like (A Few Good Men is my favorite...oh wait I am jumping ahead!!) Richard Gere could top the list just for Pretty Woman alone!

Favorite Actress:
Julia Roberts. Love her!

Movie:
The Sound of Music comes first, then Pretty Woman, then A Few Good Men, then My Cousin Vinny, then My Big Fat Greek Wedding....

Band:
Currently I'd have to say the Zac Brown Band.

Musical:
The Sound of Music, of course!

Novel:
The Bridges of Madison County, Montana Sky, Good in Bed.

Cuisine:
Italian, Mexican.

Wine:
yuck.

Store:
Sadly, Target. Or Kohl's.

Vampire:
(skip!)

Primetime TV series:
Currently I would say Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory. I cry laughing at these 2 shows.

Time Waster:
Uh, FACEBOOK. Duh!

Chore:
Sadly, cleaning the whole house. All is right in my world when my house is clean.

Quote:
"People may forget what you said, but they'll never forget how you made them feel."

Smell:
My son after a shower. Other than that I can't stand most strong smells.

Vacation Spot:
DISNEY! And anywhere Hubby wants to go!

Enjoy - Happy end of September!!!

-G

Back to the Grind

2010-08-20T13:56:00.003-04:00

No more limbo. Now I'm doing the cha-cha right back into my 9-month position. As I said in my last post, I know that I am lucky to have a job. But right now I am freaking out a little bit about Pal going to Middle School. I am definitely more nervous about it than he is...and I am SO not ready to get back into the world of homework, packing lunches and bedtimes. I felt like a kid again on Monday morning when I had to return to work. Sunday night I was sad that my Summer was officially over. Poor me, I know, but it's hard to go back after 12 weeks of having the time to get everything done. Now it's crunch time again!

Back to the grind!

- G

Limbo

2010-08-02T15:20:00.002-04:00

I am scheduled to go back to work in 2 weeks. Ugh.

That is, if I am returning to my regular job. You see, Pal is starting Middle School on August 31, and will be home in the afternoons by 2:00. I am apprehensive to leave him home for 2 hours before one of us gets home. My FIL will be home, but he tends to stay downstairs and there isn't any real supervision going on there. So, I requested to move into one of our 6-month part-time positions at work, which would allow me to be home by 1:30 and still keep my benefits. Unfortunately, NOTHING has been done about moving me into this position. It would take a few other people moving around in their positions (which they WANT to do) and moving me into one of their jobs. This is not rocket science, people!! I am waiting in limbo here, and would love to hear the news that I have more than 2 weeks left of my time off!!! (That's the real reason I want to know!).

Anyway, that's my life - in limbo for now.

I'll keep y'all posted on the job status. 9 months or 6, I have a job and am luckier than some.

- G

3 + 4 =...I need to blog more

2010-07-14T20:32:00.002-04:00

I almost choked when I looked at the date of my last blog entry - MARCH? Are you kidding me??? Wow. Time flew and I wasn't having a LOT of fun!!!

An update on the last post: My dog is still alive, my FIL's leukemia is still under control and he is doing well, and my septic system SUCKS. In plain english. I won't bore you with the gory details, but put it this way: I now know how much it will cost to r.e.p.l.a.c.e. my septic system. Grrrrrrrrr.....

So, where have I been and what have I been up to since March 28th? We went on a family vacation to California over April school break. That was fun, but it was chilly in CA! I didn't mind it, but when you think of Cali you think of warmth and sun and beaches. We did have one nice day that we sat on the pier at Santa Monica. It was beautiful there. We did the typical southern Cali trip - Disneyland, where we stayed in a motel directly across the street from the entrance! Lego Land, which Pal was a little to old for, and the San Diego Zoo. Now THAT is a zoo! I can never again go to our local zoo, it will never live up to that!!

Pal has continued with Boy Scouts, much to his father's delight. He really seems to like it, and I know he is a bit in awe of the "older" kids. But they scare ME. Long hair and skinny jeans....UGH. We went camping in Maine over Memorial Day with our pop-up and Pal's friends family. Pal played in his Advanced Band concert and that was cool to see how much they've improved since last year. I also finished up work at the end of May and thoroughly enjoyed 3 weeks of "me time" while Pal was finishing up 5th grade! Can't believe he's going to Middle School next year. Another thing that scares ME!

4th of July weekend was fun, we went to the camper and our campground had awesome fireworks. Then we went to the annual Balloon Festival. It was fun, but I am definitely getting to the point where I am over it. I love the balloons going up but the whole weekend itself has become a chore. I don't need more chores!

So that brings me to today. On Sunday, Pal and Hubby will head off to Boy Scout Camp. For a whole week. Without me. YAAAAAAHHHOOOOOOOo!!! Oh, I mean, I'll really miss them. My living room looks like a camping store threw up, and there are two 45-gallon tubs in there collecting it all. The next few days will be a lot of work to get them both everything they need, but it will be worth it. For them. Oh, and if I happen to enjoy it a little bit, that will just be a bonus. =)

Sorry for being a neglectful blogger...I'll try harder in the future!

Happy Summer!
- G

Just one of those WEEKENDS

2010-03-28T16:53:00.005-04:00

Ugh. I feel like I shouldn't even post this blog. My life has sucked these last few days and I don't even like admitting that because I always try to stay on the positive side and remember that there are SO many people who have it worse than I do right now. But it started with Thursday (see my post about my lunch!!) and I feel like it has gotten worse and worse through the whole weekend. Probably until right now. It's almost 5:00 on Sunday and today has proven that I can have a normal day again. I slept in until 9:15 and my sister-in-law showed up at our house with a Dunkin' iced coffee, and my Mother-in-law made us breakfast. I felt like I'd hit the lottery after the last 36 hours of my life. We went to Church and it was unusually crowded because it is Palm Sunday. I felt renewed and refreshed after Mass, and the day has been pretty low key since. So now I can blog about the sucky few days we just had.

Friday at work was pretty busy. It would have been my Mom's 75th birthday and I was feeling a bit melancholy, but all in all the workday went pretty well. Hubby called and asked if I could pick up something he left on a job that was near my work. Coming out of the side street, I hit the curb with my back passenger side tire and heard the "bang" as I came down off the curb...I knew that wasn't a good sound, but the car (which is 3 months old) wasn't riding any differently so I got on the highway. About 5 miles into my trip, a light came on on the dashboard that I wasn't familiar with. As I leaned over to get the manual out of the glove box, (I was in traffic going slowly), a nice man flagged me down and pointed to my back tire....I rolled down the window and he shouted "Your back tire is completely flat!". Oy. I pulled over to the breakdown lane and got out...sure enough it was dead. I called AAA and after describing exactly where I was on the highway, they told me to wait 15 minutes - someone was on their way. 15 minutes...20 minutes...30 minutes...a return call from AAA saying "They can't locate you". Are you freakin' kidding me?!? I described EXACTLY where I was, exit number and all. I drive a CHERRY APPLE RED car. How in the world can they not locate me? Well, they dispatched a different tow company and told me to wait another 30 minutes. I actually said to the dispatch guy "ANOTHER 30 minutes?!?!" He apologized but they are not even in the same state as I am so there is nothing they can do. Ugh. So, exactly 30 minutes later the tow company shows up and in 3 MINUTES has my tire changed. The guy was very nice, but at this point I had to pee so badly that I just wanted to get going. I stopped at the tire store and he told me the tire was not repairable, and to replace the spare will cost $209.00. Wow. Expensive curb.

After arriving home and settling myself in for the night, my Father-in-law comes upstairs to tell me that our dog is not doing well. I may not have blogged here about our dog...he is only 4 years old but was diagnosed in November with inoperative, incurable cancer. After getting a second and third opinion, we were told there was nothing they could do for him. Poor Rusty. Poor us. It's been awful to watch the tumor in his leg get bigger and bigger and watch him slowly deteriorate. But, he has been doing pretty well considering and was still playful and happy most days. He's been on pain medicine pretty regularly since January, but these last few days he has been declining more rapidly. On Friday night we had made the decision that if he was still this bad on Saturday morning, we would "put him down". All of us were crying, and it was gut-wrenching. Pal had a really difficult time with it. But after having a good night on Friday, and a good day on Saturday, we have decided to hold off for right now. He is sitting here with us right now and other than hobbling on 3 legs he seems content.

Another piece of news we received on Friday is that my Father-in-law's leukemia might be returning...he's been going through testing and they don't like the look of his blood test results. He will now have to have a bone-marrow test again, which is very painful for him. We are anxiously awaiting more information.

So, Saturday started out to look like a normal day especially with the decision to wait on putting the dog down...but silly me, I spoke too soon. We had plans to visit our newlywed friends at their new place, and they were making dinner for us. Just as we were about to leave the house, my Father-in-law asks Hubby to come down and plunge their clogged toilet...which turns out to be a more complicated problem of water backing up into their shower stall. So, Pal and I leave without him to go to our friends under the assumption that Hubby will solve the plumbing issue and then join us there. 5 hours later, I come home to all the outdoor lights blazing and 2 septic trucks in our driveway. Not a good sign. It turns out there was a blockage in our septic system somewhere IN the house. It took them 4 hours to get it resolved, and $550.00 later we were unclogged. It smelled lovely in the house, too. It was 11:00 at night and Hubby had never eaten dinner.

Do you see why I am feeling a little on the negative side? Like I said, I am not even sure I should blog this because I know there are so many people who have much bigger problems than we do. But it felt good to put it on paper (so to speak) and vent it to the blogger world. Thanks for letting me.

On to Monday!

-G

Just one of those days.

2010-03-25T12:39:00.004-04:00

I just dropped my lunch on the floor. It's already been one of *those* kind of days. I hate that I almost cried because my lunch was ruined. If you knew the conditions we work in, especially since most of our building has been flooding for 2 weeks, you would know that I would never, EVER, eat something that had been on our kitchen floor! My boss said "Can't you just kiss it up to God?". Ew. My germophobia just got the goose bumps!!

So now I am working through my regular lunchtime and will go out a little later with my friend for lunch. At least it will have a happy ending!

Tomorrow would have been my Mom's 75th birthday. I hope she has a Happy Heaven Birthday.

-G

To Be...Or Not To Be...?

2010-02-24T14:13:00.006-05:00

That is always the question when it comes to Pal.

Pal has been a Cub Scout since First Grade, starting out in one Pack and then transferring at the end of 2nd grade to a bigger, better Pack with his best buddy. We had just moved here when Pal started Cub Scouts so we didn't really know that many people. This group of people - from the Cubmaster to the parents that are involved, have become some of our closest friends in this town.

So, when Pal was crossing over (or "graduating") from Cub Scouts as a Webelos II Scout on January 25th, the natural progression of scouting is for them to join Boy Scouts. There is a terrific Boy Scout Troop that is a continuation of our Cub Scout Pack, and it is all the same families that are involved. There were 6 Webelos II Scouts that would be crossing over. Except that Pal decided he doesn't want to be a Boy Scout. Figure in that Hubby is an Eagle Scout and credits his involvement with Scouts with keeping him out of trouble as a teen, (or most trouble, I should say!!) you can imagine that we were heartbroken. When your child doesn't want to do something that you've always dreamed you would do with them, a little part of you dies inside. I saw the utter disappointment in Hubby's eyes, but he had promised Pal that we wouldn't force him to do Boy Scouts.

Last week, things changed. Pal and Hubby were home (it was school vacation) and they decided to go shopping with all of Pal's gift cards that he got at Christmas. Pal had his heart set on a new video game system that cost more than the gift cards, so Hubby made a deal with him: I will front the rest of the money if you will TRY Boy Scouts. My initial reaction was "You just made a deal with the devil!". But, I could see how much Hubby wanted Pal to at least try it, with the hope that he will love it and stick with it. Unfortunately, this is NOT Pal's strength!

Last night was their first meeting and it seemed to go pretty well. I can only hope that the deal lasts and Pal doesn't try to back out of it. My sincere hope is that one day we will be at Pal's Eagle Scout Court of Honor and we will be telling everyone how he didn't even want to TRY Boy Scouts!

Wish us luck!
-G

This is the Crossing Over Ceremony for the Webelos II Scouts (Pal on far left)

One Month

2010-02-17T12:13:00.003-05:00

Today marks one month since my Mom passed away. It has been a month filled with emotions of all kinds. Those of you who have lost someone know what I am talking about. My brother's boss sent him a card that said "Nobody knows what it's like to lose your Mother unless they've been through it." Boy is that the truth. I never thought I would feel the range of emotions I have felt since her death. It's overwhelming sometimes.

My niece was having a hard time grieving and was being criticized by those close to her for the way she was choosing to handle it. NO ONE has that right. We all grieve differently, and the way we choose to do it is nobody's business but our own. Watching the death of someone you love is TRAUMATIC, and what we went through with my Mom was traumatic. Not just her dying, but her life before Alzheimer's, her life during Alzheimer's and now her death after Alzheimer's.

About 2 weeks after she passed, I got into bed and Hubby was already asleep. I cuddled up next to him and LOST IT. He, in bewilderment, was awake in a flash and asked me what was wrong. I couldn't even explain it properly. I felt guilty for feeling. Feeling mad at my Mom for handling life the way she did long before Alzheimer's crept in. Feeling ashamed for being mad at her. Feeling bad that I didn't cry so hard on the day of her funeral. Feeling devastated that my Mother was never going to call me on my birthday again, or hug my son again, or make horrible, inedible lasagna, or anything ever again. It's a harsh realization.

It's grief, plain and simple. I still don't feel like life will ever be "normal" again. And just when I think I am back to normal, something else happens or somebody says something that brings me right back to that moment in time. I guess I will just become a new normal now.

Thanks for listening.
-G

p.s. I love you and miss you, Mom. Rest in peace.

It's Your Song

2010-01-23T20:16:00.004-05:00

March 26, 1935 - January 17, 2010

My Mom passed away on Sunday from Alzheimer's Disease and Colon Cancer. She was surrounded by her 5 children and waited for her favorite daytime Nurse to come back to work in the morning before she passed peacefully in her sleep. It was the most heart-wrenching moment, of relief and despair all wrapped into one. She is finally "free", at peace and in a better place.

Since this Blog is named after a Garth Brooks song about the life you lived in that little dash in between your birth date and death date, I wanted to share with you the lyrics from yet another fitting Garth Brooks song. My Mom had the most beautiful voice and I was always in awe of her when she sang. This is the one thing she will be remembered for most, not just by her family but by all of the people whose weddings and funerals she sang at. My sister, "P", and I have been blessed with good voices, too, though we can not even compare to my Mom's voice. So, the lyrics to the song below express what I feel when I sing. I sing for her.

"It's Your Song" by Garth Brooks

Standing in the spotlight
On such a perfect night
Knowing that your out there listening
I remember one time
When I was so afraid
Didn't think I had the courage
To stand up on this stage
Then you reached into my heart
And you found the melody
And if there ever was somebody
Who made me believe in me
It was you
It was you

It was your song that made me sing
It was your voice that gave me wings
And it was your light that shined
Guiding my heart to find
This place where I belong
It was your song

Every night I pray
Before the music starts to play
That I'll do my best and I won't let you down
And for all the times I've stood here
This feeling feels brand new
And any time I doubt myself I think of you

'Cause It was your song that made me sing
It was your voice that gave me wings
And it was your light that shined
Guiding my heart to find
This place where I belong
It was your song

Dreams can come true
With God's great angels like you

It was your song that made me sing
It was your voice that gave me wings
And it was your light that shined
Guiding my heart to find
This place where I belong
It was your song
It was your song
It's always been your song

Rest easy now, Mom. I will do my best to make you proud every day.
I love you,
-G

Welcome, 2010!

2009-12-31T14:06:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year's Eve to all you doubters who thought I wouldn't post again in 2009!!! When I started thinking about saying goodbye to 2009, I thought of my post from December 23, 2008 where I did a recap of the horrible year we had. All-in-all, I think 2009 did me proud and lived up to its expectation of being a better year. Here is my recap of 2009 (some of it may be redundant after my catch-up post in October, but here goes):

January 5th we moved my Dad into the retirement community and said goodbye to the house where we all grew up. It was a poignant moment and we all handled it differently. I said goodbye when I was there alone the night before it was "sold". It was like watching the end of a TV series when the cast walks off the set and it goes dark --- I had to lock the back door, putting my key inside on the counter before I shut the door. Looking back through the locked door into the kitchen where my family shared many a meal. It was sad, but I had to remind myself that it was what needed to happen for my Dad's sake. I have to drive by that house every day after work and I always look down the driveway to see who's home. I hope the new people have many happy memories in that house. My sister, P, is in touch with the new owners on Facebook, and they send her updates and pictures. It's pretty cool to see.

February was totally uneventful, and I loved it that way! We hired a math tutor for Pal, who comes to our house twice a week. He's a good kid, out of college and looking for a job. He does wonders with Pal. He even helps him with other homework if he has it.

The first weekend of March, Hubby and I were able to escape for a weekend and go to a luxury hotel in Maine. I say escape because Pal was NOT happy about us leaving, to say the least. He stayed with Hubby's sister and her family and according to him, he was "miserable" all weekend! We, however, were NOT miserable! We were near the ocean in Maine and that Saturday turned out to be an early Spring surprise, where the temps went up to 70º! We walked on the beach and watched the crazy surfers, dogs running and little kids digging in the sand. Then we went for a drive up the coast, got a little lost, and stopped at a "world famous" hot dog stand. http://www.floshotdogs.com/

In April we barely stayed home! The first weekend took us to New Jersey to visit some friends who moved there. Their son is one of our many Godchildren, but the only one that both Hubby and I share as Godparents. (We each have 4 others, separately!). On that Saturday we all took the train into New York City and went to the American Museum of Natural History. What a place! It's where they filmed "Night at the Museum". It takes up 4 city blocks and you need two full days to see the whole thing. On the ride to and from NJ, Pal read the entire first book of Harry Potter! He has since read all 7, and even read 1 & 2 again!
On April school vacation, we went on a Cruise. It was just awesome. We went to St. Thomas, Tortola and Samana. The latter was horrible, but the other two made up for it. We even swam with the dolphins in Tortola - that was totally cool!!!

May was quiet, and again I am thankful for quiet! A friend of ours who runs Pal's Cub Scout pack was nominated and won the town's Good Guy award. That was so much fun to see him honored - he truly deserved it. We were even quoted in a local newspaper from parts of our nomination letter! Later in May, Hubby bought a new pickup truck and we went camping with friends and got to use our brand new (used) pop-up camper for the first time. It was great! Our favorite memory from that trip was the 3 boys (Pal and their 2) playing army all over the campground, and as they were leaving the camp site, one of them yelled "The battle will ensue in the ferns on the hill!" It was their battle cry and we all laughed so hard.

June brought the end of my work year, the end of school, and the decision of whether to put a new transmission in my 9 year old van or trade it in for a new vehicle. We ended up putting the transmission in, which didn't pay off in the long run (see December for update on this!). In light of my Mom's colon cancer, it was suggested that all of us get a colonoscopy, so mine was in June. Everything was fine, for all of us, thank God! In late June, Pal started a Summer program where he went every day from 8:30-1:00 for June through July. I loved it. Him...not so much! Pal also started taking Karate lessons. Again, I love it. Him, not so much! But, he made a commitment to it and will be taking lessons until our contract expires next June!!

July was filled with going to our campground and enjoying that new camper, too! We also did a family trip with all of the kids in the family to a local water park - with a cookout at the camper after. We also shared season tickets to a Triple-A baseball team called the Lowell Spinner's, so we went to our share of games. It was a lot of fun.

In August we were barely home, again! The first weekend we went camping with the same friends in our pop-up. This time we went to Maine and the campground had a lot of stuff for the kids to do. The campsites were a little too close for our comfort, but we had a good weekend anyway. The second weekend, we went to Florida. Instead of another Disney-filled trip, we decided to do the "other" parks...shhh, don't tell anyone! Boy, was it HOT. I have never sweat so much in my entire life.
Then I went back to work, earlier than usual this year, because of a new position. You can read about that in my October "Marathon Start" post. Pal also went to Cub Scout camp for his final year. More about this in same October post.

Back to school came September 1, and then Pal turned 10! We also had a visit from one of our cousins in Arizona (see October post again!). My family also walked in the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk in honor of my Mom.

October was colder than normal for our area. On the 3rd weekend, the Cub Scout pack went camping with the Boy Scouts Troop to a mountain in New Hampshire. I was excited because the women folk were NOT invited!! A whole weekend to myself?!?! Whoopie!!! Well, not so fast, there G! The temps dropped into the low 20's, and the men decided after hiking 9 miles up the mountain that they would prefer sleeping in a warm bed at home. Oh well, there goes the big bed all to myself!
The 4th weekend Hubby and I went to Erie, PA for my friends wedding (see Weddings post in October). In late October, I decided to join a local Chorus for their Christmas show. I hope to audition for them in January to be a member. They are part of the Sweet Adelines.

In November I had some moles removed from my face and that was one of the most painful experiences of my life! At least they were all benign, which I knew, but it was nice to be reassured. For my Dad's 77th birthday, we got the whole family together and made him one of his family's famous recipe's...Ropie Pie. It is a potato and meat mixture which I find repulsive but he was thrilled. Pal also competed in a Karate tournament and placed 2nd and 3rd in the 2 categories he was in. We were so proud of him. The following week he got a belt promotion, too! Exciting stuff. The very last weekend of November was my 20th High School Reunion, which I swore I would never attend. But, after reconnecting on Facebook with some good friends, I decided to go. It was...interesting!

December brought more van trouble. This time it was a power steering pipe that rusted. Then 2 weeks later it was the entire front end suspension. We decided it was TIME. So, now I am driving a leased Toyota Rav4! We had never considered leasing before but now that I know I will not have to deal with an aging car again, I am loving the idea! Pal also shocked us at his Band concert by getting up to do a trombone SOLO! Again, we were so proud!

At Christmas I went to see my Mom in the NH, and she seems to be doing okay. She has good days and bad, but for the most part things are status-quo. We still could not be happier with the decision to move her to the NH. As for my Dad, he also continues to struggle with all the changes in his life, but for the most part is doing alright.

So, after a hellish 2008, I am happy to say 2009 was good to us. May 2010 be prosperous, healthy and happy for all of you, as well!!

Happy New Year!

-G

OH Christmas Tree...

2009-12-11T13:48:00.005-05:00

Do you remember this picture from last January?

My post was about the mess our real tree made and how I hate real trees. But, Hubby likes them. So again, we went and picked out a real tree last Friday and brought it home, put it in the stand, and on Wednesday night all 3 of us strung the lights and decorated it. And then, it started to fall over. Luckily we were right there and caught it. But no matter what Hubby did to resecure it in the stand, it would NOT.STAND.UP. @$*&!!!

And so, we UNstrung the lights and UNdecorated it, and then we threw it out. I was so disgusted. Now, we will haul the fake tree out of the attic this Sunday and REstring the lights and REdecorate the fake tree. *&^%!!!

Next year, we will START with the fake tree. I hope.

Here's hoping your holidays are joyful and filled with good friends, good food and the love of your family.

See you in 2010 (because at the rate I am blogging it WILL BE 2010!)

-G

Weddings

2009-10-21T13:13:00.004-04:00

I love weddings. I love going to weddings. Weddings usually make me cry. I get all nostalgic and think about my own wedding, which I loved every minute of. Everybody told me that my reception was the most fun they ever had at a wedding. I was proud of that, because we hired the "one man band" guy we had seen at another wedding because he really knew how to work the crowd. We chose really cool songs for our first and last dances and because it was before Christmas, we chose poinsettia plants as the centerpieces. For the seating assignments, we attached the "Table #__" cards to a Christmas ornament with our names and our wedding date hand-written on them, that I made myself. It's been 14 years and people still tell me they hang their ornament up and think of us every Christmas. I love that!

I remember my brother telling me that he felt like a fish inside a fishbowl on his wedding day, where everyone was watching him and Di and their every move. All eyes on them. I loved that feeling! I know, I know, this doesn't shock those of you that know me well. (My brother also used to say I had a mouth the size of Peru, and my nickname from a close family friend was "Motor Mouth". I am NOT shy.) I still watch my wedding video once in a while. Hubby still has never watched the entire thing!! That was our agreement - he didn't want it video-taped, I did. So, the agreement was that I would never MAKE HIM watch it. Marital harmony!

This coming weekend, Hubby and I are traveling to a wedding in Pennsylvania. The groom was one of my former teens when I was doing the High School Youth Group at Church. He was a sulky, moody boy who showed up at the Mass because his new girlfriend dragged him there. At first I figured we'd see him this once and he'd never return, girlfriend or not. But he surprised all of us by coming back again and again. When we wanted to paint our youth center, he offered to paint a mural on one wall. At one point he was so upset about a youth group issue that he staged a boycott until we heard him and his peers out. His graduating "class" from the youth group are among some of my favorite teens to this day.

After he graduated, we didn't see him as much, but kept in touch with him. One day he called us and asked if we would consider him joining the adult team for the youth group. I was so happy and proud. He wrote a paper for a college class about his experiences with the youth group and how we all helped him change his life around. I have never, ever, been more humbled by someone else than I was that day.

Well, he joined our team and in the long run (and I do mean LONG run, many years and a few parish changes later) ended up running the youth group!! He has since "retired" (as have I) and met the love of his life who he will marry on Saturday. I don't have any younger siblings, and he is an only child, so we are always joking that he is my little brother and I am his sister. I really, really like his wife-to-be, too, and I tell him all the time that I might even like her better than I like him. Typical older sister thing to say, huh?!

I am truly blessed to be able to witness this marriage and I hope they have many, many years of happiness.

((tear))

- G

Marathon Start

2009-10-07T14:37:00.009-04:00

I feel like I have been running a marathon since I last blogged. (Okay, stop laughing NOW!). The last post was all about our Summer activities. Since then I have gone back to work, Pal has gone back to school, and it is now October. I didn't even have ONE post in September! I will catch you up as best I can:

Pal was at Cub Scout Camp during the week of my last post. He didn't really like it this year because they decided that the Webelos II scouts would go to an offsite Boy Scout camp instead of staying in camp with all of the others. So they would pile onto a bus for a 45-minute ride to the other camp every day. Then on the last day they brought them back into the camp with all of the other kids and it was (to quote Pal) "awkward". Plus this was the first year that I had to be back to work and couldn't go as the "Den Escort". I like to think he missed his Mom. =)

Back to work came early for me this year. Myself and 2 others got a promotion and this brought on a ton of new responsibilities, (it was a whole other job on top of our regular jobs), and boy were we in shell shock. I have never had so much work to do in such a short period of time before. I was EXHAUSTED at the end of each day! I would rather be busy than bored, but at this point I could have used enough time to take a bathroom break!! Especially since I was looking around and it didn't seem like the other 2 had as much work to do as I did. Thankfully they noticed, too, and everyone pitched in to help me when I needed it. When I got home every night it took all I had to keep my eyes open!

Pal started school before Labor Day. He seems to like his new teacher and isn't getting loaded down with homework, yet. This teacher likes them to get as much done IN school so they don't have to take it home. I love that theory, but I worry about next year when he goes to middle school and has to manage his work himself. This is not his strong point! He is also doing Karate twice a week and has decided to keep learning trombone in the school band this year. On top of all of that he has CCD and Cub Scouts, so we are always going somewhere.

In the same week that Pal went back to school, he turned 10! We had a "Lego Store" party with 3 of his buddies, with pizza and cupcakes after. Then we had a family party at the house, which was small this year. And that was just fine with me!! Here is a pic of the Lego Party:

Toward the end of September, one of my cousins from Arizona came to New England with his wife for a short vacation. I'll call them the "Carbs". This is one of my "long lost" cousins that our family never really knew until I made contact with one of them about 10 years ago through email. It was so great to see both of them, and this was her first time to the east coast. She just fell in love with it, and we all got along so nicely. Here are a couple of pictures from their visit: My sisters C & P, with myself and RCarbs

The Four R's
RCarbs, my Dad, my Brother and my Nephew)

My Dad and RCarbs (they kinda look alike, don't ya think??!)

Mr. & Mrs. Carbs and Dad

My family once again did the Alzheimer's Memory Walk as the team "Memory Keepers". Here is a picture of the whole team:

Now we are headed into Columbus Day weekend - at long last! It is also Hubby's 39th B-day next week! He will be spending the following weekend camping with the Cub Scouts (did I mention that he took over their den this year?) Look at how cute he is in uniform:I will be thoroughly enjoying some time to myself (in other words, the house will get cleaned and stay clean for longer than 10 minutes!!!). I have made some plans to hang out with the ladies and I am SO looking forward to it.

Mom's disease is progressing, and she now needs assistance with eating. She looks pretty good though and doesn't seem to be in too much pain. Here is a recent picture of her with 2 of my nieces:

I've caught you up on my life since August (not 100%, there isn't enough blogisphere out there to chronicle ALL of it!!!!). Pretty soon it will be the holidays and we will be saying, "Where did 2009 GO?"!!!

Have a great long weekend!
- G

Summer, Summer, Summertime!

2009-08-18T14:10:00.009-04:00

It's a rough life, but somebody has to do it.....
Two of my lady friends and I, chillaxin' in the pool in Cape Cod, MA

I feel like I've been on a Blog Vacation, because it was Summer and I was busy doing a million (other) things. I guess that's a good thing, right?

Here is a photo montage of our Summer:

Pal with cousins and friends on July 4th in N.H. - What is better than sparklers???

Pal being cocky after catching a frisbee in Vermont

Just some of the beautiful balloons that were about to fly - Vermont

Vermont again - our ambitious group of bike riders ready to hit the trail!

Pal and his cousin DD taking flight in a tethered balloon - Vermont

Exhausted at the end of a long day in Vermont (rough life this kid has, huh?)

Pal with his cousins and Hubby going for a canoe ride in N.H.

Pal and his best buddies - camping in Maine

Okay, lightsticks in Maine *might* be as cool as sparklers in New Hampshire!

A bluebird eating breakfast at our feeder in N.H.

Our last hurrah - Florida in August (and our sweatiest vacation ever!)

The building of "Harry Potter" exhibit at Universal Studios in Florida - we cannot wait for this to open!!!

Pal with Shaggy and Scooby Doo at Universal Studios.

Pal getting eaten by Jaws - Universal Studios.

Shamu show at Sea World, FL

The new "Manta" roller coaster at Sea World, FL. Possibly THE best coaster we've ever ridden!

Dinner with Minnie and cousins at Chef Mickey's in Florida

Mom and Pal with their favorite mouse in the World!

This was our dessert at "T-Rex" in Downtown Disney!

I will leave you with this gift - the sun setting over our hotel in Florida:

I hope you enjoyed the pics from our Summer. I realize how blessed I am to live the life I do, and I am thankful for it.

On to the school year....here comes 5th grade!

-G

The Sounds of Summer

2009-06-26T14:21:00.003-04:00

Certain sounds can bring me right back to Summers of years gone by. Some of them have always stayed the same, and some have changed according to location. Here are some sounds that remind me that Summer is really here, even if the weather hasn't shown us it is.

Here are some sounds that I love:

Red Sox playing baseball - the crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd. Reminds me of when I was a kid and my oldest sister was obsessed with Rick Burlson. I love all of the background noise from the games, too.

Crickets - except when the huge ones decide to live right outside my window!

Rain and T-Storms - My Mother loved rain storms, and we used to gather on the front porch and watch the lightning and listen for the thunder. Once when I was little, I remember that she took her shoes off and went out to the street to run in the flooding rain water.

Splashing of pool water - I grew up with a pool, so I remember hearing my brother and his friends jumping into the pool, wishing I was cool enough to be included in their pool party!!

Bug zappers - thank goodness no one in my neighborhood owns one. I just remember them from when I was a kid. ZZZZZZZttt!

Big bugs bouncing off the screens - those huge moths, or June bugs buzzing the windows looking to come in!

Lste night street sounds - I grew up on a main street, so there were always cars going by, but I remember sitting at my window on really hot nights and just listening to the sounds of the neighborhood in its "quiet" mode. You could hear a car coming to a stop at George Street, or a lone person walking sounded like 10 people when it was that quiet. The big tree in the LeBert's yard across the street, blowing in the breeze. Occasional car accidents, and my Uncle walking around the corner to check it out because he heard about the accident on his police scanner.

Kids outside playing - it's a sound like no other. I remember our neighborhood teeming with kids playing Relievio or kick-the-can. Now, for my son, it's the neighborhood kids playing "army" complete with teams and forts and weapon stashes.

I am not looking forward to the heat and humidity that I know is inevitable, but I do love the relaxed schedule and having the time to enjoy the sounds of Summer.

Enjoy yours.

-G

Work/School's out for Summer!

2009-06-05T09:57:00.004-04:00

I can't believe that it is June. Today I am out of work for the Summer, and I have that same feeling that I used to get on the last day of school when I was a kid. It's a giddy, bubbling sensation that won't allow me to sit still! I am dreaming of lazy days, staying in bed until I feel like moving...ahhhhh the dreams you dream....

Pal will be out of school in 10 days. I am also looking forward to this, because it means no backpacks, homework, trombone lessons, etc. No schedules. I truly feel that kids deserve Summer vacations because the school year feels like it is forever long, and they need a breather. I'm sure I will feel differently by mid-July!!!!

Yesterday the 4th Grade performed a musical concert for the parents. It was really good, and the music teacher did a great job picking songs that weren't too "baby-ish" or silly. These kids are all about 10 years old, and they don't want to look stupid. There was one kid who I gave a lot of credit to, he did a solo and tried to impersonate Elvis - it was awesome! He did forget the words halfway through but just the fact that he did it was great.

Here is a picture of my shy guy:

For the Summer, Pal is going to a morning camp in town with some friends. I won't make him go every day but for the amount of money they charge he will be there as much as possible! Other than that we are planning on going to our campground on the weekends and hopefully hosting some friends and family there, and in August we are taking the pop-up with a group of friends to Maine. Not sure of any other plans but knowing Hubby there will be more to come!

What are your plans for Summer? Please enlighten me!

Happy Friday!
-G

Happy Birthday K2!

2009-05-27T09:48:00.003-04:00

Today is the 15th birthday of my 4th niece, the third-born child of my sister P.
I have referred to her here as K2. My sister P decided to tell me that she was pregnant again while she was bleaching my new apartment bathroom! I was going to kill her. But then I was so excited for her and for the fact that I would now have 4 nieces (or my first nephew, because we didn't know at the time). When K2 was born, I was at the hospital waiting with my family and we were all convinced that she would be a boy. So when my brother-in-law came out yelling "It's a girl" we were all so shocked!! Another niece. At least we were used to little girls in our family, so K2 fit right in nicely!

Right after she was born, my brother-in-law had to go away to a conference and my sister was going to be home with the 3 girls by herself. After a 3rd C-Section she was going to need help, so I took a week's vacation and stayed with them. Because K2 was newborn, my main job for the week was to take care of her - feeding, burping, changing, rocking, etc. We bonded that week - I felt so strange the following week when I had to go back to work, it seemed like I was leaving MY child!

On my wedding day, K2 was only 19-months-old so her Aunt on her Father's side brought her to the reception hall for the family pictures. She was so adorable in her cream-colored dress, wobbling around unsteadily. My sister used to call her "Tweety Bird" because she had this little wisp of blonde hair and huge blue eyes. When they were trying to take a photo of my sister's family, she kept leaving the picture and walking over to hug my knees. It was so cute.

Now, K2 is turning 15. It seems like yesterday that she was the little 4-year-old to whom I gave the doll "Molly" from the show "The Big Comfy Couch", and she wanted to know "Where her friend????"! She meant the human clown lady named Loonette!! (Check out the You Tube video here:) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=515yvLdzws

K2 is incredibly artistic - she draws things the way she sees them, and some of her drawings would make an architect jealous. She is also hilariously funny, although her shyness would make you believe otherwise!

So, Happy 15th Birthday, K2. You are beautiful, funny and talented and I know you will go far in life. I love you, Tweety Bird.

Love, AG

Vacation Memories

2009-05-01T09:27:00.014-04:00

This is the new version of "The Thinker"!

Our vacation was wonderful. How could it not be? We were on a 900+ foot luxury ocean liner, visiting gorgeous Caribbean islands, eating what and when we want, and meeting people from all over the country and world. There were a lot of New Englander's on this cruise because of school vacation week. We had the amazing opportunity to have dinner with the ship's Doctor - a very interesting man who was born in Australia but is an ER physician in Taiwan. Here is a picture of Hubby and Pal with our very own Adam Bricker:

He told us our cruise was one of the busiest for him - there were a few serious ailments, one man almost died but they were able to stabilize him long enough to get him off the boat in St. Thomas. We actually saw them taking him off the ship and into the waiting ambulance. I sincerely hope he was able to get the proper medical treatment in St. Thomas and is on his way to recovery.

The first place we visited was Samana, which is in the Dominican Republic. This island is lush and beautiful, but also one of the poorest places I have ever been. It was so disheartening to see the poverty, but we also used it as a teachable moment for Pal - he saw how other people have so much less than he does. I can only hope that the images of the dirty children and emaciated animals will stick in his mind the next time he whines about not getting the newest video game or toy! One thing that struck me about the children of Samana, though, was how happy they were - they always smiled as Pal waved to them as we drove by. They were happy with life, not because of what they had or did not have.

This was the waterfall we hiked to in Samana: Gorgeous, huh?

The next island we stopped at was St. Thomas. Hubby and I had been there once on another cruise. We loved the sight of Magen's Bay so much that we vowed to come back and swim there.
So, Pal, Hubby and I went to the beach at Magen's Bay. The water was so crystal clear, and the beach was incredible.

Next, on to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.
I may have even liked Tortola better than St. Thomas! The first thing we did was "Swimming with Dolphins". Expensive, but totally worth it. The dolphin we had was a 3-year-old male named Atlas. They are such intelligent, gentle creatures, and their skin is so soft and leathery. An experience of a lifetime. I have pictures, but have to scan them in so I will update this post with those as soon as I do it!

After the dolphins, we went to Cane's Garden Bay. Take one look and you'll fall hard:

Here is Pal on the beach at Cane's Bay:

After a full day at sea and nursing our sunburns, our next and final stop was Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas - which is NCL's own private island. They tendered you from the ship onto this little strip of land in the middle of the ocean. We were on the 2nd tender of the morning and there was already a race for beach chairs. The other thing that Pal really, really wanted to try was parasailing, but Great Stirrup Cay was the only place that Pal met the age/weight requirements. When we inquired about getting a reservation through the ship, we were told it was sold out. So, as soon as we arrived onto the island, Hubby went right over to the parasailing kiosk and asked if there was any availability. The guy told him that they could go on the next trip out! So lucky! So, before the age of 10, Pal has been swimming with dolphins and parasailing, not to mention going to Hawaii at age 5 and going on a helicopter ride over a volcano!!!

Here is the view of the ship from Great Stirrup Cay:

Here are a couple of pictures of them parasailing:

As you can see, it was quite the trip. None of us got seasick, there was no major travel issues and we came home with lots of memories and pictures. I'll leave you with one of my faves - it was just a comical moment at that kids pool.

Have a great weekend!
-G

One Year Blogiversary

2009-04-16T13:41:00.006-04:00

On April 18th it will be officially one year ago that I started this blog. I've written 53 posts, and since I started tracking the site visitors I have had 1,375 page visits. That's pretty cool. Since I will be getting on a Caribbean Cruise on my actual Blogiversary I thought I would post this today and say "Bon Voyage" until I get back!

I am really enjoying blogging, when I have the time. Sometimes I feel like I could write 1,000 posts and other times I feel like it's a chore. It's funny how in such a short amount of time I have become one of those people that looks at every story, every picture, every good or bad event in my life as blog fodder! I also am fascinated that people I would never had dreamed would be reading my blog are always commenting (either live or on the message board) on my posts. I've been inspired by other people's blogs, and even gotten to know complete strangers who I feel so connected to through their blogs. It's pretty bad when I go to tell my Hubby a story about a post I read on someone's blog and I start by saying "This person I know...well, I don't really KNOW them, but I read their blog...." It makes me sound like I sit in front of my computer all day long and live vicariously through other people's blogs, but I can assure you that is NOT the case.

In addition to our Caribbean Cruise, I am excited to say that we just purchased a used pop-up camper (in addition to the 40ft. travel trailer we bought last Fall to put in our campground). We are looking forward to moving around in the pop-up and experiencing new places. Buying the used pop-up and the new travel trailer was a nice compromise between Hubby and I. Hubby was getting tired of being in the same campground for 18 years and wants to experience other campgrounds and other places around the New England area. But Pal and I were more reluctant to give it up, and since Pal will probably be the one to put a stop to our camping altogether when he's a teenager and get's a "life" (at least that's what most other parents tell us happens when their kids reach the teen years...), we figured we'd compromise and get a used pop-up. The one we found was perfect - we had been looking at a lot of them and this one was spotless and had the perfect layout. We will be much more comfortable than in a tent, that's for sure! Here are pictures of both new campers:

So, I want to say thanks to anyone who has been my blog follower for this past year. It's nice to know there is a place that I can post my innermost thoughts and feelings, and that there are people are out there that care enough to read it. It's been very therapeutic, cathartic, curative, medicinal and salutary for me.

Yes, I've been reading the dictionary again.

Happy Blogiversary, and I'll be sure to post after I done being the Caribbean Queen!

-G

Happy Birthday, Squirt!

2009-04-12T19:57:00.003-04:00

Today is my eldest niece's 23rd birthday! I affectionately refer to her as Squirt, since I was only 15 when she was born and she was the closest thing to a little sister that I would ever get. Her mother is my 2nd oldest sister, C. Squirt is her miracle..Sis C was told at age 19 that she would probably never have children. Sis C had a lot of medical problems since the age of 2 and had had about 18 surgeries before the age of 26. So, when Sis C got married and went on her honeymoon, she came home to discover, in shock, that she was pregnant! We were all so excited.

Then, at only 7 months gestation, my 3 sisters were shopping at a local Mall when Sis C's water broke. Of course, they rushed her right into the hospital. She was then transfered to one of the big Boston hospitals because of the high risk of giving birth so early. I had been at my little cousin's soccer game and came home to find a note from my Mom that everyone (except me!) was at the hospital with Sis C and that she was having the baby. I was so scared, home alone, and pissed off because I wanted to be with everyone. My brother's friend happened to call the house and I answered the phone in tears, so he very kindly offered to drive me in to the hospital. Just as he was pulling up to the house, my other 2 sisters came home to get me. We picked up dinner for everyone and headed back to the hospital to wait for the news. When Sis C's husband came around the corner, he had his hands raised in the air, triumphantly, and said "It's a girl!". We all cheered like a team who just scored the winning run!

Squirt was the light of my life. Everything she did and said was so amazing to all of us - it was almost bordering on sickening!!! I babysat at every given opportunity, and when she was school age she used to come to work with me during school vacations. All of my co-workers loved having her there - she had (and still has) such a sarcastic, funny personality that it was like having your own personal comedian around! I was also lucky enough to have her come to work with me again, this time in a much different way. Because I work at a college and "our" students go home during winter break, we needed other help and so we hired "outside" college students. Squirt fit the bill, so she started working in my office and did so for 3 winter breaks in a row. My other niece, K, also worked in the office during breaks. It was so awesome to be able to hang out with them during my workday, and also watch them interact with my other co-workers and the other students.

Squirt has had her share of health issues through the years, and seeing her go through surgeries and other problems in her life have been difficult to watch, almost physically painful to me. But I feel like she is strong. And I mean strong INSIDE, and that her inner strength will get her through just about anything. After all, she IS her mother's daughter, and Sis C is pretty invincible! Honestly, I cannot wait to see what she does with her life and am excited to be a part of it!

So, Happy 23rd Birthday, Squirt - my little sister, my heart.
I love you all the way up to the moon. And back. Go get 'em!

Love, Aunnie G

Buncha Addicts

2009-04-02T10:35:00.005-04:00

Alright, so I've been really lax about posting here on my blog. And that is mainly due to my obsession with Facebook. But I have to say, I have reconnected with so many people that I would never have caught up with in the real world. I think some people oppose FB because you aren't really communicating with a live person, just their computer. But, remember when email was new? Everyone thought that sending an email versus calling someone on the phone was absurd. Now, I usually get or send an email before I get or make a phone call. And if I don't hear back right away I think to myself, "Well, maybe their computer is down." I don't automatically think they're ignoring my caller ID and choosing not to talk to me. My self esteem remains intact.

But on FB, I can find out lots of information (even some I could have done without!) in one click. If I go to my Friends Live Feed I can see who is in work, who wants it to be Friday, whose child is driving them mad, etc. etc. Last week I put in a status update that said "Why do we punish our children when all we really do is punish ourselves?" and I got a ton of feedback from other parents commiserating. It made me feel better knowing I wasn't the only parent who felt that way. I know who's birthday it is today. I know who is home sick or has sick kids home from school. We support each other with things like school, kids, love, jobs, etc. Some people who have lost their jobs are putting it out there in case someone knows of a job opportunity. It really is a community, and I must say that I thoroughly enjoy it!

I have also "met" some people through FB. For instance, the granddaughter of my co-worker (and friend) has been battling a brain tumor since she was 10 months old. I've been following her health updates through her parents' blog for more than 3 years now, telling other people I know who are inclined to pray and asking them to pray for this family and special little girl. But with FB, I've been putting it on my status updates and TONS of people told me that they would pray for little Erin. Well, when I "friended" Erin's Mom on FB, she saw how many people were praying for Erin through my updates and was so grateful. Unfortunately, Erin lost her battle with the evil brain tumor last Saturday. But when I went through the receiving line at the wake - Erin's Mom hugged me saying "My Facebook friend!!!" We are linked, if only through Facebook, but that made an awkward situation much easier: if I wasn't on her friend list and she hadn't seen my picture and name every time she logged onto FB, then that meeting in the receiving line would have had me saying things like "Hi, I'm G, I work with your husband's Mom". Instead we hugged and knew that we were bonded in our prayers for little Erin.

A funny thing about FB, though, is that those people who refuse to participate feel like it's an evil empire or something. I guess I am just not that paranoid, and if there is anything in my life that I wouldn't want people to know about me, then I wouldn't put it out there. A few months ago, I went to a mini-reunion of some old friends. There were 6 of us, but only 5 of us had FB accounts (which is how we arranged the reunion!). By the end of the night, she was getting frustrated because every sentence or every story about someone started with "Oh, she/he is my friend on Facebook", or "I read about that on Facebook". She should have made a "drinking game" out of the word Facebook, because she said she'd have been falling-down-drunk if that was the case!!

I have connected with so many people from so many different aspects of my life. I even have a link to this blog on there, because someone might care enough to read about what I am up to these days.

Me: "Hello, my name is G, and I am addicted to Facebook."
All: "Hi, G!"

Have a great Thursday!

-G

Happy Birthday Uncle Billy

2009-03-25T10:28:00.002-04:00

Today is my brother-in-law Billy's birthday. The only reason I am writing a post for his birthday is because he is an avid reader of my blog! (That was my disclaimer - don't expect a blog post on your birthday!!!)

Billy has been around for most of my life. I was only about 9 or 10 when he started dating my sister. They met at a bar, and not in the usual way. Trust me, if you knew my sister, you'd know that the only thing she would pick up in a bar would be lunch!! He was the manager of the bar, and she would come in for lunch during work. And that's how he noticed her. He called her place of work and asked her out. The rest, as they say, is history.

When they were dating, they would take me along on weekend trips to his parent's place in N.H. They also took me to a Georgetown University basketball game ("Let's go Hoyas!") and out for pizza (he remembers the name of the pizza place, I don't!). We went hiking up a mountain while we were in N.H. and he yelled at me for throwing cheese from my sandwich on the ground. (Isn't it stupid that THAT is what sticks in my mind after 25+ years???) His father taught me how to light a campfire. His sister gave me her marshmallow ambrosia recipe that I still make every Summer. At my wedding, he asked me to dance and then got all mushy and sentimental on me(something I didn't expect) and that is one of my favorite memories of that day.

Later in life he decided to become a police officer, and completed the academy with "kids" half his age. Now he is the Chief of Police in a small town. I admire his decision to tackle something most young people can't handle. Last May, Uncle Billy decided to ride his motorcycle to work and misjudged the side of the road which was dirt, and flipped his bike. He was thrown from the bike and luckily suffered only minor injuries. My sister was home, listening to the police scanner as she always does, and actually heard the call come in about his accident. She knew, before she was notified, that it was him. It was a scary time for both of them, but obviously his guardian angel was watching over him because it could have been a lot worse. It took him a good month or more to recover physically. My sister, on the other hand, has still not recovered emotionally!

So, Happy Birthday Uncle Billy. Thanks for being one of the few followers of this blog. I am glad you had the guts to ask my sister out all those years ago. Love ya!

-G

"I Have To Clean My Sock Drawer"

2009-02-27T14:57:00.004-05:00

I received this as an email from one of my long-time friends, and it reaffirmed my mantra of "Life is too short, so enjoy it while you can!". It does make you stop and think about all the ridiculous reasons we "put life off".

READ THIS VERY SLOWLY.... IT'S PRETTY PROFOUND.

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, "How about going to lunch in a half hour?" She would gas up and stammer, "I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain." And my personal favorite: "It's Monday." She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!

"We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained." "We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet". "We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college"...

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on," and "Someday, when things are settled down a bit."

When anyone calls my "seize the moment" friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Roller blades, or jump on the next plane to a new adventure.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. So, the other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker cone. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to......not something on your SHOULD DO list.. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this to you.

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butter fly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask "How are you?" do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow" and in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just called to say "Hi"?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift ....Thrown away.... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over. Show your friends how much you care.

To those I have sent this to.... I cherish our friendship and appreciate all you do.

"Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance."

Have a great weekend - and get out there and enjoy life!

-G

It's Hard To Believe...

2009-02-13T20:13:00.006-05:00

It was one year ago today that my family moved my Mom into the Assisted Living Facility (ALF)...I can't believe it's been a whole year. Here is my recollection of that day:

It was a nasty rainy Wednesday, the day before Valentine's Day. It was going to be my job to get my Mom out of the house so that the rest of the family could move her personal belongings out of the house and over to the ALF. I dropped Pal off at school and then headed down to their house. I was early so I stopped at my sister's house, where the others were meeting to wait for me to leave with Mom. Our nerves were shot and all of us were anxious to get the whole thing overwith. If you've never dealt with someone who has Alzheimer's, count yourself lucky. On any given day she could be totally oblivious to what was going on, or she could be really alert and very, very suspicious. I was scared it was going to be the latter.

I left my sister's and went over to Mom & Dad's house. Dad was also very keyed up and nervous, and was talking too much. I asked Mom if she wanted to go to the Mall (her usual favorite place) and her first answer was, "No, not today." I waited a heartbeat and said "Hey, let's go to the Mall!" She looked at my Dad and said "Got any money?" We laughed, and Dad went to get her some money. For some reason, while he was upstairs he decided to look in her room and there was money on her bureau so he took it...when he came down he gave her $60.00, and then she decided to go back upstairs to look for HER money! When she couldn't find it she got very frustrated! I just told her to look for it later, and off we went.

I had about 4 hours I needed to kill, some of which we would spend at lunch, so I drove very slowly to the Mall. We took our time browsing around the stores, but because of her memory impairment, she has really lost the ability to "shop" - something she had gotten very good at in her later years. I did my best to keep her interested in the merchandise, but she just followed me around like she was waiting for ME to find something to buy! I am SO not a shopper, but I had to pretend that day. The best place I found to take her was the "Build-A-Bear Workshop"! This entertained her for a very long time - she loved watching the little kids picking out their animals and she was fascinated by the stuffing machine! Who woulda thunk it?!?! I bought something small in every store we went in, just to kill time. It felt like an eternity.

Finally it was time to leave the Mall and meet my brother for lunch. I called him when we were leaving the Mall and he said that everything was moved and that the girls (my sisters and nieces) were just setting up the apartment. He met us at the restaurant which was only a few blocks down from the ALF. This was a nice change, because it gets very tiring trying to keep up the conversation when the person you are talking to can't remember anything! The funny thing that happened as soon as we sat down, was the waiter coming over to ask us if we would like something to drink. My Mom, who is an alcoholic, ordered wine. Since it was only 12:00 we suggested that she not have a drink (plus the ALF told us NOT to let her have anything to drink before she came there). She got really mad at both of us and insisted on getting the wine. The poor waiter - he was frozen in place with his eyes darting back and forth between her and us! We gave him the O.K. and he walked away. Not even 10 seconds went by and my brother excused himself to go to the "bathroom"...he went to find the waiter to tell him NOT to bring her wine, and when he couldn't find him immediately ~ he went.into.the.kitchen!!! I would have loved to see that waiters face when my brother came up to him in the kitchen!! He explained that she was not to consume alcohol, and asked him to give her cranberry juice with a splash of Sprite in it. When the waiter brought the drinks, she never missed a beat and sipped her "wine" happily.

We made lunch last as long as humanly possible (the waiter had caught on by now...!) and even ordered dessert. When we were ready to leave the restaurant, my brother went out and called my sisters to let them know we were on our way and that they should clear out. Like I said, the restaurant was only a few blocks away on the same street. As we were pulling up to the curb, my heart was beating so fast I thought everyone could hear it. I thought for sure that she would see the outdoor signs that say "Assisted Living - with a special neighborhood for the memory impaired" and she would get suspicious. We had already avoided a few suspicious moments during lunch when she noticed us exchanging glances or checking our watches. But, God was smart that day because He sent us the BEST weather possible - torrential rain! My brother popped open a nice big golf umbrella and we ducked for cover - cleverly shielding her face from the big wooden signs!

Once inside, she asked us "What are we doing here?" Our first lie - well thought out and planned - was to tell her we were at a hotel because "Dad called and said there is no heat at their house, and it's too cold to stay there". We had previously hinted around to this "lie" - when she asked why my brother was around to meet us for lunch, I told her that it was because he had been at their house trying to help my Dad with a heating problem. She didn't remember any of this when we were telling her about being at the "hotel". But she wasn't suspicious, which was a huge relief to both of us.

We got off the elevator and turned immediately toward her room. When we walked in, she looked at her bed and said, "Oh, I have that same bedspread at home!" The staff was actually really good, they didn't all come in at once. First the floor coordinator came in and introduced herself and told my Mom that if there was anything she wanted or needed, to let any member of the staff know. Then the woman who we had dealt with from the beginning came in to take Mom's picture (for her medicine lock-box) and Mom posed nicely for her! She said "Wow, they treat you like royalty around here!" The next uncomfortable moment came when Mom noticed some of HER stuff in the apartment - like her jewelry armoire. She got mad, saying "What right did you have to take that out of my house?" Our only answer was "Well, we thought you'd like to have some of your own things here while you stay here." She just "humphed" and forgot all about it a minute later. The floor coordinator came back in with some coffee for my Mom, so my brother and I told my Mom that it was time for us to get going, that we both had to go pick up our kids from school. Mom seemed totally fine with this and we left her there with the floor coordinator.

Could it really have gone that smoothly?

We were in shock. We both hugged and cried once we were back outside. It was scary as hell, but it was the right thing to do. She would be safe there, and well cared for (or so we thought at that time, but that's a different story altogether!).

We went back to my sister's house where everyone was waiting for us to tell them how it went. We just sat around in amazement that it went so easily. We were so thankful but emotionally spent. We decided to go back to my Mom & Dad's house to clean up Mom's room a little (they had left in a hurry to get her things to the ALF so there was stuff everywhere). After a couple of hours of going through her belongings, it was very evident that the day had taken quite a toll on my Dad. He was tired and wanted us to leave so he could go to bed. My brother's wife had very thoughtfully made dinner for all of us and so we headed up to their house, except Dad who stayed home to go to bed. We spent the rest of that evening looking through old pictures that we found in my Mom's room.

At the end of the night as we were all leaving my brother's, we all hugged in one big circle and thanked God that we had each other to get through all of this. It was a beautiful moment.

So, after one year and many emotions later, my Mom is happily situated in a nursing home...she is much better off there than where we started off at the ALF, but I wouldn't trade that experience on that day one year ago, because it was the right thing for her, and us, at the time.

She is still safe and well cared for. And that is why we can all sleep at night.

Have a great weekend -

G

25 Things You Didn't Know About Me

2009-02-11T11:25:00.002-05:00

In light of the recent Facebook craze, I decided to post my "25 Random Things You Didn't Know About Me" here too. Of course, if you are reading this, then #6 is something you DID already know!

And in my opinion, if you are not on Facebook, then you should be. You are missing out on a great way to keep in touch with people. I have found old friends as well as current friends, family members I didn't even know existed, and I've realized that I could probably like my high school classmates NOW more than THEN!

So, here is my list of 25 Things. Enjoy!

1. I snore.
2. I can play the piano by ear (Not WITH my ear. You get the drift.)
3. I can write poetry, a gift I inherited from my Mom and her Dad.
4. I have ADD (self diagnosed). What were we just talking about??? LOL
5. I am (or was) terrified of the Dentist, and used to pass out in the chair.
6. I have a blog.
7. I hate to disappoint ANYBODY.
8. I went to my first wake/funeral when I was 14 - my friend's Dad died, and I very possibly was the last person to see or talk to him alive.
9. I am slightly OCD - I hate to leave the house if my bed isn't made, there are dishes in the sink or the pillows on the couch aren't properly arranged....
10. I am the youngest of 5 children - my sisters are 13, 12 & 11 years older, and my brother is 4.5 years older...something I like to remind them of frequently.
11. I am the youngest of 18 cousins on my Mom's side, and second-to-youngest of 14 on my Dad's.
12. I am comfortable in my own skin. (I just want there to be LESS of it!!!) LOL
13. One goal is to travel to all 50 U.S. states before I die. I've already been to at least 13.
14. I have road rage, and think nobody else knows how to drive.
15. My favorite thing to drink is iced tea or iced coffee.
16. The last time I was drunk was March 10, 1995. I fell in Fanueil Hall and broke my ankle, but went home to bed without even knowing (or feeling) it. I sure felt it the next morning....along with a nasty hangover.
17. I skeeve mold. Is skeeve a word?
18. I love to read, mostly fiction. LOVED Harry Potter!
19. I was a Youth Minister for almost 10 years. I still miss my "kids".
20. I think my husband is one of the funniest people I know.
21. My husband and I have known each other since we were 12. I have a picture to prove it.
22. My favorite smell in the whole world is my son after a shower.
23. I love reality TV.
24. I can't go to the movies without dozing off at least once.
25. My all-time favorite show was Beverly Hills, 90210.

Now make your own list and send it to me, or post it on comments! It's fun.

Have a great Wednesday!

-G

Happy 10th Birthday, "A"

2009-02-03T13:50:00.003-05:00

You'll have to forgive all these birthday posts - my family is busy at this time of year!

So, today is my niece A's 10th Birthday. She is my Godchild and the second born of my brother and his wife. Everyone tells me how much she looks like I did at her age. It's kind of cool for me, because it's like being able to look into your past. Just this past Sunday my brother said that he thinks A's personality might be bigger than mine was (and that is a serious undertaking!!!). A is not afraid to get up in front of everyone and sing, dance or talk. Last Summer she attended a drama camp and was given the longest speaking part - and she nailed it! She definitely likes to be in control and when she was really little (probably about 3) she spent half of her dance recital telling the other kids where they were supposed to be on the stage!!! It's good to know that she will probably never take crap from anyone - you go girl!

My son was born 7 months after A, and sometimes I feel that I didn't get to spend as much one-on-one time with A as I did with the other kids. It's good that her and Pal get along, and because they are similar ages they are always together at family parties. She likes to come to our camper for a weekend in the Summer and I'm glad to have that time to spend with her. That means a lot to me.

One of the funniest and cutest memory of A is from the day we brought Pal home from the hospital. She was sitting on my mother's lap and my niece, K2 (you haven't met her yet because her birthday isn't until May!!!) was sitting on the floor in front of my mother. K2 leaned up to A for a "kiss" and A grabbed K2's head with both hands and laid a wet one on her cheek!! It didn't stop there - K2 kept leaning in for more and A was more than happy to oblige! It was so cute, and we have it on video.

My hope for A is that she will blow this world away with her multiple talents and follow those dreams as far as they will take her. But my biggest hope is that we will always be close.

Happy 10th Birthday, A. I love you. You big ham.

Love,
AG

On Turning 38

2009-01-25T19:39:00.002-05:00

Today is my 38th birthday. I like my birthday. It is all.about.me. No, not really, but it sounded good. In fact, this morning could not have proven more differently. I did get to sleep in, until almost 9:00, and stayed in bed until 9:20. That's about the highlight of the first part of my day, because it all went downhill after that.

Pal has been struggling with math at school, so the teacher assigned him some math homework for the weekend. Before I knew about this math homework on Friday, I agreed to let Pal have his best buddy over for a sleep-over. And then last night we went to a college hockey game and didn't get home until 11. Those 2 late nights combined didn't do Pal any justice and it was his math homework that would pay for it! And Hubby and I. I wanted him to finish the homework so that we could all go out and do something fun for my birthday, but after 2.5 hours and many crying/screaming jags, my level of expectation for the day had fizzled to almost nothing. I just wanted the damn math homework to be done, and done right. Is that too much to ask? We finally finished correcting the homework around 1:00.

After that, my birthday got better. We decided to use a gift certificate we had for the Texas Roadhouse, and it was delicious! Pal even tried some of Hubby's steak and liked it. When we got home, Hubby had bought me a chocolate cream pie from our old neighborhood bakery, and that was pretty delicious too! No singing, but that's okay too.

And then I went grocery shopping. Hey, it had to be done!

But as I think about turning 38, I realize how lucky I am. I have my health, a great husband, a healthy beautiful son, terrific friends, a wonderfully close family, a great in-law family, a warm home to come home to, a job that I love, my bills are paid, I have food in the fridge, and I can afford to vacation.

More importantly, I am comfortable with who I am. I know who I am, and am not afraid to be who I am. And that is the best gift of all.

Have a great week!

G

Happy 19th Birthday, "C"

2009-01-24T12:51:00.003-05:00

This is my niece, C, who is 19 today! I can't get the picture to appear bigger, but you can tell from the little postage stamp that she is a beautiful girl.

C is #3 in line of the nieces, and is the second child of my sister, P. I chose her birth-day. When P had to schedule a C-Section (no pun intended...a "C" section? get it?), she called me and said that she could have it on the 24th or on my birthday, the 25th. I thought that this child deserved her (or his, we didn't know at that point) own birthday. So, P went in for the C-section on the 24th. And ever since then, even though they are on separate days, I've shared my birthday with C. Because when you are 17, like I was when she was born, you are pretty much done with birthday parties anyway. So every year when P threw C a party, I felt like it was for me, too. I always enjoyed watching C open her presents because her whole face lit up when she saw what was inside. She didn't care if it was clothes or a new toy, she just loved opening presents.

C was a funny little kid too. She was terrified of dogs...mostly due to my sister's fear of dogs. One time when I was babysitting there, we watched the dog movie "Beethoven". That night, when it was time for bed, C came back downstairs crying and said "I can see Beethoven in my eyes"!!! We had to check the locks on the doors to make sure that no dogs could get in the house.

Hubby's favorite memory of C is when she was about 18 months old. We were having a cookout at their house and C was eating some chips. As she was toddling away, she tripped and as she was falling, she stuffed the chips in her mouth! Hubby was laughing so hard, and no one else had seen what she did. It was so funny.

Today she is turning 19 and is a freshman in college. I can't believe it. She has turned into a funny adult, too. She loves clothes, makeup and music like every other girl her age. She has a long-time boyfriend and he is a nice kid. My hope for her is that she finds her niche in life and is happy and successful.

So, Happy 19th Birthday, C. I love you.

Love, AG

Happy Birthday, T2

2009-01-14T13:43:00.003-05:00

Today is my nephew, who I will call T2, 5th Birthday!

He is the first born of Hubby's sister, and our longtime mutual friend-turned-brother-in-law, T. I call him "King of Diversion" because whenever he's in trouble, he tries to divert your attention to something else. For example, when he was yelling in the house while his brother was sleeping, I went in to say "T2, you have to be quiet or you will wake up J3". (J3 is T2's little brother.) While I am saying this to him, he is smiling up at me and saying at the same time "Auntie G, did you see my new toy?". He cracks us up, and uses words like "cross" instead of "mad", and refers to anytime before he was born as "the olden days".

The funniest thing he did recently was tell his brother that there was just not enough room in the house for both of them to live there, and that J3 will just have to go and live with Nana. And then another time, J3 called 911 when he was playing with the phone, and as you know - they still have to send an officer to the house even though it was an "accident". As soon as the policeman walked in the door, T2 pointed at J3 and said "HE DID IT!". There was no way he was taking the wrap for his little brother!!!

I tell him that I am going to "kiss him all day" and he tells me, "No, today is not the day." I just love this kid. I love all of my nieces and nephews equally of course, but he has a little corner of my heart reserved just for him.

Just look at him. Wouldn't you?

Happy 5th, T2. Be forwarned, there will be a day that I will kiss you all day.

Love, Auntie G

A New Year - 2009 is Here!

2009-01-10T15:03:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year, everyone!

I firmly believe that 2009 is going to be a good year. It WILL be a good year, I insist! It's off to a decent start - we sold my Dad's house as of the 6th, and moved him into the retirement community where he has wanted to go since 2001. The move was pretty smooth, last Saturday we moved all of the furniture that wasn't going to his new place but was being dispersed amongst the family. Then we went to the new place and unpacked all of the boxes and hung curtains. On Monday the movers came to the house and moved Dad's things to the new place. On Monday night, I took another van load of trash out of there after cleaning the bathrooms and emptying all the small stuff out of the house, the little things that you don't notice until you have to collect it all - it adds up quickly!! On Tuesday my sisters went to the closing and the house was officially THEIRS. The weirdest moment for me was on Monday night when I was leaving the house, I had to put my key inside on the counter and shut the door - I stood there, in the dark, staring back into the empty house, and realized I would never again walk through that door. At least not without being welcomed in by the new people!! It wasn't devastating, but just a little sad. The second weird moment was on Tuesday...I have to drive by the house on my way home from work and the new people were there, their car in the driveway and the lights in my Mom's old room were on. Just weird. Not bad weird, just unfamiliar weird. My sister-in-law said it best: "It's time for that house to raise it's next family." I thought that was an awesome way to look at it. She had the same experience a couple of years ago when her parents sold her childhood home. I know my sisters are having a harder time than my brother and I are. But that is just typical of our personalities.

My Dad already seems to be doing well at the new place. Yesterday I called him to see how he was doing and I could actually hear the difference in his voice. Some neighbors on his floor invited him down to dinner the night before and he went! That is already a 100% improvement than him living alone in that big old house!! I can not be more hopeful that my Dad will become more like his old self.

The only glitch with 2009 already being a better year is that Pal is having a hard time adjusting to being back to school. We go through this every year, and every year the teachers seem surprised by this, but I am not. I told this teacher that every year we have the same issues after the Christmas vacation - it's like starting school all over again for Pal. And it doesn't get any easier from here on out, because there are 2 more vacations before school is out, and Pal will have the same difficulty after those vacations. Oh well, let's just hope he gets back in the swing of things soon.

Heck, I had a hard time getting back in the swing of things with this last week being a full week of work, plus I worked this morning for 4 hours, so my weekend didn't begin until noontime today!

So, raise your glasses to a great beginning to 2009. I hope all your New Year's Resolutions go down the drain like mine always do!!! Just kidding - stick to 'em!!!!

G

I can sum this up in 6 words or less:

2009-01-05T18:57:00.004-05:00

"WHY I HATE REAL CHRISTMAS TREES".

Anyone want to take a stab at it?

Not A Creature Was Stirring

2008-12-23T19:09:00.005-05:00

I find myself, strangely, home alone tonight. Completely alone. With the possible exception of the dog, 3 goldfish and an elf who has taken up temporary residence here until Santa takes him back on Christmas Eve. Which is tomorrow. Wow, it's already Christmas and I can't say that I'm sad to see 2008 go away. This year has been filled with a lot of trials and tribulations for my family. Here's a synopsis of life for us this year:

You might remember that as January began we were dealing with Pal having MRSA. That was one of the most disgusting things I've ever dealt with (see posts from last February, there are pictures...). The last flare-up he had was in July, and I am hoping that we are MRSA free, forever.
February brought many changes to my immediate family. My Father, after several close calls with my Mom wandering out of the house, and at all hours of the night, finally made the decision to move my Mom into an Assisted Living Facility. Our original plan was to move both of them into this one place we had already picked out, but my Dad decided that he wanted to stay at their house and just move my Mom. It was one of the hardest things we, as a family, and I, as an individual, have EVER had to do. Of course, all of us had assumed that once the "burden" of my Mom was off of my Dad's shoulders, he would regain his former life and continue on in freedom. However, this was NOT the case at all. My Dad became almost reclusive, drinking to drown the sorrow over the loss of the life he once shared with my Mom. It was something none of us saw coming, and we began the process of talking about selling the house and moving him elsewhere. He has always wanted to go to this one retirement community which is an excellent place for active seniors, but my Mom never wanted to go. I am thankful that I can say that we have SOLD his house and he will be going to that retirement community in January!

March brought on another problem my Hubby and I were dealing with, and that was Pal. His inability to pay attention or control his impulses had reached a boiling point at school, and he was ending up in trouble with the Principal, a LOT. Our suspicions had been suspicions long enough, and with the encouragement of Pal's teacher and lots of "discussions" between Hubby and I, we decided to have him evaluated by a team of professionals. Of course, we were not surprised in the least to have them tell us that he was "classic case" ADHD. He is not hyperactive, and there are other signs and symptoms of ADHD that he does NOT display, but the impulse control (or lack thereof) and inability to pay attention were the symptoms he displayed greatly. I felt so scared, but reassured that we were not crazy, and Pal's problems were not due to bad parenting or lack of discipline. Funny, how your own words can come back to bite you -- I had said many, many times previous to having my own child that I thought ADHD was a copout for those parents who didn't discipline their kids!!! Open mouth, insert foot. Thankfully, since he was diagnosed and put on a very low dose of medicine, his behavior at school and his grades are definitely MUCH better! He even commented to me yesterday that "he is so glad that the medicine helps him to act better because he hasn't been to the Principal's office once this whole year!". Thank God for small favors!!!

In April my father-in-law had a knee replacement surgery and everything went really well. That was until they looked at some blood-test results and his Ph levels were sky high. He ended up needing a transfusion in the hospital, and they sent him for a bone-marrow test. It turns out that he has leukemia. CML to be exact - Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. It is highly treatable and is not fatal, but it does explain the chronic fatigue he suffers from, as well as some other minor complications. He has been taking an oral chemo drug for 6 months and his Ph levels have evened out. He still has bad days but overall is feeling well.

May was fairly uneventful, with the exception of Pal's allergies. This poor kid looked like someone punched him repeatedly in the eyes! They were so swollen, and we were back and forth to the Pedi several times before they found a medication that worked. Another major event in our life was that Hubby went back to being self-employed. This was what he has wanted for a long time and now that I carry our health insurance it was the perfect time.

June brought dental problems for me, a nasty fall for a close friend of mine in which she was hospitalized and in rehab for almost a month. She ended up with the same injury as Christopher Reeve, except she didn't sever her spinal chord. Then the Assisted Living Facility (ALF) where my Mom was called us and said she needed to go to the hospital Psych ward and be evaluated because they "just can't handle her". Basically what was happening was she needed to use the bathroom (urgently most times) and because of her Alzheimer's she couldn't find the bathroom and would end up having an accident on the floor. And it was usually in someone else's room, or in the director's office. It was obviously embarrassing for my Mom, who was always an extremely proud and independent person, and she began refusing their help. She wouldn't allow them to help her clean herself, and she wouldn't allow them to put a "Depends" on her either. In my opinion, and hindsight, this was mainly because they just didn't WANT to deal with her. She was evaluated and in the Psych ward for 2 weeks, where they had her on a toilet schedule and she was allowing them to help her with her hygiene. As soon as she went back to the ALF, the same behavior started (and they didn't stick to the toilet schedule, either!).

In July, we got another phone call that my Mom had fallen and they sent her back to the hospital; our opinion is that she had not fallen, but they were shorthanded and didn't have the staff to deal with her. In all of this, we were adjusting her medications to see if that would help. When she went back to the ALF, the dosages they had her on made her catatonic and very lethargic. Funnily enough we stopped receiving complaint calls from the ALF while she was so doped up.

July also brought about my niece K's surgery, which I posted about a few times. This was an extremely stressful time for my sister, and obviously our whole family. K came through the operation fine, but hit a few bumps on the road to recovery and didn't end up going back to college like she had planned. Her healing has taken much longer than she expected and because she is such a "go-getter" she has had a hard time adjusting to a slower pace. Right now, she is improving every day and is hoping to return to college in January.

August. This was our emotional roller-coaster month. My Mother-in-law was laid off from her job of 10 years and this was especially hard on her, mostly because it bruised her ego a bit. I don't mean to imply that she has an ego, but that getting laid off was a tough pill to swallow for her.

On August 5th, my Dad and I went to my Mom's ALF for her 6-month evaluation. The director sat with us and told us that although my Mom gets agitated, they can handle whatever she throws at them. She reassured us, several times, that my Mom's behavior was 100% normal and typical of someone with Alzheimer's. We left there feeling pretty good about where Mom was. Then the end of the month rolls around and we get a call that they were sending her back to the hospital because they had seen blood in her stool. We knew this already, because it had been discovered previously that she was severely anemic and her doctor felt that she was most likely bleeding internally. Because my Mom would refuse most tests needed to determine where the bleeding was coming from, the doctor put her on iron pills and told us to consider a colonoscopy. My Mom would never, ever, have agreed to a colonoscopy in her RIGHT mind, so we said no.

Well, when the ALF sent her back to the hospital this time, the doctors at the hospital agreed to keep her in the hospital to do the colonoscopy, and that we should find out what was wrong with Mom for our own health history, if nothing else. My sister, C, had a very hard time making this decision but we all reassured her it was the right thing to do. They prepped her for 2 days before and did the colonoscopy on Tuesday. The preliminary results came back the next day: huge, bleeding polyp, most likely malignant. Colon cancer. Wow. I hadn't even given cancer a second thought, but with our recent family issues with colons, I shouldn't be surprised. The doctor told us that my Mom has probably had this for some time, and she could live a long time with it. It was, however, inoperable. She was released back to the ALF and we contemplated what to do about this new diagnosis.
This was now the end of August. The ALF called me to complain that nobody had notified them of my Mom's return and they were not prepared to care for her, so we would have to hire a 24-hour assistant for her. HUH? Isn't that what we are paying YOU for??? Someone even mentioned to my sister that we should probably start looking for another "place" for my Mom, because they were just unable to care for her there. This threw us into a tizzy, because most places have waiting lists. My sister and I went to a few different ALF's but didn't find one that seemed capable of handling my Mom. We finally found a Nursing Home (NH) that had a bed available, and my sister's sister-in-law was also a nurse at this NH. They took her with no questions asked, and we could not have been more grateful to get my Mom out of that godforsaken ALF.

September has arrived at this point, and Mom settled in nicely at the new NH. School has begun, I am back to work, and things are actually calm for once.

October, though, brought us to the death of a close family friend. You can read my full post dedication to Mrs. D. in August of this year.
Another friend formerly of our campground also passed away, 7 weeks to the day of being diagnosed with cancer.
Toward the end of the month, Hubby's Nana, who turned 90 in September, took a turn for the worse. We had a family trip to Disney planned and were obviously worried about Nana. All we could do was pray that the two didn't interfere. I know it's not nice to think about someone's death affecting your vacation, but let's be serious and think of all the money that would be lost - there were 13 of us going on this trip.

Sadly, Nana passed away on November 1. We buried her 2 days before our big trip. (Thanks, Nana!!) The Disney trip was definitely the highlight of our year. Of course, there are always highlights to go with the lowlights in life, but unfortunately it seems like we can only remember the low.

As we enter into this Christmas season, I know it will be difficult not having my Mom by our side during our annual traditions. But I rest easy knowing she is safe, cared for, and comfortable where she is. I visited her today and will say a prayer for her on Christmas. I will miss her deeply, too.

I can only hope that happier times are ahead for my family. The end of December 2008will bring about a lot of change for my Dad as he prepares to move out of the house he's lived in for 46 years. My prayer, and I hope you all will join me in praying for this: 2009 will begin a fresh start to those who need it, and a new outlook on life for my Dad.

I'm sorry for the Bah-Humbug post! I really do wish all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and Happy New Year.

-G

Thirteen Years

2008-12-02T20:07:00.002-05:00

Today marks 13 years of marriage for Hubby and I! Lucky #13. He was born on the 13th, so I don't feel like the number 13 means anything bad.

I just have to say that I love being married. And I love being married to HIM. (Most of the time, anyway!!!) I love coming home, knowing he'll be there with his quirky (read: dorky) greetings. I love it when he winks at me across a room and I know that he's saying "I love you". I love that he's such a good guy, like when he tells me that he helped an elderly woman to her car because it was icy. I love the feeling I get deep in my chest when he gives me a hug. I love that he can still make me laugh. I love it when he quotes movies and I don't know it, and I happen to see the movie years later and realize that's where the saying comes from! ("Hello, Willard!"). I love how he takes care of his parents. I love how he wants to do things with Pal, even though Pal doesn't always cooperate. I love that he loves me even though I've changed (read: gotten fat!) over the years. I love that he is a hard worker and is good at what he does. I love that he is a terrific budget-handler, because I'm not! I love that he enjoys hanging out with my family, too.

I could go on and on. He may wish I did! But all I really want him to know is that thirteen years later, I'd do it all over again as long as it's with him.

I love you, honey, Happy 13th Anniversary.

-G

The End of an Era

2008-11-25T13:39:00.004-05:00

This is the house I grew up in. This is where my Dad still lives, for now. We have just put it on the market, which I am totally fine with. Or was, until I drove by and saw the "For Sale" sign in the front yard. I actually broke down and cried, almost having to pull over because I couldn't see through my tears. Seeing that sign meant the end of an era in my life - this house represents so much of me, the me that made me who I am today. It is the place where I was born, the place I laughed in, loved in, fought in, cried in, puked in, played in, swam in the pool, sang in, opened birthday and Christmas gifts in, posed for countless pictures in, healed a broken heart in, enjoyed family get togethers in, I could go on for hours....

I am usually the strong one in my family, out of the girls anyway. I try to use logic over emotion whenever possible. I think I must have learned that from my husband, because I used to be more emotional than I am now. So I was surprised by my immediate reaction to seeing the For Sale sign.

Last week we had to finish cleaning out the house so it could be shown, and I found my dolls that I used to play with. I couldn't bring myself to throw them away, even though they look like they were in a dirty basement for 25+ years (they were technically on the front porch in a rubbermaid bucket, but the result was the same!). Seeing those dolls, remembering the hours and hours I played with them in that house, brought on such a strong feeling of nostalgia, making me wish that life was still as simple as it was for me when I was living there, playing with my dolls, eating dinner at 5:10 p.m. (on the dot, after Dad got home from work) sitting across from my sisters and brother and Mom and Dad. I knew I was loved, protected and safe. There were no bills to worry about paying, no sick parents to worry about, etc. It brought about the realization that I am officially a "grown up", with my own house, my own family, creating new memories for my son. I am still loved, protected and safe, and my husband is the one who worries about paying the bills, but it's just different.

It's a hard thing to face - I still want to be the little sister who everyone watches opening up Christmas presents, and I want to be that little girl who used to climb up on my Dad's lap and hear him tell everyone that I'm his "baby". I am still the baby of the family and that will never change, but my role has changed significantly. And that is because of the years I spent growing, learning and watching my family as we lived together in this house, our home. But the one realization that is most important is that it was not the house that made me who I am, but those who lived in the house with me. I am who I am, because of them.

So, pray for a quick sale...and most of all have a wonderful, Happy Thanksgiving. I know I have a lot to be thankful for.

G

We're Off To See The....Mouse!

2008-11-06T10:47:00.004-05:00

No wizards for us - we're Mouse fans!

Tomorrow we are headed to Florida for the family trip with Hubby's side. This is an Anniversary celebration trip for Hubby's parents who were married 40 years in June. We didn't go in June because it would've been too hot for my in-law's. Or rather, too hot for me!!! I hate the heat, so why would I leave New England to go to Florida where it's even HOTTER??? 13 of the 15 immediate family are traveling together, so this should be interesting!

This will be Pal's 5th trip to WDW (I know, spoiled brat!). I lost count of how many times I've been there...I know it's over 10 at this point, and that's only since 1990.

My first trip was with my brother and his (then girlfriend) wife, and my (at the time) boyfriend. It was a great time because I was experiencing Disney for the first time, but I should've left the at-the-time-boyfriend at home!!!

After that trip I broke up with the boyfriend. On my husband's birthday. Ironic?

I continued my newfound obsession with Disney by going with my new boyfriend, now Hubby, along with his sister and her (then) boyfriend, now husband. Hubby and bro-in-law would drive his Grandparent's car down to Florida for them so they could fly down, and then his sister and I would fly down with them and we would take our vacation from there. A couple of times we went to Disney, but a couple of other times we went on a cruise and to Marco Island. Those were the greatest times - no kids, no marriage, no worries! Hubby and I refer to those times as "Glory Days".

I also went in 1997 with Hubby's sister, and we rented a convertible sports car! We thought we were hot sh*t!!! We did everything from Busch Gardens to Disney to visiting the Grandparents and some other retired people we knew down there. It was an awesome trip.

Today marks the 10 year Anniversary of my Disney trip with my siblings. We went for 5 days and had a lot of laughs (and a few fights). We still giggle every time we mention certain things about our trip like "Who's that lady?"; "Disney is obsessed with water!!!"; "our brother's clipboard"; "I don't have a mug. Still."

We started taking Pal when he was 2. It was right after 9/11 so there were no crowds. He was in awe of all the activity and we loved watching him. He loved the Playhouse Disney show, until Winnie the Pooh and Friends came on...he turned to me with his nose all scrunched up and said "Can I play with my trucks now?"!!! Too funny, he never did like Pooh. Poor Pooh.

We went back with Pal when he was 4, with my in-law's. They had taken the other 2 grandsons when they were each 4, but we weren't comfortable with them taking Pal by themselves...he would be too much for them to handle. Well, that turned out to be the best decision we ever made, because Papa had a heart-attack about 2 hours after we landed. Luckily, we were with Hubby's cousin who lives down there (and happens to work for Disney!), so she knew the closest hospital and we got him there within minutes of the first chest pains. Thank God he was okay, it was so scary. Papa never did make it to any of the Parks. Then, in the same trip, Pal got bronchitis and we spent 7 hours at the ER with him, and I came down with the stomach bug and missed an entire day at the parks. I was too busy "riding the porcelain bus". Sorry, there's the poop talk again.....

After the previous trip from hell, and after Papa recovered nicely from his heart attack, we decided to give it a go one more time. This time we invited my oldest sister who loves Disney, and hadn't been since our siblings trip in '98. So, it was Hubby, Pal and I, my sister and my in-law's. We had a fabulous time, and Papa even surprised my sister by telling the waitress at "Whispering Canyon Cafe" (an oxymoron) that it was her birthday - they put a brown paper bag over her head because she was so mortified, and the entire restaurant sang Happy Birthday to her!! We laughed so hard because she was so embarrassed. Good times.

And then last year, Hubby kept bugging me to take Pal again, and I kept saying no...until I caved of course. So in 5 weeks time we booked, planned and executed our 4th trip without Pal knowing...We showed up at his school on the last day, dismissed him early and drove straight to the airport - he had NO idea before hand! The look of shock on his face was priceless - it was an awesome moment.

So now here we are at Pal's 5th trip to Disney. He will have his 4 cousins from Hubby's side to play with: 2 older and 2 younger. I'm sure we will take lots of pictures of all 5 boys and I will post one when I get back. My in-law's are excited to travel with (most of) their family. Now all I have to do is survive (most of) their family!!!! Just kidding. Really.

I'll say hi to Mickey Mouse and friends for you all!

G

Finding Family

2008-10-25T20:28:00.002-04:00

I have many Aunts, Uncles and cousins on both sides of my family, but rarely get to see most of them. Typically we are like most families: when someone dies we see everyone at the wake or funeral. My Father's side of the family is not as close as my Mother's side of the family. I only have 1 Aunt left on my Mom's side; her 2 oldest sisters and only brother have passed away, but we don't even get to see their families because they are spread around the country. My Aunt that is living lives in the same city I grew up in, and we get together at Christmas every year. I do see those cousins more often than any other family now. When I was younger, Mom's family used to have an annual BBQ and we used to sing songs and have a great time together. Those memories are among my fondest of my Mom's family.

Like I said, my Dad's family is not as close. For some strange reason, my Dad and his 2 brothers (who all lived in the same city until 3 years ago when the youngest moved across the country) were never that close. His only sister moved away 40 years ago and they've only been to visit a handful of times. Until a couple of years ago, I barely even knew that her family existed - an entire family full of first cousins I had never met. At least with my Mom's family I had MET my entire clan of cousins!

After my Dad had gone to Arizona to visit his sister for her 70th birthday, he gave me an email address for one of her sons, my first cousin whom I had never met. So, I sent him a "Hi, My Name Is" message and we started getting to know each other through email. It turned out that I was going to a conference in his hometown that coming June, at his own Church! So we met for the first time at the Church and I even went out to dinner with him and his sister (whom I had met briefly when I was young). On the next 2 return trips to the yearly conference, we met up again and it was so great to get to know this family who I had never known. They even got their entire extended family together for a BBQ in my honor. It almost made me sad, that I was robbed of the years that I could have known this part of my immediate family.

About 5 years ago, my cousin talked his youngest brother (who wasn't even born until after they had moved away from this area) into tagging along on a visit that their Mom was making to see our family. We happened to have a graduation party scheduled that same weekend so we incorporated their visit into the party and it was like a mini-reunion. I know my Aunt has found great pleasure in knowing that her kids and her extended family from "back home" have come to know each other.

In keeping with my theme of reuniting family that I never knew, I was on FaceBook (my latest and greatest addiction!) and found a man with the same last name as my family name, so I sent him an email through Facebook, asking him if he was related. Gutsy, I know! But he responded quickly and it turned out he IS related - he is my Father's first cousin! My Grandfather and his Father were brothers. It's funny, because he is the same age as my sisters, and has a couple of brothers and a sister. My Dad and his Uncle were having children at the same time! So, here we are again, back in that "getting to know you" stage with family I should have already known. I am hoping to arrange some sort of family reunion of ALL portions of my Dad's family eventually.

And then, there are those family members you wish you'd never met.....but that's a WHOLE other post.

Have a great weekend,
G

But I'm NOT Bitter. Really!

2008-10-19T19:18:00.004-04:00

So every year, Hubby goes on a "guys trip" with my brother and his friend. They've gone to all different places: Florida, Vegas, Florida, Arizona, Florida...see the pattern? Their denial that they just want to go to Disney World without their children manifests itself with the statement "But we go with them, too....". My husband has even been known to mutter "Disney is no place for kids." This makes me laugh every time I am in Disney World and see parents of miserable children trying to assuage their overtired, spoiled kids with a Mickey Mouse shaped iced cream...OH WAIT, that was ME. Last year! And the year before that, and the year before that!!! Just kidding...it was a bag of popcorn...

But seriously, all kidding aside, I don't really care where Hubby and my brother and their friend go on their trip. I think it's great that they get a chance to get away and just be, well, guys. I think it helps them appreciate what they have at home a little more. This morning Hubby called to say hi and said he was ready to come home. I asked if it was because he was sick of my brother and his friend. His reply was "No, I just miss you and Pal." It was nice to hear that.

Although I have enjoyed my weekend too, I missed having our family unit together. Pal and I went out with my mother-in-law on Friday night, and on Saturday my brother's wife (a.k.a. My Fave Sis-in-law, D!) and I took our 3 kids to the movies and out to lunch - here they are at the restaurant:

After the movies, we were on the way home and Pal asked if he could have his Best Buddy over for a sleepover. I waivered between wanting to have a quiet night alone, and giving in to Pal because he's an only child and I have guilt for that (I lied down until that feeling went away again!!) So in true Mom fashion, the guilt won and we picked up Best Buddy on our way home. This was both Pal and Best Buddy's FIRST EVER "friend" sleepover! It went very well, they went to sleep about 10:45 and slept until 7:30 this morning. Can't complain for a first time deal!! Today Pal's Cub Scout group went to the Harvard Museum of Natural History for their geology requirement. Our requirement was getting in for free before 12 p.m.!! And lunch in Harvard Square of course.

So it was a crazy busy weekend, and the main thing I missed was having Hubby on laundry-duty!!! But now it's Sunday night and the laundry is almost done, Pal has taken a shower, the Red Sox are about to play Game 7 of the ALCS, Hubby comes home tomorrow and I am sitting in my recliner blogging for the first time in a week. Life is good.

Before I sign off, I'd like to ask that you keep Hubby's Nana in your prayers - she's 90 and was just admitted to the ICU. After losing Mrs. D last week I'm not sure Hubby will handle this news too well...thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Have a great week!

G

Happy Birthday, Hubby!

2008-10-13T18:48:00.003-04:00

Today is Hubby's 38th birthday. I tease him because he is 3 months older than me, and I won't be 38 until it is already 2009. I love to rub that in.

Hubby and I have known each other since approximately 1983/84. Our mutual friend, T, (who is also the son of Mrs. D who I have been writing about) went to school with Hubby, but lived near me. Hubby would come over to T's house after school and we would all hang out together. Of course when you are 13 you have NO clue that you just met the man you will someday marry, but one thing I did know for sure back then was that I really, really liked who Hubby was (and still is). If it weren't for Hubby's knack for keeping in touch with people, we probably would have lost touch during those years that we weren't hanging out. But every so often I would get a phone call from him, just to say hi, or a visit to where I worked. But it was a terrible accident that brought us together once and for all, and that was when our mutual friend, T, who is now our brother-in-law because he married Hubby's sister, D, (I know, it's get really confusing and almost seems incestuous!), got hurt in a floor hockey scuffle. T was pushed to the floor of the hockey rink and the bones in his forehead were broken. He was hospitalized and needed surgery to repair the broken bones. It was during our visits to T that Hubby and I reconnected. At first we were just friends and enjoyed hanging out together again. But then it bloomed into love and there was nothing better than marrying your best friend. We will be married 13 years this coming December.

But more about Hubby - I meant what I said above about liking who he is. We can still laugh and have a good time. He makes me laugh with his goofy nature even though I tell him he's a dork/freak/fruitcake. He's a great Dad to Pal, even though I'm not sure Pal appreciates him just yet. But what kid does, right?

Hubby is a terrific husband, friend, brother, son, son-in-law, co-worker, boss, teacher, Scout, electrician, Christian, citizen, American. All around he is just a nice guy. He likes to think that he's tough and sometimes comes off as shy or cold. The man I love is nothing but a mushy teddy bear inside.

Happy Birthday, Hubby, I love you with all my heart. Love, GM

'Til we meet again, Mrs. D.

2008-10-08T00:42:00.004-04:00

My post in September titled "A privilege we don't often get" was about the opportunity to say goodbye to someone before they die. I got that privilege when Mrs. D's family held a "Celebration of Life" party while she was still capable of receiving visitors, and it was such a nice thing that she got to enjoy her own "wake" of sorts. Tonight, Mrs. D lost her battle with cancer.

I am so sad, more so because my nephews, her two youngest Grandsons, probably won't remember her too well....they are only 3 and 4. I was one of those kids who grew up without Grandparents and I know what I missed. Mrs. D loved her family, and her Grandkids were definitely her pride and joy. Her whole house is decorated with picture after picture of all 5 of them. She also loved her God, and now is resting comfortably in His arms. I'm sure of it.

The next few days are sure to be filled with a lot of emotions, so please keep Mrs. D and all that loved her in your thoughts and prayers.

G

Brooke Shields is an idiot. Period.

2008-10-07T09:21:00.002-04:00

This morning I was driving to work and had the radio on. There was a commercial that starts with Brooke Shields saying "Our nation is facing a serious crisis." My ears perked up, thinking she was going to address one of the MANY serious crisis' facing our nation. No. Her next statement was something like, "People are having babies so they can drive the new Volkswagon Routan."

Seriously, can someone slap her?

With all the serious situations going on in our country, i.e. the stock market, the crappy choices for President, global warming, people really having babies when they shouldn't, etc. etc. etc....Brooke Shields chose to be a spokesperson for a new minivan???? She needs a hobby. Or a job. She is an idiot.

Enough ranting for today.

G

Memory Walk 2008

2008-09-28T22:22:00.004-04:00

Here are some pics of the kids at the Alzheimer's Memory Walk 2008. It was raining the whole time and stopped right after we crossed the finish line! All in all it was a success, we had 21 people walk for our team, and my niece K made shirts for everyone that said "Memory Keepers" on the front (our team name), and on the back it said one of 3 things: Mom, Nana or Dotty with "08" underneath. They were very cool (see them on the kids in the pics.) My feet are killing me and I have 3 blisters, but the walk was good. Now, let's hope this money means we are closer to a CURE. Because I do NOT want to have Alzheimer's Disease. Ever. And I do not want anyone else that I know and love to suffer this way.

Here is a picture of my Mom with Pal and my niece, A in 2007 at their First Communion. This is one of my favorites (notice Pal holding Mom's arm...so cute.)

Thanks for everyone's support for this walk and of my family. Please keep us in your prayers.

Thanks,
G

A Banner Day

2008-09-26T22:43:00.002-04:00

From what Pal said, the first trombone lesson went well! Of course, he thinks that he should have been able to play a full song after his first real lesson....he is quite challenged in the patience department! So this will be a lesson in patience for all of us....

Another big happening around here today was Pal had his first ice skating lesson. We tried this back when he was 3 and it didn't go over too well, so tonight I was apprehensive about the lessons because I knew the class would consist of mostly 3-year-olds. And I was right. Fortunately, though, the instructors (and there were plenty of them) stuck right with him and he actually did really well! Again, the patience was a factor....he thought that because he could walk on the floor in the skates, he was going to walk right out onto the ice! His first fall wasn't until the instructor told him to sit down on the ice for a minute, and he looked around himself like "How am I going to get DOWN there?" and then he fell forward and sat. Whatever works, right??? He did fall a few more times, but all in all for a first time on skates, he did great. Ray Bourque watch out!

Not to mention that he did this skating lesson less than an hour after having 2 more teeth pulled! His mouth was still bloody - that's how soon after it was. I was impressed at his resilience.

Added to the trombone lesson, the skating lesson, the teeth extractions - Pal made it through the school day (especially a Friday) without getting a punishment essay!!! Yay for a homework free weekend!!!

A banner day, for sure. I'd love to have many more of these to come!!!

Have a great weekend!

G

"76 Trombones In The Big Parade"

2008-09-25T12:08:00.006-04:00

Today, Pal got on the bus with his huge Trombone in his hand. I should have taken a picture of it, it was so funny. The case is almost as big as him! The night I went to buy the trombone, you should have seen the box that the case and trombone came in - I almost couldn't carry it, so one of the high school band members had to carry it out to my car! Of course, I was still having trouble breathing after seeing the price of said trombone!! They don't call them "wind" instruments for nothing - it knocked the wind right outta me!!!!

So, off he went with his newfound interest this morning. We'll see (after school) how his first real lesson went. Last week, I hadn't gotten the information and we didn't know he had to bring his trombone to school, so his first official lesson consisted of watching the other kids. But as soon as he got home, he opened up the case (he had been forbidden to even open it - by the music teacher, not us) and started making noise! He loves to assemble it, play it once or twice, polish it, disassemble it, put it back in the case...wait 20 minutes....then repeat the process all over again! He is already able to make some loud sounds with it, so I am hoping that he learns how to play it and comes to love it.

I wish I had learned how to play an instrument as a kid, and that doesn't include my sister's electric organ!!! It had numbered keys instead of chords, so instead of knowing how to play "Silent Night" by key chords, all I know is 5-6-5-3, 5-6-5-3, 9-9-7, 8-8-5, 6-6-8-7-6-5-6-5-3, etc.!!! Although I can play a little piano by ear, but that's about it.

Keep your fingers crossed (and your ears protected) as we go through our first foray into the wonderful world of music! Who knows, maybe someday he'll be playing the trombone for his college football team! One can only hope....

((((****Side Note - Punishment Essay Count: 4****)))) Will he ever learn????

G

Hello? Is this thing on?

2008-09-22T09:05:00.003-04:00

Did I scare everyone with my poop-fest? I apologize. It was not in good taste but hey, it was what was going on in my life at that moment. And I was bored at work.

This weekend we closed up our camper for the last time -- we are getting rid of it and hopefully getting a new one for next year. We had to completely clean out the camper, after 15 seasons of camping in it, and it was like moving!!! There was so much stuff to go through and get rid of (which I love to do!! It's a sickness, I know). But we had to pack all of our stuff in boxes and move it up to my sister-in-law's camper to store for the winter. The owner of the campground wanted us to do this now so that he can haul the camper off of the site and do some repair work to the hill in front of our camper. It has been eroding for years and now the pipes are exposed. I am hoping that he actually DOES the job before next season...he has a tendency to promise things and then not follow through. I hate that. It would really suck if we buy a new camper and then can't have it delivered because the site is not ready.

Now it's Monday and I'm home with Pal because he caught my cold. I was miserable on Friday and Pal woke up yesterday with a cough, and this morning he felt warm so we decided not to send him to school. This gives me a chance to get myself 100% better and get some stuff put away from the weekend.

So, please continue to read my blog - I promise not to post about poop again. For a while at least.

Happy Monday!

G

Update on Poop Fest

2008-09-18T13:55:00.004-04:00

Good news - there was just a blockage in the pipe and the "Septic Guy" was able to snake it out. Now we get to fill it all back in.....

Everybody Poops...

2008-09-18T13:55:00.003-04:00

I feel like all I do is talk about poop. And I don't mean bull-poop. I mean bodily function - people and animal - POOP.

When I worked in Boston, I used to take the bus to the train station and there was this couple that rode the bus with their little daughter. They would read to her on the bus, out loud, every day. One day, they were reading "Everyone Poops". It made me laugh out loud! There is even a girl poop book and a boy poop book!

Even Oprah isn't immune to talking about it with Dr. Oz on her show. According to Dr. Oz, your poop should be slightly green in color and S shaped. Go ahead, everyone looks. Oprah says that every time she gets nervous about interviewing someone, she just remembers to herself that everybody poops!

Lately, in my life, it has been talking about my niece, K, and her Ulcerative Colitis and her having surgery to remove her colon (if you want the gory details, her very descriptive blog is listed in my "Blogs I Like" section!!!). Then my Mom was diagnosed with colon cancer, and we were talking about her poop and her lifelong battle with poop-related issues. My sisters and I have talked about poop at length when discussing the need to have a colonoscopy.

My nephew has just recently become totally potty-trained, and we discussed his poop habits at length several times with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law! Of course, then I live with hubby and Pal and they think poop is a dinner-time subject. Then my father-in-law likes to regale us with the dog's poop-of-the-day! I can't get away from it! Another poop-related blog you should check out is Manic Mommy (on my list of "Blogs I Like") and read HER recent issues with poop! Now THAT is so gross I could throw up just thinking about it.

And last, but certainly not the least, is what happened yesterday....during dinner my mother-in-law told us that we might need to call a "Septic Guy" because they've been hearing gurgling noises from the toilet and shower whenever we do laundry. When she went to take a shower yesterday morning, there was a "brown liquid" in the bottom of her shower stall....NOT a good sign, no, not at all....hubby called the "Septic Guy" and he told us to dig up the septic tank!!! Well, not the whole thing, but the top of it where the caps are, so we can look in and see if it's full. EWWWWWW.
He also wants to know when the last time it was pumped, and I luckily remembered seeing a receipt from the previous owner for a pump-out in '02. I dug that out, and also found the plot plan for our house (which we have owned for 3 years) and on the back of the plans were EXACT DIRECTIONS to the location of said septic tank caps!

God Bless You, previous homeowner!!! We love you, buddy, wherever you live now!!

After about an hour of digging, hubby unearthed the caps and opened them, much to Pal's delight. EWWWWWW. Pal runs into the house and says "Daddy told me to shut the door because the smell is really bad." This is not a good sign. When I asked him if he looked in the tank he said "Yeah, it was all muddy and wet". EWWWWWW.

Today Mr. Septic was coming to see for himself whether the sucker is full. It's a sh*tty job, but someone's got to do it!!!! Glad I'm not doing HIS laundry, gurgling noises included!

I'll let you know how my poop-fest turns out, possibly tomorrow.

G

We're On The Move

2008-09-17T19:29:00.002-04:00

My family and I are walking in the Memory Walk 2008 in honor of my Mom. Our team name is "The Memory Keepers". If anybody is interested in donating to our team effort, please let me know!!!

Thanks!

G

A Good Start to 4th Grade

2008-09-16T22:07:00.002-04:00

First, I just want to say that Pal DID go to N.H. with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law last Friday!!! Yay for us! He had a great time and so did we!!!! We had dinner out Friday night, and I slept in Saturday morning (not hubby - he's too busy to sleep!). We enjoyed reminiscing about the days when it was just the 2 of us, and we didn't live in a house with his parents. It's not that we don't appreciate what we have now, but it's fun to go back to the "glory days" once in a while!!! I love my son and my in-law's, but it was a nice break.

So tonight was the Open House at Pal's new school. In our town, the public school kids switch schools 5 times from Kindergarten through 12th grade. So Pal started at the "Intermediate" school (4th and 5th grade) this year. His 3rd grade teacher had a hand in picking his 4th grade teacher, which I was very glad about. Pal has some behavioral issues and he needs someone who will keep him in line. Since his 3rd grade teacher was excellent with him (tough, but kind), I had the utmost faith that she would pick someone just like herself.

When we got to the open house, my hubby was wearing a BC Hockey shirt and the first thing the new teacher said to him was "Nice shirt". It turns out she went to BC! She started out the meeting (all parents, no kids) immediately making everyone laugh, and I could easily see why Pal comes home every day with funny stories and excited about the things he is learning. This.is.a.first.for.us!!! Not once in the 5 years he's been in school (pre-k til now) has he ever come home excited about school. He almost doesn't mind doing the homework, either. His 3rd grade teacher gave a ton of homework, and so far the 4th grade teacher seems a little more relaxed in the homework arena. However, in her words, "the world had better open up and swallow you whole if you don't DO the homework". The first time you don't have your homework, you get a 125-word composition on responsibility. The second offense, a 250-word composition. And the third offense (which she claims no one has ever been stupid enough to get!) is a 500-word composition!!! Yikes!!

So of course, you know that Pal has already written a 125-word composition.

And a 150-word composition on paying attention to directions. On a Friday. Which meant weekend homework. The worst!!! Hopefully, we will not break her 500-word stupidity theory......
With any luck, he has learned not to mess with her. All in all, the fact that he is liking school right now is a good enough start for us. Let's hope that it continues.

On a side note - Pal had 2 teeth pulled today, and is having 2 more pulled next Monday. He handled it like a champ, and has NO idea they used a needle for the novacaine!!!! Some things are better off left unsaid!

Have a great night!

G

Just the Two of Us???

2008-09-12T11:04:00.002-04:00

Pal might be heading up to N.H. with my sister-in-law and her family, and we'll meet them up there tomorrow after a friend's housewarming party. My in-law's are also on a cruise, so there is a distinct possibility that hubby and I will have the entire house to ourselves....could it be true? Is it possible? I really could not tell you the last time that Pal was not with us - he doesn't get many invitations to sleep out, and I am not a big fan of sleepovers anyway. Mainly because we are the ones who suffer the consequences of the lack of sleep!!

That's IF Pal really goes...he usually has an anxiety attack at the last minute and backs out. The only thing that might work in our favor is that he wants to go up to N.H. (to our campground) because it is "Halloween" and they get to carve pumpkins, go trick-or-treating and then there is a "spook ride" later tomorrow night. Hubby took him last night to get some costume accessories, and he was talking this morning about getting all the candy (which he doesn't even eat half the time!).

Dare I wish? Dare I hope? Dinner out alone? A morning to sleep in...undisturbed??? Other than the dog, that is, but he will sleep late if we do!

Keeping my fingers crossed until Pal gets in their van and they drive away!!!

G

Where Were You?

2008-09-11T21:26:00.003-04:00

There's an Alan Jackson song called "Where Were You?". It's all about remembering the events of 9/11. Today being the 7th anniversary of that horrible September day, it seems like everyone uses this opportunity to remember exactly where they were 7 years ago today. At work today we all swapped stories. Then I ran into a friend whose husband is a Fire Fighter (FF) and she said he was out at a 9/11 ceremony. My brother, who is also a FF, was my first thought this morning when I realized it was 9/11. My brother-in-law, another FF, sent me an email asking me to "never forget" with a picture of the FDNY carrying the American flag in a St. Patrick's Day parade.

As for my "Where Were You?" moment, my friend Pat's father had passed away and his funeral was that morning. I was in my room, drying my hair, when Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America announced that something had crashed into one of the twin towers. They went live to the scene, and that's when my phone rang. It was my Dad, asking if I had my TV on, and while I was answering him - the second plane crashed into the towers. My Dad screamed "OH! Oh my God, that was another plane!" I felt this sense of dread in my legs and sat stunned as I watched it unfold. Obviously I had to go to the funeral, so I brought Pal (who had just turned 2 and was happily oblivious) downstairs for my father-in-law to babysit. The funeral went on as usual, because we really didn't know anything other than that planes had crashed into the towers. We still knew nothing about the Pentagon and Pennsylvania planes. Our cell phones were dead, and traffic going over to the cemetary was insane, probably because everyone was going home.

I just remember being home that night, watching the news with hubby and feeling vulnerable and scared. And because at that time I was a full time SAHM, I was watching way too much of the coverage on TV. I prayed a LOT during that time.

We found out the next day that we knew someone who was on the flight that crashed into the first tower. He used to be the organist for our Church choir (which most of my family was in.) He left behind a wife and 5 year old son. It really hit home.

Ever since 9/11, my hubby repeatedly says things like "Life is too short", and "We could be gone tomorrow" and our vow since then has been to live life to the fullest, take vacations and enjoy our family and friends as much as we can.

These are the lyrics to the song I mentioned above. Read them, and never forget where you were on that September day.

"Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)"

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Out in the yard with your wife and children
Working on some stage in LA
Did you stand there in shock at the site of
That black smoke rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger
In fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry

Did you weep for the children
Who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don't know
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below

Did you burst out in pride
For the red white and blue
The heroes who died just doing what they do
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself to what really matters

I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Teaching a class full of innocent children
Driving down some cold interstate
Did you feel guilty cause you're a survivor
In a crowded room did you feel alone
Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her
Did you dust off that bible at home
Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened
Close your eyes and not go to sleep
Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages
Speak with some stranger on the street
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow
Go out and buy you a gun
Did you turn off that violent old movie you're watching
And turn on "I Love Lucy" reruns
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some stranger
Stand in line and give your own blood
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family
Thank God you had somebody to love

I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

G

Blogs I Heart !

2008-09-10T16:13:00.002-04:00

So I just figured out how to add a list of blogs that I like to read and wanted to bring them to your attention. They are over to the right, under the "about me" section. Some are people I know, some are complete strangers from somewhere else in the world. My niece, K, who I've written about here, has started her own blog! She told me that I inspired her to start her own after she'd been reading mine. I even have a brother-in-law who told me that I'm a great writer, because he's been reading it, too! (Hi Uncle Billy!).

The weird thing about blogging is that I find myself quoting things I've read on other people's blogs, or sharing a funny (or sad) story I might have read. There are many more blogs that I've viewed and some I've even left comments on. The list will grow as I come across their blogs once again. It feels a bit stalker-ish, but I am thoroughly enjoying this new world I've discovered.

If you do visit these blogs, do me a favor and leave a comment on theirs. I know that it makes my day when someone leaves their comment here.

Happy new blog reading!

G

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

2008-09-06T19:17:00.005-04:00

I'll warn you up front - this not a post about an ancient wedding tradition.

Something Old:

My Mom has Alzheimer's Disease. This is the "something old" for our family, we've been dealing with this for about 8 years. She was officially diagnosed in September 2005, but we had noticed the signs for many years before this. She would lose her car in the Mall parking lot, forget where she put her pocketbook at family gatherings, lose her cell phone repeatedly. In more recent times, she forgot that her Mother was dead...or even at her sister's own funeral would forget who was in the coffin.

Something New:

They don't call it NEWs for no reason. We found out on Wednesday that Mom has colon cancer. The word cancer itself evokes a nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach. Mom was living in an Alzheimer's unit at an Assisted Living Facility. They were not capable of handling her personality, and recently started sending her off to the hospital for what seemed like stupid reasons. Well, thank God for their persistence, or insistence. The decision to put Mom through a colonoscopy was not an easy one, because we know she would NOT agree to it if she was in her "right mind". But the hospital staff talked us into it and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. At least now we know WHY she has so many problems, and our decision to move her to a Nursing Home was made easier knowing that they will be able to keep her comfortable during this ordeal.

Something Borrowed:

As of right now, we are on borrowed time with my Mom. They cannot operate on the cancerous polyps in her colon because she could hemorrhage and bleed to death. And because they cannot remove the polyps, we don't know exactly what stage she is in. The doctor said it is NOT in the early stages, that's for sure. So, we really have no idea whether Mom will be around for a long time or if she'll go quickly. My faith is in God - He will take her when He is good and ready. In the meantime, we can only make her comfortable and make the most of the time we have left.

Something Blue:

We are all feeling blue about this latest development with Mom....I cannot stop repeating the words "My Mother has cancer" in my head. I wake up in the middle of the night and that's all I can think about. I've always been so thankful that cancer has not touched my immediate family, and now I can't say that anymore. Cancer invades more than just the affected person's body - it affects everyone that loves them, too. I have unfortunately dealt with the loss of many people in my life to cancer, but this is the first time it has felt so heavy...inside. I just have to have faith that God knows what He is doing.

I'll end this post with a line from a song I love:
"To hear with my heart, to see with my soul, to be guided by a hand I cannot hold, to trust in a way that I cannot see, THAT'S what FAITH must be."

G

Happy Birthday, Pal.

2008-09-02T16:14:00.005-04:00

When you're 9, it's all about the cold, hard cash!!!!

Wow, how time flies. Nine years ago today I was a new Mom. Here I was, holding this little perfect boy, and he was mine. I remember specifically looking at his elbows and saying to my hubby "Look, he has elbows!". (This went on for hours, I was so totally fascinated!).

I won't bore you with the details of his birth or how many hours (19) I was in induced-labor-hell (19). I won't freak you out telling you about the size of my C-section scar, or how I had an imbedded staple in it. Did I NOT mention the (19) hours of labor?

Pal has been a whirlwind of activity since day 1. He screamed all the way home from the hospital, probably because he received his "bris" (except we're not Jewish, if you catch my drift) right before we left the hospital. He hated the car from that moment on, too. I used to dread long rides with him.

Pal has brought us so many fun times as a family and we are so proud of him. Most people who know him well know that he is a sweet, kind, caring little boy who enjoys playing with his cousins, playing with our dog, Rusty, swimming, stuffed animals, Bionicles, lego's and watching his favorite TV shows. I can only hope that he will always know how much his Dad and I love him, and that he will grow up to be a warm, caring, responsible young man.

We love you Pal. Happy 9th. Love, Mama and your Da

The Official "End" of Summer

2008-08-27T20:13:00.004-04:00

Seeing that Labor Day is so early this year and the kids are back to school, it feels like Summer is over. Part of me is happy, even though that means I also return to work next week. The weather wasn't even that hot this year, and seeing as I live in New England this is unusual. It was rainy, but that didn't really matter (other than when I was in a pop-up for 3 nights!!!!).

Since Pal is out of school for Friday and Monday, we are going to end the Summer with a couple of trips to local amusements. One is an amusement park, the other a water park. Then we will head to our camper for the remaining part of the Labor Day weekend and spend time with our family and friends who also camp with us.

Then my baby, my only child, will turn 9 on Tuesday!!! 9 years ago I was bringing him home from the hospital on Labor Day. I remember the first car ride, going home with him in the car - we were so nervous and have never driven so cautiously! Pal cried the whole way, and I sat in the back with him. The nice thing was that our families were at the house when we got home and my nieces had hung signs all around our dining room welcoming us home. It was the best Labor Day, ever!

I want to say Happy End of Summer and Happy Labor Day to you all!
See you on Tuesday!

G

School Days

2008-08-26T08:51:00.006-04:00

(((Singing))) "It's the most wonderful time of the year!"

4th Grade - HERE HE COMES! I laugh at those Mother's that cry when their kids go off to school on the first day - I was dancin' !!!! Of course, I will only dance until next week when I have to go back to work...

He's also going to turn 9 years old a week from now, and I can't believe it. That means in another 9 years he will be a legal, voting adult! Yikes....can these next 9 go by a little slower than the last 9? Please?

Here are a few pictures from Cub Scout Camp last week:

This was "cooking" class, where they made a campfire out of edible treats.

He's the middle one, getting ready to jump in the lake (first one in, of course!)

Woodworking class, where they built bird-feeders. He looks so professional!

Here is Pal and his best buddy, (the one in the middle). The other Scout is best buddy's OTHER best buddy, hence why best buddy is in the middle!!

Here is the fishing pond picture from this year. I tried to copy last year's pose but didn't quite succeed.

So this about sums it up:
Summer vacation - $500.00. Cub Scout Camp - $140.00. 4th grade - free (to the town's taxpayers). Mom's sanity - priceless!!!

G

A Privilege We Don't Often Get

2008-08-24T19:39:00.005-04:00

(((Yes, I made it through the week of Cub Scout Camp. I'm here to blog so it couldn't have been that bad - although my back and my legs tell a different story! I will post some cool pics from Camp as soon I can.)))

THIS POST, though, is not about Cub Scout Camp at all. It is about the privilege of saying goodbye to someone before they are gone. As in, gone to the other side. And this woman, she will most definitely be going to Heaven.

Mrs. D is my brother-in-law's Mother. She is also my childhood best friend's Mother. She is also my hubby's best friend's Mother. (The bro-in-law and best friend are all the same person, by the way!!!). She was my neighbor and fellow parishioner at Church all through my childhood. She was there when my heart broke for the first time, when I was left behind for the Prom by a boy who took another girl and didn't tell me. (She accidentally let that cat out of the bag as the others were getting into the limo!) OOPS. Her husband, Mr. D, has been mistaken for being my father, and vice/versa. (We think they might be related somewhere down the French Canadian lines of heritage). She let us "kids" hang around their house when we had nowhere else to go. She made her son (above mentioned friend/bro-in-law) walk me home in the dark even though it was right around the corner. Both my hubby and I were invited to their family gatherings throughout the years, and they were invited to our Wedding and our son's Baptism and First Holy Communion. You could easily say that she is a second Mother to both my husband and myself. Our families are linked in more ways than one, and this pleased her to no end.

Mrs. D has terminal liver and pancreas cancer. She has recently decided not to continue with Chemo treatments. Today, her family held a "Celebration of Life" party at her home where she is resting comfortably. It was a wonderful thing to do - it gave all of us a chance to get together and let her know how much she means to us. And the best part of it all was the atmosphere was a happy one - because she has total, undying faith in her God and Savior, and she knows she is going on to a better place and that one day she will be there to greet us when we (hopefully) meet up in Heaven.

One thing we were asked to do before we left was to write her a message in a journal. It was very hard to do, both because it made me sad but also to try to say goodbye without actually saying it. In the end, it made me feel good and when I left her I was able to tell her I loved her and that was as good a goodbye as any. As my title says, it is a privilege we don't often get. I ended my journal entry with "Til We Meet Again", and I sincerely hope that it comes true.

G

I'm too tired. Day One.

2008-08-18T21:41:00.005-04:00

I feel like I should blog, but darn it - I am just tired.

WHY? Did I hear you ask that? No, I heard it. Subliminally.

You've really asked for it now.

I just spent Day One of Cub Scout Summer Camp with 440 BOYS. Little boys. 12 of them were entrusted to my care. Does anyone out there realize that I have ONE child, and there is a VALID REASON why?!!? Does anyone really give a sh*t?! Nope. It was flippin' hot today, in the sun. In the shade (where we WEREN'T), there was a nice breeze. And the forest, get this, is NOT bug-proof. Go figure. Nature sucks. Oh, I don't really mean that - get over it.

This is my 3rd year of being a "Den Escort" for my son's cub scout den at Camp. I do actually enjoy it for the most part, but it also means a LOT of walking, standing, yelling (I mean "speaking authoritatively"), and counting. Counting heads to make sure no one is missing. Counting beads that they earn for every.darn.activity. Counting the number of cars that have blocked me in in the "volunteer" parking lot. I should "volunteer" to remove some people's keys from their pockets so I can LEAVE!

Unfortunately, Pal's best buddy was assigned to the other group that we share a cabin with (this is only day camp, but everyone gets assigned to an area so we can have a home-base, so to speak). Upon hearing that Pal's buddy wasn't in our group, I fully expected the ultimate melt-down. Which surprisingly, didn't come. Wow! I guess having the buddy to ride home with every day was enough to keep him from melting. I even allowed buddy to stay when we got home, and that was the ultimate benefit!

This is the first year that Pal will be allowed to travel off-site to another Boy Scout reservation. He also gets to shoot BB's and learn archery. The highlight for Pal is usually the Frog Pond, where he can get covered in inches of green slime while looking for a HUGE frog. This is my favorite picture from last year's frog adventure - not because of the green "water" behind him, but because he is just SO happy, and it shows in his smile.

And this was one of the many HUGE frogs they caught last year:

I guess I will stop whining now, and go to bed so I can be refreshed for Day Two.

G

Happy Birthday, "R"

2008-08-14T10:28:00.003-04:00

Today is my nephew's 12th birthday. He is the only son of my only brother.
He was the fifth grandchild for my parents and the first nephew on my side of the family. "R" is a sweet kid, not that any 12-year-old boy wants to be called sweet, but he just IS. He always has a smile and kiss for you when you come in. He's got a devious older-brother side, too, and loves to tease his little sister....much like his Dad did to me for all those years (and is still at it, I might add!).

It was at our wedding that it dawned on my sister-in-law that she might be pregnant, and sure enough, 8 months later little R came into the world. I wasn't at the hospital or in jeopardy of losing my job at the time, but it was awesome to get the news that I finally had a nephew! (I had 4 nieces at the time). He was a happy, chubby cheeked, adorable baby. And sweet. Ooops, there's that word again.

So, Happy Birthday, "R". We love you. Stay sweet. And sorry for calling you sweet.

Auntie G

You can't BUY this kind of entertainment....

2008-08-13T19:26:00.010-04:00

Our weekend in the White Mountains in a Pop-Up was both fun and wet.
We arrived at the campground around 1:30 and started setting up the pop-up, and around 4:30 our friends arrived with their pop-up. And it started to rain. Hard. So hard that we couldn't even think about setting up a grill to cook dinner, and we had a LOT of food to cook. But there was just no way with the rain pelting us from all sides of the little canopy our friends brought. So we decided to head to the little Italian restaurant near the campground. It was right on the Lost River, which is very swollen due to all the rain we've had this Spring and Summer. The food was good and at least we were dry. It had stopped pouring by the time we got back, it was still drizzling but at least the heavy rain had ceased. But, by this time, everything was pretty damp inside the pop-up.

When we woke up on Saturday morning, the rain was ending and the sun was peaking through the clouds. We decided to head to the Lost River Gorge and Boulder Caves. This was very cool - you walk down inside the gorge on a wooden staircase, which consists of 1000 steps. Yikes, was I tired after that!!! The kids absolutely loved this - all kinds of rocks to throw and caves to climb around in.

That same day, after a rest and some dinner, we decided to head to Clark's Trading Post and Trained Bears. This turned out to be a great decision because we had the place (almost) to ourselves. In 3 hours we accomplished everything in the park, and the kids got to do the bumper boats for as long as they wanted. The trained bears were nothing short of amazing - they are so cute, but I wouldn't want to find them outside my pop-up, that's for sure!!!!

On Sunday, it was promising to be sunny and warm so we headed up to Six Gun City in Jefferson, NH. This is an "old west" town with a water park inside. The kids really liked this place but the adults were thinking it was a rip-off. Despite the ominous clouds moving in, we enjoyed ourselves and the kids loved the water slides.

Unfortunately, this is what was waiting for us on our ride home:

It rained for the rest of the time we were there, although this time we were prepared to cook in the rain! I have to say, packing up wet, muddy camping equipment IN.THE.RAIN.IS.NOT.MY.IDEA.OF.FUN. But, we made the best of it and enjoyed camping with another family. We had a lot of laughs and burned a lot of wood in the fire pit. The kids had a blast, and really, that was the most important thing. This beats TV and Wii by a MILE:

Let's just thank the heavens we didn't go BUY a pop-up before renting one. We're now more appreciative of the RV we own and that stays in one spot!

Happy campers - going home. Notice the rain drops on the lens.

G

"K" is HOME!

2008-08-13T09:19:00.002-04:00

Thanks to everyone who said a prayer or kept my niece, "K", in your thoughts these last few weeks. K had her colon removed on July 31, and did really well. She was happy to be in the hospital and enjoyed all the attention and flowers, balloons, bears, etc. She did have a minor setback last week and had to stay in the hospital a lot longer than originally planned. By Monday night she was desperate to go home. The good news came at about 4:00 Tuesday that she could go home! I'm sure she enjoyed her first night in her own bed (which happens to be a brand new Queen!). And a shower - I know she enjoyed THAT!!! (We all appreciated it!!!! LOL).

Continue to keep her and the family in your prayers, though. She still has a long recovery to get through, and hopefully can return to college in September.

Later I'll post another blog about our wet, fun, wet weekend in the pop-up!

Have a great Wednesday!
G

Camping...like it or not?

2008-08-06T21:45:00.007-04:00

We are going camping this coming weekend with some friends of ours and their family. It's actually Pal's best buddy and his parents and little sister and little brother. Yes - the same people whose house the police had to come to looking for the "victim" (see older post "Good Cop, Bad Cop").

I am NOT a camper. Let's get that straight. I have been camping for 17 years now, but in a camper something like this one:

This is MY idea of camping. I have air conditioning, heat, full bathroom, microwave, queen sized bed, a screened in porch, and a beach on a lake that is a short foot path away from our site. When my husband and I were very first dating, which was the early Spring of 1991, he asked me if I like to camp. "Uh, NO." was my immediate answer. I don't DO bugs. I don't DO tents. But I did it for him. We started out with a tiny trailer that someone had given him in lieu of payment for electrical work! And because we camped with his sister and another mutual friend of ours (who are now married, to each other, and have 2 little boys!), we couldn't ALL sleep inside the tiny camper. So, we bought a huge tent and a huge air mattress, and we alternated weekends sleeping inside or outside. All for love. Yikes.

Now, here we are 17 years later, and we are renting THIS (or something like it) for the weekend:

And it's supposed to rain.all.weekend. Shoot me now! It should be fun, and all kidding aside, I am actually looking forward to it. After the weekend is over and we see how Mother Nature and her friend New England have treated those of us stuck in a pop-up for 3 nights.....stay tuned.....this could get ugly.

Girls Day at Cape Cod

2008-08-01T10:14:00.009-04:00

I work with mostly women, of which I am the youngest. By years. Well, for some it's only a few years, for others it is more than 30!!! This group (about 20 of us) is c-r-a-z-y! In a good way, most of the time. The leader of the craziness would have to be Mrs. P2. She is a hoot, and loves to host these zany parties at her house. Or houses, since she has more than one. Last time we were at her home, which is fab-u-lous. This time we went to her Cape Cod house, and it just as fab in that Cape Cod style. Gorgeous. (secretly I'm hoping the next one will be hosted at her house in Florida!!! Just kidding, I'm not that rude to suggest she invite us there.....am I?)

The last party she hosted was a Crazy Hat Party. Everyone had to design their own hat, and prior to coming to the party, each person had to let Mrs. P2 know what our hat's theme was going to be, and she selected music to go along with each theme. We were "presented" by Mrs. P2's daughter and we modeled our hats down the stairs and into the room filled with our loud theme song and everyone screaming and laughing! It was a riot! We had the Queen Mum, Mrs. Foxwood's, Betty Crocker, etc. I had a sore throat the next day from all the talking and laughing we did.

Mrs. M as "Queen Mum"

My boss Mrs. P1, as "Chips and Dip", Mrs. R as "Easter Bonnet with a side of Depends" and Mrs. G as "Vegas Lights"! They were the winners of the Crazy Hat Contest.

When we first arrived, we also played a game called the "NO" game. Each guest brought a $5 lottery scratch ticket, and you were given a clothes pin to pin onto your shirt. If at any time during the first hour you uttered the word "NO" and another guest picks up on it, she can take your clothes pin. At the end of the hour, the guest with the most clothes pins wins all of the scratch tickets.

So, because I do not drink, (no, that's not a joke!), I waited until all of the ladies had a few glasses of wine in them before I really started playing the game. With about 10 minutes left, I targeted the guest with the most clothes pins, who just happened to also have a few too many glasses of wine! We'll call her Mrs. G. I asked Mrs. G, quietly, if she would like another glass of wine, and said (slightly slurring) "NOOOOOO". Thank you very much! I won $50 on the scratch tickets!

So yesterday, Mrs. P2 invited all of us to her house on Cape Cod. She lives there for the Summer and the house is a showcase. It is gorgeous, and has all the amenities you could imagine. Inground pool, patios, outdoor shower, a mile from the beach...she fed us like royalty and we played some crazy games that we haven't played since we were kids. The first game we played? You guessed it - the "NO" game. And this time it was $5 in cash from each guest. There were 12 of us so there was $60 at stake here! And who do you think won this time? You guessed it - MOI!!!!! Oh they were not likin' me.....!!!! This time I almost lost it right at the end of the game, but regained my "NO" sensor just in the nick of time. YAHOOOOOO!!!!

We also had a balloon toss, pin the tail on the donkey, and a hula-hoop contest. I didn't win ANY of those. Although I did come in second in the balloon toss!

Look at those hips swivel! GO MS. B!!!!

You get by with a little help from Mrs. P2's daughter!

So when our office politics get in the way during our crazy-busy time, we can look at these pictures and immediately start laughing. It's great to work with such crazy women who aren't afraid to chill out and have fun.

AHHH, this is the life! (and scary near-miss!)

2008-07-29T12:17:00.007-04:00

LOOK AT THOSE WAVES!!! This was at Salisbury Beach last Tuesday. There was some sort of tropical storm out to sea that day, and the ocean was MAD! Pal and his cousins had an awesome time running scared from the waves. It was the only day last week that was beach-worthy, which was not good news for Pal's cousins who were there for the whole week.

Aren't they the cutest?

After the beach we took a walk down to the arcades and the kids had a blast.

After all that fun, Pal and I said goodbye to the cousins and headed up to N.H. to our comfy RV. Except that Mother Nature had plans to ruin our stay and it rained for the next 48+ hours, also sending a TORNADO our way! Luckily we were about 10 miles East of the path of the tornado, so we narrowly escaped it. Very scary, and lots of people lost their homes and RV's, etc.

In a post last week I introduced you all to my niece, "K", who will be undergoing surgery to remove her colon this Thursday. Please, if you are inclined to pray, keep "K" in your prayers this week, and even after that so she can be healthy enough to return to college in the Fall.

Thanks! Have a terrific week!

G

Off to the beach...

2008-07-21T19:35:00.005-04:00

If you happen to stop by here between Tuesday and Sunday, I will be (gasp) dis-internet-connected!!! I am going to spend some quality and quantity time with Pal at our comfy RV in New Hampshire, with a quick stop by Salisbury Beach in MA (coldest frickin' water around!!!). Hubby will join us in NH on Friday.

Here's my little silverback building a sandcastle last Summer....

Don't miss me too much.....come back on Sunday or Monday and check in with me!

Have a great week!

G

Happy Birthday, "K"

2008-07-20T22:45:00.004-04:00

My niece, to be known here as "K", turned 20 today. She is my second niece, my 3rd sister's oldest daughter. I am her Godmother. She is a great kid. Seriously, though my sister and brother-in-law might disagree sometimes! Hubby, Pal and I genuinely enjoy her company. She is kind, thoughtful and sometimes downright gullible. I love it. I love her.

I almost got fired for her, 20 years ago today. My sister had a scheduled C-section, but since I had to work, I went in and then around the time she would be going into the O/R, I "pretended" that my sister went into labor and needed me to take her to the hospital. My boss at the time, who was a royal b*tch, didn't buy a word of it (was I so totally transparent?) and told me that if I felt I "had to go" then she couldn't guarantee that I would have a job when I got back. I cried and told her I had to go. Of course, I was only 17 and could have given a rat's patootie about the job. Looking back on that day, I am glad to say that I was in that waiting room when my brother-in-law came out of the O/R and yelled "It's A Girl!". I happen to think that's a better memory than processing some car dealership paperwork!

On a more serious note about K, she has been suffering from ulcerative colitis since she was about 13, and it has come to the point that her colon has to be removed. It is a daunting operation for a 20-year-old college student to undergo. She's trying to be brave but I know deep down she's scared. It'll be a miracle if my sister survives this ordeal with HER nerves intact, too. Please, if you are someone who prays, keep K and our family in your prayers. They are needed, badly!

So, on this July 20th, 2008, Happy 20th Birthday, K. I love you like you were my own child. I like you as my friend, and I wish you all the happiness you deserve.

Love, AG (Aunnie G)

Good cop, bad cop....

2008-07-20T17:00:00.005-04:00

If you read my "One Word Meme", one of my answers refers to an incident involving the police being called to our friend's house. Here is the whole story:

Pal's friend calls and invites him over for a playdate. When it was time to pick him up, I went over and started chatting with the Mom & Dad about their upcoming Disney trip (as you get to know me, my family and my hubby's family - you'll learn that we are all Disney Fanatics! Any chance to share the excitement of going to Disney is relished!) Well, Pal's friend has a little brother who also likes to hang with the "big boys", so when the 3 of them were playing outside, something happened to little brother that sent him inside crying, and Pal's friend followed his little brother inside. Pal was left outside alone, and the doors were shut with the A/C running, so obviously the Disney chatter drowned out any sound from outdoors.

About 5 minutes goes by, and Pal comes in crying hysterically, saying "Why didn't you come and help me??? I was stuck in a thorn bush!!!!" He had little scrapes all over his neck and a few on his back and leg. Of course, I felt horrible for not hearing his cries for help. We cleaned the cuts and he went into the living room with friend and little brother.

Disney chatter resumes....until loud KNOCK - KNOCK - KNOCK on door. Friend's Mom opens the door and there is a POLICE OFFICER standing there. She opens the door and says "Can I help you, officer?" He wants to know if we happened to hear any "frantic calls for help" coming from the area!!!! OH.My.God-in-Heaven. I nearly fainted.

A concerned neighbor of theirs apparently heard the unanswered cries coming from somewhere around the area, but couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from, so the Police had done a house-to-house search for the victim!!!!

Officer was very understanding, but also wanted "a look at the boy"! I had to call Pal out to the kitchen for the Officer to check our story out!!! Oy Vey. And this is NOT the first time our town Police have been involved with Pal. I'll save the details of that for another time!!!

I can't stop apologizing to friend's Mom & Dad for embarrassing them!!!!

I swear a year is shaved off my life when I think of the teenage years. Hopefully they won't involve Police Officers.

G

Balloons, Balloons, Balloons!

2008-07-14T13:42:00.001-04:00

Up, Up and Away!

Have you ever seen anything so colorful? If you have never had the opportunity to see a hot-air balloon up-close and personal, then you are missing something very, very cool.

This is one of the most beautiful experiences. It was even better because I was able to share it with some close family and friends. We had a wonderful time, and the kids just love it up there. Stowe, Vermont that is. Not up in a balloon!
The closest Pal has ever gotten was a tether-ride in a balloon with his Dad. I am completely happy right here on the earth with both feet firmly planted!

Too awesome to describe!

We also went up to the top of Mount Mansfield, which is the highest peak in Vermont. Here is a family photo at the highest peak! (Uh, oh, now you know what I look like!!!!)

It was a great weekend, and all in all I am glad I went. I admit I was not looking forward to it, but I ended up being glad I went. Now next year, I'm not so sure about yet!!!!

G

One Word Meme

2008-07-09T21:51:00.000-04:00

Tonight, I linked onto my friends blog (http://shesjustanothermanicmommy.blogspot.com.) She posted a meme in which you have to answer each question with only one word. After her one-word answers she included a second set of answers expanding on her original single-word answer. I'm stealing both the meme and the extended mix version! (Thanks, MM!)

1. Where is your cell phone? charging

2. Your significant other? hubby

3. Your hair? short

4. Your mother? alzheimer's

5. Your father? alive

6. Your favorite thing? fries

7. Your dream last night? bizarre!

8 Your favorite drink? icedtea

9. Your dream/goal? appreciate

10. The room you’re in? living

11. Your hobby? reading

12. Your fear? mold

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? vacationing

14. What you’re not? thin

15. Muffins? Nah

16. One of your wish list items? camera

17. Where you grew up? Bostonish

18. The last thing you did? eat

19. What are you wearing? Shorts

20. Favorite Gadget? PALM

21. Your pets? annoying

22. Your computer? laptop

23. Your mood? okay

24. Missing someone? No

25. Your car? love

26. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes

27. Favorite store? Wal-Mart

28. Like someone? Hubby

29. Your favorite color? pink

30. When was the last time you laughed? earlier

31. Last time you cried? Monday

Okay - because I cannot possibly contain myself to ONE word, here is the longer version!!!!

1. Where is your cell phone? On the kitchen counter charging, because we are leaving early tomorrow morning for our annual Hot Air Balloon Festival trip to Stowe, VT. It is critical to have cell phones charged when driving 300 miles from home!!

2. Your significant other? My hubby, whom I have known since I was 12. Friends first!

3. Your hair? Talked my vacationing hairdresser (who also happens to be my favorite sister!!!!) into cutting my hair before said Balloon Festival trip!

4. Your mother? Unfortunately suffers from Alzheimer's and currently on a defiant streak at her ALF (Assisted Living Facility)

5. Your father? Alive, but not spiritually. Depressed from lifetime of dealing with above mentioned Alzheimer's patient (and I don't mean just since the Alzheimer's!!)

6. Your favorite thing? French fries, but not the new battered sticky kind - just regular old FF!

7. Your dream last night? Bizarre! If you ask my hubby, he will tell you ALL of my dreams are bizarre. Not quite sure why!!!

8. Your favorite drink? Is Iced Tea one word? Arizona iced tea is my all-time fave. But I do love me some DD Iced coffee, too!

9. Your dream/goal? To appreciate my life - each and every moment of every day.

10. The room you’re in? Living room, in the recliner with laptop...on my lap, go figure!

11. Your hobby? Reading. Love to sit with a good book and lose myself.

12. Your fear? I hate mold. It is gross, and ugly, and fuzzy, and it just plain scares me.

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Vacationing somewhere, anywhere!!! But seriously, I just want to be content.

14. What you’re not? Thin. 'Nough said.

15. Muffins? Nah. Can take 'em or leave 'em.

16. One of your wish list items? A Nikon D80 camera with lots of zoom lenses.

17. Where you grew up? About 5 miles North of Boston. Lived there for all but the last 3 years of my life. Now I'm about 20 miles North.

18. The last thing you did? Eat chicken parm at a local Italian place with hubby, Pal, in-law's and 2 nephews.

19. What are you wearing? Shorts and T-shirt.

20. Favorite Gadget? Palm Pilot - my diary, calendar, entertainer!

21. Your pets? One needy, annoying dog who I really do love, but wish he wasn't so needy and annoying all the time!

22. Your computer? Right now, I'm on the laptop, but also have a PC in the other room.

23. Your mood? Okay, a little tired, but I am going to bed soon!

24. Missing someone? Not really....

25. Your car? My 8-year-old Honda minivan, which I caress and profess my love for every day!

26. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes...is there anything else to say about this? Nope.

27. Favorite store? Wal-Mart, I can't get out of there without spending $100!!!!

28. Like someone? Hubby, still like him (most of the time!)

29. Your favorite color? Pink, as in baby pink, light pink. Not hot. No.

30. When was the last time you laughed? Earlier today, when my son's cries (after he fell into a thorn bush outside at his friends house) were loud enough that their neighbor called the Police!!! Try explaining THAT to the men in blue!

31. Last time you cried? Monday night, watching "The Bachelorette"!!! She totally should have chosen Jason!!!

Inspired? Try it for yourself! I will leave you with this picture of the Hot Air Balloons at the Festival.

Boys need pockets!

2008-06-25T10:51:00.000-04:00

Hi again, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I've just had a crazy few months and haven't had the time (or more realistically, the energy!) to blog. Plus, every time I think of something to blog, I feel like it's coming off of negative situations and I don't want to become an "angry blogger"!!!

So, I thought I'd share a situation my son, Pal, thinks is TOP priority in life.

Here's our recent conversation:

Pal: "Mama, when are you going to give me pants or shorts with POCKETS?!"

Mama: "Why? Do you need pockets?"

Pal: "Um, YEAH. Like for all kinds of stuff. Like my cell phone*, or army guys, or my gum."

*cell phone disclaimer - it is a real cell phone that he plays with, but is not active!!! He is only 8.9 you know!!!

Mama: "Well, I didn't know that. Now I do, and if I'm buying you new clothes I will make sure the pants have pockets."

Pal: "FINALLY."

Okay, so I guess I never realized that boys NEED pockets. And then when I started thinking about it, my hubby always has "stuff" in his pockets. And no, not banana's and no I'm not happy to see you.

It must be a guy thing. I am not, and never will be (or understand), a guy. But I will be buying pants with pockets from now on. And then checking them before I do the wash....

Symptoms of Only Child Syndrome

2008-04-22T15:23:00.001-04:00

My son, "Pal", is and will always be, my only child. This being vacation week, my nephew (from hubby's side) is staying here and he is just one year older than Pal. This is like the ultimate for Pal - a live-in playmate. There is only one problem - he has "Only Child Syndrome". Common side effects of said syndrome: The "I-DON'T-PLAY-WELL-WITH-OTHERS-FOR-LONGER-THAN-A-COUPLE-OF-HOURS" issue, as well as "LET'S PLAY WHAT I WANT TO PLAY AND WHO CARES WHAT YOU WANT TO PLAY". My nephew, being mild-natured and having a 15-year-old brother, is used to taking the back seat and most of the time will give in to Pal's wishes. If you are Pal, all is good.

Today, while I went to the dentist, I brought the 2 of them over to my sister-in-law's house to play with her little boys. When I got back, I told them it was time to leave, and nephew decides to stay at Auntie's house and doesn't want to come back to my house with Pal. Can't say I blame him - although the 2 younger boys will drive him mad in a matter of hours. Obviously, Pal is C-R-U-S-H-E-D!!! I can't make my nephew come here if he doesn't want to, but it hurts me that my son is hurt. On the other hand, I feel like saying to him (but hold my tongue!) "Well, if you didn't act like a spoiled little brat then maybe he'd WANT to come back with us." I just told him that we'll see nephew later in the week, and we came home. Now he's all mopey and doesn't want to listen to any of my suggestions of what he can play - by himself.

That's the kicker of it all...no matter how many play-dates or sleep-overs he has, he will always, in the end, be alone. It makes me feel bad, but....I think I'll go lie down until this feeling goes away!

G

School Vacation - time to be sick, right?

2008-04-19T21:38:00.000-04:00

***Disclaimer - do not look at last pic if you have a weak stomach!!!***

So it's the final vacation until Summer gets here, and Pal and I could not be any happier! The weather today was great...except that I was on the couch all day with a cold. I managed to escape all of the Winter sicknesses that went around, and of course because I am also on vacation from work - it's time to be sick! This can just be added to the saga of the last 2 school vacations....let me explain:

Christmas vacation - the Dean of our division at work gave us the day before and the day after Christmas off and I was pumped. This meant hubby only had to take 2 vaca days to stay home with Pal. See, I cannot take vacation during December and January since it is our prime college application processing season. (I hate those High School Seniors who wait until midnight on December 31st to hit the "submit" button on their applications...aren't they supposed to out getting sh*tfaced???? It's New Year's Eve - That's what I was doing at their age!!!) I digress...

Pal wakes up on the day after Christmas and says "Mama, I have an itchy spot on my hip and my leg..." We had seen some weird skin "pimples" appear on some unmentionable areas of his backside a few weeks earlier, but they went away with some Desitin. Now these little pimples on his hip and leg looked more like a horrible spider bite. So off to the Pedi, not our usual Doc but he had to be seen. Fill in Doc tries to scrape the "bite" but gets nothing, so he prescribes an antibiotic to kill whatever skin infection this is. Finishes antibiotic and skin gets better. Here's what it looked like at this point:

4 weeks goes by, and it is my birthday weekend and we decide to go to a nice hotel for the weekend where Pal can swim and we can relax. When you have an only child, who loves to swim, this is key to being able to relax. So, Friday night and Saturday morning are blissful as Pal and Dad lazily swim while Mama gets to read by the pool. A book - I read a book - and only had to look up every 30 seconds or so for the requisite "Mama, LOOK". Pal gets out of pool for lunch and is immediately itchy from head to toe. We shower him off and go get some lunch...or try to, seeing as Pal is now exhausted from swimming, itchy all over, and falls asleep in the bench at lunch place! He's 8, so naps are looooong gone. He wakes up miserable, and we head back to the hotel for some R & R. I decide to cover his body in Desitin to stop the itching, and see the blooming "pimple" on his leg - same as before. BACK to the Pedi - this time OUR Pedi. He says it doesn't look like a chlorine/bromine reaction (our initial thought seeing as he swam for hours in a strange pool). Nor does it look like a spider bite to him. Of course in the meantime I've scoured the internet for pictures of spider bites and skin infections (DON"T ever Google images of Spider bites unless you want to BARF!) and am convinced he has some rare disease by now because I can't find anything similar, and the Pedi seems stumped. More antibiotics, and we're through with this skin "thing" again.

Another 4 weeks goes by and it is now February vacation, and Pal says on Tuesday "Mama, I've got another one of those itchy things on my leg!" ARGHHHH!!! What the heck is going on?????
This time I am not going back to the Pedi, so I call and tell the Nurse that we need to see a dermatologist (they wanted us to come back in to see the Pedi - NOPE!). She gives me a couple of numbers for referrals, and of course I have no luck. One place told me 6 months waiting list!!!
So I call Pedi Nurse back and tell HER that SHE is going to get MY SON an appointment with a DERMATOLOGIST TODAY. She says, "Oh, okay, let me see what I can do". She calls back in 20 minutes and says "Is tomorrow at 11:00 acceptable? That's the best they could do for us." Okay, now we're getting somewhere. So, Pal and I go off and visit with my best friend and her kids, and another friend we hadn't seen in a long time stopped by for a visit with her 2 boys.

Wednesday dawns and we head to the Dermatologist. They take one look - ONE look, and say "Oh, we have to do a nasal swab test to see if this is a certain kind of bacteria that can live in your nose and cause skin eruptions like this." WOW - someone actually KNOWS what this could be? No way. It's only been 2 and half MONTHS! They tell me to call on Friday for the results and if his leg gets any worse he needs to be seen again by them. So, because I still have NO idea what this is, I head up to my sister's house - 100 miles from home. Stupid idiot. Of course, Pal has no idea that my brother-in-law got him a snowboarding lesson at the ski mountain he works at for Friday morning. Thank God I didn't tell Pal that! Because in true fashion, he wakes up Thursday and his leg looks like this:

YUCK!!!! I can barely look at this. It is SO nasty. But, the realist in me says "Well, the new antibiotics haven't had a chance to work yet, so let's see how this afternoon goes." DUH. Idiot, again. We go out for dinner with my sister, and Pal tells me (while I'm eating) "Mama, something warm is running down my leg". Off to the bathroom and it is not only pussing but bleeding too. BLECH!!!! YUCK!!!! I cannot handle this. We call Dermatologist and they tell me to bring him in first thing in the morning. Well, since we are 100 miles from home, and there is a HUGE snowstorm forecasted for Friday afternoon, I head back first thing Friday morning and bring him to the Dermatologist. They take one look - ONE. Look at results of nasal swab, and turns to me and says "You're going to the hospital. It's MRSA."

HUH????????????? What the &^%$ is MRSA (pronounced MERSA)????

Well, it turns out that MRSA stands for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. It is THE worst type of staph infection to get, because it is resistant to MOST common antibiotics. Contagious only if someone touches the puss/ooze/blood. Thank goodness, considering all the visiting we'd been doing!!!! My first question, after the contagious one, was WHERE THE FRIG DOES SOMEONE GET MRSA FROM???? Apparently, there is a new type of MRSA called CA-MRSA, or Community-Associated MRSA. He could have gotten it at school, at the hotel pool, anywhere that kids tend to expel bodily fluids......YUCK. I am so totally grossed out at this point, because this "super bug" as they call it, has been living in my sons body for 2+ months!!! Why the heck didn't the Pedi's know what it was? The number 1 mistaken diagnosis of MRSA is a SPIDER BITE!!!! ARGHHHH!!!! I told BOTH Pedi's we thought it could be spider bites. SO aggravating. So off the the ER where we were treated like lepers (which turned out not to be so bad, we never sat in the waiting room, but ushered right into the pediatric ER and sat through 7 hours of IV antibiotics and Benadryl and hours of Spongebob. Shoot me. The snowstorm raged all around us and we finally left at 9 p.m. to drive home in un-plowed snow. It was pretty, but treacherous and just what I did NOT need at the end of a loooonnnnng day.

So, you can see why I am not surprised that this cold presented itself yesterday morning...because WHY would we have a school vacation without some drama????
I guess I should just be happy that Pal just tested negative for MRSA!!!

Happy vacation....good health to you and yours!

G

My First Blog, ever

2008-04-18T14:46:00.000-04:00

Okay, so my friend's sister has a blog that I started reading, and I was intrigued that someone could post random thoughts and things about their life and other people would actually care to read them! And I thought - that is SO ME!!! Since I am essentially an open book, if you are anywhere near me you will know exactly what is going on in my life, I figured this is a great way to get out my innermost thoughts and feelings. Maybe I won't have to seek out a therapist now!

So, a little bit about me:

I am a 37 year old mother of one son, who we will call "Pal". Married for 12 years, and have known him for 23 years! I work 9 months a year at a local college and have Summers off to spend with Pal. It's the best of both worlds - 3/4 working Mom, 1/4 SAHM. I feel like that old military slogan "We do more before 9 a.m. than most people do all day"!!!

I love to read, spend time with good friends and I love to EAT!!!! And it shows.....

Okay, well, I'm sure you have other important things to do than listen to my "loves-long-walks -on-the-beach speech, so I'll end my first post for now.

G