Well Hello!

It’s been a long time. The last real post I did was on April 10th. I did a re-posting and a simple tribute post since then, but really haven’t written anything here for a long, long time. One might think it’s because I actually have a life. Or not. Truth is that it’s a little of everything: being busy, dealing with loss (more on that in a minute), contemplation of life, not having anything to say, having too much to say and not knowing where to start and other things I can’t think of right now.

Let’s start with the good part…

I’ve been busy. Of course, there’s my job, which I still love. It’s usually 36 or more hours a week in 4 or more days. Most of the time it’s 4 days/ week, 9 or more hours a day, but I’ve been having some training classes on my days off, too. I’m exhausted at night. I’m usually in bed by 9 o’clock. I love it though, as I said, so I don’t mind. I love my co-workers. I love my patients. I have an excellent working relationship with the provider that I work with. So, it’s a good life in that respect.

Ashley got married the day before my 44th birthday, July 23. It was a nice wedding. My sisters- and brothers-in-law, my mother-in-law, my Mom, my brothers and my nieces and nephews all made it happen. Ashley looked so beautiful and she also was so happy that it was easy to be caught up in the romanticism of it all.

She’s having a baby in February. It will be my first grandson. I’m looking forward to it. It will be fun to have a baby in the family again. Isabelle’s excited to have a baby brother, too. At first she asked, “I wonder if it will be a sister or a boy?” But when we found out that it indeed was a boy, she began to see the benefits of not having a little sister to steal your clothes and your dolls and that kind of thing. Although, she may have a little of that, it won’t be as much as it would if he were a sister.

************************************************

In May, we lost my brother-in-law, John, to Lou Gehrig’s Disease. We were all able to be there surrounding him with love in his last hours. It was peaceful and it helped make the grief a little easier to bear. We miss him in all things. To say that he was the life of the party may sound cliche, but it, nevertheless, was the truth. When ever we are all together, we, at the very least, say his name and often, we drink a toast to him.

In September, we again participated in the Walk to Defeat ALS. Then, that night, (thank you, Emily for dreaming it and Yvonne for planning it) we had the first ever John Vleck Gamble for a Cure Casino night. It was a fun night and we raised around $500 for the ALS foundation in his name. Every hour, on the hour, we drank a toast to him and gave away prizes to the leaders of the night to that point. His son, Logan, ended up winning the grand prize at the end of the evening, a traveling trophy. It was fitting. John would have been proud.

************************************************

Emily had her very last year ever playing softball with her team. We’ve grown to love those girls, their parents and especially the coaches. We’ll miss them, but mostly we’ll miss watching Emily play. It’s been an extremely rewarding thing to watch her play, and excel at, softball.

She’s gone back to college now and even though she brought her car with her this year, we are seeing her less. The apron strings are getting thinner and thinner. She’s talked about moving to an even farther away school next year, perhaps Colorado (to be with her boyfriend) or, if that doesn’t work out (not the relationship, the ability to attend an out of state school), Duluth (to be with her best friend). I miss her. Isabelle misses her. I’m pretty sure her Dad and brother miss her. It will only be that much harder next year, I think.

************************************************

Sam finally seems to be getting the point of school. He even said, “I think I’m smarter this year. I don’t even have to hardly try to get good grades.” I think he’s just growing up. He’s always been smart, he just hasn’t been mature enough to know it and use his brain in the appropriate way at the appropriate time. He still drives me crazy with his tardiness to school, which, in turn, makes me late for work. But I enjoy our morning ride and coffee together. He’s my boy and he’ll always be my baby.

************************************************

My health has been overall good until of late. I made it a whole year of working out at least 12 times a month, usually more. Then in July and August, with the wedding and sports, we had a little trouble making our quota, but we’re back on track now. I am now a firm believer that consistent exercise is instrumental in keeping you healthy. At least when it comes to the common things like cold and flu.

As I said, my health has taken a small turn recently. I have had 2 back to back urinary tract infections and then a reaction to my most recent antibiotic. I’m sure I’ll live. I also found out recently that I have carpal tunnel. Well, actually, I knew (funny how numbness and tingling in your hand and fingers lets you know something is wrong), but had it confirmed by EMG (electromyography). It’s likely I’ll have to have surgery. I’ll know for sure next week when I see the orthopedist.

************************************************

Jason is doing well, although right now he has shingles. He’s been working a lot of overtime helping to watch the protesters (Occupy Minnesota), the tailgaters (our Minnesota Gopher fans) and other kinds of beefing up of the police presence wherever it’s needed. He does this to help us financially. Times are tough for everyone, but right now, particularly us. I know we’re not alone.

************************************************

I’ll try to post more often, but I can’t make any promises.

Remember, November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness month. You know why I care about that…my Dad.