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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

For details regarding this post, please go here.

This is a re-posting of something that I wrote about one of the people who were killed on 9/11/2001. Rest in peace, Commander Donovan, rest in peace.

I love to laugh. I love people who make me laugh. It is sad that I never got to meet Commander William Howard Donovan, Jr. Many described him as having a great sense of humor. Others described him as the kind of guy who was an optimist. The kind of guy who when given lemons, he made lemonade. He was a family man with strong family values, an excellent work ethic and strong morals who was dedicated to all things in his life, especially his family and his country.

On that day five years ago, the day that looked so beautiful with clear blue skies and sunshine, Cmdr. Donovan was taken from all those that loved him. Many of us were witness to it, as we watched or listened to the plane hitting the Pentagon on the television or radio. I, myself, was driving my children to school and was listening to the radio where they were interviewing someone on the radio who was at the Pentagon. There was a loud explosion. It was that moment that at least began the end of Cmdr. Donovan’s life. It is incredible to me to think of it in that way.

Commander William Howard Donovan Junior, “Bill” or “Billy” to his friends, was 37 years old. He was a husband and father of three from Nunda, New York. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1986. In the first Gulf war, he was a naval aviator and after that he served as a tactical officer on the U.S.S. George Washington for two years in the mid 1990s. He was a pilot instructor and received a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Post Graduate school in California. He received many awards, among them the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation and Achievement Medals.

He was passionate about soccer and even played on a Pentagon lunchtime league. This was a passion that he passed on to his children. He must have been one hell of a Dad, because some of the most heart wrenching things that I have read about him, are messages left on various message boards by his daughter, Kelsey and her friends. There were messages left as late as February of this year [originally posted on September 9, 2006], an attestation to the impression that he left on his daughter in her young life. From what I have read and seen, it seems he had that effect on many people, those whom he touched directly–his family and friends, and those whom he touched indirectly–people who knew his family and friends, those who have read about him, and me.

*The information for this tribute was gained from the following resources: