Hey J.!
Wow! It's been a while! The last time I wrote, I was planning a trip home....I've been there and done that! Let's see if I can give you a quick rundown of things. Let's see....I went home to be with my dad for a week. Took the kids and the two dogs. You know J., I get roped into taking both dogs every time I go home. I'm still not sure how it happens. I even planned on taking only ONE dog this time. The plan was to leave the white hairy beast at home. Sorry, J., the WHB is Snoopy. That's what I call him. The BIG FAT WHITE HAIRY BEAST. That dog sheds constantly. Sierra is only 35 pounds and her carrier would fit nicely inside the truck. But Snoopy on the other hand requires the bed of the truck. AND a bout of diarrhea is sure to follow a trip like this. It never fails. My husband is just a bit more sneakier than I thought. Apparently, he is taking lessons from me. :-)
Anyway, the trip home was interesting. God saved my hide I'm sure. Re-routed me in another direction. I'll have to tell you about that someday. I'm thankful to Him for sure.
Dad was glad to see us even though the 5 of us invaded him and his house. He does love the dogs but this time of year, his allergies act up and the dogs weren't helping matters. I was exhausted and while the visit was fight free this time, I was still on edge.
We visited my mom's grave and took a peek at my sister's grave in order to show Dad that no one had put anything on the stone. He is still obsessed with the theory that somebody else is putting flowers on her grave. It's nuts but what do you do? The rest of us are considering putting nothing out there ever again because Dad never believes we did it.
The group of us stood around her grave for about five minutes and I felt utterly ridiculous. We have barely done anything together as a family in years and here we were, standing around a grave in the cold wind and all I could think was how I didn't want to be there. At least not with people. I made a vow to come back alone....sometime that week. Sunday was my dad's birthday. I went off to Wal-mart and bought him a cake and my brothers came over and we had cake. We presented him with his Army Scrapbook that Rikki had put together of all his military pictures and he enjoyed that. He asked me where I got the pictures....he's totally forgotten he gave them to me so I could take them and scan them etc. Jiminy crickets....it's hard watching him age....
We met the "new" relatives....that was interesting. They are from the Wing side of the family....they are very nice and kind and want to share information. That's great. It spurred Doug on to buy a new computer! I'm impressed! Now we can get down to business!
I met with some old friends and enjoyed time with my cousin as well. And I spent as much time as possible with Dad. I missed a visit with some friends but I didn't see how I could get away. I took Dad to the doctor. I really need to converse with that man more often (the doctor). He isn't getting the full truth when my dad goes in to see him. He has an appt coming up and I intend to call him. (the doctor that is)
The trip home was uneventful and on the 13th, we celebrated my husband's birthday. The rest of the week was spent catching up on housework, work at the office and trying to get some things done with the pictures that I'm swamped with. OH MY GOSH, there are just so many and tons of them are unidentified. I made a little progress though.
Today is my birthday. My dad forgot. If I get a call from him now (it's after 1pm), it will be because someone reminded him. I was thinking about what my birthday means to me now. Before, in years past, I would be upset if my family didn't wish me a happy birthday or I didn't get a card in the mail. Now I can honestly say that I'm happy with celebrating with God. Even if He and I are the only two that celebrate. If my husband doesn't buy me a gift, I won't be angry. I might be a little disappointed but he will recognize my birthday and I've come to realize that that is just fine by me. My dad cannot seem to remember his own birthday so I'm not hurt by his forgetfulness and I don't want to cause him any shame or get him worried that he hurt my feelings by bringing it up. My brother didn't remember either. I reminded him though because I needed to dig at his age a bit. The other brother did remember and even called me. That was a surprise and a nice one. The kids are just learning to keep track of people's birthdays so I don't even hold a grudge there. They will recognize it too.
I think birthdays are special and we should give thanks for them. After all, it is the day God set aside to bring us into the world. He marks those days along with us. Having life is the best gift of all. Having a relationship with the One who gave me life is even better. I have so much to be thankful for. I am truly blessed.
Wow! It's been a while! The last time I wrote, I was planning a trip home....I've been there and done that! Let's see if I can give you a quick rundown of things. Let's see....I went home to be with my dad for a week. Took the kids and the two dogs. You know J., I get roped into taking both dogs every time I go home. I'm still not sure how it happens. I even planned on taking only ONE dog this time. The plan was to leave the white hairy beast at home. Sorry, J., the WHB is Snoopy. That's what I call him. The BIG FAT WHITE HAIRY BEAST. That dog sheds constantly. Sierra is only 35 pounds and her carrier would fit nicely inside the truck. But Snoopy on the other hand requires the bed of the truck. AND a bout of diarrhea is sure to follow a trip like this. It never fails. My husband is just a bit more sneakier than I thought. Apparently, he is taking lessons from me. :-)
Anyway, the trip home was interesting. God saved my hide I'm sure. Re-routed me in another direction. I'll have to tell you about that someday. I'm thankful to Him for sure.
Dad was glad to see us even though the 5 of us invaded him and his house. He does love the dogs but this time of year, his allergies act up and the dogs weren't helping matters. I was exhausted and while the visit was fight free this time, I was still on edge.
We visited my mom's grave and took a peek at my sister's grave in order to show Dad that no one had put anything on the stone. He is still obsessed with the theory that somebody else is putting flowers on her grave. It's nuts but what do you do? The rest of us are considering putting nothing out there ever again because Dad never believes we did it.
The group of us stood around her grave for about five minutes and I felt utterly ridiculous. We have barely done anything together as a family in years and here we were, standing around a grave in the cold wind and all I could think was how I didn't want to be there. At least not with people. I made a vow to come back alone....sometime that week. Sunday was my dad's birthday. I went off to Wal-mart and bought him a cake and my brothers came over and we had cake. We presented him with his Army Scrapbook that Rikki had put together of all his military pictures and he enjoyed that. He asked me where I got the pictures....he's totally forgotten he gave them to me so I could take them and scan them etc. Jiminy crickets....it's hard watching him age....
We met the "new" relatives....that was interesting. They are from the Wing side of the family....they are very nice and kind and want to share information. That's great. It spurred Doug on to buy a new computer! I'm impressed! Now we can get down to business!
I met with some old friends and enjoyed time with my cousin as well. And I spent as much time as possible with Dad. I missed a visit with some friends but I didn't see how I could get away. I took Dad to the doctor. I really need to converse with that man more often (the doctor). He isn't getting the full truth when my dad goes in to see him. He has an appt coming up and I intend to call him. (the doctor that is)
The trip home was uneventful and on the 13th, we celebrated my husband's birthday. The rest of the week was spent catching up on housework, work at the office and trying to get some things done with the pictures that I'm swamped with. OH MY GOSH, there are just so many and tons of them are unidentified. I made a little progress though.
Today is my birthday. My dad forgot. If I get a call from him now (it's after 1pm), it will be because someone reminded him. I was thinking about what my birthday means to me now. Before, in years past, I would be upset if my family didn't wish me a happy birthday or I didn't get a card in the mail. Now I can honestly say that I'm happy with celebrating with God. Even if He and I are the only two that celebrate. If my husband doesn't buy me a gift, I won't be angry. I might be a little disappointed but he will recognize my birthday and I've come to realize that that is just fine by me. My dad cannot seem to remember his own birthday so I'm not hurt by his forgetfulness and I don't want to cause him any shame or get him worried that he hurt my feelings by bringing it up. My brother didn't remember either. I reminded him though because I needed to dig at his age a bit. The other brother did remember and even called me. That was a surprise and a nice one. The kids are just learning to keep track of people's birthdays so I don't even hold a grudge there. They will recognize it too.
I think birthdays are special and we should give thanks for them. After all, it is the day God set aside to bring us into the world. He marks those days along with us. Having life is the best gift of all. Having a relationship with the One who gave me life is even better. I have so much to be thankful for. I am truly blessed.
posted by Unknown | 10:39 AM
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