Shock and Awe:)

   Often, and with more emotion than most of you would have thought, Jeff expressed absolute amazement at how many people (as he came to find out over the last 2 1/2 years) really cared about him!  At just how many friends he really had!  Well, The kids and myself have felt the same way!  It really does amaze us, takes our breath away!
   Shortly after Jeff passed away, 2 friends, tearfully, each gave me a gift and each expressed similar sentiments;  "use this for whatever you may need to but, if you could do something nice or fun for yourself we would be so happy".  Well, not knowing what to do nor what was coming at me (on many levels), I set these gifts aside for safe keeping.   
   At some point, not too long after Jeff's service, I started to feel the urge to "get away" for a weekend.    I mentioned it to Bri one day and she suggested that we do something together.  Hmm, I liked that idea:)  What to do?  Go north ladies, go north!  I've decided it is Michiganders version of "going to the seashore" in the summer.  After all, we are nearly on the shore so, we decided on north.  Now, Bri just needed a weekend off from work!  She had recently been promoted at Old Navy to a managerial position (and 40 hours a week) and thus, didn't want to ask for time off.  I mentioned this idea to a few friends and one of my bosses and they all were very encouraging and thought it was a great idea!  I was a bit puzzled by this need to "get away" as I couldn't figure out what I needed to get away from!?  Then, one night, while talking to a friend it hit me.  Maybe I didn't need to get away from anything.  Maybe I needed to move towards something.  Hmmm, that was a thinker but it felt more accurate to me.  And then, Bri got her schedule and was due a weekend off at the end of it:)  Well, things were falling into place.  
    We started making plans, little by little and one afternoon Bri was over early before we were having friends over for "Girls night".  I mentioned that we should look online for a hotel. We had looked into B&B's but quickly discovered they were very pricey and mostly booked anyway!  Bri, casually mentioned that, I was to be told that our "accommodations had been taken care of"!   Well, knock me over with a feather!  WOW! Ok.  Move forward with the other details then.  
    That next week was a busy one for me; a big project with Chase, working, a dentist appointment and lunch with a friend:)  The day of  the lunch, I was even able to get downtown a bit early and bring my recycling to Tree Huggers (love that store!) and say hi to Angela:)  (She is a bundle of energy and a wealth of information!).  I also had time to stop in at The Seasoned Home (another favorite of mine) and use a gift certificate that I had been given at Christmas.  Then on to lunch.  What a nice day so far!  Lunch was great but, there is never enough time to talk and catch up.  The salads and iced tea were delicious and the company was wonderful and all too soon it was time to go to work.  I floated out in my iced tea induced discomfort and drove the 2 1/2 minutes to work where I rushed in, dropped my stuff on the counter and headed into the restroom. (I know TMI!)  Work was BUSY and I was in a rush to get out front to offer assistance.  I quickly exited the restroom intending to grab my glasses and do just that when I saw my boss standing in the back room.  No, make that both bosses.  And a co-worker.  Then another co-worker came in behind me.  "UUmmmm, what's going on???""  I say with (I am sure) a very dumbfounded look on my face!  Well, apparently, all of my co-workers, my bosses and a friend had been trying to come up with an idea of something to do for me/us and this was it.  Major shock and awe on my part!!!  Again, I am shown a kindness that just amazes me!  How could I possibly be so Blessed?!  They had put together a beautiful box of wonderful and amazing, thoughtful goodies!  This included the use of a friends condo for 3 nights and a GC to a nearby restaurant, envelopes for gas, food, shopping, a wine tour, entrance to Sleeping Bear Dunes and more. Also, snacks and treats, cups and a candle and more!  I was blown away!  I was nearly in tears!  I was shocked!  And, I was very grateful that I had used the restroom before they all decided to shock me!!!  LOL:)  And now I was supposed to work?  Boy, was I distracted!  Well, as I said, it was crazy busy and we all needed to get back up front before customers came looking for us and the fact that it was so busy  was a very good thing for me.  It always makes the day go faster and is far more fun that way:) 

The box will be perfect to hold all of the Sympathy cards we received as well as the many other cards that so many kind and caring people had sent to Jeff along with a few other "memories".  A beautiful "Memory Box".  What a special, thoughtful, amazing, kind, generous thing to do!  Bri and I will be "Making every moment count!"
   You can count on another blog post telling you all about our adventure later:)  Both Bri and I are very excited!  Thank you Kerri, Kelli, Marilyn, Amy, Shelly, Dawn, Micaela, and Jodi!!!

(((Hugs)))
Brenda


P.S.  The boys and I are also planning a Mother son day adventure soon!  Can't wait!!!

The Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!

   There  is a children’s  book call Alexander and the Horrible No Good Very Bad Day   A slightly funny, kid version of a bad day.  Well, I believe I had the adult version of that on Monday.   Minus the funny. 

   Actually, the day started out innocent enough, even pleasant:)  As per my usual Monday, I had many errands to run.  I don’t mind, and actually kind of enjoy some of it.  I even had time to meet Bri on her break from work.

  Cue the beginning of bad.  When I got in my truck after meeting Bri, it didn’t start right away.  It started up on the second try, no hesitation at all.  I even wondered if “that really just happened?”   Off to the next stop.  No problems.  Then another stop and,  Uh oh, Problem.  Took 3 or 4 tries  to start.  I guess I didn’t just imagine it then!  I only had 1 more stop, dropping off green beans (excess green beans from the garden!) at my dad and step moms.  I decided to make a stop at Auto Zone.  I left the truck running and went in and explained that, all was running well, all gauges were reading normal and I had no lights on but…Bryan said, very quickly, that it sounded like the starter.  I said that the starter was my first thought as well but Jeff just replaced it 1 year ago.  Almost to the day!  Bryan looked it up and said that was true but,  it had a lifetime warranty.  Okay, text to Chase…”How do you feel about replacing my starter this afternoon?”   On your afternoon off, sandwiched in between 2   14 hour days?   “Sure” he said.  (probably not what he was thinking tho!)  Well, to say I was thankful that this happened    on my (and Chase’s) day off, here in town, when we had time to deal with it and it was under warranty would be an understatement.  Pollyanna is still living in me:)

  Chase came over, took off the starter and returned to AZ with it. Good news, It did test bad.  He came home with a new one and nearly had it on when a piece fell off in his hand.  (insert your choice of bad words here)  I called AZ back and asked at which location they had another one.  Chase removed it and headed back out.  Turns out there was a defect in the housing where a piece was missing and when he was tightening up the bolts, that defect caused the piece to hurl it’s shiny silver self off from the starter rendering it useless.  Great!    Back under the vehicle goes Chase with starter #2  and he gets the new one on just fine.  Well, almost.  There seems to be one bolt that won’t quite tighten all the way down, probably stripped.  (I have no idea why it would be stripped?!?  This was only the third starter going on the vehicle in 1 year!)  Now, while all this was going on, I chose this time to check my oil and add some.  In doing this, I thought to look under Jeff’s truck and check on the repairs done 2 weeks earlier that we thought had finally worked.  To my utter dismay, I saw oil on the floor again:(    Around this time, Chase also happened to mention that a sprinkler had “blown” it’s top again.  This sprinkler and I seem to be having a battle of the wills.  I keep replacing it (I hear and feel the “click”) and it keeps blowing it’s top off geysering water all over a corner of the front yard.  I attacked the sprinkler again. Meanwhile, Chase tried to start the truck.  Well, it started right up, no problem, just fine.  Oh, except for the ear splitting , screaming squeal!  Now, the horrible, no good, very bad noise stopped as soon as the vehicle was started but no way was this normal or good!  Ok, maybe starting to  lose the “Pollyanna” attitude here.

Chase now made a call to AZ and put them on speaker and started the old girl up.  They agreed; not normal, not good!  Very likely a loose bearing in the starter somewhere.  Either that, or, a very long shot, it could be the loose bolt.  Off with the starter again and go visit the 3^rd AZ location for the day.  (Seems each location only had 1 in stock and we were rapidly depleting their supply!)  Chase also took the problem bolt with him,  Of course when AZ  tested the starter, it tested good.  Duh, the vehicle did start!  They suggested trying a thread repair kit for the bolt first.  Back home, back under the vehicle with rapidly diminishing daylight and rain approaching, and back to work.  Well, it wasn’t meant to be.  The available space for Chase to work and try and get a drill in was too small.  He looked for Jeff’s taps and found many but no one the exact right size.  Smart guy that Chase is, he knew when to say he was done and needed to turn this job over to someone else.  By now, I had come to the conclusion that this day was the worst I had had since Jeff passed away:(

And then, I got the  email.  An e mail from my brother telling me that my grandma was admitted to the hospital and it looked like she has Acute Leukemia! 

Ok, I was done. Toast. Stick a fork in me.  Normally I am the positive one.  Give me a problem and I try and solve it.  Well, I was tired.  (and probably hungry tho I didn’t feel like it. My salad at noon was barely a memory by now!) 

Poor Chase seemed worried about me as did Bri when I called her to see if she get take me to work in the morning.  All I wanted was a shower and my bed.  And that is what I did.

   It just felt like, for each problem that “knocked me down”, I’d get up, find something positive and then I’d get knocked right back down again.  For once, I just didn’t even feel like getting back up.  At least, not until morning.

  Tuesday was a bit better.  Not a great day but, going into work helped!  A lot!  Jim at Beechwood didn’t seem very optimistic about being able to repair the bolt but called me later to say they got it done:)  Good news!  Bad news, the starter is still squealing like a pig!  UGH!  Not willing to give up my “life time warranty” I called an AZ manager and explained the situation to him.  I then explained that I would like to have the repair shop install their preferred brand (insert “more expensive” here)  and I would be returning the AZ one to them on Wed.  for a full refund.  He agreed.  (smart guy!!!)  I also asked Jim to look the old girl over and let me know if I should drive her out of town or not.  (that’s another blog post!).  He called back with a few issues, most of which I knew about and are not really major except for 1.  I asked him if he would be comfortable sending his wife or daughter out of town with it in it’s  current condition.  He said no.  Decision time.  Well, I decided to tell him to fix it if parts were available locally and it could be done this week.  They were and he is.  I hope.  Fingers crossed and Prayers said that it all goes as planned!  If it does, I should be able to pick it up Wed. night after workJ

   Bri picked me up after work and we went and visited grandma at the hospital.  She looked good and we chatted for a bit before it became clear that she had had a long and busy day!    Seeing her went a long way to helping make the day a bit better too!

   I am still behind.  I will eventually get those things done.  I will eventually beat the sprinkler.  I will make decisions about Jeff’s truck.  Just not today.  Or maybe even tomorrow.  But eventually. 

   I may have to ask for help, and tho I am so very grateful for friends and kids being so willing to help, I really dislike being  dependent!    I’d love to be able to do it all myself!  Maybe that was the bigger part of the problem?  Jeff’s co- workers also delivered Jeff’s tool boxes and tool cart in the midst of all of this.  Again, so grateful for all they have done!  Maybe just having all of Jeff’s stuff come home was a bit of an emotional challenge?  I’m not sure. 

   A huge Thanks to all my friends, especially FB friends for putting up with my whining and for all the support, kind words and Prayers!

   Hospice had been called in for Gram and she will hopefully be able to come home by the weekend!  Please keep her in your Prayers! 

My Grandma Lou:)

(((Hugs)))

Brenda

Bear On A Bike

Bear on a Bike

     I know,  it sounds like a circus act!  But, I have, for a few years, wondered if Bear would ride on the bike with me.  You know, like in the basket.   If I got one.  Well, as most of you know, the last couple of years left little time (ok, no time) for bike riding.    Then, when Jeff was at the Inn at Freedom Village I encountered the little issue of Tulip Time traffic!  Namely, the issue was, I could not go to the Inn and park in the morning (which by the way, required me to convince them each and every day that I was there for my husband, who was a resident, and I had a legitimate reason for parking in their lot. A lot  where they barricaded and posted  “Guards” at each entrance for individual inquisitions. !  Ok, so the “guards” were 80 year old guards but…LOL!

Anyway, I decided that I was never going to be able to leave the Inn at noon ish and then drive the mile  (barely) to work with all the tourists and on several days, Parade line ups about to start!  So, I bought a basket for my bike.  I asked  Chase to get  my bike out of the shed and check to see if there was any air left in the tires.  I put the basket on my bike and loaded it into my trusty (but ancient) SUV, grabbed a back pack just for good measure and was all setJ  It was a great plan and the “commute” form the Inn to work and back to the Inn that week was easy and fun!  I would then load the bike back in the SUV and head back up to be with Jeff before going home later at night. 

And so, this brings me to the 4^th of July.  A Wednesday which is a day I would normally be working and now stretched endlessly in front of me.  (At least until 5pm at which time I was graciously invited to spend time with Derek’s family (Bri’s boyfriend)  having a bbq at their house.)   When I am “bored” I clean, organize and otherwise look for “projects”.   We were also smack in the middle of a major heat wave!  Never mind that.  For whatever reason, it seemed like a good idea to use this day, this free time, to see if Bear would actually tolerate such silliness?!?!   Since the basket is wicker, I lined it with his blankie (yes, he has his own blankie!   That’s not weird.  It’s not!)  so he wouldn’t  get “poked”.  (Ok, maybe all the masses of fur would have protected him but, he is my “baby” and I wasn’t  taking any chances!)  I then put on his leash and gently settled him in.  Hmmm, he looked at me with ???’s in his eyes but, also trustJ  Oh yes, it’s so good to have a dog!   We started off slowly, testing the waters (or wheels as it were) and all seemed to be well.  Getting brave now, we actually left the driveway!  All told, we were gone less than 15 minutes I am guessing but, it was our maiden voyage and I didn’t want to press my/our luck.  I kept a firm grasp on the leash just in case he decided to “bail” or leap out after a bird or whatever but, he really just settled in and enjoyed the rideJ  There was also the small matter of the weight limit in the basket.  I seem to recall the tag saying it would hold a limit of 8 pounds and Bear is closer to 8 ½ pounds.  Logic tells me tho, that they estimate low knowing we are all going to “bump it up” a notch or two anyway and I reasoned (almost comfortably) that it would really hold 10-11 pounds easily.  Right?   Hopefully?!?  Well, in any case, the basket didn’t crash off the handle bars under Bear’s bulky 8 ½ pounds, I was dripping (no way could this be call “glistening” in  the 95 degree afternoon!)  and we called it a day for now and an adventure accomplished!

“Make every moment count”, whether with the furry family members or others!

(((Hugs)))

Brenda (and Bear)

P.S.  Lest anyone think I leave Nick (the cat) out of the “fun” and only Bear gets in on all the action; I believe Nick prefers it this way!  I seriously doubt he would have tolerated the bike ride nearly as well!

Woman vs Grill

Woman vs grill

Ya know how “one thing leads to another”?  That was exactly what happened one recent  Saturday afternoon.  I was sitting on the deck, eating my lunch “al fresco”  which seems to be my preferred choice for any meal or snack, and trying to read a book.  Trying is the operative word here.  I seem to be having trouble (mind and body) realizing that I now have ample time available to accomplish tasks as well as to just relax.  It’s a  process, a work in progress.  Anyway, after about 2 ½ pages my mind and eye started to wander.   The mind says, (silently believe or not), “wouldn’t it be nice to get out the hammock and just lay in it””   Then the mind starts to rationalize (is that like arguing with myself now?)  “Where would you put it?  (It hasn’t been out for more than 2 years, no time to lay in it!)  “Where did we put it before?”  The answer to that was, wherever we could stick it and as a consequence, I spent more time dragging it in and out of the sprinkler range or the rain than actually laying in it!  L  Ok, clearly, this “idea” had a hold of me but I needed a working plan.  Best place to put it (only place really) is where Jeff’s (huge!!!) grill is.  But, (the mind argues), “you can’t get rid of Jeff’s grill!!!”  NO!  But, I rationalize (or argue) back, “it is way to big for me.  It would take a half a bag of charcoal for what”,  Just to cook a hot dog or a piece of salmon!?!!?”   “Ok, but, I like grilled food! Yes, true.  But, you’ve never, not even once in your life grilled!”  (That was Jeff’s thing!)   Ok now, Chase would use the grill occasionally but really, realistically, not more than a few times a year, right?  (He agreed)  So, I could put his grill in the garage or shed, where we could still get to it reasonably easily when needed but it wouldn’t be taking up a whole corner of the deck.  I could hunt down the hammock, put it together and relax.  Or so the plan was.  I’m not so good at this relaxing business as it turns out! In fact, I think it’s entirely possible that I like planning on how and when to relax and getting ready for the “event” much more than I actually enjoy the   “event”, the relaxing itself.  I think I may be missing the point!?!  This whole discussion in my head also led to the realization that the compost bucket I was currently using was being somewhat camouflaged by the grill and it would just be ugly out there next to the hammock.  Yup, one thing definately lead to another. (smaller bucket hidden in a crock solved that problem but it took a couple of hours to solve and execute that plan!).

Next issue was then the issue of grilled food.  I like it.  I missed it.  Jeff always cooked it.  I wanted grilled food again.  Easy remedy, buy a small grill.  Yup, I can do this.  Everybody is marking there “summer” stuff down just in time for the heat wave of the century (or at least of the past several decades!) and, I had Coupons!  Seemed like the right time to me.  So the very next day I set off for Meijers, land of endless wonders.  I found, what looked to me, the perfect grill.  18” square and it would collapse on demand, folding up nicely to put in my deck box.  After texting a pic of it to Chase and getting his agreement, the perfect little grill was purchased.  Now, Chase did offer to come over the next day and assemble the little beauty but, liking to be independent whenever possible (some say stubborn) and impatient to boot, I thanked him and said I’d let him know how I did.

I got out my tool kit (yes, I have my own!) and carefully opened the grill box and laid things out on the deck.  I was very careful not to let anything fall through the deck cracks (always thinking ya know!).  I sorted everything out and opened the directions.  Seemed pretty straight forward; insert piece 11 into part 14 using screw “a” and wingnut “f”.  And so it went.  Me paging back and forth making sure I had the correct parts and pieces and nuts etc.  All was moving along quite nicely and I was feeling an early sense of pride and accomplishment.  I could smell lighter fluid already.  (I love the smell of lighter fluid and charcoal!)  So, “bowl” is together as is the lid.  Legs are each assembled and then assembled together.  Now is probably the time to explain that this grill works in much the same manner as the old style “TV trays”.  “Crossed” legs that collapse.  Think of the grill as the tray.  Now, this  is where the instructions tell me I must screw the “bowl” onto the hinges which are affixed to the legs.  The legs that collapse.  Yes, collapse!  Now is also where they should have told you that you needed 6 hands or 3 people!  (or maybe it should have said that on the box? As a warning maybe?  Or, at least a “heads up”!)  Anyway, despite me looking over my shoulder longingly,  a couple of times to see  if my neighbor was in his garden  (he wasn’t,  #*^X#@!)   I figured out that, I could brace the legs (did I mention that it  also has wheels?!?!) with both feet and the crossed portion of the legs with my knees.  I then had two hands left to hold the “bowl” and  screw the screw and wingnut into place while holding said screws and wingnuts with my lips.  Well, at least you can’t curse while holding screws and nuts with you lips! (not out loud anyway!)  Finally, that done, it was almost easy to finish attaching the lid to the hinges.  Success!  I had done it.  All by myself.  I owned this! And, I had no “extra parts” when I was done, always a good sign!  I was also dripping (I did mention the heat wave, right?) and starving. No, it wasn’t that much hard work, I just was too impatient to eat lunch before I started this “little” project and having also been in a hurry to get to the store, I skipped breakfastL  So, now it’s 3pm and I am hungry and hot and need faster food than I will get on a charcoal grill!  Using it would have to wait for another day!

Oh, and by the way, I did find the hammock and put it together myself as well.  And, I have even used it. TwiceJ

Today’s score:  Woman- 2, grill and hammock-0!

Note:  I have used the grill 3 times now (twice during above mentioned heat wave!) and all 3 times, I am proud to say, have been successful!  I think Jeff would be proudJ

Pizza Margherita:)

Grilled Caprese Chicken Breasts with pasta and corn:)


Third nights meal was the best but the pic failed to save:(   Cedar Plank salmon (caught by my dad!) and shrimp with grilled veggies.  So YUM!!!

The following is my "last" (for now) post to Care Pages.  I will blog here when "The Spirit Moves Me"!  Could be often or infrequent or sporadic.  We'll see.  This is a work in progress.  I am learning as I go.  Please be patient with me! 

 

"Moments"

Nearly five weeks and many "Moments" have passed since Jeff passed away. So many of you have asked how I am doing. How the kids are doing. Thank you for checking in on us. For asking. The answer is, we are actually doing well most of the time. For me, (and I am sure the kids too), there are moments. But, they are moments, not whole days. That is good.
Speaking for myself, I miss Jeff! I miss seeing him and Bear sitting together in his chair. (I sit there once in a while with Bear but, Bear sits there often when I am not in a sit still mood!) I miss his voice, his presence. Mostly, I miss the companionship. Eating a meal with him, discussing the news or the day with him. Sometimes, I just want to ask him something, and more often I think, "I need to tell Jeff this"! All normal I am sure and mostly, I really am doing well.
A few friends have made a point to text, e mail or call me every few days:) Thank you! Thank you for checking on me. For asking me if I am eating (I'm sure Jeff put you up to that!). Mostly,I am eating but weekends I find that breakfast and lunch prove to be elusive:( I don't mean miss them, it just happens! I'm better with supper at least!
So often I have heard about "milestones" and "anniversaries". Often, it is said that the anticipation of these days is worse than the actual day itself. I can't say for sure if this is true or not. For me, for us, we had 2 kind of big days come so soon, there really wasn't much time to anticipate! Father's Day came the day after Jeff's "Celebration" and honestly, we were so busy up to that point I realy didn't have time to think too deeply about it. As it turned out,I did feel quite melancholy that day:( It was actually the very first day since Jeff had passed that I didn't have to accomplish many things and that was likely a big part of the problem! In fact, tho there were things to do, and I did do some of them, I probably just needed the "down time" and it coincided with Father's day. Bear and I went for a walk which was nice and then the kids all came over in the evening which was perfect!
Three days later would have been our 31st anniversary! Now, that one I did think a bit about ahead of time. I am so grateful that it fell on a week day and not on a weekend! Weekends tend to be more difficult whereas weekdays I have appointments, make phone calls and work. I did work that day and my friend Deb suggested that we go out for dinner that night after work. I gladly and gratefully agreed! I had been given a gift certificate for my Birthday with "instructions" for Jeff and I to have a nice dinner out. Unfortunately, between surgeries, lack of appetite and hospitalizations, we never used it:( It seemed fitting then, that I use it to still celebrate our anniversary, our marriage, our life together. Thank you Deb for doing this, it meant the world to me! Thanks also to the few brave souls who "dared" to call or e mail and tell me they were thinking of me that day! I know how you must have debated over whether or not to mention it but, I am so glad you did. It would not have been right to let that day go by without acknowledgement and I will always be grateful to you for that!
Next up, 4th of July. Independence Day. A more casual day for us but it always involved grilling (no surprise) and family. Yes, one "anniversary" after another. Maybe it was good that several came so quickly and we didn't have to much time to anticipate?!? It also occured to me that the day had a bit of a double meaning for me this year. I celebrated "Independence Day" with the rest of the country but I also realized that I must (no, not celebrate!) embrace my independence. Both Jeff and I were/are very independent people who were lucky ebough to have each other to depend on. Yes, you can have it both ways! But, now I must be independent without that special person in my life. Now, I am on my own. Yes, a double meaning indeed! Thank you to Derek's family for including me in their familie's bbq! It was so nice to have that to look forward to:) Thank you for teaching me how to play Corn Hole, that was so much fun!
This past month or so has been odd. Very busy in many ways. There is so much that needs to be taken care of; insurance stuff (lots of that), bank stuff, budget stuff, medical stuff (yes, that will go on for a while yet), fur kids are overdue for appointments and shots and I am overdue for the dentist! Many appointments and phone calls. I am getting through it but it all takes time and patience. And then, not so busy as before in other ways. I am catching up on many things, including sleep but the mind and body react in odd and unexpected ways. I find that I have a very diffcult time sitting and relaxing for more than about 5 minutes! This week, I managed to get to 10 or 15 a couple of times. I never have much "sit em in me" and certainly not the last few months. So, now that I could, I find both my mind and body are so used to "go go going" that sitting and relaxing is a process to be re learned! A bit of a challenge but I will get there. I am not alone. Sandy and I talk often and she too is struggling with exactly the same issues (why I am not surprised? We are so much alike!)
One thing I realized just recently is that I automatically write Care Page updates in my head. I was very surprised to find that I actually enjoyed the process of writing. It really became a way for me to organize my thoughts and the information we were given and yes, in figuring out a way to explain medications and procedures and plans to all of you. It also helped us to understand it all better. It also became a way for us to look back and recall things, events, memories and even funny moments that we may not have remembered or remembered clearly! A "journal" of sorts. I am very gratefull that I have all of that information recorded:)And so, as I mentioned, I find myself composing an update only to realize, this is not necessary. So many of you have said to me, "you missed your calling", "you should be a writer" , "I enjoy how you write" etc. Ok, maybe you are just being very very nice?!?! Thank you for the kind words but, writing for me at least, should be for fun now. Not beacuse I am on a deadline or because I needed to get an update done in a timely maneer. Just for fun. In any case, I considered, as far back as a year ago, writing a blog but, yeah, I needed one more thing to maintain like I needed ..., well, you get the picture! With these new found bits of time on my hands and still feeling the urge to write and the need to record "moments" so I don't look back a year or 2 or 10 from now and find it's all a blur or a haze, I have decided to do just that. Start an online blog. A journal. It will mostly be lighthearted, satirical and hopefully funny and entertaining. Many of you seem to like laughing at me and I like to make people laugh so...we'll see! If no one "follows" me that is OK with me! This is more for me, a therapy of sorts:) If you do follow, and laugh, great. I can't promise it won't ever touch on a more "raw" emotion but mostly it's just for entertainment. I can promise you this; there will be puncuation, grammar and even spelling errors! (I actually am good at spelling but tend to type quickly and have "fat finger syndrome"!) Please don't mind, I don't.(and don't correct me!) As much as I love to read and really do enjoy writing, I am not a "writer"! I, if given the option, always took a lit class over a comp class to fulfill an enlglish requirement! Also, I am good with Facebook and Care Pages but, I have never written a blog before. I am still working with the layout etc. and it may change a bit. I may mess up and tweak it often but I will learn. The link to the blog, called "My Moments" is www.mymomentsjournal.blogspot.com
Join me there if you dare!
Well folks, I think that is it. For now. I may be back here on Care Pages if it seems appropriate but, for now, you'll find me on Facebook or my blog. I am working on My oments, in reality and on the blog. Moments with our kids and still spreading our message;
"Make Every Moment count!"
(((Hugs)))
Brenda