Sitting In An Airport ......

...... waiting to leave New York.

I didn't get to stay nearly as long as I would've liked, but that's OK.  I'll be back in December to take a look at that famous tree they put up every year (well, not the same tree, but .... you get the picture).

I've had a great week.  The weather here was perfect, even if we did sweat through everything while sitting in the sun.  There was still a breeze every few minutes and that felt great.
I saw some great tennis (James Blake, Venus Williams ..... what a come back!!) and saw some not-so-great-tennis (Venus Williams .... 15 double faults?!  Is that a record?).
I spent time with friends who also love tennis, and love to have fun, a wonderful combination.
This was the first visit to NYC for two of our friends and it was really neat to see NY and the Open through their eyes.  Especially when we went to Times Square Wednesday night after dinner (great food, but slow service, which made us RUN for the theatre .... thank goodness it was right across the street!  Got into our seats just in time.  And went back to the restaurant after the show to get the dessert that came with some meals!), and it was cool to watch those women see all of those lights and the people (oh, the people!) for the first time.  It was kind of like watching your child open her/his gifts on Christmas morning.
I love this city.

Son #3 and I are going to Oklahoma this weekend for a quick trip to go to the Oklahoma State game. GO COWBOYS!!!
We're both really looking forward to it.

Well, that's it for now.
I hope each of you had a good week.
Or at least a good-as-can-be-expected week.  Because some of you, I know, are taking each week ......
one breath at a time.

Happy Friday, Peeps.
:)

P.S.  The show we saw was "The Book of Mormon".  It was hilarious.  Hi. Lar. I. Ous.
And also a bit shocking.  The shocking parts made us not want to laugh, but I have to admit that we most times did.
It's definitely not a show for everyone.  Especially anyone under 17.

On My Way ....

.... back to Houston, where I'm guessing it is still hellishly hot?

I'm sitting in the St. Louis airport, which had an incredibly long security line, but also some very friendly people, so that balanced out the line.

G had a good night. Thank God. It was his first good night since before the surgery. So that means that V also had a good night.
R is also doing better today, so I knew that it was ok for me to return home. I thnk today will be a day of catch-up-on-your-rest for the three of them. Well, catch-up-as-much-rest-as-you-can-in-a-hospital anyway.

I'm so thankful that I was able to be there for V, and for her family. I'm thankful that my life is where it is at this point and that my time, and my children, are flexible.

BTW, if you happen to live in a hellishly-hot state at the moment, St. Louis is a lovely city and the weather is much cooler than that in TX. The highs were in the low 90's. They've
received some rain this past week, which I wish that I could bring back with me to Houston. So if you have some free time before oh ..... November, and want to feel cooler air, I'd highly recommend it for a place to visit. And no, this is not a paid advertisement. I wish.

I am now sitting on the plane so I'd better end this so that I can hopefully edit it for spelling (again, iPad so please forgive any mistakes ... or don't, I won't lose any sleep over it and I hope that you don't :).

Oh, I also was blessed to meet a lovely woman who reads my blog. :)
She saw me at the gate and introduced herself. Hi, Julie! It was so nice to meet you. :)
I hope your daughter has a blast at school this year. Oh yeah, and I hope she gets a bit of studying in, too. :)

That's it for now, Peeps.
Please keep praying for V, G and R. Pray that the kidney continues to work so excellently and that G's blood pressure goes down, and for quick healing and relief for both G and R.
And for rest, lots and lots of rest for all three of them.

Thanks, Peeps and happy Monday.
:)

So Here I Am ....

.... at the airport .... again.
It feels almost like home .... except for the security maniacs in Terminal B. Good grief .... Our government money at work ... people who love the little power they have.

Anyway, I'm waiting to board the plane to St. Louis. Son #1 brought me and as he was driving it suddenly occurred to me that this will be my first time to wait, seriously wait, in a hospital waiting room for a serious surgery since .... well, you all know since when.
At that moment my heart beat accelerated, kind of like it is now as I'm typing this. I hope I don't hyperventilate tomorrow ... or any tme really (it doesn't sounnd like much fun).
Hopefully I'll feel peace. Hopefully I'll feel it soon .... like before I board this plane.

That's all, Peeps.

I'll keep you posted.

And happy Wednesday.
:)

U

I Am Beyond ......

.... exhausted.
I slept well the first few nights at J and L's, but Wed night I did not fall asleep until after 4:30. I'm guessing it's the meds.
 Poor L, we had an error of comedies, though it wasn't funny at the time. I had intended to be at the hotel by 10 am and then the night before said I'd get there by noon. After not much sleep, I decided to just play it by ear, thinking that they had nothing planned for the day, other than picking up J's car, which they could do on the way to the hotel.
 I didn't realize that L had made a swim date with one of S's friends at 1:00. Then when she told me I thought "ok, I guess I'll leave when they head to the pool", not thinking that L had to be the one to drop J and I off at the car shop.
 Yes, I can be a moron.
 So imagine her shock when, at noon, I told her that I was going to get in the shower, so I didn't want her to leave before I got out. She said, "What?", so I repeated my request. That's when she told me, trying to speak calmly, that I had to leave with her,since she was dropping us off and then coming back for the pool date.
Oh.
Oh, my! I had not even begun to pack.
I'm not sure I'll be invited back.

It all worked out, though we had to drop S off at the pool with the other mom while L dropped us off at the car shop, with me offering up apologies the entire trip. Oh, I also had to apologize for, thinking that my DP bottle was tightly capped, dripping it on her carpet as I drug my suitcases out into the hall.
L only has one child .... who isn't very messy.
Nuff said.
Again, I may have to skip my annual visit next year.
Dang it.
It's a good thing she loves me.

BTW, please do your best to ignore any spelling errors ....I'm on my iPad and trying to type quickly, so there will be many.

Yesterday the board members who were here met up for awhile in M's suite. Yes, it's a suite and it totally rocks.
Then I met up with Matt and met his famous daughter, Maddie, who is currently in the "everything is opposite" phase, which she finds hysterical. She called me a boy.
I'm not talking to her at the moment.
Like she cares. :)

Ok .... I have to run. Another board member and I are presenting a workshop in 10 minutes to all of the "new campers". Then I hope to finish this post and take a nap. Ha! Whatever.
It is now 2:48, my tme. I was supposed to be eating lunch just now. Instead, I typed. I rarely do what's expected of me, do I?
I think it makes life much more interesting. At least for me.
Others? Not so much.

It is now 6:36 pm and this is the first time I've been to my room all day.
The presentation went great.  I think they had a lot of fun, which makes it great for me.  This is a conference for widowed people.  There are some here who have been widowed less than 3 months.
Yes, seriously.
So there is not a lot for them to smile about.
And yet they've smiled.  Most likely surprising themselves.
I am amazed that they're here.
And give them a lot of credit for that.
I'm not sure I was even capable of forming a sentence at less than three months, let alone able to get on a plane by myself and join a bunch of strangers for a weekend.

So it went well and helped energize me.
I'm feeling less exhausted.
It's not only physical exhaustion that gets to me .... it's emotional, too.
While this IS my passion, working with other widowed people and yes, I do feel 100% that I have been "called" to do this, it can still "get" to me.
And the tears still come ... for others and what they're experiencing.
And for what is yet to come for them.

The tears here are rarely for me.
Until I see the "tribute tile" on a wall with many, many others.
They are pictures of our loved ones.  We sent them in and they make a tile out of the picture and put them on the Tribute Wall.
Here's the one I used this year:

I.
So.
Miss.
This.
Man.

Still.

And I miss my kids.  Very much.
But I'm glad to be here.

I'm supposed to be at the evening reception now.
But I needed a few moments to just .... be.
And to finish this post.

And now I have finished it.
So I guess I'll put my work shirt back on and head down to the reception.
And meet more amazing people.

I must say that it's so crazy and wonderful to have people come up and hug me because they recognize me from my blog, or from the Widow's Voice blog, or from Widowed Village.
Crazy, wonderful and very, very humbling.
Humbling to hear what they think of my writing .... of my words.  The ones that just come out of my fingertips and onto my keyboard.
The ones that I give very little thought to, but which explain how I'm feeling .... or how I've felt .... during this "after".
I am blessed.
Beyond words.

So goodbye for now, Peeps.
I wish more of you were here.
Well, only the widowed ones.
The rest of you would just think .... well, I'm not sure what you'd think.
You'd most likely be very, very surprised.
But I hope you never find out.
:)

To you other Peeps, the ones on this path .... I hope that you can make it out here some time.
We plan to do two next year.  One in San Diego in August.
And one in the spring .... on the east coast.
We just let that cat out of the bag today.
I'm excited.
Not sure which state yet, maybe one of the lower ones ..... like the very lowest, but still not certain.
More to come on that later.

Take care, Peeps and Happy Friday.
:)

A Change of Plans ....

              Jim's brother has been hard a work, turning old family slides
              into new digital photos.  I'm so thankful he's done/is doing this.
              This is, of course, Jim .... my trike-riding cowboy.   :)



.... has occurred with my plans for next week.
For a good reason, that happens to come from a bad reason.

As you hopefully remember, my very dear friend, V and her son G came to visit us last week.  V and I have been friends since we were 17.  We then went to the same college (Go Cowboys!!) and joined the same sorority and became closer.  And closer.
Then we graduated, I married Jim, she was in our wedding, she's the godmother to my daughters, she got married, I was in her wedding ..... and we continued to grow closer.  She is much more than a friend to me.
Much, much more.
If you've read from the beginning of my blog, or at least from the point where Jim died (which was only 3 months after I began it) you know that she came down to stay with me more than once.  She helped me during those first days, weeks and months when I could barely see my hand in front of my face.  She was here to help me make big decisions.
She was here when someone, posed as a friend, hurt me beyond belief by using Jim's death to try to take advantage of me.
She was here to make tough phone calls to a certain university which threatened to drop my daughter from her classes because, the week after Jim died, I wrote a check for tuition but forgot to transfer the funds to that account.

She's been here to guide me, hug me, listen to me, not listen to me .... to just be .... with me.
She's worried about me from afar, not knowing what to do or say, but just praying.
She's seen me go through a sobbing haze, through a crushing depression that threatened to be the end of me, to a place where I began to smile, to a place where she knew the depression did not get the best of me, to a person who has held on, grown stronger, moved forward and found joy again.

And now, it is my turn to be there for her.

We have known since G was two or so, that he would one day need a kidney transplant.
It was only a matter of time.  A matter of waiting for his kidneys to let everyone know that they are done and can do no more.
That time is now.

The plan was always that, hopefully, V's husband would be able to donate one of his kidneys.  All signs and tests pointed in that direction.
The last few months have been full of tests on both G, and his dad, R.
They have also been full of many ups .... and downs.  Of tests done .... and passed.  Of more tests done .... and failed.  And stress.  And prayers.  And hope.  And dashed hope.  A few weeks ago hope was almost given up.  But, surprisingly, I demanded that it not be given up.  Me, of all people.

Then two days ago, a miracle happened.
R was given the all clear sign and told that he could, indeed, be G's donor.
And the date of the surgery was set.
To next week.

Tears of happiness, thankfulness and relief have been shed in the last two days.  And those were just by me, so I can only imagine how many have been shed up in Oklahoma.  :)

G's surgery will be next Thursday, in another state with a wonderful children's hospital, where a wonderful doctor who specializes in healing children of this type of problem has been treating G since he was very, very small.

So now it's my turn to fly to be with a friend who is much more than a friend.
It's my turn to sit with her, to hug her, to listen to her .... or to not listen to her.
It's my turn to just be .... with her.

Yes, the situations are different, but the friendship is the same.  Very, very deep.
I never really thought about being there with her when the time came, until she told me that the time had come.  And then I knew.  I knew with certainty that there was no question .... I would be there.
I cannot repay her (or any of my other amazing friends) for all that she has done for me.
But thankfully, that's not what friends expect.

But I can be with her.
I can pray for, and with, her.
I can make her laugh.
I can help her wait.
And I can celebrate with her when both surgeries are over and both of the men in her life are awake and doing well ..... one with the blood .... and kidney, of the other giving him health .... and life.

So ironically .... or not .... I asked you several days ago to discuss prayer .... not knowing that the doctors would very soon be giving R the awesome opportunity to show his son how very much he loves him.  Not knowing that G's surgery would be scheduled so quickly.
Not knowing that I'd be coming to you within a matter of days .... to ask you, once again, for your prayers.

Thank you so much to those of you who commented, who told us your thoughts and beliefs about prayer.  I appreciate your openness very, very much.  I love hearing/reading what other people think about things, even if ..... no ..... especially if I don't agree with those thoughts/beliefs.  We don't have to agree with each other about things to learn from each other.
We don't have to agree in order to love someone and care for them.
We just have to be open to listening .... open to learning .... open to knowing more about another person.
So thank you again.  I'll have to come up with an even better topic next time.  :)

Everything has been great in San Diego.  It's been a quiet, relaxing visit with my loved ones.  The weather has been amazing.  I really can only describe it as .... perfect.
So perfect that I am perusing real estate magazines and newspapers.  In a couple of years I will be at a point where I can stop, take time to re-think things, and decide what I'd like to experience next in my life.  I have a list.
It's a list of places I'd like to live .... for a year or so, just to experience the vast differences in these places.
And San Diego is definitely on the list.
:)

Tomorrow I move over to the hotel to work with the other board members to get things ready for Camp Widow to begin on Friday.
While I'm sad to be leaving J. L and S, I'm very excited to see some wonderful friends .... and to make new ones.
It's been a great week .... and will continue to be a great week.
A week for which I am very thankful, and still feeling good on my meds.

And I'm thankful for you, and for knowing that I can come to you and ask for prayers for V, R, G and the rest of their family.  And prayers for the doctors, nurses and surgeons.
And for peace .... peace to fill their hearts.

So maybe I pray a bit more specifically than I thought I did.
And I'm ok with that.
:)

Thanks, Peeps ..... and happy Wednesday/Thursday.
:)

Even Though No One Reminded Me .....

..... I shall now tell you the story about the old harpie woman with whom we "hung out".
(Yes, Mom, I know that you asked me about her, which is kind of like reminding .... so I guess you win.)
:)

So, we are now back in the setting of the Charlotte airport.  The rain is pouring, the stale food has been mostly eaten and we've been waiting for our plane for over an hour now.

When the USless Air guy first announced that our plane would be delayed,  it was only to be delayed 20 minutes or so.  But then he added, "We'll be coming out every 20 minutes or so to give you an update."
Hmmmmmm ..... one would think that this man thinks all who fly on his airline are complete dorks, wouldn't one? (and evidently he was right)
Because if you're planning on coming out (over and over again) every 20 minutes .... you ain't expecting that plane to touch down for quite a while now ..... are you?!

Well, after about 2 hours they made an announcement that our plane had just landed and was now heading towards our gate.
The room was less than thrilled.

After that announcement a man who seemed to be in his late 70's or even older, got up and went to the desk.  He waved his tickets in front of the face of the lady who had just made the announcement and said, "Are these two tickets going to get us seats on the plane?"  She looked a little puzzled, and I felt a little puzzled as I was eavesdropping.  She said, "Excuse me?"  So he repeated his question.  Only his voice got a little higher and sounded like it had a bit of a ..... oh, how should I describe it? ....... it had a tone that indicated, to ME anyway, that he was irritated.
OK, that was putting it nicely.  He was p***ed off ..... WAY p***ed.
She didn't seem to pick up on that tiny hint of his mood.
Bless her little heart.
She works for a bad airline, thus she must deal with irate people every day, yet she can't seem to read emotions.
Come to think of it, maybe that's exactly the type of employee USAir wants to have!

Anyway .... she said something like, "Are those tickets for the Pensacola flight?" ..... and oh boy, but did she use the magic words or what.  Cuz his mouth opened wide and all his feelings and some spittle poured forth.
"YES, these are tickets to this Pensacola flight!  They were also tickets to the last Pensacola flight AND THE FLIGHT BEFORE THAT ONE!  But you guys keep delaying the flights and then putting everyone on ahead of us so that we get bumped.  We've been in this airport for 5 (I think) hours, going from one gate to the next!  Will THESE TICKETS get us on THAT plane?!!!" .... and there was much waving of the tickets.
Wow .... I didn't know who to feel sorrier for ..... the crotchety old man who been stuck here far longer than I had, or the clueless, hopeless USA employee.
He won.

She told them that yes, of course they would get him on this flight and she was very sorry for all of the trouble.
I think he may have huffed and puffed a couple of times and then went to sit back down.

The time came for us all to board the plane and from somewhere behind me I hear someone yelling in a high pitched voice that was getting higher and higher.
"Where's our other bag?!!!" a woman was shrieking.  "Don't tell me you left our other bag in the last terminal!!!!"  I didn't see who she was, nor to whom she was shrieking, but I was thinking, "Dang, I wouldn't tell her that I'd left it!".
I looked behind me and it was that man's wife.
What a great day those two were having!

She kept yelling at him about the bag, and he kept saying, "What bag?" which was hilarious ... to everyone but her.  I'm not sure she ever convinced him that there had been another bag and that he had left it at the last place they sat, but she sure tried.  She said it in line, she said it boarding the plane .... thankfully she boarded ahead of me.  I never saw him board.
As I trudged towards what I knew would be the last row I was focused on hoping that were would be a row 18.
I sat down and then D sat down and got her bag underneath her seat.  We started to talk and then I heard a woman ask, of her seat mate, "Would you mind trading seats with someone up there so that I can sit with my husband?"
OK, first ..... don't you just hate that????!!!!!  I mean, really.  I always choose my seats because they're the seats I want  (yes, much like I pack a carry on bag to carry on) .... not to think that I'll be able to trade up --HAAA!!! --- or trade down.
But this kind woman stammered a bit and then said ok.  The first woman indicated that her husband was sitting further up in the plane where there were several Navy guys sitting.  Then told the other woman that maybe she'd be lucky and get a nice Navy guy.
I will refrain from adding anything here.

I looked over there and saw that the woman asking was the shrieking woman at the gate (I will henceforth refer to her as SW -- shrieking woman).  SW, who .... last I saw, loathed her husband with every fiber of her being.  She wanted to sit with him?  Sure.  I'm thinking she just didn't want to sit on the last row.
The entire time SW was asking her seat mate to switch I was silently saying, "Yes!  Yes!  PLEASE say yes!!!" And then I silently did a little victory dance ... in my head .... when the lady agreed to trade.

I have no idea what happened next, but suddenly I felt like I was in "The Twilight Zone".  Because SW  had left her seat and then stood next to the woman sitting in front of D, and .... was asking if she'd trade seats with her!  What the what???

SW's seat mate looked a bit puzzled, but she asked the next woman again if she'd trade .... so that she could sit next to her husband.  I looked in front of me .... tried to peer between the seats ..... and there he was .... her husband .... in the row in front of us .... far from any Navy guy.  I must've turned into one of my other personalities while that whole thing went down, cuz I was surprised and a little dazed.

So the 2nd woman agreed and moved to the seat across from D, while the SW said, "Thank you.  I really don't know why I want to sit with him.  He lost our bag."  which is just what I was saying to D at that moment.
Then, having remembered said bag, she lit into him again.  He kept saying it wasn't his fault and just basically tried to ignore her.  Mother Teresa could not have ignored her.
Finally, about 30 minutes into the flight I heard him say, "Shut up!  Would you just shut up about that bag?!"
And she did.
Twenty minutes later she was cuddling with him, putting her head on his shoulder, kissing him on the cheek.

Ummmmm .... and I think I have alternate personalities??!

After that the love birds were quiet.
Until they realized that their bag had been lost, too.

Yee-haw!!!!  Never a dull moment.
Never!!!

Happy Sunday, Peeps.
:)

The Summer Saga ....

.... continues.

Let's see .... where was I?
Oh, yes .... we were boarding the USless (thank you, Mollie!) plane to go, eventually, to Destin.  We had to change planes in Charlotte.

So we slowly .... ever so slowly .... boarded the plane.
The plane with more p***ed off people than I think I've ever seen in one place.
Truly.
The topic of every row around us was how much US Air sucks.
It was almost sad.
Almost.

Funny, though.
The talk on that plane was NOTHING compared to the talk on the flight to come.
Who knew that an airline could p*SS off that many people in one day.
In one afternoon!

The flight was uneventful.
D and I chatted through most of it.
There was a fair amount of turbulence.
But I will refrain from blaming that on the US Air pilots.
I'm sure they catch enough flak.

We arrived in Charlotte with less than an hour to spare.
And we had to go from terminal E to terminal A.
And get something to eat.
It was a wee bit tight, but we made it.

We were huffing and puffing when we found 2 chairs.
We dumped our stuff and D went off to "powder her nose" (to those of you who've heard/used that phrase ..... how old ARE you???).
I sat down and tried to arrange D's bag so that I could put my much-swollen feet up on it.
And then I noticed the writing on the wall board.
The next flight was leaving in 2 hours .... not in 15 minutes.
And it was going to Cleveland.
Not Destin.

Now I certainly have nothing against the lovely city of Cleveland.
I've been there before,
Interestingly enough .... with D.
But we had packed for Destin.
Of course, my bag was being thrown into the dirty belly of a plane, so I wasn't sure I'd ever see it again, but still .... Cleveland?

So I got up and waddled over to the man at the gate.
He looked up and I said, "Ummmm .... Destin?"
Yes, that's exactly what I said.
I was still trying to compose my scathing email to US Air in my head, so I couldn't be expected to communicate on a high level.
Besides ..... those were evidently the only words he needed.
He pointed towards the opposite end of the terminal and said, "Gate 11."
That was all.
That was enough.
I think I said something like, "Crap!" and then ran back to our seats.

I managed to pick up all of our food, drinks, purses and D's bag (she got to take it on board because it fit underneath the seat in front of her .... after she stood on it, squashed it, and did some kind of dance on it.
Lucky D.
Anyway, I met her as she came back from the powder room ..... all 5'3" of me, carrying all of our stuff.
I somehow managed to point .... and say, through gritted teeth that I think were holding on to a purse, "Gate 11".
I don't think it actually sounded like "Gate 11" ..... it seemed to come out as "Ate heaven", but she got the gist of it.

So we ran all the way to Gate 11.
Which was much closer than we thought it was.
And immediately found out that our flight was now delayed ..... by over an hour.
Funny ..... the oh-so-helpful-US Air employee at the previous gate failed to mention that the "Destin" flight had been delayed.  Even when he heard me say, "Crap!" .... and knew that I was about to make a run for it.
Yet another oh-so-lovely less than helpful US Air employee.
Who didn't give a crap.

So we plopped down at Ate Heaven and proceeded to eat our stale, yet just-purchased airport over-priced sandwiches.
Thank God that the Charlotte airport has free wifi for their customers .... unlike the oh-so-welcoming Houston airport.
Don't get me started.

So we ate our lunch and surfed and Tweeted and read.
And finally saw our plane arrive.
One would think that when an airline has a flight come in almost 2 hours late, said airline would try to get all arriving passengers off in record time so as to re-load the plane with the next flight's passengers.  To try to make up for lost time.
Wouldn't one?
One would not be someone who had experienced US Air if one thought that.

At about ..... oh, I don't know .... an hour later .... we were boarding the plane.
And the amount of unhappy passengers .... oh my.
Of course, a huge rain storm had come into Charlotte while we were there .... but still.
Can't an airplane fly when it's raining?

To really top the day off .... to make a late, over-booked flight even MORE interesting .... USeless Air put us in Zone 3.  It seems there were many disgruntled passengers in Zone 3.
And here's an interesting point ..... as I walked down the aisle towards our row ..... which was only row 17, I slowly started to realize .... and yet hope I was wrong .... that row 17 was the last row.
You know, the row that doesn't have reclining seats.
The row against the restroom wall.
The row that nobody wants.
The row that we, indeed, were seated in.
God must've been laughing so much that His sides hurt.

We took our seats, D did her little squash-dance to get her suitcase underneath the seat and we breathed a sigh of relief.  At least we would make it to Pensacola.  We had started making plans for over-nighting it in Charlotte .... and Pensacola, since we didn't know how long the rain would delay our flight.

Remind me to tell you about the very loud lady who was ticked beyond belief at her husband.  She sat across from us, until she traded seats with another woman so that she could sit next to her husband (yes, the man with whom she was hugely ticked off).  She made it sound like he was way up front on the plane.  So I was secretly rejoicing on the inside.
The rejoicing was short-lived.
He was sitting in front of me.
She was very entertaining ..... for about 30 seconds.  After that she was just plain irritating.
But .... another time.

We made it to Pensacola ..... with nothing much going on ..... except the on-going harping of the woman in front of us.

We got off of the plane and headed towards the baggage area.
And then .... an uneasy feeling started trying to settle on my shoulders.
I kept shrugging it off, but it kept coming back.
It was trying to prepare me.

I watched all of the bags go around on the conveyor belt.
All of them .... except mine.
And the ticked off harpie from the row in front of us.
And a few other people.

Yes, I had arrived in Destin .... but my carry on/un-carry on .... did not.
Perfect.
Don't you think?
My much-needed carry on, which had been delegated to a non-carry on status .... had been lost.
Really???
I still don't understand how that can possibly happen.

Our friend L picked us up .... after we waited for the USless Air person to take my info for me about my bag.  Which evidently made it to Charlotte (duh!) but seemed to be circling in the atmosphere above that airport .... yet could not be found.

We went with L and her daughter and got something to eat before we headed to Destin.
It was well after 10:00 when we finally checked in to our hotel.
And then ..... we headed to WalMart.
Because there wasn't a Target in sight.
And Wallie World was open all night.
And I needed some toiletries .... and some clean, cute clothes.
I settled on "clean".

We were in Wal-Mart until 1:30 a.m.
And during that whole time I was composing my letter to US Air ...... and wondering if our attorney would be willing to put some weight behind it.
I'm sure he will ..... if I pay for his time.

So .... I think it was around 3 a.m. before I finally settled into bed .... in new p.j.s  I'd just bought at Wally World.
Which USeless Air had better pay for.

We shall see.

So that was my Saturday.
All in all, a good day.
I got to spend a lot of time with D.
I got to fly on an airline for the first ..... and last ...... time.
Lesson learned.

It is now 12:21 and my eyes keep closing, so I will end this never-ending" post.
Take care, Peeps, and enjoy the rest of your week.
D, L and I are getting up tomorrow and driving back to Houston.

Yes, you read that right.
Driving.
As in, spending around 11 hours in a car.
Not something I would usually choose to do.
Unless a friend suggested it and wanted the company to drive back home.

And so ..... here I am.
Getting ready to go to bed and then to wake up, pack the car and head out.

Hopefully we'll make good time.
One thing is certain ..... we won't have to run into any more USless employees.

Like Sand Through The Hour Glass ....

.... so are the white sandy beaches of Destin.

It's beautiful here.
And hot.
Quite hot.
So it's a good thing I live in south Texas and am used to heat and 143% humidity.

But the beaches are beyond beautiful.
And that is something that is never, ever said about the beaches in Texas.
Well, unless one loves brown sand ..... and water.
But hey .... at least we have a beach.
:)

My friend D and I flew down/over here on Saturday.
It was ...... hmmmmm, I'm trying to think of a good word here ..... (because you all know that I type as I think .... which would probably make for a very bad book) ..... let's say that Saturday was epic.
Yes, epic.
No, I don't know why I'm using that word.  It's not like that day was anything like a Cecil B. DeMille movie or anything.
No parting of any sea occurred.

But it seemed kind of epic in how many things could go wrong in just a few hours.
Nothing huge.
Just .... hugely irritating.
And frustrating.

It all started with our arrival at the lovely George Bush Intercontinental Airport (we down here still just call it "Intercontinental").
D and I had already printed off our boarding passes so we headed to security.
Where a woman who loves her job very, very much was waiting for us.
Yes, Peeps ..... that was dripping with sarcasm.

This woman, whom I will now refer to as UCF (Ultimate Control Freak) kept yelling out to all of the innocent people waiting in line, "Take everything out of your pockets!!  Wallets! Coins! Phones! EVERYTHING!!!"
She was the pocket gestapo.
I had no pockets so I just put all of my stuff on the conveyor belt and went through the simple security check.
D, however, was caught red handed.
And made to pay the price.

She carried, in her back pocket ....... are you ready?  It was horrible, really....  prepare yourselves ..........
her boarding pass.

Yes, she had a folded piece of paper in the pocket of her jeans.
And UCF was P***ED off!
To put it mildly.
D's family has no idea how close they came to never seeing her again.
It was kind of like a scene out of "Midnight Express".

She squinted at D and snarled (she may have even had a bit of spittle down the corner of her mouth) .... "Got anything in your pockets?",  to which D answered .... as she removed it and showed UCF ...., "Only my boarding pass."
That's when it seemed that UCF's head spun around.
And a demonic voice came out of her mouth.
(Why yes, I did major in Theatre .... why do you ask?)
"I TOLD YOU TO TAKE EVERYTHING OUT OF YOUR POCKETS!!!  Now you have to go through here!! ..... and she pointed to the new-ish security scan cubicle where some person sitting in a closet can see your inner-most thoughts .... and body parts.
D looked at her and said, "It's a piece of paper.  It's just a piece of paper."
I'm glad that I was in the other line, where all of the "good" people went and was busy putting my shoes on and my things back inside my bag or I would have surely been undone by what seemed to be D's imminent demise .... or imprisonment.
UCF snarled again .... only snarlier .... "I.  Said.  EVERYTHING!"
I think D may have muttered something about never having had to do that before, but I'm guessing that since she's sleeping in the bed next to me at the moment, whole and healthy .... she kept those words pretty quiet.

So just beware ..... if you ever have to go through security at IAH in the A terminal ..... the war lord(ess) of security works there.
Or maybe just a woman who longs to run up the corporate ladder .... all the way to the C terminal.
Either way, she's a very bitter woman.

After passing through there with all limbs and tongues intact (see: "Midnight Express") we headed to our gate to take what was ..... and would be ..... our first and final trip with US Air.
I'm not sure I have ever been through a slower boarding process in my life.
I think I could've stood in line, stepped out of line, caught a cab, gone home, made a loaf of bread, caught another cab back to the airport, gone through security hell with absolutely nothing in my pockets, and stepped back in line ..... before they were ready to board my row.
(Yes, a Theatre major .... quit asking me!)

US Air likes to call their row sections "Zones".
D and I were in Zone 5.  Out of 5.
Which means that we were totally screwed.
Even though we had seats in row 14.

Zones 1 and 2 got on the plane.
In about 30 minutes.
Maybe there was some test you had to take to get into Zone 1 and I missed that.
It must've been a test to prove you have the speed of a sloth.
And .... that you can take up all of the overhead space with your baggage ... or maybe just with lots of small articles.  Like bananas.  Or sweaters.  Or tiny backpacks.

Because before the first part of Zone 3 could even get on the plane .... the overhead bins were full.
And so they announced that everybody else ..... two thirds of the flight .... would have to have their bags checked.
And the grumbling commenced.
Because if you're like me ..... I pack a carry on to ..... oh, I don't know ....... CARRY ON!!  I had my medications, my Kindle, my toiletries, my make up ..... and my clothes .... in my carry on.  I did not want those things taken away from me.
But .... I got past that.
And we all waited ..... in now a much slower line, so that we could get the little gate-checked tags put onto our carry ons/un-carry ons.
But, as I finally made it to the front of the line I saw that they were not gate-checking our bags.  Nope, they were putting  baggage tags on them and checking them through to our final destination.
Only, they never announced that.
So ..... there was no time to grab the important I-don't-want-to-lose items out of our bags.
I managed to get my Kindle out of the front pocket, but that was it.  And then my bag was gone.
My nice, never-before-thrown-into-the-belly-of-a-plane-bag.

And it was at that moment that I knew.
I will never use this airline again.
As God is my witness ..... I, nor any of my kin, will ever go hungry ...... ummmmm ... wait .... (sorry, went a bit off there) ...... will ever fly US Air again.
And that was only the beginning.

Seeing that it is now 1:08 a.m. I am going to end this post.
And leave you wanting more.
Well, hopefully.

Peace out, Peeps.
And happy Tuesday.
:)

Kentucky Was ...

.... hot.
Really, really hot.

Now I realize that "hot" is a relative term of indicating warmer than warm temperatures.  And I realize that some people like to say, "Well, 110 isn't too bad here.  At least it's a dry heat."
What.
Ev.
Er.

I think that I can fairly say that I am a professional when it comes to judging whether the temperature is, or is not, hot.

And it was hot.
We were in Louisville and the high was in the 90's.
It's in the 90's in Houston ..... I thought Louisville would be an escape!!
Evidently it's been their warmest spring in quite a while.
I have great timing.

So our trip started off, as many trips do, at the airport.
As the Daughters and I were waiting to board our plane I noticed a woman standing near us who looked quite familiar.
I racked my brain ... which doesn't take as long as it used to since I don't remember much of anything, and then it occurred to me that she looked familiar because she look quite a bit like Beth Moore.  But not exactly.   Just a bit.
Her hair looked lighter in color and a little shorter.
Besides, if she'd been Beth Moore she wouldn't have been traveling alone.
And she would've had a really cute, expensive bag.

The girls and I were the first ones to get on the plane .... one of those tiny ones that you have to walk outside to get on.  You know, when you climb up the stairs and turn around and wave like you're the President of the United States or the Queen of England.
What?  You don't do that?!
Sure.

This woman was right behind us.  I leaned over the aisle (which was very easy to do since the aisle was only about 6" wide) and pointed her out to the girls and said, "She looks a lot like Beth Moore", mostly just to show them what Beth looks like.  They'd never seen her.
One of the girls said, "Maybe she is."  So I looked at her again.  And looked at what she was carrying.  She did have a cute bag.  In fact, it looked kind of "Brighton-ish",  which sounds very much like Beth Moore (at least, the Beth Moore in my mind).
She was carrying a note book, and a Bible, which of course should have been a clear indication, but I also knew that the girls and I were not the only females on the plane going to Louisville.  And the 3 of us were also carrying Bibles.
So I wasn't convinced.  She still didn't look exactly like Beth.
In my "before" days, I would've just sat back in my seat and started reading, still wondering if it was her.  And I would've wondered all weekend, but still doubted that it would.  I would NOT have asked her, because that would be way too embarrassing.  Especially when she'd say no.
But the "after" Janine kicked in and came up with a less embarrassing way of being humiliated.
I peeked over my seat and said, "Beth!".  That way, when she didn't look up I could just duck my head down and hope no one saw me do that.
But she did look up.
And she didn't say no.
She said, "Yes?" to which I blubbered .... "Are you Beth Moore?"
She smiled and said yes and I told her that we were going to the conference.  She asked my name and said it was nice to meet me and asked the girls their names and introduced herself to them.  We talked about some of the Tuesday night studies I'd been to, plus some of the studies I'd done at our church.  I told her that I had been on our church staff until recently.  I told her about our women's retreat in February and that it was the first time I'd ever seen/heard Priscilla Shirer.  She was delighted to talk about Priscilla and Kay Arthur and told the girls that she was so glad they were getting to see Kay, since she's like the .... Moses to the Christian women who came after her, to teach as well as study (and no, she didn't say the word Moses, I'm paraphrasing here).  Kay has been many a woman's mentor and Beth has a very high degree of respect and love for her.
We continued to chat until everyone got on the plane and then I told her it had been nice to meet her and wished her God's blessings for the conference.

So there you go.
And .... just in case you were wondering .... it turned out that she looked EXACTLY like Beth Moore.
:)

We arrived in Louisville right on time and the girls and I were met at the airport by one of my Peeps!  Hi H!!!!!!
No, we'd never met but when she read that I'd be in Kentucky she sent me an e-mail asking if I'd be anywhere near Louisville.  Turns out .... I was smack dab in Louisville.  So we set up a meeting in her busy, family-filled weekend.  I was so blessed to meet her and to spend a couple of hours with her.  We went to a restaurant that is "famous" for its "chili pepper wontons" or something close to that.  So the girls and I decided we had to order them.  After all, when you visit a city you should certainly try to eat something it's known for.  And they were excellent!!
After lunch H dropped us off at the hotel (Thanks again, H!!!) and we rested until it was time to go to the conference.
We joined 8,000 other people there.  They had a great worship team so we had lots of praise music and praising going on.  Then each of the women got up and said a little something.  They introduced themselves and said a little about themselves and past conferences.  When it was Beth's turn to get up and say "a little something", she talked about meeting me .... and the girls .... on the plane that day!  Oh yes she did!
So now we're kinda famous.
And I think Beth and I shall become BFFs.
:)

Kay spoke that night, Priscilla spoke Saturday morning and then Beth spoke Saturday afternoon.  The conference ended up around 4:30 and we headed back to the hotel.  Fortunately one of my good friends reminded me earlier in the week that her lovely daughter lives in Lousiville with her hubby.  So we got in contact and the two of them came over to visit and then took the Daughters out for dinner.  I begged off, saying I was tired, but I really wanted the 4 young ones to go out and have fun without the old lady. And so they did. :)
I had a nice quiet evening in the room, mostly reading .... and eating Chinese delivery food.

We left yesterday morning to return to the heat of Houston, which is mostly always hot.

My shoulder is doing better.  It still hurts and I still can't move it freely yet, but it's getting better every day.
Now, if I could just say the same about my joints.
I think my body has developed an allergy to traveling .... which is too bad because I'm not going to stop.
But my joints hurt .... a lot.  My feet started swelling and are still swollen, though a little less today.
It's hard to walk around, but it's worse to sit for a few minutes and then try to get up.
I'm SO MUCH FUN!!

I have an appointment next week to see the specialist.  I hope we hit it off .... because this will be a very, very long relationship (depending on how long I live, I guess).  I don't want to go doctor shopping so I'm praying that he's really good.

So that's it for now.
I hope to rest a lot this week before heading to Florida on Saturday.

And since Mondays are usually my "Monday Memories of What I'm Thankful For" .... I'll leave you with what I'm thankful for today.

*A great weekend with Daughters 2 & 3
*A fun conference with some amazing women of God
*Safe travels
*the chance to visit a neat city
*the blessing of meeting a wonderful Peep!
.... and even though it sometimes sucks .... I'm thankful for medical insurance and for people whom God has blessed to help others, medically.

Happy Monday, Peeps.
:)

And The Winner Is .....

..... getting ready to be named!

Got you there, didn't I?
You cannot be surprised by that fact.
Not if you've read my blog for more than a week or so.
Not if you know me IRL*.

First, before I reveal the big winner (really, Peeps .... don't salivate over this because I don't think I did that good of a job of finding something.  The pressure ended up being WAY too much for me.  Seriously.  How could I pick something for someone whom I've probably never met?  What if the winner is a man?  What if the winner hates what I choose?  See?  The pressure was freakin' HUGE (said with a heavy Scottish accent).  I almost could not enjoy the first few days of the cruise due to the pressure of finding the perfect gift.
Almost.
I mean really ...... do you think I'd let the pressure of choosing something totally ruin my Mediterranean cruise?!
I didn't think so.
Nonetheless ..... I still felt the pressure.
I think I felt it so much that I had to have 2 or 15 drinks every day.
I can't remember the exact number.
Don't judge.

Wow .... did I just digress there or what?!

So, back to what I was saying typing ..... before I announce the winner of said object(s) of humongous pressure .... I'd like to take a moment to shout out to all of the wonderful Lurkers (and to the rest of you) who came out of hiding to say hi (you greedy little lurker Peeps, you!).  :)

Hi to Mollie, who isn't a true Lurker as you've commented once or twice before.  And congrats again on being the first person to have the correct answer about our trip to hell and back to the oh-so-lovely  highly misleading excursion up the volcano of Santorini.
Very.  Very.  Misleading.
I cannot say who is to blame for that trip to Hell, but I think I can safely claim that it just might be someone who works for Celebrity cruise lines.
I will also add that yes, this excursion was included as an option on the Seaborn cruise, but I don't recall them extolling the virtues of it quite as strongly.  Though that could also be due to the fact that at the moment I saw the word "volcano" listed under the word "Santorini",  I had such a violent reaction that I almost threw the brochure across the room.

Wow #2, there I went again .... digressing.
I think I missed my Adderall dose this morning.

So hi again, Mollie and thanks for popping out to give a comment.

Hi also to Grandma Poppi, who is in no way a Lurker.  Don't worry, that's a good thing.  :)
I'm so sorry to say that I was not able to find a nice Greek, Croatian or Italian man to bring back for you.
Hell, I couldn't even find a mean one for me!
Thank you so much for your kind words about my blog and thank you for making comments.
I  LOVE comments.
(Do you think the true Lurkers caught that?)

LE ..... even though you try to be a Lurker, you are my sister-in-law and so you cannot be considered Lurkerish.  Nope.  Because I know you're there .... even though you rarely, RARELY comment.
Thank you for always reading.  Especially when you're reading it on your cell phone while sitting in my family room.  :)  Love you and thanks again and again for coming all the way to Texas to support Son #2 .... and me.

Alicia .... I don't consider you a Lurker, either.  I think you've commented a few times, and I read your blog regularly, so I don't feel that you're a true Lurker.  Thank you for reading.  And understanding.  :)

Anonymous #1 .... who was the 6th commenter .... thank you for coming out of Lurkerdom .... sort of.
Wait .... not "thank you" sort of, but "thank you" for sort of coming out.  You did not come all the way out, as you didn't post your name, initials or even your government-given Witness Protection Program name.  I'm so glad that you made a comment, but so sad that I couldn't put you in the pot to win since I didn't have anything to go on.  And if I picked someone who was totally "anonymous" ..... then most of my regular readers and I'm pretty sure many of the Lurkers would all lunge forward to claim that they had been that "anonymous person".  Not that I'm judging ..... but I think that's the kind of people that I attract.  :)
I hope you keep reading ..... and commenting.

OK ..... here's where you all witness the fact that I really do type the way I speak, as I think.    I rarely delete something I've typed that might be wrong, although I do correct it.  Just as I can't delete the words that have come out of my mouth, I don't delete the words that come out of my fingers.  Sometimes it makes for some humorous posts.  Sometimes it makes me look absolutely stupid.
As in this case.
I am going down the list of commenters .... mostly in the order they commented (except for Anna, who's getting my attention in a moment).  So I did not remember that Anonymous #1 really didn't remain anonymous, since she posted again immediately after the first post, giving me her initials.
Picture me ...... hanging my head in shame.
And now you know for certain that this is the way I write ..... very, very rarely planned out.  My fingers type the words as they come to my brain.
So .... a-hem .... Jo Ann C. ..... my wonderful friend, thank you so much for always reading and for always keeping up with me.  You mostly comment on FB, where my blog entries are also posted.
I love you.  :)

W .... where do I begin?  Thank you for always reading.  Thank you for having read for so long.  Thank you for letting me know how my honest rants and raves and very dark days have helped you and may have helped to prepare you for what lay ahead for you.  I treasure you.
Oh .... and thanks SO much for starting the whole "whorehouse" rumor ..... paybacks are hell, Honey.  :)

Roma .... thank you very much for coming out and commenting.  I hope that you will be able to check Greece off of your "to-do" list soon.  Thank you for living vicariously through me.  I hope you choose only the good parts.  :)

Heather .... you're right, you are not a Lurker.  You are a wonderful source of support when you comment.  Thank you very much.  :)   And I plan to come over to your blog later today.  Thanks for the invite!!

Anna .... as my naturalized niece, you, too, cannot be a Lurker.  But you come very close.  I suspected you read, but not as often as you do.  So that came as a wonderful surprise to me!  I love you and I hope that Hawaii is being wonderful to you.  :)

Hello Barbara .... it's nice to see your smiling face!  Thanks so much for coming out to say hi.  And thanks for keeping up with me.  :)

Cindy B from CA .... Hi!!!  California has such wonderfully nice people.  Thank you for your very kind words .... and for letting me know that you're there.  :)

Nat ... Thank you, my dear friend, for always reading and for always supporting me.  I love you.  :)

Andra ..... Hello!!!  It's so nice to meet you!!  And yes, you were very correct .... to say that I was "none too pleased" about the volcano trip is putting it very nicely.  And so ladylike.  Thank you for reading and thank you for letting me know you're here.  :)

Marcia ..... Of course you're a Peep!  Every single one of you Lurkers is a Peep, even if I don't know it.  :)   Thanks so much for popping in and saying hi.

RJ .... For someone who is most definitely not a Lurker, your addition of "seeing a donkey" was .... a bit off.  Not too far off because I did see a donkey .... or twenty.  But I totally mis-read your comment at first and thought you had said that I "rode a donkey".  My bad.
Thanks for being a consistent reader AND commenter.  I LOVE COMMENTERS.
Wait ..... didn't I write that earlier?
:)

Beth ..... you are not considered a Lurker .... at least not by me.  I know you're there and I'm grateful that you are.  Thanks for that and for the times you comment.  :)

Linds ... Yes, I do know you.  You've been here from almost the beginning and you've been in this horrible club longer than I have.  I love reading your blog and seeing how much you are enjoying life and what,  and who, it brings.  Thanks for being a great source of support .... especially back in the horribly black days that I don't like to think about.
And the weather was amazing while we were there.  It could NOT have been better.  It was like being in Heaven, I imagine.
And I, too, hope you can go to Camp Widow next year.  I wish you could come this year and am bummed that I won't get to meet you ..... yet.  But we'll work on asking God about that.  :)

Susan .... T.A.N.W. for the support you've given me and the encouragement.  Not just to keep breathing, but to keep writing.  I don't see you as often as I'd like to.  Not at all.  But I hope that you know that you and M are always in my thoughts and prayers.  I'm praying for him as he's gone and for you as you're single-parenting it for a while.  And for peace, strength, courage and God's love to surround you.  I love you.  Very, very much.

Bella ..... Hi!!!  So nice to meet you!  And thank you for not taking other people's answers.  As I said before .... I think many of my other Peeps just might think of doing that.  Heck, I would.  :)
Thanks for commenting!

Terryobx ..... Thank you SO much for posting!  I am humbled so much by the people who follow my blog .... and who have done so for a long time.  Yes, you are a Lurker .... or at least you WERE a Lurker.  And yes indeed ..... you are very much a Peep.  :)

Nlynch .... Thank you for letting me know that you're still here, my friend.  I love you.  :)

Raydene ....Thank you for commenting .... and for telling me how my life is helping you to help your friend.  That, after all, is what this blog is all about now.  I write totally for you.  For each of you.  For those who've been widowed, those who will be widowed, those who know someone who's widowed, and for those who just want to know what it's like so that they may, someday, be able to help someone they love.    Thank you again, for letting me know you're here.  :)

Chris ... You may think you're a Lurker .... but I don't.  Thank you.  Very much.  :)

Purejoy ..... You're definitely not a Lurker in my mind.  You, too, have been here for me from very early on.  Thank you so much for that.  :)

Wendee .... Hello, my friend!  And thank you for being honest enough to say that you commented just to get the prize.  Refreshing!  :)

SJE ..... Hopefully you commented only to look smart enough to know what Goodbye is in Croatian (so technically not Bosnian).    You cannot be a winner of the Greek stuff because .... you are my son and that would look terribly wrong.  And some disgruntled Peep might contact the FCC to complain of nepotism.  Not that I think of anyone in particular (W).  :)

Laura C ....Thank you for commenting .... and for remembering my trip last year.  This year no one stopped me.  Anywhere.  I was a bit disappointed.
:)


OK, I think that's everyone.  If I missed one of you, please accept my most humblest apologies and let me know.

There were 33 comments.  Those numbers were taken down and one number was chosen at random .... by one of my children.  I did not tell them why they were choosing a number, until after they did.

So ...... imagine a drum roll here ............

The Winner/Lurker/Commenter is ....................  RJ!!!!

And RJ is kind of a double winner because she kindly requested pictures of a Greek cookbook, which I complied with and will provide on this post.

So here's what you've won ..... again, don't get too excited .... and to the rest of you, don't be too disappointed:

I couldn't come up with one item, though I tried.  Again .... the pressure.
So I chose a sampling of items that represent Greece.
From the left ...
1.   A set of colored pencils from Corfu that are made from olive wood.
2.  A small bottle of Ouzo from Santorini, I believe.  If you like licorice ..... and alcohol,  you'll most likely enjoy it.  If, however, you are like me ..... you will most likely think what I thought (as I channeled my 16 - 17 year old self):  "Gag me with a spoon!!!"
3.  A package of sesame coated pistachio nuts (unshelled).  I really enjoyed these and brought extras home to snack on.
4.  A bar of olive and honey soap from Corfu.  It's very, very good for the face.  Gentle and great for cleansing and keeping wrinkles at bay.  For a while, anyway.
I have no idea what it does for already-existent wrinkles.
5.  A ceramic box-like-dish (box-like in that it has a lid) from Kotor, Montenegro.

So there you go ....  small samplings of Greece and Montenegro.  I hope you enjoy them.  Now I have to find a box to put it all in and make sure nothing breaks.  I will get this sent off this week (since I probably won't be doing much next week).

So please send me an e-mail with your name, address and zip.
You can send it to jeggerstx@gmail.com

And .... here are pictures of a few cookbooks I found.  I think it might be the first one that you were looking for, but just in case ... I threw in each one I saw.

I hope that helps.

Once again, thank you SO much to each of you who commented.  Thank you especially to you Lurkers.  I'm glad you took the time to let me know you're here, reading and silently supporting me.

I'm still asking for prayers ..... the sadness is still there,  kind of like a blanket laying underneath everything.  I think that when medical conditions arise, it just makes me more aware of how alone I really am.  The kind of, "If I died in my sleep how long would it take for someone to notice my absence?" or "If I were to slip and fall in the shower (God forbid .... please!) or start to have a heart attack, or even start choking ..... I wouldn't have a husband here who could help and keep me from dying" thing.  Not that I think about that a lot, because I really don't, but when medical stuff comes up, it's hard not to.
Ironically, if I'm in a lot of pain, I usually don't want anyone around anyway, but it sure is comforting and secure-feeling to know that a husband/significant other would be there anyway, just in case.

Thanks again, Peeps.  This was fun for me and I hope it was fun for you.
Have a great Monday/Memorial Day.
:)

*In Real Life

P.S.  I still have a few hundred pictures to upload and then go through more than 1,000 to edit them and get them ready for posting.
My computer is telling me that my iPhoto disk has very little room on it so I don't think I'll be able to upload very many until I can get my hands on a hard drive and move a lot of pictures over to it to make room.  I ordered one the week before I left on the trip from Amazon, but it still hasn't shipped.  Is it just me who finds that irritating?
So ..... that may be something that I'll be working on next week, as I'm recuperating from my surgery.  If so, it should prove to be pretty humorous, as I expect to be drug-filled for as long as I need to be.  So who knows what I'll write, or remember, about each picture.
I will also have the challenge of not being able to type with two hands .... so who knows what's going to happen or what's going to show up here.
Please know ahead of time that I am not holding myself responsible for what appears on this blog after 5:00 a.m. on Friday.

I'm Here ....

.... kind of.

I got home Tuesday night and was immediately exhausted and overwhelmed. I had 3 suitcases to unpack and lots of mail to go through. I unloaded 2 suitcases and left all of my clean clothes in a suitcase. It looked like my room and my bathroom had exploded. I do not deal well with chaos, or stuff all over my house.
Not at all.
You can ask all of my friends who helped out here when Jim died. I can remember one day (& I don't remember much of that first week) when I came out of my bedroom in a stupor (that's a given)and walked into the kitchen. The counters were covered with stuff, most likely food, lists of people who had brought meals and people who were bringing meals, messages taken from phone calls, items to get done before the memorial, etc. My brain wasn't functioning enough to realize all of that (also a given). All I knew was that my counter tops were very cluttered and I think I went a little nuts (you guessed it -- also a given). I think I announced, to no one n particular, that I had to have the counters cleared off. I cannot function when things are cluttered. Yes, I'm aware that I sound OCD. Don't judge.
I think the counters were cleared immediately .... because my loved ones love me so much .... or maybe they though I'd slash my wrists right in front of them. :)

So, back to my room and bathroom, which looked liked the suitcases had vomited up their innards. I was so tired that I just gave up, moved a pile of things over to the other side of the bed, and went to sleep. I cannot express how very, very uncharacteristic this was of me. Because it meant that I would wake up to face all of that stuff .... and I very much hate to wake up like that. Or walk into my house if it looks like that. So I got up, looked around me .... and promptly left the room, shutting the door behind me. In short, I was channeling Scarlet O'Hara.

I went into the kitchen to find Daughter #2 getting ready to leave for the summer. The day before was her birthday (& thus, Daughter #3s birthday. And being the FANTASTIC mom that I am, I forgot to call D3 and tell her Happy Birthday. That one is going into the mother-guilt vault that I (& most moms, if not all) have.
I started to fix a cup of coffee and then remembered that I was having blood drawn later and had to be fasting. Crap.

Then D2 left. Double crap.

I went to my 10:30 bleeding appointment. I then remembered that I needed to have blood drawn at a different lab for another doctor for my pre-surgery work (shoulder surgery next Fri to repair and remove a bone spur from my rotator cuff. Crap squared.) And so I did.
Triple crap.

I was hugely depressed by this time. So depressed that I cried in the car ... all the way to lab #1, hoping I could stop before I got there (I am an ugly crier and you can tell that I've been crying 30 minutes after I've stopped). Quadruple crap.

I kept telling myself,"You should be happy. You should be happy."
Nah, it didn't work.

So after the 6 test tubes of letting blood, I went back home. And sat down and tried to figure out what was wrong.

#1. I had read a blog that morning by a fellow widow and friend, announcing that she's engaged. Quintuple crap.
Not that I'm not thrilled for her ... I am. But I also wondered if I'll ever find someone to spend the rest of my life with.

#2. I miss Jim. Ad nauseum. To infinity and beyond. I wanted him here so I could tell him about my trip. So that he'd feel bad for my 6 test tubes drainage. So that he could be here for the Daughters' birthdays. And for Son #1's birthday tomorrow (his 21st). And so that he would be here with me, beaming as we watch Son #2's graduation this Saturday evening. Which also happens to be our 28th anniversary.

Then my depression made sense. Once again, my body and my emotions keep time very well, even when my brain does not. My body knows when the "important events" are coming ... and that one person, one very important person, will be absent.

In spite of my depressed state I set to work on the bathroom. And then the bedroom. It took me all stinkin' day .... because I'd get side tracked and start purging more stuff out of the closet and the cabinets and the shelves. I finally quit around 9:00 p.m., although I still wasn't done, but I had made a huge dent.

I felt better this morning, especially after reading an email from a friend who went on the cruise, telling me that she was really depressed that day. And her husband is alive and well!
I felt a bit more "normal" after that.
In fact, I felt so normal that I didn't freak about having no phone or Internet service (since yesterday afternoon, when we were promised that it would be working by 9 a.m. today).
Ummmmm ...... it's still not working.

And I didn't freak when I noticed that water was coming up from under my garage cement floor .... and soaking into the wood walls of our game room.
And that, my Peeps, is a God-thing. No, not the leak .... the fact that I wasn't getting hysterical. I just texted my "brother" and asked him what to do.
He gave me a name, I called the plumber and then waited to hear back from him telling me when he could come over.
He got here about an hour ago, saw the problem and fixd it in less than 5 minutes (clogged AC line). And then he wouldn't let me pay him. For all of my Peeps who live in my surrounding area .... his name is Scott Walters. He will always be my plumber now. :)

And now my room and bathroom are clutter-free, I'm on my third, of what appears to be six, load of laundry, and am watching Maria Sharapova getting her butt kicked by an unknown 17 year old at the French Open. I feel SO sorry for her (please know that my tongue is placed firmly in my cheek and those words are dripping with sarcasm). :)

I still miss him. I still want him back. I still wish this was all one hugely long nightmare, or that I'll awaken from a 3 and a half years long coma.
But it's not and so I continue to live. For both of us. For all 8 of us.
And continue to hope, and pray, that I might one day find that love again.

Happy Thursday, Peeps.
I'll be drawing a number tonight for the winner of my Greek gift. I know you're all just waiting breathlessly at your computers. Which means many of you need a life. :)
I'll also be working on my pictures so I can share some with you.

I thought this would be a very short post. A "I'm home but have nothing to say" post. Once again, my fingers proved me wrong.later, Peeps.
:)



P.S. I forgot to mention that after I got home Tuesday night, and ransacked my carry ons, that I lost my credit card on the plane. That's what I get for having 2 glasses of wine and then ordering a lot of crap items from the duty free catalog when I was half asleep. Sextuple crap.
I called that night to cancel the card.
And realized the next day at lab #2, when my credit card was rejected, that they had closed the wrong card. And I am now waiting for 2 new cards.
Septuple crap.

P.P.S. Please ignore the typos. It's not easy to write a novel post on a cell phone. Sigh .... the things I do for you .....
:)

P.P.P.S. Sharapova seems to be making a come back.
Octuple crap.

Ready or Not ....

.... ummmmmmm .... I'm choosing "not".

And here's why:
(Oh, and Son #1 came home Monday, to spend some time with me before I leave and to stay while I'm gone.  Isn't he great?)



  To put it bluntly ..... I guess you could say we've been torturing the cat:

You see, as I was purging the house I found a little OSU football jersey that we bought years ago for a much smaller animal (a dog).  I left it out and when the 2 of the Sons came into my room they saw it.  I tossed it to Son #1 and asked if he remembered it.  He chuckled and said that he did.  He asked what I was doing with it and I told him it would look good on the cat .... and then told him to try to get it on Oliver, though I doubted that he would succeed.

                 He does good work:

              But that good work led to this:

                  Which led to this:

  Which led to this (help me out here, does he look a little p***ed off to you?):

Yes, I can see that my bed skirt is a bit frayed.
Don't judge.

After a few moments he seemed to have recovered (at least enough to try and kill me with his green lasers of death):

Little did I know that he was forming a plan (and again, I hate to be a bother, but is he still p***ed?!):

                         Which led to this (look closely):

                       A little closer ......

                Well what do you know?!  He's a little smarter than I thought:

All of that is just an elaborate excuse for why my bedroom looks like this:

                          And this:

                           And this:

           And .... why my bathroom looks like this:

So .... yeah ..... I'm not ready.
Which is ok ..... since I'm not leaving until Saturday.
Morning.
Yikes!  That gives me 12 less hours than I had been thinking!

Wait ................................................. okay, much better.
That was me ..... waiting for the moment of panic intense stress to pass.
And I just noticed that "House Hunters International" is on ...... so I'm going to watch that now .....
and panic .... clear a space on my bed so that I can sleep on it get things a bit more organized later.

Because really ..... when I can find out how much it would set me back cost to purchase a home in lovely Honduras ..... why would I spend time panicking organizing?
I can always sleep on the couch.

Happy Wednesday, Peeps.
:)

And no, you may not ask me about the exercise ball.

;-)

Adios .....

UPDATE #2: Thursday, May 19th
Hi Peeps!
This comes to you from Corfu, our last port in Greece. Tomorrow we'll awaken in Kotor, Montenegro.
Yeah, I'd never really heard of it, either.

Kudos and lots of props to Mollie B, who was the firt person to answer my question correctly. "Do vidjenja" means goodbye in Croation. Good job, MB!

And Susan .... I have never been to a whorehouse (that I'm aware of). W has a wicked sense of humor. I can only think that she was referring to my watching of Daughters 2 & 3 in "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas".
Maybe.

As for behaving myself or, as Nat used to thnk, being a "rule follower" .... ha!
All it takes is for someone to tell me that I can't do something .... something inane that shouldn't be disallowed in the first place ... something you would never have thought of doing ... for me to want to go and do it.

For example .... yesterday we were in Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic games. Yes, it was very cool.
We went to the museum there, but before we went in, our tour guide had to give us a oouple of rules. And yes .... my radar went up immediately.
The first rule was "no flash pictures". Hey, I'm cool with that one. I understnd why that's a rule and I always follow it (but rarely, if ever, follow the "no photos rule". Yes, you may call me a "rebel".)

The second rule was this: no posing next to the pieces of art.
Ummmmmm ....
Seriously?
Of course I posed like a maniac.
Which is quite easy to do with an iPhone 4. It has a camera that turns around so that the person holding it can see and take pictures of themselves. So it looks like you're taking a picture of something in front of you when you're actually taking a picture of yourself or something behind you.
Totally cool.
And fun.
Especially when breaking stupid rules.

I'll post those when I get home, as well as the pictures of Greek cookbooks that I took today for RJ. I wasn't sure which one you meant so I took pics of all the ones I saw ..... About 35
or 40.
Really??!
No.
I jest. It was only 3 or 4.
:)

OK, that's all for now. Time to get ready for dinner.
Or get a drink.
The taking of vacations is very hard work, Peeps. :)

Keep those cmments coming. The posting of multiple comments (but different) might be counted, too.
And .... the item(s) in this giveaway may or may not include alcohol.
:)

Kaliniktata, Peeps.



UPDATE: WOW!!! Look at all of you coming out into the open!! I may have to do Giveaways more often! And rest assured, each and every one of you is a Peep ..... yes, even you Lurkers. :)
So tonight we are on our way to Corfu, another Greek island. We went to Santorini today. Kudos to those of you who remembered that Daughter #1 and I did indeed go to hell climb a stinkin' volcano last year on this lovely island. It was horrible. But, we survived and are better people because of it.
OK, so we're not really better because of it. I'd say we are a bit smarter .... we'll never climb a volcano again!

Keep the comments coming. You'll be so sorry if you miss out on my Mediterranean giveaway!
I'll continue to update here .... you continue to comment.
Do vidjenja, Peeps and happy Tuesday.
Extra points to the first person who translates that. One hint: it's not Greek.
:)



..... los Peepos.
:)

I'm heading out bright and early in the morning.  I'm hoping that I'll have spurts of internet while I'm gone so I can update once in a while and maybe upload some pics.

My mom and I are heading to Athens tomorrow and the cruise starts Monday.

Alas, this time I will not be trying to help Greece out of its economic nightmare.  I just don't have it in me.  I gave it my very best shot last year .... I really did.
But did I get even a postcard as a thank you note from Greece?
I did not.
My hugely heroic attempt to lift them out of the red was not appreciated.
Which is really unfortunate for them.
Just one teeny, tiny "thanks" from them ..... and I'd be going full throttle over there, buying everything I could haul and/or ship home.

So I shall turn my attention to Dubrovnik.  Or Venice.
Or Santorini.
Which ..... if any of you remember ..... was where I ............

Nope.  I'm not going to tell you.
Instead, I'm going to leave that as my question to you.
We shall see how many of you have been paying attention.
We shall also see if ANYONE reads this blog anymore.
Hello?  Anyone out there?
******** <------------ the sound of crickets chirping -------------->  **************

OK, if anyone is still reading, and remembers what Daughter #1 and I did in Santorini last summer, please post a comment.
Or, if anyone is still reading ..... and has no idea ..... post a comment.
Or, if anyone just started reading ..... post a comment.
That goes for all of you Lurkers, too.
If you lurk ..... post.

I will bring back something really cool for one of you.
No, I have no idea what it is ...... but it will be cool.
So post a comment and you'll have a chance to receive whatever cool thing I bring back.
I'll choose a number at random.
So yes ..... this is a Giveaway!
And an attempt to get most of you (because I know ALL of you Lurkers will not unlurk) to come out of the woodwork.

If you post anonymously please write at least your initials or first name in the comment.  I can't really pick someone who's totally anonymous, now can I?  I do not have Sucker written on my forehead.
(It might be written somewhere else, but it's definitely not on my forehead.)

So there you go, Peeps.
I shall return in a week and a half.
Unless I meet a really hot, rich, funny, unmarried man.

Stop laughing.
It could happen.

Happy Friday/Saturday Peeps.