Eye Candy Friday

Being the scatterbrain that I am here lately, I couldn’t find my camera for Jamie’s birthday party. So, sorry, no pics of them bouncing in the bounce house, nor of them demolishing the piñata. However, Julie D., mother of Jamie’s friend Spencer and all-around SuperMom, brought her camera, in addition to baking this awesome cake. Jamie LOVES Mars Mission Legos. So she made this cake, crafting it to look kinda like Mars. Then they assembled and placed his Lego presents on the cake as the cake toppers. Pretty cool, no?

Been a Little Too Busy to Blog..

Sorry about that.  There have been so many things that needed my immediate attention that it was too much to have to come up with blog posts, too.  I’m still up to my armpits in things that I have to do VERY VERY SOON, plus now I have homework on top of it, so this will neither be a particularly lengthy post, nor a particularly well planned one.  This is mainly some snippets of thoughts and experiences I’ve had over the past two or so weeks.

·         At Dad’s funeral, I found myself suddenly in the middle of that Mary Tyler Moore Show episode where Chuckles the Clown dies and Mary & friends wind up snickering the whole way through his eulogy.  When the military honor guard began the flag folding, with all its ceremony and reverent stroking of the flag, all I could think was “I will love him and pet him and call him George,” and consequently couldn’t stop laughing.  I held it in as best as I could, and everyone assumed I was shaking because I was sobbing so hard.

·         There is sweet irony in the fact that my father, who could be quite racist at times, was buried on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.  His Presidential Certificates of Honor for his service in the military will also be signed by President Obama.  This is funny for two reasons – the obvious aforementioned personality trait, as well as the fact that Dad was very VERY Republican.

·         Don’t get me wrong.  I love my father, and am sad that he will never see my son grow up.  But still, the previous items are funny, yes?

·         I realized today that I will be the first person in my immediate family to get my bachelor’s degree, and yet neither of my parents lived to see it.  At least Jamie’s shining face will still look out at me from the crowd when I receive my degree this December.

·         Speaking of Jamie – the issue about which I had e-mailed some of you (and had been consequently passed on to others in a prayer/good vibes/etc. chain) seems to be getting better.  Drastic steps wound up not being necessary, but steps are being taken to alleviate the situation in a manner agreeable to us both.  If you got the e-mails, hopefully you know what I mean.  If you didn’t, hopefully you can’t guess.  No offense to anyone, but I’m trying to protect some privacy issues here.  If you know what happened, and are confused about what the heck I mean here, e-mail me, and I’ll fill you in.

·         I also have realized that I am now an adult orphan.  Not sure how I feel about this – or at least, I can’t put the feeling into words.

·         Dad’s dog is proving to be a major pain in the butt.  Haven’t decided what to do about him yet – take him back to the rescue organization, or keep him and try to acclimate him to our expectations?

·         Work is going well.  I’ve had some major productivity, thereby lessening the stress on me.  Yay!

·         School is already spanking my butt.  I’m taking four very challenging classes this semester.  Ay yi yi!

·         While most of my friends and family are hunkered down in cold, snow and/or ice, I’m enjoying temperatures in the mid-60s today.  Yes, I miss snow.  But I sure as hell don’t miss winter storms!  J

Thankful for My "Momma"

Momma Tooz leaves bright and early tomorrow morning to journey back to Kentucky.  Please pray that she has a safe and easy journey back home - in the air, while waiting and transferring planes at her layover, and while driving back to Georgetown from Louisville. 

 

I am soooooo thankful that she came down.  Tooz may not be my momma by blood, but she’s been a mother to me for many years now.  I felt stronger and more settled during all this ordeal just knowing she was here, knowing she was available for a quick hug, an encouraging word, or even a bit of parenting advice on how to handle an active boy with ADHD who is acting out a bit because he misses his Papaw.  I felt more calm and able to handle stress better knowing she was here.  I am grateful that she came down, and am grateful to her family for “loaning” her to me.  Thank you, Momma Tooz!  We love you great big bunches and are going to miss you when you leave tomorrow.

Dad's Gone

I got a phone call from the hospital this morning at ~11:40 a.m. that Dad had died in his sleep.  At least he isn't in pain anymore.  Please keep Jamie in your thoughts and prayers, as he's taking this pretty hard.  Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and kind words as we've dealt with this.

 

 

He Knows... But He Doesn't

We went to see Dad tonight. He was the most talkative and aware he's been in a long time... and yet, he wasn't. See, Dad was chatting with me, holding my hand, telling me he loves me. Then he stopped in the middle of a sentence with a puzzled look on his face. Then he said, "You know what? You remind me of somebody I met sometime. Yeah, you look like my daughter. She's a pretty girl like you. I haven't seen her in a while." Then he dozed off for a minute. When he woke up, he knew who I was again. But then he asked, "Who's the kid?" He meant Jamie. When I said that that's my son, he looked again and said, "Oh. Have I met him?" I'm really glad Jamie had on headphones and was listening to music and didn't hear what Dad said.

As we were getting ready to leave, Dad looked me in the eyes and said, "I know I don't have much time left. I'm not going to live long." The he said something to the effect that he didn't want to spend his last days in the hospital, and I had to tell him he had to stay because he was very sick and I couldn't take care of him like he needed. He started to cry, and said, "Please please please take me home." I held his hand for a minute while he dozed off, then he woke back up and said, "You're a nice girl. Come back and see me sometime."

I will, Daddy. For however long you have left, I'll keep on coming back to see you.

Too Drained to Post Much

This has been the week from hell. Even on a "full" night's sleep, I'm tired when I wake up in the morning, tired as I trudge through my day and attempt to get everything done, tired when I fall into bed at night.... then I can't fall asleep because my brain won't shut the hell up.

Dad is not legally competent to sign over power of attorney to me. Can't get access to his bank accounts, bills, or anything until I get guardianship. For which I have to get a lawyer. Which I cannot afford. I've got a call in to the JAG office at Lackland AFB (where Dad received most of his medical care prior to now). They were closed today, but I'm going to pester them first thing Monday morning. In the mean time, there are bills that need to be paid, and I discovered that someone had gotten hold of Dad's debit card number and had charged thousands of dollars to Pocket Communications over the last two months. I was able to get the bank to cancel the card and turn it over to the fraud department. Other than that, I can't do anything legally until I have guardianship.

Jamie is out with friends tonight. The house is halfway quiet. Think I'll go take a nap for a while. More when I'm in the mood to post.