Happy Mother's Day...

This year was the first Mother's Day I have spent with BOTH my children since I can't remember when!

We are getting ready to move into our 5th wheel camper full-time next month and are thinning out our possessions.  Michael came down from West Virginia for the weekend to pick up the things he wanted.  Along with my dining room and some bookcases, he surprised me by asking for china and silver and loved what he termed my "retro" Corning Ware!

Rebecca, Davis, Katie and Jackson came up for one day to visit, so I had a house full...and loved it!  The kids ran wild, explored every nook and cranny, made a fort under the staircase with blankets, took the dogs on a walk around the pond and worked on crafts for Mommy's Mother's Day gift.  I cooked a nice dinner for everyone...the pork tenderloin with apricot glaze was really good, if I do say so myself ;) but have to admit the asparagus were a bit overdone.  In her exuberance pointing out which slice she wanted on her plate, Katie knocked over my beer...right into my lap!  No big deal...clothes wash. It was an exhausting day, but I enjoyed having all that vitality and activity in my house.

Katie gave me a lovely Mother's Day card that she created on the computer.  Then Jackson handed me his, pointing out: "That one's made on the computer, this one is handmade."  They are both proudly displayed.  Just love those kids so much.

While he was here, Michael fixed Jack's smartphone and introduced us to the wonder of connecting our computer directly to the TV.  So cool to see everything on a 46 inch screen!  Apparently I can even download movies to my laptop and watch them on TV.  He left us an HDMI cord and may have created a monster!

I was surrounded by the people I love most, my children, my grandchildren and my Jack! It was a wonderful weekend and the best Mother's Day! 

Catching Up...Part IV

Summer was devoted to Jack's medical issues and to my learning a new job and adjusting to being in the workforce again.  Then came September...

As Jack was waking up from his emergency cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal), I got a call from his sister Mardell...with bad news.  Jack's younger brother, Robin had been found dead at his home in California.  He was 51.  I hated having to tell him that.  As more details emerged, we learned he had been murdered!  (details here)  Stabbed seventeen times!  It was horrible.  Two weeks after Jack's surgery we flew out to California for the Memorial Service.  I think Jack needed to be with his family at that time.  It was a nice service and a good family gathering but we were exhausted.  We flew out and back in less than forty-eight hours.  Not something I want to do again!  Talk about jet lag...

In Novemeber we had tickets to a race in Charlotte.  Bought them and made reservations months earlier.  We were almost too tired to go and might not have, had we not already had the tickets.  While there we visited Concord Mills, a huge outlet mall.  We were looking in a jewelry store (a favorite pasttime of mine) and saw a lovely solitare at a great price.  Jack asked me if I wanted it.  I said "of course" and asked him if he knew what it meant.  He said he did.  I told him he hadn't asked the question...so he proposed right there in the jewelry store!  I'm so glad we went to Charlotte!  Oh...the race was fun too.

 

Novemeber rolled right into December...and Christmas...and color coordinated casts for Katie and Jackson! 

 

Just before Christmas, Jackson experienced his first broken bone.  He was racing Katie on his scooter and got his foot stuck...as he put it, "The scooter stopped and I didn't."  He flew over the top and landed on his right arm, fracturing both the radius and the ulna.  Damn, that must have hurt!  He said, "I tried not to cry, but I screamed."  My poor sweet boy.  At the same time, Katie has been experiencing pain in her right heel.  Turns out the growth plate is inflammed, a rather common occurence among athletic children (Sever's Disease).  It goes away when they stop growing.  In the meantime, resting it helps the pain, so Katie's right foot has been in a cast for the last few weeks to let her heel rest.  The hope is that when the cast comes off, the pain will be gone...and not come back.  Hope so!

 

That catches us right up to the present...awaiting the New Year. I am sure there are all kinds of things I've missed and lots of topics I could explore, but for now this will have to suffice.  Until next time...

2011 Comes To An End...

Wow!  Haven't written in a long time!  It is the day after Christmas - the holidays are coming to an end - weeks of shopping, cooking, decorating, wrapping are all over.  Nothing left to do but take down the tree, ring in the new year and forge ahead.

The holidays were...well, holidays.  Spent Thanksgiving at Susan's (Becca's mother-in-law) as we often do.  It was good...except Jack was coming down with something (and stayed sick for a week) and I, apparently, offended Susan (unintentionally) with an offhand comment on Facebook!  I emailed an apology, but never received a response, so...who knows?

Made a visit to Greensboro to see my brothers on the fifteenth - mainly to celebrate Glen's turning sixty.  We had a nice birthday celebration and a nice visit - even got to see Ciera perform in a gymnastic meet.  Then I fell.  I was shopping with Ciera and my foot hit a place where the cement was uneven...and I fell flat on my face!  My left cheek is swollen, bruised and abraded.  Also ended up with a break in my pinky right where it joins the hand!  It hurts...a LOT!  Thank goodness it's my left hand!  Face is improving...the hand is in a splint for 6-8 weeks.  It's only been a little more than a week and I'm already sick of trying to do everything with one hand!

Katie
 in costume after a performance

Christmas was good - and a bit special this year as it was Jack's and my first Christmas together as a couple.  We went to two theater performances.  Katie was in her first play - How The Grinch Stole Christmas - she was a wonderful Candy Cane Who!  It was put on by a Youth Perfomance Theater.  Jackson liked it so well he went to three performances - one with Mommy and Daddy, one with his Grandpa, and one with Jack and me!  The same weekend, after a nice dinner at the Front Street Brewery, Jack and I went to see the Santaland Diaries at City Stage at Level 5.  I always love that show and it was a great production!  Jack had never seen or read it before and really liked it.  We had a great time.

We had a nice Christmas celebration with Becca, Davis and the kids at Lee (Davis' dad) and Karen's on Christmas Eve.  They always have a nice Christmas Eve party...and make fabulous chili!  Christmas Day was Doug's turn for Christmas at Becca's, so Jack and I had a quiet Christmas up at his place in New Bern...which is soon to be my place too!  Yes...we're moving in together the end of January!

Starting a new life in the New Year...        

Trick...or Treat?

I went trick or treating with Katie and Jackson last night - just like I do every year.  It has pretty much become a tradition; I've missed only one Halloween - in 2007, when I had to rush to Pinehurst because one of my parents had been hospitalized.  I don't recall whether it was Mom or Dad as it was a frequent occurence for both in their last years.

Katie was a Zombie and Jackson was the Pirate Jack Sparrow.  Every year I've found myself calling out "be careful" dozens of times; this year I didn't say it even once.  They just seemed so much older - going from house to house, staying with the group, waiting for the others when necessary, even using umbrellas when the rain came -lots of excitement and no meltdowns!

My ex came to see the kids this Halloween and was already at their house when I arrived.  As I walked in, Katie came running up to me, shouted out "Grandma", leapt into my arms and gave me a big hug!

She then quietly whispered, "Would you like to see your used-to-be husband?"

I'm still trying to come up with a reply!