Last night, I dreamed that I saw Mom.  I was shopping in a grocery store when I looked over and there she was.  She looked to be about 60-65 years old, dressed in very stylish clothes and wearing some super cute eyeglasses.  Mom was smiling so brightly at me.  I believe part of me knew that she had been dead but it didn't feel odd to see her there.  We were both so happy to see each other and while we were trying to make our way to each other, the picture started freezing and I woke up.  

I'll never stop missing her.  

March Madness

Howdy Stranger!  It's been a while since I last posted.  Let me do a quick recap.  

Rana's mom passed away in her arms.  After spending around 6 weeks in Syria taking care of her mom and then her mom's affairs, Rana is home.  

Dad came over to watch the Super Bowl.  This was HUGE!  Due to his health, he had not been to my house in many, many months.  Not only was he able to come over to watch the game, he walked up and down the stairs to our basement.  This is something he could not have done for well over a year.  

Did you notice that Balto is sitting in the chair beside Dad?  

Balto sees his groomer every 10 weeks.  She posted this photo on Facebook after his last visit.  

She made a whole 'nother dog out of his hair!  She also did this with a Golden Retriever that she groomed the day before with a post that it is now "shedding season".  

Mom's birthday (her first in Heaven) was on the 21st (February).  Dad and I ate lunch in Sun City with 2 of their very best friends, Joann and Jerry Stoker.  Later that day, I picked up some flowers that I had ordered for myself from a local florist.  

For supper, we ordered out Five Guys and had a special birthday cake for Nana.  She would have wanted her grandchildren to have cake!  Oh Mom, we miss you so much.  

Now that spring is here, we gave Blossom a much needed bath...

I had my first colonoscopy.  It's so true what everybody says about the prep being the worst part of it.  Thankfully, I don't have to do that again for another 10 years!

I love teaching Laura at church on Sundays.  

There you have it.  A very quick, yet boring, recap.  I promise to do much better next time!  

 

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

February is American Heart Month.  Seeing as how I'm an American, I should probably take the time to check in with my heart health.  Last year, after what I thought was a routine echocardiogram, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Diastolic Dysfunction.  This diagnosis was a complete surprise to me as I have no symptoms.  Two internal medicine doctors, one cardiologist and my Dad's doctor (a family friend), told me not to worry about it.  They said to eat a low sodium diet and try to get at least 30 minutes of cardio every day.  The cardiologist said he'd also like for me to begin a regular yoga practice.  

Clearly, the first thing I did was Google "Stage 2 Diastolic Dysfunction".  Immediately, I started to plan my funeral.  My doctors have told me that my 2DD is most likely from extreme stress and could possibly be reversible.  The internet tells me that I am in heart failure and things are going to get much worse.  I recently noted on my online health chart that my cardiologist listed "chronic diastolic heart failure" as one of my health issues.  I know that heart failure doesn't mean exactly what it sounds like; however, it isn't something I should take lightly.

My heart pledge as of February 9:

• TRY to get in 4 days of at least 30 minutes of cardio exercise.
• Make better choices when it comes to diet which includes eating daily fruits and vegetables
• Yoga and/or meditation most days of the week
• Be mindful and recognize stress
• Track my vitals regularly in a log 

Feel free to join me as I take better control of my health.  I plan to document my progress here on the blog. 

Random updates:

Rana is still in Syria taking care of her mom.  Shas made some major improvements; however, is still unable to speak and has a very long way to go.  

Dad is doing much better ever since his hospital release.

Blossom is still with us despite progression of her disease.  She is still as feisty and spunky as ever.  Also, this disease has not lowered her appetite one bit!  

Bread and Milk

It is snowing here tonight and for the third weekend in a row, I broke out my "bread and milk" socks.  For those who don't know, we rarely ever see snow in Charlotte.  It is a well known phenomena that when winter weather is forecasted, southerners clear the grocery stores shelves of bread and milk.  I guess we think that if we get snowed in, we can have milk sandwiches.  I'm so over this cold weather and I'm ready for spring to arrive!  

It has been quite a January.  Dad spent 11 days in the hospital for a UTI and then a heart procedure.  He is doing MUCH better; however, he is still pretty weak.  Thankfully he was given a room in a brand new 7 story hospital tower.  It had been open for less than a month.  The room was huge and even had a pull out bed.  If you have to stay at the hospital, you might as well stay in comfort.  

After waiting for 7 weeks, (hospital visit and then his stylist had Covid) Dad was so excited to finally get a haircut.  

I bought some new flowers for Mom's grave.  These didn't look as good as the last ones but they are strong enough to get through this wintery weather.  I have ordered a custom bouquet for the spring and can't wait to see them.  Life comes at you fast.  I had no idea this time last year that I'd be so excited over buying flowers for my mom's grave.  

My sweet Aunt Bobbie passed away this month.  Aunt Bobbie was married to my Dad's brother, Coy, for 69 years.  I didn't get to see her very much but we spent a lot of time corresponding via email over the years. She was always so encouraging and also a wealth of knowledge too!  I will love and miss her always. 

Dad told me that when Uncle Coy first saw Aunt Bobbie, he took one look at her and said he was going to marry that girl before he had even met her.  The rest is history.....

Love always.  

Merry Merry!

Only 6 more sleeps until Santa Claus comes!  I'm sure he is checking over his list at this very moment.  

So much has happened in the past month and yet, so little.  Deanna, Christy, Miranda and I met yesterday to plan the Parkwood High School class of '91 30th year reunion.  Technically, it is now 31 years but you know...Covid.  Afterwards, we ate at Emmet's Social Club which is in the historic old mill in Waxhaw.  It was a great day.  

Christy took this photo of me and when I see it, I see my Mom.  Is it just me? 

Yes, I'm wearing my "Go Jesus, It's your birthday" shirt.  I'm sure that is only funny to people over a certain age.  

I am loving wearing Mom's socks...

And...I even broke out one of her most favorite coats.  She wore this one all of the time the past few years. 

Scott received a 15 year service award from Charlotte Radiology.  They asked him to send in a photo of himself holding the award.  He wanted the dogs in the photo.  Blossom obliged.  Balto had places to be. 

Deanna, Christy and I went to Waxhaw for a fun afternoon of food and shopping.  Miranda was supposed to join us; however, she was under the weather. 

For your photo viewing pleasure, I recreated my infamous (only to me) crawl across the Waxhaw Bridge during a 1978/79 class field trip to the fire station.  I was the only one in Mrs. Crawford's kindergarten class who was too scared to walk across.  I stayed in the back and crawled the entire way across.  My teacher assistant, Mrs. Hemby, and another student (Reagan Blythe) stayed with me.  

Mom's grave marker is in.  It is close to what I wanted except that the dogwood is just too large.  I wish it were smaller to look more proporationate to the cross.  I hope Mom would approve.  

There were so many things I wanted to say on the marker.  This like how she was the best mom & grandmother ever, her favorite Bible verse, that she and Dad were married 62 years.... I didn't.  The marker wasn't big enough to do her justice.  

Some photos of Laura just because.....

Daniel is still spending a lot of time with Dad.  He likes to sleepover on the weekends and now that he is out for Christmas break, he will be staying over a lot, I'm sure.  One morning I went over to wake Dad up and and I found this in his room.  This is so my Dad...

I hope that everyone is having a happy holiday season.  Work has been busy and Dad has been, well, Dad.  We have had a trip to the ER, the doctor and even a sigmoidoscopy.  He is a full time job on top of my full time job but I wouldn't change a thing.  Well, I wouldn't hate it if he married a Nurse.  LOL.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy day after Thanksgiving Day.  I hope everyone had a day of good food and lots of thankfulness.  The heart of my family is no longer with us physically but due to the way she raised us we were able to move forward and have a great day.  I thought I had forgotten my phone so I didn't get any pictures to show you.  

Last week, Deanna and I visited UNC Charlotte to do a little Christmas shopping for the kids.  

I was so surprised at how large the campus had grown!  We had a great time exploring the grounds and seeing how beautiful it had become.  Sometimes it seems like I might be the only one I know who didn't graduate from UNCC.  

While working with Laura, I found out she had a surprising new school I didn't know about.  

What a glorious surprise!  Rana met with Laura's teachers for her IEP meeting this week and she has met all of her goals this semester.  How exciting; we are so proud! 

Wednesday, I received an email from Gaulden Monuments that the cemetery marker for Mom (and Dad) is in and will be placed on Tuesday.  I feel excited and nervous.  I'm just not sure that the design is exactly what I wanted.  On the rendering, it wasn't how I had pictured it in my head.  I hope that I love it.  I hope that it looks ok.  There will be pictures next week.  

4 weeks until Christmas, here we go!