Down for the count..

2 more days to Kevin!! Can you even stand it??

Love

When it's not fun to be old.....

Yesterday was a very sad day for me. As you probably know, my Dad is going to be 93-years-old in a couple weeks. He has been in the hospital for a while with an infection and he was released to the "skilled nursing" part of his retirement home. And I am using the term "skilled" very loosely. He is currently living in this place as an "apartment resident". He is a private pay and has a pretty nice one-bedroom little place. No kitchen to speak of, but he has a regular nice refrigerator, a microwave, little kitchen sink - you get the picture.

Well - anyway, he is released to this other end of the home and I went to see him yesterday. He was in a double room, in the back of the room. He had a single bed and his wheelchair. Oh, and the use of the one little washbowl that was shared with the other guy. One single bed and his wheelchair and his container for soiled Depends and a laundry container. That's it. No drawer for his things, no place for his clothes, no space for his toothbrush. No light left on. And here is my Dad not able to do much anymore for himself - just sitting there waiting for me. I got there at about 8:15 a.m. I went down and got his mail at the apartment. I helped him wash up, I went back to the apartment to get his personal items so he could brush his teeth. We went down towards the dining room to sit in the sun and watch the news and see some other folks there. I had lunch with him and his friend, Charlie. We went back to his "room" and I had the aides there help him in the bathroom (which had no raised toilet seat and no adult wipes). I had them help me change his clothes and get him into bed. He didn't want me to go home. By then, it was 1:30.

This morning I called the nursing director and insisted that my Dad have a private room with a lounge chair and TV and that someone had to go down to his room and get his fluffy blanket for his naps. I also asked that she tell him that I would be back on Monday.

All I can picture is walking into that damn room and seeing my Dad, once a very vital, strong man just sitting in the back slumped in his wheelchair. I have not had a very good day today.

What happens to those folks who have no one to fight for them? No visitors, no mail, no phone calls, no fluffy blanket? They just lie there alone like all the rest of those people in my Dad's "skilled nursing" unit.

Love

I can hardly believe......

...that I did not tell you about our new baby. It's a boy! Born on January 6 - he's two weeks old already. He weighed 8 lb. 5 oz. and his name - are you ready?? - is Mack Wei-Ping. Isn't that just a fabulous name? It just sounds so perfect to me. He is a chunk of love. I will be going to Atlanta to see him on Feb. 13. I am so excited - he is, of course, a beautiful baby. His mother takes such perfect photos that you could just reach in and give him a squeeze!

His big brother is waiting for his Grandma so that we can play Uno and go for a walk together. I have to see what makes this kid tick. He is so adorable and so funny - I just love talking to him. He comes up with the most hilarious things - I can't wait to be with him.

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But wait!!! There's more!

Kevin will be home in 8 more days. 8!! His flight was set back to the 29th and he will leave for Germany, then North Carolina. Then he will rent a car and drive home like a maniac. The kids are going to somehow fly out the front door in a blink of an eye! That's how Jennifer will know he's home. She's just going to see an outline of the kids through the door.

Such excitement! Now we're talking! New baby for one, husband coming home from Iraq for another. It doesn't get any better, folks. It can even snow and be dark and ugly (oh - wait a minute - that's what it's doing now) and it won't bother me now. It can't get me down now. Too much happiness is showing through!

GO AWAY !!!

Love

Exhilarating

Barack Obama

Today is a beautiful day for us all!

The fun just keeps happening

Winter 2009
Originally uploaded by Mama Cissy60

This time last year I was in Mexico and getting ready for a month in beautiful Longboat Key!

Here is where I am now. Sunny Northeast Ohio. With back fat and facial hair. And nowhere to go.

Another day closer

25 Days

Now it gets harder and harder to wait!! We are so excited for our son-in-law's return!

Love

Happy New Year to all!

Do you have your list ready? Here we go:

My 2009 Resolutions

Do not miss Sunday Mass or a Holy Day of Obligation, even if visiting another city.

Appreciate Ralphy every minute of every day and show him much love and respect.

Try very hard to stop swearing like a drunken sailor.

Be of service to others at every opportunity.

Be very kind and patient to others.

Drum up even more love for my family - if that is even possible.

Try to be more organized and less scatterbrained!

That about sums it up, my friends. I wish you all many blessings.

Love

26 days

p.s. I peed my pants last night - there's yer sign....