Thanksgiving

Today was peaceful. Our sons were here with us and for that I am so thankful to God. I couldn't get out of my heart and mind though the sadness my sister must be feeling today as well as my brother and his wife. With cancer a person never knows which way is up and which way is down; or so it has seemed with my witnessing it first hand with mom and now Terry. Life is one big mystery. Anyhow, I loved having our sons here with us and couldn't help but wonder what their future would bring them as I sat and watched them sleep after dinner. When Jack and I were their age we had them and was on our way to, well, life as we know it today. I'm glad our sons didn't marry young. And if they choose not to marry at all that is fine with me too. It's their choice and I'm so thankful Jack nor I made them feel less than perfect because they haven't married yet. If it is God's will then it shall be. God gave us a grandchild but for whatever reason decided it wasn't the right time for this baby to come to us. He knows what He is doing and I trust HIS will. I grieved for our grandchild but I know that he/she is at God's elbow. I am happy about that. But back to my sister........I cannot, even in my most horrific nightmare, imagine my baby sis's pain. Michael we miss you. I miss you. Your mom knows no normalcy in her life any longer. She puts on a good face most days. It is hard for her to function normally. She fakes normalcy to please others.. Thanksgiving is a day for thanks. I thank you Lord for life. And love. family.

Trying to get everything in place to hit the road

We built our home over 10 years ago. Seems everything is starting to fall apart now in regards to the house. New stove, new microwave...waiting for the other appliances to take a trip down junk yard lane. Yesterday our gas grill bottom landed on the deck. Granted, it was old and well used but I do have a sneaking suspicion that our local raccoons had a hand in the mess we found out back. There was just too much crap under the bottom of the grill for there not to have been some help. Actually, I know they did it. I heard them out there about 2:00 a.m. and opened our bedroom drapes to watch them as they tried to gather some kind of dinner. But darn it, they looked so cute trying to climb their way up to the bird feeders. I say if I have enough to share with any person or animal then I am going to share. I just didn't think they'd tear up the grill while doing so. It was an expensive grill in it's day but it's day has long gone bye-bye. HUMMMMM!! I wonder if I let the little white eyed raccoons in the house if they'd do the same to the carpet......I want hard wood floors. I'm sick of carpet. Maybe one day after too many margaritas I'll forget to close the back door...New hard wood floors....Yea!!!! But new grill shopping today. And tonight if I didn't hear the raccoon's raising three shades of heck out side trying to get to the bird feeders!!! They did not like the new grill. I love animals and really don't mind the raccoon's helping themselves to the bird food...I just really did not want them tearing up the new grill. I pounded on the window to frighten them off and they (two of them) turned to look at me as if to say, "What? And we are bothering you how?" And it was business as usual. Again, I love all animals; Except for this white nose ant eater, actually an opossum who chases my little Sydney girl like she's tonight's entree'. And poor little trusting soul Syd who knows no enemies goes right to the opossum like it's her new BFF. It isn't until she is right up on it that I think her fear instinct kicks in and she gets the heck out of there. And me. I'm running down the back deck stairs like a crazy woman shooing the opossum. Jack wanted to buy me a b-b gun. I don't want to hurt any animal....I just don't want to have Sydney or Tanner end up any one's dinner. So I guess if it came down to it I'd have to kick the crap out of the opossum with my house slipper. And I would. Don't think I wouldn't protect my babies any way I could. Cause I would.

Jack's working life is coming to an end. Thank God.

Well, November 15th is fast approaching. That was to be R day. Submitting his resignation day. 26 years and he's had enough. He's planned for this day for several years. We've purchased the 5th wheel, his truck, the storage garage for the RV, paid off the house and made wise investments. We should be fine financially. It's the 24/7 thing that scares the hell out of me. We've never spent 24/7 together except for vacations so it will be very interesting to see how things go. At the end of a long vacation either he or I gets on the other's last nerve. Normally, it's me getting on his nerves. We've always been ready to get back home and back to work. To normalcy. We've talked about it several times realizing we'll need time to ourselves on a regular weekly basis. We both are looking for the same thing in retirement on the open road. Biking, hiking, relaxing, seeing new places, meeting new people and possibly going to places where we could help out in disasters. I'd love to take care of animals in need. Seems in disasters a lot of times it appears (at least what we see on TV) that the animals are ignored or put down by necessity.

Jack and I are both total animal lovers. If we could we'd have a house full of dogs and cats and a backyard filled with goats, chickens, cows and anything else we could fit in. But since we live in a subdivision that has a ton of regulations (few, by the way, that are followed) I'm pretty sure our neighbors would frown on a menagerie of animals in our back yard.

Back to the big retirement day. A whole new way of living. A whole new way of life. Going from a 3000+ square foot house, 5 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, 3 car garage, beautiful private wooded land behind us, to a small 5th wheel with 1 bathroom, 1 bedroom, 1 living area. No where to go during an argument....a cooling off place. I guess a brisk walk or a bike ride will have to be the cooling off place. Thank goodness we are keeping the house just in case two or three months on the road becomes too much. Jack and I are friends and the older we get the more, it seems, we can talk honestly to each other. We've vowed that we will be truthful and tell the other one if we need time alone. If we keep that vow to one another then I don't foresee any real problems that we can't solve together. I've just got to past the privacy issue. Sharing a bathroom is going to my biggest adjustment. We'll see how it goes.

I'll be happy to see Jack retire. He deserves it; he's earned it and he needs it.