I made it through another first. The first Jackson family Christmas shindig since Rick died was last Saturday at Angie and Ryan's house. The house was beautifully decorated and the tree was standing tall in the corner complete with ornaments and lights and a ton of presents under its branches for the children. The presents were ripped open with glee and paper and bows were flying through the air......that was all normal. What was not normal was being without our Santa. He was the man in the Bah Humbug Santa hat that handed out the presents in years past and watched with delight as his grandchildren destroyed the house as they opened all their gifts. I think that I was possibly in denial during the evening get together. Denial was much easier with Ricky and Beth and Bradley and Ella not there and Chad not being there either. It was easy enough for me to picture Ricky and his dad sitting at the restaurant throwing back a few beers before plunging into their Christmas Shopping! They were simply late and had forgotten the time and had asked Chad to join them. Yes, that made it easier somehow.
De NILE is not just the name of a river. Sometimes it is how we get through the day or week or season.
Mine was a short trip to Louisiana but I was fortunate enough to get to see my two granddaughters, Delaney and Madelyn, perform in a production of "Babes in Toyland" at the Young Actors Theatre in Slidell. They were so precious. On Sunday I got to enjoy the "Saints" football win with Jason, Mandy, Fe'de and Glen at Clay and Monique's house. The brats were great! Sunday night I spent with Keri and Chad and the boys and Jake. It is always fun for me to get to spend the night in the camper. Monday I went with Keri and Chad to check out their new property purchase in Central. Very Cool.
I got back home on Tuesday night and have unpacked, done laundry and tomorrow I will repack for the second phase of Christmas with family. I will drive to Arkansas on Saturday for our annual gift exchange and dinner with my mom and my cousins and aunt and uncle on Christmas Eve. I am not sure how long I will stay I can't really say I am excited about these holidays because they are painful but I am excited about seeing mom and my family. How long I stay depends on the weather since my expert driver is gone.
Someday I will learn how to insert pictures and music into my blogs and maybe then they won't seem so depressing. I am planning to learn a lot of new stuff in 2008. I now have a new laptop so that will inspire me ;-)
Love to all of you and your families during this Christmas Season!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Happy Birthday Sweetheart
Today is December 11, 2007. It is yet another first that the kids and I have to get through. This is the first December 11th that I have to look to the heavens to say "Happy Birthday Sweetheart". I have no doubt that on this day for the rest of my life I will repeat this gesture.
Today was a beautiful day that started out with me calling my son, Jason, and wishing him a happy birthday. He turned 34 today and I am so proud of the man he has become. I wish I could have hugged him today and made him a cake or something but he is in Houston and I'm not.
My friend, Glenda, asked me to go with her and a group of friends on a road trip today. It was unseasonably warm and gorgeous outside (75 degrees.) Our destination was "The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery" in Hanceville, Alabama. I felt such a quiet peacefulness come over me as we walked over the grounds. Maybe it was the stillness of the countryside and the absence of cell phones ringing, radios blaring, and the hustle and bustle of everyday life lost in the sound of wind blowing and birds singing. I lit a candle for Rick and said a prayer for strength to go on without him. I miss him so much. Cancer just Sucks.
As I am getting ready for the trip to Louisiana for Christmas with the kids I can just hear Rick say, "How much more crap do you think will fit under that tree?" "I think Kohl's is having a sale...SURELY you need something else for those grandchildren" and then he would grin. I am almost positive I heard him whisper in my ear while I was doing my retail therapy, "Honey, I think you NEED to buy that robe for yourself to keep you warm". (I never could argue with that man!)
I bought the robe.
No more offers on the house yet. It has been shown a few times in the past few days and apparently there are people still out there looking for a house like this one. I will keep you posted if anything develops. I am awaiting results on another Radon test to compare it to the first one to see if I need to take any action or if there even is a problem. Meanwhile I am enjoying my Christmas tree and outside lights. It was a struggle but I got them up and working. The whole neighborhood is lit up for the holidays. It all looks so nice for the holidays. Just one thing missing........
Today was a beautiful day that started out with me calling my son, Jason, and wishing him a happy birthday. He turned 34 today and I am so proud of the man he has become. I wish I could have hugged him today and made him a cake or something but he is in Houston and I'm not.
My friend, Glenda, asked me to go with her and a group of friends on a road trip today. It was unseasonably warm and gorgeous outside (75 degrees.) Our destination was "The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery" in Hanceville, Alabama. I felt such a quiet peacefulness come over me as we walked over the grounds. Maybe it was the stillness of the countryside and the absence of cell phones ringing, radios blaring, and the hustle and bustle of everyday life lost in the sound of wind blowing and birds singing. I lit a candle for Rick and said a prayer for strength to go on without him. I miss him so much. Cancer just Sucks.
As I am getting ready for the trip to Louisiana for Christmas with the kids I can just hear Rick say, "How much more crap do you think will fit under that tree?" "I think Kohl's is having a sale...SURELY you need something else for those grandchildren" and then he would grin. I am almost positive I heard him whisper in my ear while I was doing my retail therapy, "Honey, I think you NEED to buy that robe for yourself to keep you warm". (I never could argue with that man!)
I bought the robe.
No more offers on the house yet. It has been shown a few times in the past few days and apparently there are people still out there looking for a house like this one. I will keep you posted if anything develops. I am awaiting results on another Radon test to compare it to the first one to see if I need to take any action or if there even is a problem. Meanwhile I am enjoying my Christmas tree and outside lights. It was a struggle but I got them up and working. The whole neighborhood is lit up for the holidays. It all looks so nice for the holidays. Just one thing missing........
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