Finally Autumn

Altho the weather here is not as Autumn-ish as I would like…still too warm….but thank goodness, the nights are nice and cool. But I so want to be in sweatshirts, cool air and lots of cozy stuff…does that make sense?

I had heard that this place(OD)is slowly dying….and I feel a little guilty since I haven’t been here for so long. I did notice how very slow it is tonight. Is that part of it? Or is it because, like me, we get so busy and don’t write?

I can remember when this site was somewhere I went every single day, often many times a day. I really loved it. I met people that I’ll never forget even tho they’re no longer here anymore. And then I look at my favs list (officially still on my “bookmark” list because I’m to darn lazy to move them to Friends list) and see other favorites…and all I want to do is see how they’re doing. It would be impossible for me to catch up w/everyone’s diary but I’d like to visit more often.

I’m so busy now…. I’m a busy grandmother, besides all the other stuff I like/have to do.
Nothing could make me happier. But Lordy, I get tired from the little ones and all the toys and contraptions that need to be put away and washed up after they leave. There’s even a little corner in the living room that looks like a mini Toys R Us. (Oh, how that would make my pristine mother roll in her grave!)
And then I’m done for the day….so nothing else gets done after they leave around 5PM.
My daughter’s new baby girl (2 mos old today!)is what I call Hell on Wheels……..exactly the same as her mother was at that age. I could say she’s a difficult baby…but that hardly makes a dent. Just like her mom, she’s only happy when sleeping or being held. Little stinker.
But it’s times like this when my daughter needs her parents so the 3 of us take turns holding, jiggling, walking with this little girl. All Day.

Her brother is two now and has the hugest hold on my heart. There is nothing I won’t do for him. Just watching him grow a little each time he comes to visit (which now is about 3 times a week) makes my heart melt. I just knew Grandparent-Hood would be great and begged my daughter and son in law to move close to us. I couldn’t bear it if I couldn’t see them often….I knew this w/my daughter….life couldn’t exist w/o her close to me.
I’m so grateful that we are two peas in a pod, like most of the same things, think the same (given the generation difference that always exists)and just enjoy being together. That’s pure luck. You can love your kids a lot but personalities sometimes just don’t mix. And as for more luck, I’m crazy about my son in law. He’s brilliant, funny, an amazing dad (not Father but Dad) and a wonderful husband for My Most Important Person.

Tomorrow it will be one week since we put down our (my)beloved dog…Gus. A Border Collie who needed a home 4 yrs ago. Once he knew this was his forever home, he was the best friend you could have. Always with me, always sad when I left, asleep in his bed right next to me, and always under my desk if there was thunder. He would have preferred to be on my lap but 70 pounds was too much.
I had never loved a dog this much before.

A couple months ago, he had his first seizure. Our long-time trusted Vet said Epilepsy. I read all I could about it so we could help him however we could. Seizures in dogs are caused by epilepsy or brain tumors. After a couple months as he just became worse, it was apparent that it was a brain tumor. Terry and I looked at each other last Sunday night when Gus couldn’t come up the stairs w/me to go to bed and his legs went out from under him and he cried for quite awhile.
We knew.
We could handle the constant pacing, the walking into walls, and not quite knowing where we were but there just comes a time when you know.
You just know.

I miss him horribly.
But I put the word out and I had no idea that I had this network of friends/acquaintances who all got together to find us a dog. The Rescue Woman (don’t know what else to call her) who brought us Gus, called that she has one that will be perfect for us and our other dog.
She’s good friends with the woman (another rescue-er)who gave us our other dog, Lacy. So far that sweet dog (Lacy)has lost two friends now. He got Gus because we knew our other dog at the time had cancer and his time was limited.
So we took a drive yesterady, met an over-grown gangly 7 month old mix of German Shepherd and Labrador….the same mix that Lacy is but they look entirely different. He’s all black and only 7 mos old.
Our other dog, Lacy, is 7 yrs old and loves to play but rarely got that w/her dog brothers here. She looks like a German Shepherd with a Lab face and personality.
The Rescue Lady will come here soon, work w/us to introduce the dogs and see if it’s a good match. What more could we want?

I know many feel the need to grieve for some time after a loss. I need to quickly fill that huge void and let my dear dog friend go in my mind, never my heart.

My husband, Terry, is doing wonderful. I may have written here how one day I sat him down and gave him holy hell for allowing himself to get sooo heavy and getting Diabetes Type II……It worked. Since November, he has lost 60+ pounds, works out, looks and feels wonderful. His doctor said maybe 20 more pounds and the diabetes will be gone. I’m so proud of him. What he has accomplished is absolutely amazing. I don’t know that I could do that. But what a difference it has made in his life. He was a wonderful man always but now it’s like he’s found a new delight in life and all that he does. And he doesn’t snore as much anymore!!!

Last night we went to a Halloween party and one of my old friends told me that I was the luckiest girl he knew. At first, I didn’t understand that but I think he’s right. I have been blessed and I need to remember that. I’ve always been the kind of person who focuses on my limitations and negatives instead of the good. But it’s not too late to change.