My first ever, and possibly last, Christmas news letter

I walked out of work this afternoon, and for the first time this year, it felt like Christmas. Not the tree. Not the shopping, or wrapping. Not the making of goodies. But the shedding of work. The weight fell away as I walked across the street. I am off the next four days. I only work 24 hours the rest of the year. Ahhhh. 

While I'm speaking about work. I will mention my first gratitude. Yes, my job is stressful and I spend a lot of time annoyed by it, but I am thankful for my job. I work in a reasonably safe environment ::cough, sniffle:: I am paid well. It is not physical labor. I am too old for that shit. :) 

Age. An inescapable fact of life. Every 5 years, it seems, I am more aware of the changes. I have slowed down, just a bit. The parties are fewer, less rough, and end earlier. I consider myself relatively healthy, especially compared to the charts I read every day. The last 14 months have left me feeling a little picked on. I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis/Disease in October 2016. I only had to try 2 medications, to find one that agreed with me. I hear that's unusual. I'm grateful, because I don't always do well with medications. In May of 2017, I was diagnosed with diabetes. No big shocker. After all, both of my parents were diabetic. It only took me 6 months, to get my numbers back to normal. Here is hoping I can maintain it. Controlling diabetes isn't very easy for a lot of people. I have lost several friends to that battle. This month, I was diagnosed (I am beginning to hate that word) with Monoclonal B Cell Lymphocytosis (MBL). My bone marrow is broken. Could have been leukemia. Might still be leukemia, in a year, 10 years, 20 years. One side of a number on a lab value, I have MBL. A few numbers higher I have CLL. I am grateful for MBL. It could have been worse. Don't have to treat it currently. I still feel fine. I've had more than my share of doctors. I have RA, DM and MBL. I don't need any more letters. 

My family grew this past year. My oldest son got married and I gained a daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Daughter-in-law still sounds so strange to me. I. Am. A mother-in-law. As in most things, I do not plan on being stereotypical. Or like my Mom. I want a good relationship with her. So far, so good. We will soon be celebrating 38 years of marriage. I wish that for my son. My two oldest grandkids started a new school this year. They are living with us full time now, with their Dad. They are doing so much better. They seem happier. I want so much for them to grow up secure and happy. I am grateful for my family.

I have extended my family over recent years by adopting, and being adopted by, friends. They have given me a strong network of people that I care a great deal about, and that I believe care about me. I am so grateful for everyone of them. They have changed my life in immeasurable ways. 

Oh yeah, I forgot, the purpose of these things is to brag. Right? My granddaughter made Student of the Month at her school. :) I went to Colorado this summer. I was amazed by the Rockies. They make the Smokey Mountains look like green hills. We returned to Mexico. I think that was our 9th year, as the passports expire in May. Not ready to stop yet. We're thinking of going to the Dominican Republic next year. I am so grateful that I can travel, even if not that far. Yet. Maybe one day, I'll make it to Italy, Spain or Greece. I am grateful for friends that go with, or open their doors to me. 

I look around the world, and I see all the things I have to be grateful for. A roof over my head. A bed to sleep in. Hot running water. Climate control. A running car. I know I am forgetting something. I have so much. I look at the gifts under my tree and I am so happy to be able to have something for everyone. We take so much for granted. Nothing is guaranteed. Hug your family. Have lunch with a friend. Take a trip. Take a nap. :) Count your blessings. Be a blessing. If you have made it this far, I am grateful that you care enough to read my words. Happy Holidays. Merry Christmas. Happy Yule. Happy Hanukkah. Happy New Year. Be happy. Bring love and joy to all that may cross your path. BE THAT ANNOYING, HAPPY ASS, PERSON. 

I'll quit being sappy now. 

P.S. I am not grateful that my text is so small. :(

Someone died today

I did not know them. Not the first death I have experienced. Not the most traumatic death, either. It wasn't up close and personal. I wasn't involved. But this one struck a chord for some reason. For some reason, it was shocking. As we get older, death becomes closer to us. We become so much more aware of our mortality. The human body is so strong and so very fragile. Dying can take it's time. Death happens between 2 heart beats.

Hurricane Ike and the 2008 Louisville Wind Storm

There have been several conversations, in different places, about when Ike came through Louisville and all the damage it caused. I was surprised that I didn't recall that. After a little digging in my memory and this blog, I realized why. One, it wasn't 5 years ago, as someone suggested. It was 2008. September. Now, I remember all the broken trees. All the blocked roads.

From The National Weather Service: On September 14, 2008, the remnants of Hurricane Ike combined with a cold front crossing the Ohio Valley to cause extremely strong surface winds to blow through the region. Hurricane-force wind gusts in Louisville felled countless trees and power lines. At one point, 60% of LG&E customers in the Louisville area were without power, with some folks to remain in the dark for up to a week. 

Unfortunately, four fatalities occurred in the area due to falling trees and limbs.

Scientifically, this phenomenon resulted from very strong winds around 3000-6000 feet above the ground (50-80 mph), i.e., a low-level jet associated with and ahead of the remnants of Ike, being directed downward to the surface as surface heating (due to some sunshine) resulted in steep low-level lapse rates (temperatures decreasing rapidly with height from the surface to the level of these maximum winds). Such lapse rates allowed winds aloft to mix down to the surface causing the strong, damaging wind gusts. This phenomenon typically is common with severe thunderstorms, although in this case, there were no thunderstorms at all associated with the strong winds.

My Mother's dying wish was to have Christmas before she passed. It was pretty obvious that it would take a miracle for her to live until December. So we planned Christmas on September 14th. A tree and wrapped gifts, all arranged. 75 mph winds tore trees down all over town. Early Christmas was cancelled, and her health declined. She died October 11th. So now, I remember why a hurricane coming through Louisville wasn't a big memory for me. 

Book Words

If life was fair, we wouldn't invent so many religions. ~ Beautiful Sacrifice by Elizabeth Lowell

April Fools

Tomorrow is April 1. I actually woke this morning thinking it was April Fools' Day--I shaved 1 day off March somehow.

Anyhow, I lay in bed last night reminding myself to be extra dubious today. I mentioned this to my husband this morning--it was actually him who told me is was not April 1st--and he said, you don't have to worry about me, that was your Dad. And how right he is. Dad adored a joke, and a good April Fools prank, better, but the very best was an April Fools prank on his dear only daughter. He would get me a couple of times, then nothing. Just long enough for me to let my guard down. Then BAM!

Most of those pranks have faded from my memory. Except one. I guess I was middle school age. I was home alone. Dad called from work and asked if I'd seen the hot air balloons. I hadn't. He said, run outside and look. I did. No balloons. Back in the house, you have to remember this was when phones were still attached to walls, I tell him, no balloons. He runs me back and forth a couple of times, surely they are there by now, he says. Well, they're coming your way, he says, a bunch of them. So I hang up the phone, and go outside watching for the balloons. Shortly later, he arrives home (I'm still sitting outside) and asks, did you ever see those balloons? No, no balloons. He laughs and tells me, happy April Fools' Day. He got so much enjoyment out of it. Every single time.

Not traditional

My son is getting married in May. I am very happy for him, that is not always a given. The wedding is semi-formal? The bridal party is wearing cowboy boots and the men in black cowboy hats.The bride asked me today for suggestions for the mother-son dance. I suggested, Momma Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys. Maybe I could make it through the dance without crying and it would be humorous. I told the bride that the song really was my son's choice, from what I read online. She said, he hadn't even known we were supposed to dance together. I explained that we weren't big traditional type people. She laughed and said, that's what he said.

We'll see what they decide on.

No Invitation

I did not get invited back to an event that I attended the previous year. It bothered me a lot, but probably not for the reasons you think. I was worried that an invitation was sent, that I did not receive. Therefore making it look rude that I had not responded. I was worried that I had said or done something to upset the host. A host I would not want to hurt. I was concerned that something had happened, that maybe I got blamed for. In other words I have been beating myself up. But the only way to solve the problem is to ask the host, putting her on the spot, which is rude. If she chose not to invite me, that is her prerogative. I just don't want it to be because I inadvertently offended. I won't be offensive trying to resolve the issue.

I'm stuck.