It has been a good anniversary day with no sadness in my heart. I think that is because I have been babysitting Zane this week and a 2 year old gives you very little time to dwell on anything outside of playing, giving hugs and kisses, and just plain having fun. And I was able to attend one of Todd's T-ball games this week. (Boy, would his grandpa Ed be proud of the way he plays baseball) And of course, spent time with my Kyle (such a big guy now) and little C.
45 years ago today I said "I do" to someone who cannot be here today to celebrate this day with me. I miss Eddie every day but time has a way of making sadness and grief less intense. Don't get me wrong, there are moments when my heart aches and I would love to turn back the clock and have him with me again. But life is not like that. There are twists and turns. Along with happiness will come sadness. But then happiness again.
Even though Eddie could only stay with us for a short time I am so very glad to have had him in my life. If only he could have lived long enough to see all our beautiful grands. He would have been as a great granddad as he was a daddy to my girls.
Was looking at the moon tonight and as always I think of you Eddie. Good night and sleep tight love. You will always be in our hearts.
March 26, 2010
February 3, 2010
Memories of my Uncle Max
I was saddened today with the news that one of my favorites has passed out of this life. Even though I am sad I am also happy to know that he will no longer have to suffer with the physical aches and pains. I understand he had told his family that he was just tired.
I have wonderful memories of Uncle Max. He is my daddy's older brother and was another father figure to me. While growing, up our family and his would gather every Saturday night at Nanny and Peepaw's (my paternal grandparents) for family supper.(Shoe string french fries......I am sure my older cousins remember that) Uncle Max was a barber and also affectionately known as the "candy man". He brought a bag of candy with him every Saturday night for all the kids.
My heart goes out to Aunt Beth. She has been a devoted wife to Uncle Max for so many years. It's hard to lose your soul mate and one you have loved so much for so long. My cousins have given such devoted care to their daddy for the past few years. My prayers are with all of you as you travel through this sad time.
We continue to lose our family members one by one. Growing old is a fact of life and we all have to face into it but it is SO HARD. Now there are only 3 siblings left in my daddy's family. I have also been thinking of him, Uncle Haurice and Aunt Frances tonight as I know they are feeling sorrow and loss.
Sending big hugs and much love to all my family tonight.
I have wonderful memories of Uncle Max. He is my daddy's older brother and was another father figure to me. While growing, up our family and his would gather every Saturday night at Nanny and Peepaw's (my paternal grandparents) for family supper.(Shoe string french fries......I am sure my older cousins remember that) Uncle Max was a barber and also affectionately known as the "candy man". He brought a bag of candy with him every Saturday night for all the kids.
My heart goes out to Aunt Beth. She has been a devoted wife to Uncle Max for so many years. It's hard to lose your soul mate and one you have loved so much for so long. My cousins have given such devoted care to their daddy for the past few years. My prayers are with all of you as you travel through this sad time.
We continue to lose our family members one by one. Growing old is a fact of life and we all have to face into it but it is SO HARD. Now there are only 3 siblings left in my daddy's family. I have also been thinking of him, Uncle Haurice and Aunt Frances tonight as I know they are feeling sorrow and loss.
Sending big hugs and much love to all my family tonight.
January 5, 2010
Welcome to Year 2010
2009 seems like a big blur. Wasn't it only yesterday I was trying to remember to write 2009 on my checks and correspondence? There are many highlights from last year and I think I have touched on each one in previous posts.
The first weekend of 2010 was spent at home in Marathon. After arriving late on Friday night (didn't bother turning on water) I awoke Saturday morning to no water in the house. Checking on it I found a broken valve, a water meter full of mud and it was COLD outside. It is an understatment to say that the people in the Keys are a special lot. I called 3rd Generation Plumbing at 7:30 and by 8:00 there were two plumbers at the house to check out the problem. In the meantime the supervisor had called FKAA and about 15 minutes later two people arrived from there. Even though FKAA did not have the responsibility to do the repairs, Steve took the time to do so because he had the pipes and fitting that were needed. What a great guy. Problem solved.
On Saturday afternoon I got a call from the Tennessee folks who were to arrive on Tuesday. It was 14 degrees and snowing where they live so they got of Tennessee early and arrived at Quiet Water on Sunday afternoon. I think they brought more cold weather with them as it has been bitterly cold in Clearwater (and the Keys) since Sunday.
Makes me sad to know that I won't be back home again until April, but it also brings me relief there is someone staying in the house and I don't have to be concerned about maintenance for a while.
My wish for all is a happy, healthy, safe and prosperous 2010.
The first weekend of 2010 was spent at home in Marathon. After arriving late on Friday night (didn't bother turning on water) I awoke Saturday morning to no water in the house. Checking on it I found a broken valve, a water meter full of mud and it was COLD outside. It is an understatment to say that the people in the Keys are a special lot. I called 3rd Generation Plumbing at 7:30 and by 8:00 there were two plumbers at the house to check out the problem. In the meantime the supervisor had called FKAA and about 15 minutes later two people arrived from there. Even though FKAA did not have the responsibility to do the repairs, Steve took the time to do so because he had the pipes and fitting that were needed. What a great guy. Problem solved.
On Saturday afternoon I got a call from the Tennessee folks who were to arrive on Tuesday. It was 14 degrees and snowing where they live so they got of Tennessee early and arrived at Quiet Water on Sunday afternoon. I think they brought more cold weather with them as it has been bitterly cold in Clearwater (and the Keys) since Sunday.
Makes me sad to know that I won't be back home again until April, but it also brings me relief there is someone staying in the house and I don't have to be concerned about maintenance for a while.
My wish for all is a happy, healthy, safe and prosperous 2010.
December 27, 2009
HOLIDAY IN FORT MYERS
My trip to Ft. Myers last Wednesday had me bringing Ashley & Carolena home from the hospital. Nary a gift in the car so the scurry began that afternoon with a visit to Edison Mall. I don't like that mall much....I think I am spoiled by the ones in Clearwater/Tampa. Christmas Eve, Zane and I spent a few hours together shopping at Toys R Us and other stores and then I visited a favorite shopping spot, Bell Tower Shopppes, in the afternoon. Marathon wrapping session later all the gifts were wrapped and under the tree.
Christmas morning dawned early (well not really dawn yet) as Kyle came into my room about 3:30 in the morning whispering that Santa had been and gone and left a bunch of "stuff". I made him get back in bed and wait until 5:30. Right on the dot he tells me it's time to get up and "that went by fast". All the noise woke Todd and then they work mama & daddy. We exchanged gifts here and then I was off to Paige & Phil's house to open presents with them. So much fun watching the kids enjoy their Santa gifts. So glad I have 4 little ones to visit on Christmas. So much fun to see Christmas all new through their eyes. BTW, for all my Gator pals, Todd got a Gator football outfit from Santa. Can I just tell you how cute he looks?
We had a wonderful Christmas dinner prepared by Paige. In fact we had the leftovers here at the Long house last night. Paige, Ashley and I had a fun afternoon shopping at Coconut Pointe. It was nice not to have to worry about cooking........I was really tired. Thank you Paige :)
Ashley had her hernia repair surgery today and I think it was a little more than she had expected. She is really sore and has gone to bed for the night and I hope she can rest well. But all went well with the surgery and the doc feels it is a permanent "fix". Kevin took Miss C to St.Pete today for a follow up check and an echo. The fluid is almost GONE and they are backing off some of her meds. Thank the good Lord. So all is all a day of good reports.
Looking forward to the long weekend to celebrate a brand new year 2010. Here's hoping that this coming year will bring health and prosperity to all my family and friends.
Christmas morning dawned early (well not really dawn yet) as Kyle came into my room about 3:30 in the morning whispering that Santa had been and gone and left a bunch of "stuff". I made him get back in bed and wait until 5:30. Right on the dot he tells me it's time to get up and "that went by fast". All the noise woke Todd and then they work mama & daddy. We exchanged gifts here and then I was off to Paige & Phil's house to open presents with them. So much fun watching the kids enjoy their Santa gifts. So glad I have 4 little ones to visit on Christmas. So much fun to see Christmas all new through their eyes. BTW, for all my Gator pals, Todd got a Gator football outfit from Santa. Can I just tell you how cute he looks?
We had a wonderful Christmas dinner prepared by Paige. In fact we had the leftovers here at the Long house last night. Paige, Ashley and I had a fun afternoon shopping at Coconut Pointe. It was nice not to have to worry about cooking........I was really tired. Thank you Paige :)
Ashley had her hernia repair surgery today and I think it was a little more than she had expected. She is really sore and has gone to bed for the night and I hope she can rest well. But all went well with the surgery and the doc feels it is a permanent "fix". Kevin took Miss C to St.Pete today for a follow up check and an echo. The fluid is almost GONE and they are backing off some of her meds. Thank the good Lord. So all is all a day of good reports.
Looking forward to the long weekend to celebrate a brand new year 2010. Here's hoping that this coming year will bring health and prosperity to all my family and friends.
December 4, 2009
Quiet Water in December
I am in the Keys this weekend and as always it feels good to be home. The trip down tonight was uneventful and I am glad I am going to be here instead of Clearwater this weekend. The weather here is WARM. When I left Clearwater today the outside temp was 64 degrees and it was raining. When I arrived here @ 9:30 pm it was 79 degrees and there is a full moon and lots of stars in a clear sky. Love it!!!
This is a bittersweet weekend for me in that it was 12 years ago this weekend that Eddie and I came home here for the last time. He died that weekend. Even though I still miss him every day I can always be thankful that he was here when he died in the place on earth that he loved the most. I do regret that our girls were not here but having said that I am also thankful they do not have the scary memories from that night. It took me a long time to get past those memories. That's the bitter part of bittersweet.
The sweet is that I love being here. It is home for me. When I am here I can feel Eddie's spirit everywhere. At first after he died I was not sure how I would feel coming down here .... most especially when I was by myself. I have found I feel safe and at peace. I love sharing our home with family and friends.
I feel in my heart that Eddie is out there somewhere looking out for us.
AND, as always this is the SEC Championship game weekend. GO GATORS!!
This is a bittersweet weekend for me in that it was 12 years ago this weekend that Eddie and I came home here for the last time. He died that weekend. Even though I still miss him every day I can always be thankful that he was here when he died in the place on earth that he loved the most. I do regret that our girls were not here but having said that I am also thankful they do not have the scary memories from that night. It took me a long time to get past those memories. That's the bitter part of bittersweet.
The sweet is that I love being here. It is home for me. When I am here I can feel Eddie's spirit everywhere. At first after he died I was not sure how I would feel coming down here .... most especially when I was by myself. I have found I feel safe and at peace. I love sharing our home with family and friends.
I feel in my heart that Eddie is out there somewhere looking out for us.
AND, as always this is the SEC Championship game weekend. GO GATORS!!
November 7, 2009
This time of year...........
For the past few years I have gotten so very blue at the first hint of cooler weather. It would just all of a sudden hit me in the gut. Maybe when I was walking out of the office building at the end of the day, or maybe when I got to the apartment, walking for exercise, or maybe at Quietwater. The hit was never predictable. Finally I have figured it out. The cool weather is a precursor to the month of December. There are so many joyous things about this time of year that I concentrate on them really hard but the blues sneak in no matter.
Someone once told my oldest daughter that her daddy would not want her to be sad that he is no longer here with us. She responded by saying......he most certainly would want me to miss him. I feel the same way. It has been almost 12 years since Ed died in December 1997 and there are days when I ache from the hurt of missing him. I have to think the more a person touches your life the more you miss them when they are gone.
Here are some things I appreciated about Eddie:
1. He was a kind man. Especially a soft touch when it came to kids
2. He was an honest man
3. He made me laugh at his antics as much as he embarassed me at times
4. He made life fun and an adventure
5. He encouraged me to reach for my goals
6. He was a good daddy to our girls
7. He was passsionate about football which I have always enjoyed
8. He tolerated my love of cats
9. He just held my hand when sadness or frightening things came into my life
10. He kept me grounded (at least most of the time)
11. He learned to love my Alabama family as much as they loved him
12. He arranged private lessons for me to learn to scuba dive
13. He taught me about boats
14. He made it possible for us to travel and see so many places
15. He had the dream that became Quiet Water
16. He loved me
I hope with all my heart that he knew these things. I think he did. We always had a good laugh when we teased that we met and got married so young that it was a good thing we liked each other when we grew up.
My promise to his memory is that I will make sure all our grands will hear stories about him and see pictures so that they will have some idea what a good person he was. He would have loved all our grands and spoiled them rotten given half a chance. I just so wish he could have lived to see Ashley and Paige find the wonderful men in their lives. He would have loved Kevin & Phil and they would have enjoyed knowing him.
The holiday season is here again and it will be the 13th Christmas without Ed. That blows me away sometimes. At times it seems only yesterday I had to say goodbye. But I have said all that to say this: I know I am blessed. I count those blessings every day. With life comes happiness, sadness and all the emotions in between. That's what makes it life. If I had never loved then I would never have felt so sad to lose that love but then I would never have had the joy. So, even if the holidays are bittersweet it is still my favorite time of the year.
Someone once told my oldest daughter that her daddy would not want her to be sad that he is no longer here with us. She responded by saying......he most certainly would want me to miss him. I feel the same way. It has been almost 12 years since Ed died in December 1997 and there are days when I ache from the hurt of missing him. I have to think the more a person touches your life the more you miss them when they are gone.
Here are some things I appreciated about Eddie:
1. He was a kind man. Especially a soft touch when it came to kids
2. He was an honest man
3. He made me laugh at his antics as much as he embarassed me at times
4. He made life fun and an adventure
5. He encouraged me to reach for my goals
6. He was a good daddy to our girls
7. He was passsionate about football which I have always enjoyed
8. He tolerated my love of cats
9. He just held my hand when sadness or frightening things came into my life
10. He kept me grounded (at least most of the time)
11. He learned to love my Alabama family as much as they loved him
12. He arranged private lessons for me to learn to scuba dive
13. He taught me about boats
14. He made it possible for us to travel and see so many places
15. He had the dream that became Quiet Water
16. He loved me
I hope with all my heart that he knew these things. I think he did. We always had a good laugh when we teased that we met and got married so young that it was a good thing we liked each other when we grew up.
My promise to his memory is that I will make sure all our grands will hear stories about him and see pictures so that they will have some idea what a good person he was. He would have loved all our grands and spoiled them rotten given half a chance. I just so wish he could have lived to see Ashley and Paige find the wonderful men in their lives. He would have loved Kevin & Phil and they would have enjoyed knowing him.
The holiday season is here again and it will be the 13th Christmas without Ed. That blows me away sometimes. At times it seems only yesterday I had to say goodbye. But I have said all that to say this: I know I am blessed. I count those blessings every day. With life comes happiness, sadness and all the emotions in between. That's what makes it life. If I had never loved then I would never have felt so sad to lose that love but then I would never have had the joy. So, even if the holidays are bittersweet it is still my favorite time of the year.
September 29, 2009
It's Been A While
It's been a very busy, hectic few months to say the least. I was traveling a lot until just before Carolena was born and have been trying to lend as much help to Ashley & Kevin as I can since August 19th when our little cutie pie made her debut. Amidst all the doings we celebrated two birthdays: Kyle and Paige are both Virgo babies. So far I think our family has managed to keep daily life as normal as possible all around. Paige, Phil and I are always sitting on ready when/if help is needed at the Long house. So far Carolena has been surprising "balanced" and was able to come home after only a week at ACH. I know Ashley and Kevin are under major stress and my heart hurts for them but when I look at that sweet baby girl I just melt. Counting blessings:
1. Carolena was born and didn't have to have immediate surgery
2. She came home after only 1 week in the hospital (no one expected it so soon...)
Aunt Paige shopped and stocked up the nursery for the homecomeing
Uncle PG came over and set up the co-sleeper so our little angel would have a
place to sleep
3. Ashley is doing well and healing (getting skinnier every day!)
4. Kyle & Todd just love their baby sister and I can already tell they are going to
be WAY over protective of her
5. Ashley got to be home for the boys' first day of their new school
6. Ashley got to be home for Kyle's birthday/ Paige's birthday
7. Neighbors and friends have been wonderful....sending over food so that no one
has to worry about preparing dinner
8. Carolena is doing the pooper thing so it looks like her intestinal problem is at
least stable. There will be surgery for that sooner than later :( But it's
necessary and she will be in good hands
9. Support and prayers from family/friends (and many others even though they don't
know us personally) has given us strength
10. Having God on our side to watch over my newest angel as well as her family. He
promised that he would not give us more than we can handle. He will be there
at our side always.
Note to my kids: I am so blessed to have each and every one of you in my life. It's the hard times that test us. With love and patience we will endure. I thank God every day for all of you.
1. Carolena was born and didn't have to have immediate surgery
2. She came home after only 1 week in the hospital (no one expected it so soon...)
Aunt Paige shopped and stocked up the nursery for the homecomeing
Uncle PG came over and set up the co-sleeper so our little angel would have a
place to sleep
3. Ashley is doing well and healing (getting skinnier every day!)
4. Kyle & Todd just love their baby sister and I can already tell they are going to
be WAY over protective of her
5. Ashley got to be home for the boys' first day of their new school
6. Ashley got to be home for Kyle's birthday/ Paige's birthday
7. Neighbors and friends have been wonderful....sending over food so that no one
has to worry about preparing dinner
8. Carolena is doing the pooper thing so it looks like her intestinal problem is at
least stable. There will be surgery for that sooner than later :( But it's
necessary and she will be in good hands
9. Support and prayers from family/friends (and many others even though they don't
know us personally) has given us strength
10. Having God on our side to watch over my newest angel as well as her family. He
promised that he would not give us more than we can handle. He will be there
at our side always.
Note to my kids: I am so blessed to have each and every one of you in my life. It's the hard times that test us. With love and patience we will endure. I thank God every day for all of you.
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