The Week that Was

Happily I am approaching the end of this crazy week. Just days ago I was lamenting the fact that the days pass too quickly at this age, but I am most anxious for a fresh start here. With my brother's serious illness, losing baby Izzie and today learning that my dearest childhood friend died of cancer yesterday, I am ready for a break. For many years I have had a very weird relationship with the 29th day of each month. It started on Oct 29, 1962 when, pregnant with daughter #1, I was in a terrible car accident and was unable to walk for 3 months, all the while suffering horrendous morning sickness....it went on from there. Brother Marty's accident which left him paralyzed occurred on June 29, 1975, three relationships have ended on the 29th of the month and there are so many other things, I cannot remember right now. Anyway, it certainly should be a happy day as my dear parents were married on May 29, 1942. Yesterday would have been their 66th wedding anniversary. I am sure it was a hard day for Dad as he misses Mum so very much.
It is also the wedding anniversary of my youngest brother. He and his wife honored my parents by marrying on that day and it has been a strong and enduring marriage.
So I am planning to start a new week off by spending it with Dad and my grandson, Matthew, and I know it will be a time of remembering Mum but it will also be a reminder of what a wonderful family and gift I was given because my Mum and Dad were wed on the 29th of the month.

Speaking of memories, when I told one of my sisters about the death of our childhood friend, Susan, yesterday she brought up some of the great things we all did together...top on the list were the dances we used to hold in the garage at Susan's house. It would have been 1957-1959 or so and we would work for days, cleaning the garage, planning the music and food and inviting BOYS. It was such fun, so innocent, and I can still remember dancing with David Clifford to "Blue Moon". We also spent countless hours playing Monopoly in the cottage at Susan's, went to the beach a lot, and talked on the phone endlessly about everything under the sun but mostly where we thought our lives would go, and in those years, we just wanted to be married and have children and a nice house, etc. Her parents took us places when my parents could not, as they were so busy running the farm, and Susan and her sister loved to come to our house because my mother was the most wonderful cook and prepared world-class meals everyday. Susan was the glamorous one. She was always a dog lover and in the early years they had a Basengi named Tippy who used to come to visit my mother....Tippy would howl on the back porch for a treat from Mum's kitchen. Susan moved away to New Orleans after HS, and after a brief ill-fated marriage, had a long career and interesting life in the hotel management world. In the 80's she returned here and married one of the boys who used to attend our garage dances. It was like a wonderful dream for her and she was very, very happy until the end. She also, at age 50 returned to college and became an R.N. It was an amazing pursuit of a long-held dream and she did it! I was so proud of her for succeeding. She never did stop smoking and I am certain that is what brought her to the end of her journey here. SAD!

Marty had a fairly good day today and Dr's are still evaluating what will happen with the other infected area - his hip - which will need major surgery to remove the infected tissue and bone. There were consultations with a plastic surgeon on that today.

LM is fishing tonight and then coming to join me around 10:00 pm...truthfully, I think he is coming to visit his girlfriend, Ms. Graysea, but we shall see. The week is already improving.