This isn't going to be a fun or funny post, just a life post. My sister Lisa and I have been in Chicago since Saturday supporting our mom and our grandma, because grandma is dying. She hasn't been in great health for quite some time, but Friday blood vessels in grandma's brain burst and caused bleeding on her brain. Essentially she had a stroke. She has lived 88 beautiful years, but no matter how old one gets or how their health has declined over the years, it is never easy to watch someone you love die or have to say goodbye to them.
Since we got here, each day has been almost a repeat of the day before it. We suit up in our plastic blue gowns before entering her hospital room and say hello to her to see what, if any, response we will get. We talk to the doctors, watch the nurses take her blood pressure, hold her hand, tell funny grandma stories, get each other coffee, sit around the room and talk, and wait. Yesterday she was the most alert we had seen her. When we arrived in her room in the morning and said hello she opened her eyes and made eye contact with us for a few minutes. She even grunted and moved her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but cannot speak. Besides those short but meaningful connections yesterday, she remains in a deep sleep. At least she is resting peacefully.
And now we wait, which may be the hardest part- the waiting and the unknown. But it has also given us time to process and accept this difficult process of saying goodbye to our loved one. We love you grandma xoxo
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
First day of school
All day today I have felt like a nervous/excited mom who just sent her kid off to their first day of school. No I don't have a kid, I don't even have a dog (a subject that has come up a lot recently, but that is for another post at another time), but today was Rob's first day of grad classes at Georgia State!
I am so proud of him for taking on this new chapter and challenge. Moving to a new city was just the beginning. Besides getting use to a new office setting, he will be working full time and taking classes Monday nights. This semester it is statistics and economics- sadly I don't think I will be much help with either of those subjects. Instead, I'll just have to find other ways to support him through what I'm sure will be a somewhat stressful first semester of business school. So tonight I unpacked more of his boxes, and did some of his laundry.
Now I'm anxiously awaiting his return home from class. I thought he would have been home by now, so I'm feeling even more like the nervous mom wondering how the big first day went and why the school bus is running so late. Oooh and I hear him coming in the door now!
I am so proud of him for taking on this new chapter and challenge. Moving to a new city was just the beginning. Besides getting use to a new office setting, he will be working full time and taking classes Monday nights. This semester it is statistics and economics- sadly I don't think I will be much help with either of those subjects. Instead, I'll just have to find other ways to support him through what I'm sure will be a somewhat stressful first semester of business school. So tonight I unpacked more of his boxes, and did some of his laundry.
Now I'm anxiously awaiting his return home from class. I thought he would have been home by now, so I'm feeling even more like the nervous mom wondering how the big first day went and why the school bus is running so late. Oooh and I hear him coming in the door now!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Operation Microwave
The real title of this post should be "Operation How long can we live without a microwave," but that would have been too long of a title.
On a positive note, we are all moved in! Yay!! We are proud, happy, new Atlanta residents and enjoying it so far. The move went much smoother than I had expected. I'm not quite sure what I thought might go wrong, but just the idea of us transporting all of our possessions in a Budget truck and my Saturn Vue from Boston to Atlanta- 1145 miles- sounds like enough of an opportunity for things to go wrong. We are not fully unpacked, or organized enough to take pictures of the new place and post them online for all to see, but we are getting there.
Rob moved in on Saturday the 14th (which I was happy about, because we originally told the apartment complex our move in date would be Friday August the 13th- way too risky), and I arrived on Monday. It wasn't until Tuesday evening that it hit me. I was finishing up unpacking the kitchen stuff, when I looked around and stared at the stove, and the lack of anything significant above the stove besides a small light/fan switch. Then I scanned the counters with no luck. We had no microwave, and didn't realize it until 3 days after move in!
I'll admit, we're doing fine so far without one. It's almost like I wish I wouldn't have realized we were missing one though. How amazing would it have been to go without a microwave for a whole month before realizing it? Then I might have been able to convince myself we really don't need one. The real reason I'm kicking myself is because we HAD one, a nice one, but for the past year we didn't need it at our 15 Euston Rd apartment, so we put it in the basement at the Cape house. And there it sits, 1145 miles away from our kitchen.
So far we've only missed the microwave for re-heating some left-overs (which Rob ended up eating cold) and for cooking bbq teriyaki chicken from Trader Joes which takes 4 times longer to cook on the stove. My mom's solution to all of this is to take our microwavable goods to the super nice communal kitchen that is attached to the main office and lounge area of the apartment complex. It really is a short walk from my apartment to that kitchen, but lets be honest, I am going to have to be pretty hungry or desperate before I start walking down the path, through the swimming pool area, up the steps and past the pool table room to do my cooking!
On a positive note, we are all moved in! Yay!! We are proud, happy, new Atlanta residents and enjoying it so far. The move went much smoother than I had expected. I'm not quite sure what I thought might go wrong, but just the idea of us transporting all of our possessions in a Budget truck and my Saturn Vue from Boston to Atlanta- 1145 miles- sounds like enough of an opportunity for things to go wrong. We are not fully unpacked, or organized enough to take pictures of the new place and post them online for all to see, but we are getting there.
Rob moved in on Saturday the 14th (which I was happy about, because we originally told the apartment complex our move in date would be Friday August the 13th- way too risky), and I arrived on Monday. It wasn't until Tuesday evening that it hit me. I was finishing up unpacking the kitchen stuff, when I looked around and stared at the stove, and the lack of anything significant above the stove besides a small light/fan switch. Then I scanned the counters with no luck. We had no microwave, and didn't realize it until 3 days after move in!
I'll admit, we're doing fine so far without one. It's almost like I wish I wouldn't have realized we were missing one though. How amazing would it have been to go without a microwave for a whole month before realizing it? Then I might have been able to convince myself we really don't need one. The real reason I'm kicking myself is because we HAD one, a nice one, but for the past year we didn't need it at our 15 Euston Rd apartment, so we put it in the basement at the Cape house. And there it sits, 1145 miles away from our kitchen.
So far we've only missed the microwave for re-heating some left-overs (which Rob ended up eating cold) and for cooking bbq teriyaki chicken from Trader Joes which takes 4 times longer to cook on the stove. My mom's solution to all of this is to take our microwavable goods to the super nice communal kitchen that is attached to the main office and lounge area of the apartment complex. It really is a short walk from my apartment to that kitchen, but lets be honest, I am going to have to be pretty hungry or desperate before I start walking down the path, through the swimming pool area, up the steps and past the pool table room to do my cooking!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Married and Moving
Our wedding day was as wonderful as I had hoped it would be, and then some. The honeymoon was the best vacation I have been on- someday we will return to Maui I'm sure, because it was that great of a place. Pictures and more detailed recaps will be posted eventually, but for now I leave you with this.
To everyone I know getting married in the next year or two- I do not recommend coming home from your honeymoon after 13 hours of traveling and packing up your entire apartment within 24 hours. It was not the best way to end the honeymoon, but it did bring us back to the real world pretty quick.
Going back to work the same day your spouse and father-in-law load up the u-haul truck though, I might recommend that. When I left the apartment yesterday there was stuff everywhere- EVERYWHERE! And when I get home tonight, I am told there will be an aero-bed and a small pile of things in the corner. Safe journey to my husband today as he starts the long drive south to Atlanta! I'll see ya at our new place on Monday.
To everyone I know getting married in the next year or two- I do not recommend coming home from your honeymoon after 13 hours of traveling and packing up your entire apartment within 24 hours. It was not the best way to end the honeymoon, but it did bring us back to the real world pretty quick.
Going back to work the same day your spouse and father-in-law load up the u-haul truck though, I might recommend that. When I left the apartment yesterday there was stuff everywhere- EVERYWHERE! And when I get home tonight, I am told there will be an aero-bed and a small pile of things in the corner. Safe journey to my husband today as he starts the long drive south to Atlanta! I'll see ya at our new place on Monday.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Brides should not have access to futurecast
Last Thursday I began stalking the weather forecast for my wedding day. That was the first day the 31st was included in the ultimate tease of a forecast that is the 10-day. I was absolutely thrilled when I saw a high of 84 and sunny...and then I logged on to Weather.com again the next day and nearly screamed when it said thunderstorms and 60% chance of precipitation!
At that point Rob told me to stop checking the weather reports until a day or two before the wedding, or it was going to be a long week. But of course I didn't stop, I logged on to AccuWeather.com to see what they had to say. 74 degrees and cloudy...what!? It was then that I thought of changing the Boston zip code I had selected and trying another one...but I'm not that crazy, so I stopped and went to bed.
In between then and now, I don't know how many times I have gone to Weather.com, typed in 02215+enter, thought wishful good thoughts, and scrolled down to Saturday July 31st on the extended forecast. But today I am happy to report to you, that as of right now, the forecast is partly cloudy, high of 79 degrees, with 10% chance of precipitation! Fingers crossed it stays that way.
At that point Rob told me to stop checking the weather reports until a day or two before the wedding, or it was going to be a long week. But of course I didn't stop, I logged on to AccuWeather.com to see what they had to say. 74 degrees and cloudy...what!? It was then that I thought of changing the Boston zip code I had selected and trying another one...but I'm not that crazy, so I stopped and went to bed.
In between then and now, I don't know how many times I have gone to Weather.com, typed in 02215+enter, thought wishful good thoughts, and scrolled down to Saturday July 31st on the extended forecast. But today I am happy to report to you, that as of right now, the forecast is partly cloudy, high of 79 degrees, with 10% chance of precipitation! Fingers crossed it stays that way.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
The Birds
Rob hates birds. He will avoid the bird houses at the zoo, physically dodge pigeons on the street, and doesn't even laugh when I tell him I'm going to get a pet bird someday- not even the cute talking parrots, he hates those too. And today, the seagulls invaded our beach. It was the perfect beach day on the Cape, and considering it was my last Cape beach day with Rob for the year, we were pretty lucky to have such nice weather. There were more kids on our beach than normal today, and with 90% of them being little boys, of course they were up to no good. At first the seagulls were circling because of the mess of food crumbs the kids had left all over the beach. Next thing we know, the kids are baiting the birds- throwing them chips, and then wailing rocks and wiffle balls at them when they tried to eat the chips.
The more birds the kids attracted, the more concerned Rob became. Our first thought was, Ok kids enough. Our second was, where are these kids parents and why aren't they telling them not to feed the birds?! Eventually the kids lost interest, but the birds were still pretty interested in the food scattered around us. At this point I am looking at Rob and wondering what he could be reacting to. He is sitting facing the birds, staring, mouth partially opened, looking so serious. I turn around to see a gang of seagulls walking towards us, and next thing I know, Rob throws his towels to the ground (one covering his legs, the other his head) and jumps out of his beach chair. My cousin Ashely asks what Rob is doing, as he yells that he hates birds and sprints full force at the seagulls trying to chase them away. I just shook my head, laughed and said yes, that's my future husband waging war on the birds.
The more birds the kids attracted, the more concerned Rob became. Our first thought was, Ok kids enough. Our second was, where are these kids parents and why aren't they telling them not to feed the birds?! Eventually the kids lost interest, but the birds were still pretty interested in the food scattered around us. At this point I am looking at Rob and wondering what he could be reacting to. He is sitting facing the birds, staring, mouth partially opened, looking so serious. I turn around to see a gang of seagulls walking towards us, and next thing I know, Rob throws his towels to the ground (one covering his legs, the other his head) and jumps out of his beach chair. My cousin Ashely asks what Rob is doing, as he yells that he hates birds and sprints full force at the seagulls trying to chase them away. I just shook my head, laughed and said yes, that's my future husband waging war on the birds.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Going to the Chapel and we're, gonna get married...
I have to say I love that I can sing that song and it makes complete sense, because we ARE getting married at a Chapel... IN 10 DAYS!!
Even though it feels as if there are so many things left to do before the big day, we have crossed many things off of our list this past week and it feels so good.
For starters, Rob saved the day in the programs department. Designing, typing up, printing out, buying, doing anything with wedding programs at this point just felt like an impossible task, so I was ready to say forget the programs. Well, my wonderful soon-to-be hubby thought that was ridiculous, and took care of the programs himself. And I trust him so much that I didn't even request to see the hard copy proof before submitting it for printing.
Another item on the list I did not want to be responsible for? The name cards. Luckily my Mom stepped up to the plate and volunteered to help with that one. She is also getting us our unity candle this week, which completely slipped my mind.
The seating chart is done and table numbers have been assigned! Though it started out as a headache, it really came out just fine. I have also figured out what I'm doing for table numbers and have #1-9 completed.
My final dress fitting was today, and...it fits! I know I should not have been as concerned about the dress fitting as I was for the past 9 months, but I couldn't help it. The woman at the dress shop telling me that "in this dress, even 5 pounds will make a difference" kept replaying in my head. Luckily I have not gained any weight since last October, and it fits like a glove. Sadly, they would not let me take the dress home with me today because it still needs to be steamed, but that just means my Mom and sister will be here with me to drive back to Danvers to pick it up next week.
Nail appointments? Check
Final meeting with florist? Check
Dress for rehearsal dinner? Check
Formal photos check list for photographer? Check
Purchase new luggage and bathing suit for Hawaii? Check!!
The wedding of the summer is right around the corner folks!
Even though it feels as if there are so many things left to do before the big day, we have crossed many things off of our list this past week and it feels so good.
For starters, Rob saved the day in the programs department. Designing, typing up, printing out, buying, doing anything with wedding programs at this point just felt like an impossible task, so I was ready to say forget the programs. Well, my wonderful soon-to-be hubby thought that was ridiculous, and took care of the programs himself. And I trust him so much that I didn't even request to see the hard copy proof before submitting it for printing.
Another item on the list I did not want to be responsible for? The name cards. Luckily my Mom stepped up to the plate and volunteered to help with that one. She is also getting us our unity candle this week, which completely slipped my mind.
The seating chart is done and table numbers have been assigned! Though it started out as a headache, it really came out just fine. I have also figured out what I'm doing for table numbers and have #1-9 completed.
My final dress fitting was today, and...it fits! I know I should not have been as concerned about the dress fitting as I was for the past 9 months, but I couldn't help it. The woman at the dress shop telling me that "in this dress, even 5 pounds will make a difference" kept replaying in my head. Luckily I have not gained any weight since last October, and it fits like a glove. Sadly, they would not let me take the dress home with me today because it still needs to be steamed, but that just means my Mom and sister will be here with me to drive back to Danvers to pick it up next week.
Nail appointments? Check
Final meeting with florist? Check
Dress for rehearsal dinner? Check
Formal photos check list for photographer? Check
Purchase new luggage and bathing suit for Hawaii? Check!!
The wedding of the summer is right around the corner folks!
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