Hello again! I've missed you. I'm making a concerted effort to get back to blogging and catching up some with ALL that has been going on around here this last year. Our hearts still ache every day since we lost Jake in April. It's been six months now and we just miss him and we always will. We think of him so often, speak of him every day and remember him with such great fondness. I visited the cemetery where he is buried this week and just contemplated his example and how our lives have all changed since he has been gone. Tears just well up often and at unexpected times thinking of him and knowing how much he is missed by Jordan and their children and all of us who love and miss him. It's just hard, hard, hard.
And yet, life does go on. It has to. We get up, do our routine and live life as best we can. The dynamics have changed so dramatically in all our lives since his passing and we are still adjusting to the new normal (if there is such a thing.) We turn to our sources of strength and renewal and we support and love one another.
Jordan and her family moved near us at the end of June and so did Claire and her family. Most of you already know the details of these moves. Having our daughters and their families live near us has been a complete game changer. Rick and I love it. It's hard to temper our enthusiasm sometimes because we also recognize that these moves have been very hard for both families as they have left their comfortable lives, homes they loved and people they knew and loved and started into new circumstances. Starting over again is not an easy process and we have tried to be helpful, be patient and just love them as they struggle through the transition.
Having six of our eight (almost nine!) grandchildren live in town is heaven on earth. We love our frequent interaction and our ability to participate with them in their sports, birthdays, primary programs, Sunday dinners and just family gatherings and activities. We feel Jake's absence but we also feel of his presence.
I have kept a paper daily planner for 100 years and this year is no exception. I'm lost without my little planner because it keeps me on track and I can look and see what I need to do and where I need to go. I knew that this year had been a year of unprecedented travel, so I thumbed through the pages and wrote down all the times I didn't sleep in my own bed this year.
So far, it looks like this:
January 15-19 – Los Angeles, Temecula, CA
January 26 - February 5 – Phoenix
February 11-15 – Albuquerque
February 27-27 - Logan
February 27-27 - Logan
March 14-22 – St. George, Phoenix
April 1 – 8 – Albuquerque
April 15 – 22, 23-May 1 – Phoenix
May 19-21 – Homestead, Midway
May 28-30 – Logan
June 25-30 – Midway, UT then to Phoenix
July 8-10 – Logan, Bear Lake
July 15-17 – Rupert, ID
July 22-29 – Park City
August 3-5 – Cedar City
August 9-11 - Los Angeles
August 20-27 – Alaska cruise
September 1-5 – Las Vegas & Phoenix
September 6-8 – Logan
September 18-26 – Charlotte NC, Washington DC
October 1 – 3 – Los Angeles
October 5-7 – Park City
October 16-18 - Logan
October 20-22 – Boise & Rupert, ID
November 2-11 – Charlotte, NC
It adds up to 120 nights away from home, give or take a few. Rick was with me for about half of those visits since he is still employed and I am retired. That's about 4 months of travel time this year. Yikes! Some days I really feel it, but I have been blessed to keep up the pace and to be able to go and do what needed to be done and I have had a lot of enjoyable experiences along the way. Some of those visits were work visits, tending grandchildren and such, but others were just for fun. Now that our girls and their families live near us, my long distance travel to them is gone. I will truly miss visiting the cities in which they lived, but I will enjoy sleeping in my own bed and not having to travel so much next year.
Plus, I also got a new Acura car that holds seven! It's my new grandma car and I love it (thanks Rick!). Mostly I love having car seats attached so that I am at the ready when needed. I love my little grandkids so much and love being a part of their lives.
AND...
I get to see these guys next week as they welcome a new baby brother into their family! Good times ahead! (This picture if from our visit last year at Halloween time.)
I get to see these guys next week as they welcome a new baby brother into their family! Good times ahead! (This picture if from our visit last year at Halloween time.)
