Spring has sprung in Atlanta

Gosh, the pollen count has been in the 9000 all week and we're all suffering thru it together. We had a few showers today so it knocked it down a little but everything is just a lovely shade of yellow all around town. Yucky! Things have been crazier than even normal around our house this month. Let's see we started the month with Mamma being admitted to the hospital and the outcome didn't look good at first. She bounced back and was released back to the rehab center which at age 92 is remarkable. Mom and daddy spent a week in Louisiana and I really, really struggled with my decision not to go see her at that time. I really hope to go see her in a few weeks when she might feel up to a visit. While my folks were there in a hotel, my mom got bit by bedbugs. I've seen lots of pictures of her 80 plus bites and they are nasty little bugs. They were staying at a really nice hotel on the river so it proves these little suckers are everywhere. The room had 2 queen size beds so mom was in one and daddy in other so he was in a safe zone...lucky him! When the hotel people went in, they didn't see anything then they moved the headboard and those suckers all came tumbling out. They replaced their luggage, laundered all their clothes, moved them to another room but I doubt mom will ever fully recover from the nightmare. It's been really hard on her! Next Mark's dad has been diagnosed with Parkinson's and it has progressed very quickly. He was in a rehab center for 30 days and Mark has really struggle to deal with it. He went home on Friday but things are still a struggle for him and Kay. And of course, in typical Harris Family Style they don't want Mark to go home to help or even see them. It breaks my heart that they all can't lean on each other in hard times. No matter what family should always be there for each other. After 25 years I've come to realize that I'll never be able to change the dynamic in this family. My family is probably too close at times but at least if something happened today to any of them, they will have known how much I loved them!!!!!! My little brother, John always amazes me with his caring heart so listen what he did for Kay last Thursday....he's done a lot of work for them in the past but this went above and beyond.....they needed some railings put in the shower and some bedrooms flipped up and downstairs ....he actually told Kay that he wouldn't accept any money because this is what family does for each other. Sure made me proud of him even more...what a guy! We're still wrangling the move to Germany and the details are the devil. Every time we think we've got everything in place on the contract, there is a new wrinkle. This weekend we had it to about $5000 or so we thought but tax structures changed in Germany this year so now we've realized it may be more of $100,000 delta over the next 2 1/2 years which is way, way to much of hit. I really have a peace about everything working out as they should but if you'll just say an extra little prayer for us to work thru it. Right now, it's killing me. I can't even tell you the last time I got a good night's sleep....up by 3 or 4 but the good news is that I've gotten in a lot of stitching time. Finally, Zared (nephew) went to Florida on spring break. Now he's not in school, doesn't have a steady job or any money but somehow he figured he deserved a vacation. I wanted to kick his butt up between his ears for that but on wednesday morning I hear from my mom that he's been mugged and beat up really bad. Now what to do.....I can drive to Florida to pick him up and take him to Memphis to meet my folks so they can take him home. I'm freaking out trying to figure all this out and thought I'd better call Mark to fill him in. Now that unleashed the hounds from hell and I was torn with how to deal with my upset mom, my furious husband, my very disappointed daddy and my own feelings of how do I fix this for him! I started trying to reach Z to find out what shape he was in and he tells me that he doesn't want to come home. He needs money but has no bank account to send it to so I think western union but lt's see he's been mugged so no wallet or ID,right? Wrong he's got his wallet so....hm, something doesn't seem quite right so now I start thinking maybe the little bugger hasn't really been mugged.....seems like a logical thought process so I call my folks and they have kinda cone to the same conclusion that I have. Ok so now what, we decide to just let him make it home on his own without us rushing in with open wallets and we're gonna finally start with the tough love that we should have started giving him 20 years ago. He's an adult and he's got to learn to live with his decisions no matter how much it hurts us. I have grieved the loss of that precious red headed baby who's face used to light up when he saw me and decided the only way that he'll ever truely know how much we love him, is to let him fail. My heart is breaking but I know this is the only way that he can become the man that he's meant to be. Zared has got to learn to respect himself enough to want to change his life. Trust me I was a very wild teenager and I sowed a lot of wild oats but I always respected my family and myself enough to realize that I would have to grow up and quit making bad choices. Now don't get me wrong the bad choices were fun at the time but also I had the knowledge to realize that they wouldn't carry me thru life! Ok enough about my depressing life and really dysfunctional family. I hope everyone will just ignore my ramblibgs tonight but this blog is about my real life not just the sunny life I wished I lived. Hey if nothing else, I'll make you happy with whatever is going on in your life because it can't be as screwed up as mine. Lol

Soulful Saturday

Wow the storms last night were terrible and I spent the night on a pallet on the basement floor.  Let's just say that it's been a long time since I slept on a pallet and my bones are telling me.....never again.  I wanted to be able to watch the tv and not take a chance on lightening striking Mark's expensive theater equipment so I "slept" in the workout area.  Well slept is not the term I should really use to describe what I did.   I woke up when Mark called from Switzerland about 2:00 AM and I had all 3 cats piled up on top of me.  I swear...give them an inch and they'll hog the whole bed.  LOL!  Anyway, we did just fine and I have to admit that I have one smart hubby.  Don't tell him that I said so but this time he's really right.  After the storm last year in Joplin(which is just too close to home) he put together "Go Packs" for us both.  Now I harassed him, laughed at him and generally thought it was a foolish waste of money but I sure was relieved to pull mine out last night.  Just knowing that if something did happen that I had a few basic supplies like flashlight, first aid, cat food and most importantly copies of all our personal ids including passports, birth certificates, drivers license, ect.  It gave me a sense of security and all I added was my medicines, wallet, water and an extra pair of shoes.  I slept with it right beside me and it was reassuring to know that he was still taking care of me even though he wasn't home.  Everyone should really put together just a few basic supplies but especially a copy of your id because let's face it, if the house is blown away then you won't be finding your pocketbook very easily.

I worked today until noon then came home and took a 3 hour nap.  I guess my adventure really zonked me even more than I realized.  I woke up to a phone call from my mom saying that my Mamma is not doing well.  They are headed to Louisiana in the morning to figure out what the next course of action should be.  The plan was keep her in the rehab hospital for 90 days but she's fallen again, is talking out of her head and the nurses said she needs to be moved to a nursing home.  She's one stubborn spitfire so she won't go without a fight.  Gee, I guess that's where I get a little of my stubbornness from.  I just really worry about my daddy because he has such a good heart and he wants so much to take care of her but really a nursing home is the best place for her now.  Say a little prayer for my aunt and my daddy to be at peace with the decisions that they must make. 

Ok, now for a lighter story.  You should skip over to http://raggedycreations.blogspot.com
and see her Friday post about her SIL and her cat.  I wanted to share my favorite pictures of Hubert.  He's just 16 pounds of love!