I can't believe its nearly Thanksgiving! This is our first Thanksgiving here in Bethesda. Just last Thanksgiving we were in Lake Tahoe, south shore, at our favorite B&B....
In a lot of ways it seems like a lifetime ago.
We are heading to C-burg after work today. Amanda is already there and we'll be there late tonight, if the snow doesn't decend upon us like a blanket. Its about 43 here today, pretty windy. Dad is in the nursing home, Stan is heading to a rehab place in M-town. Mom is holding her own in Sun Valley, I guess she is trying to not disturb anything, since everything else has gone rapidly downhill since last year. She is doing pretty well, considering.
Stan is the real tragedy, but that is so overwhelming for us all that I just can't believe it. Stan is only 58, and has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. He has been increasingly unstable, and last week he fell. He was badly hurt, and has broken his femur I think. Orthopedic surgery has been completed, now he must learn to cope with awful pain and learn to walk again - in spite of his increasing disability with the Parkinson's. Its not good.
Well, his problems are many. I'm basically helpless here. I plan to get to see him over the holiday, along with Dad at The Heritage. His problems are also large, but he is dealing with them. He is much stronger at 88 than the rest of us wusses are. He knows, at 88, he has less years ahead of him than behind him. ... ... ... ... ... not easy to grasp that either.
So we have a year of change, a year of growth. I think its safe to say, we'll all be happy to see 2005 go away. Perhaps 2006 will add something really good to our lives.
I'm practicing being grateful. I mean, you'd be surprised how ungrateful we are for all the good things we have. or maybe you wouldn't be...
anyway, I truly am grateful and trying to be more thankful every single day.
More later,
gotta work.
