Gone Too Soon

Yesterday the husband and I attended a funeral. All deaths bring grief, but this one was especially heartbreaking since we were memorializing a high school senior who took her own life on Thanksgiving Day.

This young woman seemed to have life by the tail, with her impressive resume and Ivy League college applications. She was articulate and kind. She grew up attending church and had loving parents who provided the cushion of financial security. She wasn't into drinking, drugs or promiscuity. But she obviously had a lot of inner turmoil we'll never fully understand, to the point where impulsivity and hopelessness in that one moment had her making an irrevocable decision that would forever change the lives of many who knew and loved her.

Every morning, I wake up and think about this young woman's mother. How all of her dreams and hopes for her daughter died on Thanksgiving Day 2018. How this holiday will never be the same for the rest of their lives. That this family will struggle with grief and anger in the coming days, weeks, months and possibly years. 

I don't have the answers we all seek. How could a loving God allow this to happen? How will God use this for the greater good to help others? Why did this young woman's life come to such a tragic end at such a young age? All I can do is pray for strength and peace for all of us, the family in particular, as we move forward through this painful period of mourning.

For anyone who is struggling... CHOOSE TO STAY!

Turkey Day 2018

This year, we somehow avoided the zillion pics on a major holiday and rather just enjoyed the time together. Plus the usual great food! It's always nice when the grad student rolls in for the holidays so we can enjoy both girls and be a family of four again for a little bit.

Getting lit

This morning, the lighting company rolled up and finally installed the holiday bling. Our contract stipulated it was to be done by Thanksgiving, so they shimmied up ladders to wrap our trees at the last minute. 

They lit up seven trees candy cane style in the front yard per the high school senior's request. The back patio got five trees wrapped in alternating red and white. It's all on a timer and I'm thrilled at the results. That just leaves the finishing touches on our new wreath as well as the front gate lights that all has to be installed by me and the grad student on Friday. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here, even though it's the day before Thanksgiving.

Last but not least, the front gate with the finished wreath!

B-ball

Sunday evening, we attended a basketball game. Since C's boyfriend was in for the week from college, he got to accompany us. Thanks to our sweet suite tickets, we enjoyed a little supper in the club before watching our hometown team chalk up a win. Go Spurs Go!

Highlight of the game - C and her boyfriend were on the jumbotron Kiss Cam!

Oh Christmas wreath, oh Christmas wreath

Mother and I are getting pretty good at this wreath making we do. I overbought on the wider red and green ribbon, but that was it. I'll just add that to the extra ribbon box for future use. We were grateful there was no trekking back to the craft store for more mesh because I miscalculated. Sometimes trekking more than once. And we're getting faster, too, which is nice.

Last year we made a ginormous square wreath in these same colors. This year I wanted a large round one for the front gate, just to mix up the shape. Plus I'm thinking about using some faux flocked wreath greenery to hang from the front coach lamps on the gate posts, so I really needed the main center wreath to be round. Now all we need to do is add the red sequined and lime green beaded picks since the base of ribbon and mesh is done. There's also the lights. And then we'll be truly set to throw the switch beginning the Friday evening after Thanksgiving to light 'er up every night until Christmas day. 

Saturday Sundries

At supper tonight, a former student recognized me. Kinda. He started out by asking me and the husband if our last name is Flores. It's not. Didn't I teach 3rd grade at Suchandsuch Elementary school? I taught 5th. Of course, I didn't recognize the young man who must now be in his early 20s since I hadn't seen him since 5th grade. Kudos to Michael for remembering me after all these years.

In other exciting news for the day, I took my sweet little CASA kiddos out for a movie, lunch and run to the local bakery for a Thanksgiving decorated cookie. We decided to see the new Grinch movie and it was cute. But alas, since I'm old I did my usual nodding off every so often during the first 20-30 minutes of the movie. Since I always let the 6th grader pick where we eat lunch, we had his usual #1 choice of Tex-Mex. He gets the same thing every time... a small cup of queso plus a bean and cheese taco. His little sister, now in 2nd grade, is always game for whatever we're doing despite the challenges of her intellectual disability and ongoing developmental delays. I was so happy to see her producing more spontaneous speech, to the point of pointing to compare similar colors like the booth upholstered in red and the cups we were using were also red while saying the correct color. That's true progress. She's got a long way to go, but she's like a different kid from the one I was spending time with a year ago. Even though I'm no longer on the case since all parental rights were terminated in June at trial and I attended the grandparent's adoption of both kids at the courthouse in September, I see me keeping up with them because they're just so sweet and I have a soft spot for the kids and their grandparents who stepped up to raise them.

The eBay fairy came today, delivering the last of the Mr. and Mrs. Claus S&P shaker sets I recently ordered. I had to wait until I unpacked and set up all of the other S&P shakers to make sure I wasn't purchasing duplicates. Once I work these newbies into the dining table centerpiece, I'll have to post pics of the decorated house. Yes, it's not even Thanksgiving and I honestly don't care. As usual, I'm getting as much mileage as possible from my 27+ years of collecting Santas.

The perks

Every fall, my husband and his fellow corporate officers in the company attend a strategic planning retreat with the board of directors that also includes all of the spouses. It's always a lovely time. The husband and I were especially pleased to attend the retreat at a wonderful resort on Lake Oconee in Georgia since we're officially second house hunting for our own lake home. 

I didn't want to look like a total rube snapping pics the entire time, so I only worked in a few to share. The amenities were extensive and I enjoyed a workout every morning in the fitness center on my favorite elliptical machine, a Precor. Our meals had a southern twist, which was fine with me since that's about all my granny cooked throughout my growing up years. Our first night on the property, they served the most amazing brussels sprouts I've ever eaten. I could have gobbled up my weight in those things. It's amazing how bacon and balsamic can do wonders with plain old veggies.

We took a boat ride the next morning and enjoyed lake views of some really pretty homes while a local professor enlightened us on the history of central Georgia. 

I opted for a brisk hike through the woods to view the rock hawk archaeological site that afternoon. It's an effigy mound built by the local Native American Woodlands tribes about 2,000 years ago. You've gotta squint a bit and use your imagination to really see a hawk of rock from atop the viewing tower provided for visitors.

The next day, I pedaled around on a Schiller water bike. By the time I returned to the dock I was dripping in sweat, smelling like a goat and looking like one, too. But I seriously think we need to add this contraption to our list of water toys for our own lake home.