This week at a glance

I'm finally able to sit down and relax. As you know, it's been an emotional roller coaster this week at our home. We buried my husband's beloved Aunt this week. The funeral was hard because of not only saying goodbye to Aunt Bonnie, but watching Chris grieve was very difficult to take. I really felt very helpless through it all. All I could do is offer comfort and keep reassuring him of how much she loved him and how proud of him she was.

Believe it or not, one of the best things happened to Chris at the funeral. There were several people from Bonnie's work that came. After the funeral was over, they approached my husband and I and immediately started telling him that they recognized him from all of the photographs of him (it was our wedding pictures) on her desk. They called my husband by name, and told him how proud and how much Bonnie talked about him. They told him how much she loved him, and that he was always the apple of Bonnie and David's eye. I watched my husband take a deep breath and the weight of the the world was lifted off of his shoulders. It really was a nice way for him to have closure.

I actually finished Christmas decorating today. Tomorrow I plan to start the continuation of Ryan and Blake's story. But, I've been anxious to read Shawn Lane's newest book Ticket to Ride. I'll have to read it before I can get started! She's been teasing us all with it on her blog and I've been dying to read it!


Thank you to all of my friends here. Your well wishes and kind words meant the world to me.

Thank you for your kind thoughts and words

Some of you might have noticed my absence. In a previous post I told you about my husband's Aunt being in a coma, and the doctor was calling in a specialist to see if she had any brain activity or not.
Unfortunately for Aunt Bonnie, they didn't find enough brain activity that would make her able to breathe on her own, or even be aware of the world around her. Her sister opted to take her off the respirator despite some of our protest, and she's gone onto a place where she's with her beloved husband.

One of the amazing things about Bonnie was she was not a quitter. She had suffered from polo almost all of her life. Despite being in pain, and walking with the aide of crutches and braces on her legs, she insisted on taking care of herself. She never used a handicapped license or parked in a handicapped zone. She always did as much as her broken body would allow her. My husband's Uncle David was immediately smitten with her the minute they laid eyes on each other, and they had happiness together for over thirty five years.

One of the things I will always remember about Bonnie and David is they both had a very contagious laugh. Both of them laughed frequently and when they laughed it was a whole body laugh and you couldn't help but laugh with them. I loved it.

Since they couldn't have children, they kidnapped Chris when he was a teenager almost every weekend and spoiled him rotten. Chris has always considered them his "adoptive" parents. Chris has said one of his favorite memories is introducing his Aunt Bonnie to Sir Mix Alot's, Baby Got Back. He said they both wore out that song on his cd from playing it all the time.

When David was diagnosed with Cancer, neither one gave up hope. David died less than a month after his diagnosis, and Bonnie hasn’t' been the same since. Her sister had been staying with her, and according to her sister they had an argument. Three days later they found Bonnie unconscious, with bruises all over her face and neck and laying on the floor. There is an investigation, and hopefully we'll find out what really happened to our Beloved Aunt.

Her funeral is Thursday. I told Chris that she'll be right where she wanted to be; right at David's side.

I'm not going to pretend that today hasn't been a difficult day. Both Chris and I have been in a funk, but seeing how some of my friends have embraced my book made me realize how much even my online friends mean so much too me. I was happily shocked how much y'all like Ryan and Blake and how they met. I loved them and I have every intention of continuing their story. Thank you for taking a chance on a very green author and reading my book. I'm hoping the next book will be even better.

Thank you for being there.

The past six weeks have been hard.

This has been a busy week for Chris and I. We spent last Saturday celebrating an early Thanksgiving at his parents house and had a good time. Since then, he's been working on putting Christmas lights on the house. Every year he puts more and more on it. Soon we'll be lighting up all of Paris, Arkansas if he doesn't watch out.

I don't know if I've told you, but we've had some loss in the family this past six weeks. Chris has had 2 Uncle's die unexpectedly of the same type of Cancer, and my sister lost her baby, which has about killed us all. Today we found out that Chris' Aunt Bonnie (her husband is one of Chris's Uncles that died) was found unconscious at her home. The doctor's are not giving a hopeful prognosis. They believe she is brain dead and a neurologist is supposed to be checking her out tomorrow.

Chris of course is trying to be strong and keep it together. As a boy, he hung out with both Bonnie and David all the time. They were his favorite relatives. They weren't able to have children of their own, so Chris was spoiled and loved by them with open arms and loving hearts.

All of the loss we have experienced this year has made me realize how precious life really is. For the first time in years, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and being with relatives I only see at holidays that usually drive me crazy. Maybe it's time not to take such things for granted anymore.