It's just Thursday...

Has it been almost a year since my last post....  perhaps, yes, it sure has.

I hear the lawn mower run, as a father-son team take care of our overgrown grass.  We have very capable hands in the house to take care of this sometimes, tedious chore, but when this nice dad and son team offered to mow our lawn for a donation, we couldn't say no.  Our teenagers would not have it any other way... LOL  Wink, Wink! ;-)

What a day... Recuperating from skin procedure, having to clean wounds, change gauze and apply more Neosporin that one can possibly imagine, only draws a loud UGH from me. Pity party over because I have to still work full time, and go to school full time... I don't have time to dwell and stress out about how I miss and need my boy by my side every single minute of my day, and that the seven page paper due on Saturday forces me to dig deep into the psyche of the former, yet, perpetual, student affairs professional in me.  Nope, no time... you know why?  Because of my hands are getting wrinkly.  There are lines everywhere.  I need to put more lotion on them!!!!

I am staring at my hands and all I see are lines.  Actually, they remind me of my mothers hands.  At 42, I have outlived my mother five years after being the age she was when she died.  My nails are short because I type (A LOT!) and at the same time, I see my grandfather Eddie's hands.  Holy shit, I have their hands! Why am I writing about this?  I don't know.  But what I do know, is that today, in the middle of the pain of my scar wounds, my work and school stress, I was able to pause and look at my hands.  That made me think of my mother, and it just now made me think of my Abuelo.

These awesome people, father and daughter, who have huge meaning in my life, seem to be creeping around me more than ever.  I can only say it's because of how much I love and think of them.  They never left, they are with me.  I keep staring at my hands....

A pause for the day to reflect and be grateful for today is 100%  a result of our Grandpa Uhlig, who we went to see at the hospital.  You see, Grandpa, Joseph Uhlig, is 93 years old, a dedicated World War II veteran.  He served in the Navy in the Pacific, and lost his brother in Pearl Harbor, that day.  Yes, that day.  Grandpa is my father-in-law, and the father of his youngest son, Paul, my best friend, love of my life and husband.  Grandpa has been having ups and downs lately, but that 93 yr old Texan heart, while tired, keep going.  He is sharp as a tool and funny as hell.  I always greet him as "Hey handsome" and he smiles, saying "Well, I like that!" Paul held his dad's hands today, and Sarah, our eldest, held his hands as well.  Grandpa likes to have his hands held because he and Dorothy, my mother-in-law, have held hands through thick and thin for more than 60 years of marriage.  They are THAT couple you want to emulate, you are inspired by, you look up to.  Commitment, faith, respect, a hint of mischief I bet, and most unconditionally, LOVE.  Mind you, I just joined this crew a few months ago... and I can see is LOVE!  ;-)

We left the hospital with Grandpa's blood pressure close to "normal" and with the promise of  tomorrow, as we gathered the kiddos to drive home and sort out the details for the next 24-48 hrs.   He said something to me that I will never forget, and it will forever be engraved in my quick, short-lived few moments I have had with him... but that's between my kind, and sweet, father -in-law, and me---well, and anyone else who was at earshot! ;-)

 Schedules must be tweaked, flexibility on high, and chins up with excitement of new days and new adventures awaiting, including college visits, doggie day camps, mommy-daddy time and pizza and movie night.  We left the hospital with hearts full of love, and faith, grateful for what we have, blessed with the memories of those we loved and lost, and inspired by their memories for a better tomorrow of those blessings around us, big, small, wrinkled, as my hands... May that be our prayer for you.