As Noelle and I were cleaning, we came across this...and today seems like the day to share it. It's a copy of the tribute to Bob O'Neill, written by Don for Bob's funeral.
December 20, 2007
Can you believe it? It's almost Christmas, and I think it should still be September, maybe October. But here it is almost the end of the year, so I may as well give up on catching up and try and do better in 2008.
2007 has been a year of amazing blessings for my family. It all began in January. Noelle and Chilly got married. Chilly fits in well with our family, but I'm not sure he always understands our wacky humor or the intense feelings that sometimes explode.
A week later we had the arrival of The Iz. She's ever so much fun, and thanks to her mommy and daddy, we've had lots and lots of pictures to look at. It's been fun to watch her own personality develop, and although she is very sweet, I think she's going to keep her parents on their toes. Having a baby has changed my daughter's life, but all for the better. She's still an amazingly strong woman, but her edges are softer now.
Another major change was the adoption of Rhayne. She is now Rhayne Elizabeth O'Neill Kitzman, but O'Neill is a middle name because she went to the judge and he gave her a new last name(just ask Rhayne, and she will tell you). I guess it's not a major change, because Chilly has always been there for Rhayne, and the father/daughter bond wasn't created by an order of the court but rather by the love he has given her along with the sense of security and belonging. The Kitzman family also bought their first home, and Jeff and I went down to help with a few things and to take them some of the furniture from Grandma O'Neill's house.
Travis is working hard, and is seeing his hard work pay off. The kitchen at The Pier is now his kitchen, and I think he will do well with the added responsibility. He's been home quite often to see Brianna, and she is fearless. If it has wheels, she wants to either have a ride or better yet, drive it! By the way, he makes the most awesome food, but he's not any good at cleaning the kitchen. But that's okay, when he cooks for me, I don't mind cleaning up after him. He's done a lot of growing up this year, and it shows so much in his attitude most of the time. He still has a temper like his mom, and it still gets him in trouble, but he's really learning to control it better.
Jeff got a beautiful pocket watch for his 25 years at the elevator. He's worked hard, but I think we are both beginning to look forward to the day he can retire. He is loving being a grandpa, and I sometimes wonder if the guys at work get tired of hearing about his grandbabies.
The biggest change for me has been taking the glass from hobby to business. It's been a change for all of us, and I think I have found a better balance between the glass and my family. I was maybe a bit intense about it, so I needed to find a way to make it work because there will never be anything more important to me than my family. Believe me, I am feeling a bit frazzled most days...so much to do, and never enough time. I wish Jeff knew how to type...he could do my online listings for me.
As the year ends, I think about New Year's resolutions, and I don't know if I will actually make any, but if I were they would go something like this....
1. To spend more time with my family...my kids and grandbabies, my mom and sisters and my husband.
2. Get organized so I am not always running around like a headless chicken.
3. Keep my blogs more up to date....I think that goes with organization though.
4. To remember to count my blessings....and there are a lot of them.
It really is time for me to get to work and accomplish "something" today!
So MERRY CHRISTMAS and I love you all.
Since it's Sunday and Mother's Day to boot, I decided to take the day 'off'. My hands are swollen and won't work right anyway, and my body's telling me in general that it's time for a REST. So, rather than risk my life, I'm listening to the wisdom of my own body (it really hasn't ever lied to me about stuff like this).
The 'Finally' is that the paperwork for my 401(k) is in my hands! Tomorrow first thing in the morning I'm going to head to the post office and overnight it back to them, all filled out and duly signed. Frankly I don't see why I can't fax it, but thems the breaks. I'm pretty sure the money won't be in my account before the NY trip, but it WILL be here when I get back!
We were looking at a Menard's flyer and decided to go with lattice for the fencing for the yard. It's lighter, easier for us to handle, and will look very pretty - we'll still paint it to match the house, too! Plus it's WAY cheaper, so we can get a lot more done for the money we'd have put into just getting the side yard done.
AND I went over and looked at the pickets in Mom's back yard; if it's still okay for us to use them, we might just go ahead and put them up either as a little yard for Duke and T-Bone out back or along where the garden's going to be, I'll have to measure and see what would work best.
I have to say, it's a real relief to know that the paperwork is going to be sent off tomorrow. They mailed it on the 3rd, and it still wasn't in Cripple Creek when we left on the 8th! They forwarded it here to Mom's box, and here it is! One of the negatives about living way up in the hills - it takes forever for mail to get in and out! But it's okay now, and Heather and I were making a list today of things we have to remember to get, after we pay Mom back!
Top of the list is utilities (including fixing leaky pipes)! And brake stuff for the car. And a vet visit for Duke (another new experience for him, but he'll have his shots and hopefully get chipped at the same time - that's an ID microchip that they implant in one of his ears). Set aside money to get the chimney cleaned and the furnace checked and serviced if it needs it (which it probably does). Then the fence and paint for inside and out, and that's about it. We already have everything we need to finish the roof project that's already in progress. We also want to shop for plants for the yard but first things first. Oh, and we want to edge the sidewalks and front flower beds with bricks because the yard keeps wanting to grow over the edges of the sidewalks! And yada yada. It's a lot of work we're looking at, but once it's done it's DONE, at least for the most part.
Sigh ... ! We want to get this stuff done by the end of June, so this may well be my last day off for quite a while! I do, however, plan on being fairly reasonable about what I expect this tired old body of mine to accomplish on a daily basis. It feels pretty good to be tired at the end of busy days, but I've pushed things a bit much in the past week or so, and once the drive from NY is done, I won't have any more really LONG days - at least I don't plan on putting in more than ten hours of physical labor in any given day. That's the plan, anyway. We'll see how things go.
Also, while I'm at the post office in the morning, I'll see if we can get our same old box back. Since it's printed on the checks I have, I won't have to get new ones for a while. AND, while I'm uptown, I'll stop in at the credit union and get Bob's name OFF that checking account! The last thing I need is to put all of my money in there and have him just decide to take it out. Not that he'd probably even know it was in there, but better safe than sorry sez I !! He's pulled stuff like that before, and it's not gonna happen again. Which is something I'm not going to get into at this moment in time. There are reasons we aren't together, and that's one of them.
Besides, I have more fun things to think about these days! A trip to NY coming up, and as soon as I get back from that a shopping (buying!) trip to Menard's, and then a LOT of roofing, and wiring, and plumbing, and scraping, and painting, and digging, and planting!
Sarah called me today, bless her, and I'll be seeing her on Thursday on my way through Fargo en route to meet Matt in the Twin Cities by six on Friday morning! It's gonna be a fun trip! Depending on when we make it back, maybe I'll even get to stop in and see Liza, Nathan, and Izzy - if Liza's feeling better by the 22nd! Wow, those are going to be strange days for sure. Four days to get to NY, get Tess and Matt's stuff loaded up, drive back to MN, and then on home to Fessenden! Poor Matt's going to NEED a few days of the lake's serenity!
Indeed. Hopefully tomorrow will be as nice as today was (although it was a little warm today, over 80 out there) and I'll be able to get more done on the roof.
Happy Mother's Day to all of us mothers, and to those who (like Mom said) have MADE us mothers even if they aren't moms themselves!
Say goodnight Gracie - good night gracie!
Ah, something new to learn about! At the moment I'm too tired from a long day of work to do much learning, but in a very few days I'll have more time and hopefully more energy. We've got a list a mile long of things to do before we actually get to make the long drive north; I'll add this to it and see what happens!
