Thursday, May 20, 2010

Hi, everyone! Tomorrow, May 21st, Frankie will be turning 7 YEARS OLD! WOW!!

He has grown out of "baby"... out of "toddler"... into my little man. We're hoping for nice weather this weekend so we can take him to his most favorite place... the beach. I know tomorrow will be beautiful, but Frank & I may end up taking one for the team if the temperature drops on Saturday! Frankie absolutely LOVES the beach and the pool. He does not care AT ALL how cold the water is. He truly missed his calling as a Navy Seal!

We have started to wean Frankie off of his steroids (again). This time, we are hoping that he won't have to go right back on it again. If we are successful, we can wean him off of the Pepcid, and then maybe the Reglan and Creon. I'm not going to get my hopes up just yet... but we are getting there.

On a much more somber note, I have to take the time to pay respect to two wonderful people in my life who passed suddenly last week. My cousin Hazel (Father's side) and my aunt Paddy (mom's sister).

Hazel was too young to leave this world. She had just had a baby girl, Arianna, four weeks ago. Her birthday was Mother's Day. She deserved to be here much longer than this. Her daughter deserved to have her more than four weeks as her mother on this earth. Her husband deserved to spend the rest of their lives together, growing old, raising children, spoiling grandchildren... I am still grieving. I am going to miss her funeral tomorrow. I am going to miss her forever.

My aunt Paddy lived in England. She was a special needs woman being taken care of by a wonderful woman, Sylvia for many years. Sylvia would take Paddy on all sorts of wonderful trips and vacations. She always sent me post cards from her adventures. The last time I saw her was in 1998, my last trip to England. I am saddened that Frankie never got to meet his great-aunt... and that she never got a chance to meet him. I think they would have enjoyed each other's company.

I am sad. I cry for these losses for myself and for my family. I am tired of good, beautiful people being taken from this world before their time. The only way I can think of this as good, is that God has a plan for them up in Heaven... Not having them here, I know, is a selfish sadness... but I just can help feeling the void in my heart getting bigger with every loss. God help me understand your plan. Because I know, one day, I will be faced with a great loss that I am unsure I will be able to work through...

I pray every day for all of our family and friends who lose a loved one. Hug and kiss your loved ones every day, every night. Tell them that you love them. You have no idea when that moment will no longer be available to you.