Pages

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Thankful.

From February 2006...

I have always envied people who live near their parents...i'd hear them gripe and complain and i'd think..."wouldn't that be cool to live close to your parents so you could see them whenever you want - wouldn't that be a luxury instead of maybe a week out of a year and then again when there's a funeral to attend?" Tomorrow i load up the kids and head out to Iowa...a place where i use to joke "it's not the end of the world but you can see it from there...the big thing in the summer is to sit on my brothers roof and watch the storms roll in...i try to time the vacation so we get at least one tornado warning while we're there...

But lately the trips to Iowa have taken a different tone...my grandma is 98 this year, and my dad is fighting cancer and i find myself holding on to them a little bit longer and begging for stories about when they were younger...you know, the stories they've told a hundred times that i use to be able to say in my sleep...like the one where my aunt met Elvis Presley and was so nervous that when he asked her who her favorite singer was she blirted out "Pat Boone" (totally true)...Elvis thought it was funny BUT for years afterwards when anyone said something STUPID we'd say "Pat Boone."

Every spring my mom and i visit the graves of my great grandparents to lay flowers but the last couple of years she's taken to pointing out the spot where she and dad want to be buried and i find myself being jolted by an incredible burst of pain...like, someday it's going to be my turn to bring my daughter here to lay flowers and honestly, i don't think i'm ready for it, and time which use to move so slowly in Iowa is now suddenly moving too fast for me...but you know what..?
Tomorrow is a time for celebration because i'm going to go home and see my family and even if i win the lottery someday...I will never be as rich as i am now, at this moment.

November 2008 update...

My grandmother passed away later that year, and my grandfather-who i told you about last year when he got married again at 92(!!!)-just had a stroke about 3 weeks ago and doesn't know anyone including his lovely 85 year old bride...but you know what, i'm so thankful because my dad who had been fighting prostate AND colon cancer, is winning the battle! And my stepson Mark who has been to Iraq TWICE, is currently home on US soil and i'm incredibly thankful for that. And sure, i'd like to go home to Iowa to see my parents this Thanksgiving, but i have three kids at home, neighbors whom i love, one turtle and one demented dog, and i'm going to really enjoy this Thanksgiving surrounded by all of them.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

"He's not my president..."

Just wondering...I didn't vote Obama...do i get to say "he's not my president..."

Because for the last eight years, that's been the thing to say when your candidate loses. "He's not my president."

I've never understood that, "he's not my president." But the bottom line is, whether i like it or not, he is going to be the president, and honestly, this nation NEEDS him to be successful, so the bottom line is; I didn't vote for him, but Obama is my president.

Just one thought President-elect Obama,

You promised your daughters a dog if you won the election...might i suggest one of our beautiful Wisconsin greyhounds? See, this way your daughters would have the joy of a dog who acted like a cat...sort of a two for one deal...just think about, ok?

Cindy Huber
ps...God bless our veterans and their families...thank you very much for your sacrifices.

It's so hard to say goodbye...

For most of this fall, i've been bringing my pots from outside into the house to protect them from the cooler autumn nights, but my husband finally put his foot down today saying the entire house was starting to smell like moldy dying plants, which is something coming from a funeral director...i would have thought his nose would be immune to that by now...but noooo....which is why, on this last sunny freak 70 day i'm gathering up my potted outdoor plants and saying goodbye.

So i'll start by saying goodbye goofy low hanging plant whose name i can't remember but i think started with a "b", i'll really miss banging my head on the bottom of your basket everytime i walked out the front door...but it was worth it because you looked stunning most of this summer.


Goodbye metal bistro set, which in concept, should have worked, but we didn't count on the tree branch that hung directly over the table, or the birds that ate the berries directly over our table, and then used the table as a pooping target...or at least that's what it looked like most of this summer.


Goodbye hobbits playing chess who did a poor job of protecting my ferns from the rabbits and chipmunks...have a nice winter rest in the garage, perhaps you can protect the lawnblower from the snowblower, or vice-versa.

Monday, November 03, 2008

VOTE!

I was amused at how all the local news channels were covering the election...folks, this occurs every four years, until they started interviewing people who were in their 40's and 50's who have never voted until today claiming they didn't feel they had a voice before...then i was annoyed...shame on those people...you had a voice...you just chose not to use it!

Not me...i cast my vote every four years and some years i'm real excited about the choices, and some years, not so much. I've also written a candidate's name on the ballet because the man i absolutely respect, Ralph Nader, needed my vote, regardless of whether he had a shot or not, because as he has said...

"A vote for someone you don't believe in, is a wasted vote."

Plus, my vote canceled out Julie Davidson's...sorry Julie...; )