Very well put, thank you, Mr. Koontz! “Grief can destroy you –or focus you. You can decide a relationship was all for nothing if it had to end in death, and you alone. OR you can realize that every moment of it had more meaning than you dared to recognize at the time, so much meaning it scared you, so you just lived, just took for granted the love and laughter of each day, and didn’t allow yourself to consider the sacredness of it. But when it’s over and you’re alone, you begin to see that it wasn’t just a movie and a dinner together, not just watching sunsets together, not just scrubbing a floor or washing dishes together or worrying over a high electric bill. It was everything, it was the why of life, every event and precious moment of it. The answer to the mystery of existence is the love you shared sometimes so imperfectly, and when the loss wakes you to the deeper beauty of it, to the sanctity of it, you can’t get off your knees for a long time, you’re driven to your knees not by the weight of the loss but by gratitude for what preceded the loss. And the ache is always there, but one day not the emptiness, because to nurture the emptiness, to take solace in it, is to disrespect the gift of life.” – Dean Koontz,
Endless fun; eternal love!
As you may know, Sue was a software engineer before she was moved into senior management at Rockwell/Boeing. I can see her now looking at Dilbert and shaking her head, saying, “No one understands software!”
Another cartoon, Sue, would have appreciated!
More sadness today as I had to go through the bathroom and those personal like jewelry and things, but I did it with a little help from the kids, they were there when I needed a lift!
Everything I packed away brought back fantastic memories, which I shall never forget. Especially the jewelry as I was asked the question, “How does this look?” about 1,000,000 times. I was also the official “clasper checker,” meaning Sue would have me look to see if the clasps we snapped adequately. I loved that job!
I now have everything ready for Donna tomorrow, and I have developed a master plan on what to do with all the room in the closet. It’s going to be amazing! I see a lot of blankets going to shelters soon.
A call was placed to Lee for some advice, and she, as usual, was very understanding and helpful. Thank you, Lee, for the assistance. Irene has been a fantastic sounding board for me these past three months. God bless my dear friends!
Irene and Lee have been incredible during my time of need!
At lunchtime, I looked in the freezer and found the rainbow trout dish from two weeks ago. Three minutes in the nuclear reactor, and it was perfect! I will empty the freezer somehow. Next week I did NOT order HelloFresh so I can make a dent in the seafood. I plan a seafood bouillabaisse. This healthy French-style seafood soup is tasty and refreshing too.
Only 400 calories but 39 grams of protein!
The Grey Ghost and I did a run to Lowe’s and Total Wine as I needed some boxes, a couple of air compressor related parts, another bottle of Empress 1908 gin, and James’ Dewar’s scotch. I have company arriving at 4:00 PM; the post-golf game crew is stopping by for a drink!
We were going to be in the patio proper, but it was too darned hot on the bricks, so I moved the party ten feet south, and now we are under the shade of the old oak tree, OK, the various citrus trees. Plenty of shade and a gentle cooling breeze. Soft chairs, TV trays, appropriate PPE equipment, and the drink of their choice!
In keeping with my “you are now alone, don’t be stupid approach to life,” I asked my Gardner if he would trim the neighbor’s trees. He did a great job and got up on the wall with the hedge trimmer and whacked it. I was going to do that but thought better of the plan and asked him. I slipped him $40, which was well worth if. Sue would have been proud.
If it were me and I fell, it would be like Humpty-Dumpty!
My hands look like they belong to Mr. Clean.
The time has arrived, and right on time was Mis Charlotte, my golf buddy. We talked for about twenty minutes before James and Linda arrived.
Charlotte is a delightful person who Sue and I enjoyed having as a friend!
A few minutes later, James and Linda came in, and I was so happy that Linda brought a wine that she enjoys because I did NOT have her favorite Cuba Libra ready!
It was a perfect setting. We had the ocean breeze and shade, and the smell of citrus blossoms.
The four of us “yacked” until a little past 6:00 PM. We solved the world’s problems, talked about the golf folks we all know, and just had a super time!
Wonderful times!
After they departed, I ran inside to join an on-going zoom session with my old work family, but alas, they had just disconnected. So, having a zoom-less Friday didn’t seem right, so I threw out an invitation to Dave, Colleen, and Robin, and by 6:30 PM, I was on with Louisana, New Hampshire, and Corona (the town, not the virus).
Cousin Dave is my first cousin “once removed”… Removing him worked on the first try!
The four of us carried on for over an hour just discussing current events and general non-sense. I snapped a photo of the group and shared it with my cousin Claudia who I texted to see if she could join us.
We were enjoying each other’s company.
Claudia said she was not up on the latest technology, so she will read the daily diary and capture the essence of the conversation. Perhaps with a gentle push from one of her kids, we will be able to get her on board. Zoom is impressive for getting the family together like tonight’s free-for-all!
By 8:00 PM, I was getting tired, so I retired to the living room and watched two episodes of “The Order”. I found out they are going for season two, which made me quite happy. The show is set to follow “college freshman Jack Morton, who joins a fabled secret society, The Order, where he is thrust into a world of magic, monsters, and intrigue. As Jack goes deeper, he uncovers dark family secrets and an underground battle between werewolves and the magical dark arts.”
At 10:00 PM, I crashed and watched TV for about 45 minutes before the eyelids decided to come crashing down.
