“Grief is not a disorder, a disease, or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical, and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve.” – Earl Grollman
It has now been twelve weeks since Sue departed and as I go through the many pictures we have, I realize more and more how loving she was. Sue loved her family, as you can see below. Two grandmas and two granddaughters sailing the bounding sea. We took the family (and extended family) on a cruise to Mexico over the millennial New Year holiday. We departed in 1999 and returned in 2000, quite a journey. There were twenty of us in this adventure, and Sue loved making sure all was well with everyone. I was so incredibly lucky to have spent the time we had together with such a kind and loving soul. She changed me in so many positive ways, and she had quite an effect on the kids and grandkids. Some of them will never know how profound the change was because she kept things she did to herself. She is missed terribly.
Grandmas Alyce and Sue with granddaughters Jackie and Cassie (twenty years ago)
Robin was up earlier than me and already had her coffee going. I said, “Howdy”, and then finished off the Daily Diary from yesterday. Robin brought me in a cup of coffee, what a pleasant surprise. By the way, in all the years we worked together I never asked her to do that because I considered her too a) professional, and b) valuable. Robin was an essential part of my success at Rockwell/Boeing. Now she is an essential part of my life.
We talked to Colleen and “monkey mouse” (Logann) just to catch up on things. Logann was talking up a storm to us, but it took Colleen to understand and translate what she was saying. Colleen is quite the grandma and I am very proud of her (and Mark).
We decided to walk early, so off we departed about 8:15 AM. We headed south today just to be different. We went right down the middle of Rossmoor, almost ending up at Seal Beach Blvd. The weather was perfect for walking since it was in the high 60s and there was that magnificent ocean breeze.
I added another 4,000 steps to the count after Robin went home so I was over 10,000 for the day!
When we got home, the house cleaners were busy, so we sat in the patio for a while discussing the rest of the week. Finally, around 11:00 AM, we called CPK and ordered two salads and split a small kids’ pizza. Off to the local park, we went with the Grey Ghost leading the way. We found a perfect table under a magnificent shady tree. The salads were super, but the day was not as warm as we had thought, and after drinking the fountain cokes, we both were freezing—time to go home.
Perfect for me attempting to stay below 200 pounds!
Robin headed for home after lunch, and I just piddled around the house. Today was not a great day for me emotionally as I just missed Sue every place I looked. I wandered from the house to the garage and back into the house via the many entrances/exits we have. It seemed impossible to get anything started. I did, however, do the wash and fold and put away the sheets.
The nice Amazon delivery lady visited bringing me a new pastry knife (this tool is known by a variety of names, including dough scraper, dough cutter, dough knife, pastry cutter, bench scraper, board scraper, and bench knife.) and two 9″ round baking pans.
I popped over to Old Ranch and talked to them about signing up as a golf member again. It’s just not clear to me if I would play 2-3 times a week or not and if it was worth the money!
I called Lee about 6:00 PM to make sure she was set up for Zooming with her class, and she was ready to go. An IT guy who used to work for her logged into her machine and got the camera and speakers set up and running. Now Lee can join our weekly family get-togethers!
Lee gave me her daughter’s phone number so we could set up a meeting between my great-granddaughter Lilly and her granddaughter, Addison. They met at the Christmas Play and hit it off. Now they can use the bat phone. I called Rebecca and passed on the information.
Ralph’s market came to mind as I just wanted to get out of the house. I picked up some shrimp, which I plan to have tomorrow for lunch. I am making paella, which is a Portuguese/Spanish dish made of fish and rice. I plan to sautee up some diced jalapenos to add a little kick to the meal!
While researching brunch tomorrow, I also decided biscuits and gravy are for Friday morning, so I checked the date on my Jimmy Dean Hot sausage, and we are good to go. Homemade biscuits and gravy, yum!!! Also, tomorrow, I plan to make apple cinnamon swirl bread.
I made some telephone calls to my fantastic friends. Jan M. and I talked for a while. She is doing battle with the house getting the plumbing fixed and the typical homeowner situations.
By 9:00 PM, I was getting tired, so to the shower. I had to remove the bandages from the back of my neck and almost went looking for Sue to help take the dressing off. Finally, with extreme care, I got it off, hoping I was not pulling out any stitches.
Good night all, tomorrow will be a better day. The following video will give you something to think about. Enjoy!
