Everything Changes So Fast

What a long while since I last posted. It has been nuttier than usual around here. I've had houseguests galore: my sister, nieces, brothers, and assorted in-laws. I even met my adorable great-nephew (although I am far too young to be a great aunt) on his very first birthday. Loads of family time and we loved almost every minute of it. Quite a difference when it's MY family, and not D.'s, whom I like but have a hard time relating to. (It's not them, it's me, and I need to try harder.)

Our latest houseguests were a dream: they were easy, they made being the hostess easy, they were no trouble at all. Seven people sleeping all over my house and I didn't stress out a single moment. I didn't have to escape to my secret room overlooking the park where no one can find me. My peeps are so mellow and chill that I felt like I was on vacation. They didn't require entertaining. They didn't require waitress service. They didn't require a maid. They helped cook and clean, and my brother even folded my laundry. They didn't make us take them all over the place to see every fern, Douglas fir tree and mountain stream within fifty miles. In fact, they didn't want to do anything. We didn't go anywhere except restaurants. We didn't check out any local attractions besides the bookstore. We hung out. We walked. We ate. We yakked. And yakked. Oh, and we drank beer. It was good. It was very good. Relaxing and reconnecting. What more could I want from a family visit?

Certainly not the cold that someone brought me from the germ-infested planes they flew in on. What started as a series of loud dramatic sneezes turned into a nasty head and chest cold that I'm still not over. I was amazed at the amount of stuff that came out of my head every morning. Eeeeewwwwww! Boxes of tissues later, it's now permanently lodged in my lungs, keeping me up and coughing every night. Thank god for Nyquil, my new best friend.

Thus, I have missed two sessions of Boot Camp. And, I missed two sessions due to my family visiting. I'm starting to feel guilty. I hope I'm well enough Wednesday to go. Despite the pain and soreness, I really really am enjoying it. And I'm seeing results. And I feel better--physically and emotionally. I have not bitched about how fat I am even once since I started this program. That in itself is worth every moment I spend gritting my teeth and wincing in pain.

So on to better health for me (although a cold is hardly worth lamenting) and better days ahead for some of my friends who've had great and terrible losses recently.

I'm feeling very fortunate tonight that I'm not suffering the way my friend K. is. That I'm not facing the rest of my life without my mate. That I can look across the room and see D.'s beautiful face and hear the voice that still makes me weak in the knees. And I remember K.'s husband with love in my heart and smile on my face--because he made me laugh every single time I saw him. Rest easy, J. Wherever you are, I know you're stirring things up.