Yeah, last week was quite the roller coaster, with extreme highs and extreme lows.
The low was, of course, losing Gabriel. But, out of this came a confirmation of something I already knew. I have the most awesome friends, both online and in real life. So many sweet & touching comments from y'all here, and over on Facebook, and on Twitter. We also got a half dozen cards and 3 bouquets of flowers. Our neighbor Tammy planted a hosta for Gabe back where we buried him.
It's been tough, but Monday really was the worst day. It's gotten better. The sadness hits at weird times though. Like when I put the carpet cleaner away under the sink. I started crying because I wouldn't be cleaning up cat barf a couple times a week. Not that I miss the barf, just the barfer.
Lump seems unfazed. We expected that.
And then the highs. I know I mentioned the NASA Tweetup that I got picked for. I don't think I posted anything since then though. I'm going! Although incredibly jealous,
hellbob said that I shouldn't miss it because it's the opportunity of a lifetime. So I changed my plane ticket to fly down Wednesday and will be spending most of the day Thursday at Kennedy Space Center. The whole rest of the crew (
hellbob,
genevra, monkeys, etc) will be watching the launch from a river boat, and will also go on a bit of a nature cruise.
I've got my camera gear sorted out for the trip. My giant lens is going w/me in my carryon and I've got a carbon fiber tripod rental set up down in Orlando. I'm sort of nervous about going to meet such a huge group of people where I don't know anyone, but at least we can get to know each other on Twitter first. And of the 3 other people I've learned of that are going down from Minneapolis, one of them is actually on the same flight as me. I haven't met her yet so that could be good or bad! LOL. We're even going to give her a ride to the airport with us most likely. I just wish we could have brought a plus one so that I could have
hellbob there with me for the launch. I'm going to miss getting to see it with him. :( Moose is awesome, but he's no Rick.