July: Two funerals and a birthday
July saw the passing of Jeremy's step-grandmother and the mother of a friend of mine. (The friend was one of my bridesmaids, 13 years ago.)
Jeremy was not especially close to his grandfather's second wife. She married into the family when Jeremy was 3, so she didn't raise his dad, and definitely treated her family differently from her own biological grandchildren. It was sad, but there was no real sense of personal loss.
I am much sadder about my friend's mom's passing. She had been struggling with diabetes and related health issues for years, so even though this was not sudden, I could see at the viewing how hard it had been for the family.
My grandmother turned 91 this past month. I took the kids up, and at the party, my aunt, my cousins Lisa and Christy, and Lisa's 2 kids. My kids were so happy to have other kids to play with, even though the ages of all 4 were 7, 5, 3, and 1, with mine being the oldest.
I think my grandmother enjoyed it, even if she needed a nap while we took the kids to the playground so she could rest!
That night, there was a beautiful sunset.
Today, my mom and I took the kids to the Howard County Fair. We had to skip it last year because Christopher had a broken leg. This year, we learned about Cleveland Bays, which are a rare breed of horse from England (not Ohio) and Samantha was a volunteer in a magic show.
Afterwards, we took my Mom to Wegman's so she could see why people made such a big deal about it. She was disappointed that we could not find any of her favorite snacks, pickled pig's feet, or pickled cauliflower. She was happy, however, to find black licorice candies. My Mom has weird tastes, I know.
That's the big stuff. I'm sure there has been more going on, but I can't think of much off hand. I have 2 more weeks of summer vacation, and the kids have 3. This week is booked with stuff going on every day, all of it good, but keeping me busy.