Thankful for the ups and the downs
I am thankful my cousin's death in a car crash earlier this month led to lives being saved or extended through her organ donation. From a 6 month old girl to a 64 year old man, there are 8 families this season who are very sorry for our loss and so thankful for their gain. Wine glasses raised to Gina for many years to come. Hopefully, they were also able to use skin grafts for burn victims. As a former firefighter, that was important to me too. The skin is our biggest organ. I am sad and astounded we lost a vibrant 24 year old who brought alot of joy to everyone she met, but she's finally gotten to meet her dad, my mom's brother, who died in a rock climbing accident 3 months before she was born. I can't change the outcome, but I can take solace in other pieces. I set up an alter to burn candles the day she wound up actually going brain-dead, and one of the candles had just burned out when my mom called with the news. I set it up as usual, but instead of a ceremonial knife, we used one of Ben's two-handed broad swords, to help give her a fighting chance. I'm interested to see her actual, medical day of death, since they kept her on life support for a while to line up all the organ donors. Her remembrance ceremony is Saturday. I have to write the piece for my aunt to read and get that emailed out today.
I am thankful my dad's car crash last week didn't do more damage to him or his wife. He fainted over the steering wheel at a red light, she leaned over to shake him, worried that he was dead, his foot slid to the accelerator and they hit the building 80ft later. Her seatbelt was stretched too far to activate (full sized pickup truck) and the truck was pre-airbag, so she's got a new hip and some hardware in her arm and shoulder. Dad probably just had low blood sugar and what saved him from more damage was the cross between the seatbelt and being unconscious -- he's been released and now will stay nearby with my older brother while Fran's sisters finish packing up the house that they're selling in 10 days. Thankfully, Fran stays in the hospital for rehab while all this goes on, so she'll be frustrated she can't unpack into the new house (that they close on in 10 days) but she'll be getting better instead, so that's good. And I'm glad he's out of the hospital and she's in maintenance mode, because the nurses there go on a labor strike today. I hope they get what they need too.
There's another thing I'm thankful for, but I can't get into it now. It's one of those things that you have to be thankful for but at the same time you're sitting there thinking "what the fuck?!" I hope to be able to write about that soon. Keeping things in isn't good for me, but it's also not something that I can talk about yet. But I'm ok, and I will be ok. But boy, it's been a helluva month.
I'm thankful for friends. I haven't seen so many people in so long that I never thought I'd be thankful for something like LJ or FB but sadly I am. I need to stop getting my information t/here and getting it in human interaction instead, but at the moment, the only commitment I'm allowed to keep is the one that says I'm not allowed to make promises or commitments at the moment.
I read here everyday, I have enjoyed reading stories and have tried to combat the guilt of not contributing. I hope your pool and your mom's pool aren't all screwed up. I hope you got the job and I'm so sorry about your grandfather -- I'm going to be a mess when (if?) mine goes. I hope the car doesn't get stuck again and that recruiter calls you back. I hope biking has been as fun as it looks, and that silence on that front means your mom isn't actively driving you crazy. I'm glad you're making new friends. I'm glad you're visiting fun places.
I'm glad my mom and I are going to try a new lemon meringue pie recipe at Christmas.
I am thankful my dad's car crash last week didn't do more damage to him or his wife. He fainted over the steering wheel at a red light, she leaned over to shake him, worried that he was dead, his foot slid to the accelerator and they hit the building 80ft later. Her seatbelt was stretched too far to activate (full sized pickup truck) and the truck was pre-airbag, so she's got a new hip and some hardware in her arm and shoulder. Dad probably just had low blood sugar and what saved him from more damage was the cross between the seatbelt and being unconscious -- he's been released and now will stay nearby with my older brother while Fran's sisters finish packing up the house that they're selling in 10 days. Thankfully, Fran stays in the hospital for rehab while all this goes on, so she'll be frustrated she can't unpack into the new house (that they close on in 10 days) but she'll be getting better instead, so that's good. And I'm glad he's out of the hospital and she's in maintenance mode, because the nurses there go on a labor strike today. I hope they get what they need too.
There's another thing I'm thankful for, but I can't get into it now. It's one of those things that you have to be thankful for but at the same time you're sitting there thinking "what the fuck?!" I hope to be able to write about that soon. Keeping things in isn't good for me, but it's also not something that I can talk about yet. But I'm ok, and I will be ok. But boy, it's been a helluva month.
I'm thankful for friends. I haven't seen so many people in so long that I never thought I'd be thankful for something like LJ or FB but sadly I am. I need to stop getting my information t/here and getting it in human interaction instead, but at the moment, the only commitment I'm allowed to keep is the one that says I'm not allowed to make promises or commitments at the moment.
I read here everyday, I have enjoyed reading stories and have tried to combat the guilt of not contributing. I hope your pool and your mom's pool aren't all screwed up. I hope you got the job and I'm so sorry about your grandfather -- I'm going to be a mess when (if?) mine goes. I hope the car doesn't get stuck again and that recruiter calls you back. I hope biking has been as fun as it looks, and that silence on that front means your mom isn't actively driving you crazy. I'm glad you're making new friends. I'm glad you're visiting fun places.
I'm glad my mom and I are going to try a new lemon meringue pie recipe at Christmas.