mokie

Oh man... my lower back really needs it. Maybe we can get a two-for-one deal from Cabana Boy?? How are classes going?

;D I'm going to assume you mean a drink, Maureen. Let me know if I misunderstood. The cabana boy is somewhere nearby. (did I say that????) I have some Davy Crockett's cinnamon whiskey that a friend brought me straight from Tennnessee... It's pretty potent. It's gotten me into trouble more that once (well, not exactly trouble, but our friends' fence may never be the same... Long story). How 'bout I pour you a shot? And a treat for Rosie, of course. Hank and Budger don't mind sharing.

"I am thankful in a way for having gone through this huge devastation in my life." OMG!! I have thought this same exact thing... I don't think anyone has actually put this thought into words on this board... On the surface it sounds like such an awful statement. But I know I am a better person for having gone through the loss. I appreciate life more. I let people know I love them more. I take more chances. I don't waste my time on negative people and things. I know what's important.

The "fast-tracking" made me giggle too. I felt like I was moving so slowly. Others here were dating at a year out. I tried it, and ran very quickly back into hiding. No way was I ready for that yet! I wasn't ready until about 3 years out, and only then, with someone from YWBB that had become a dear friend. And I had learned to love myself, and my time by myself, during that extra 2 years I gave myself. And I'd still be by myself, happily, if the right person hadn't been there. Everyone just plods along at their own timeline, doing what is best for them at the time.

I tossed a bunch of photographs today. I used to always get duplicate copies so I could share them with family. Looks like I never shared them! Also tossed a bunch of Christmas cards we received somewhere around 2002. What do I do with a plate with a picture of my old childhood church on it, made for the Centennial? I'll never hang it up anywhere. And a quilted wall hanging that the members of my old church made when S and I got married, with all the members signatures on it. I'll never hang it again! I did find a quilted wall hanging that I'm washing and putting in the garage sale pile. A wooden bowl that a co-worker lovingly made for me when I left the school district (I forgot I had that... THAT I'm keeping. It's beautiful!). Lots of newspapers that must have had something important in them at some point, but looking through them, I couldn't figure out what, so those are in the burn pile. A few other things that can go in the garage sale pile. I emptied a very large plastic storage bin today. Only 7 or 8 more!

The cabana boy IS nice, isn't he? Ooh, I'm settled in watching my boys Gibbs, Tony, and McGee... Some Karaoke would go well with my evening. I got back from exercise class a little bit ago... Look up a video of a workout called "Pound". I swear our instructor is trying to kill us. You use drumsticks, and it sounded so fun... Until about 20 minutes into it. I'm gonna need an umbrella drink.

kmouse, I clicked above to get notices to my email when replies were given to this topic... I was reading your response on my phone, and it doesn't identify the author till the end. I knew without seeing who wrote it that it was you. You have a certain wonderful style to the way you write. And I knew for sure when I saw the word "sphincter". ;D

Hey! Great topic! I found "life beginning to look up" a few years ago, when I realized I looked forward to going to work... Loved the people I worked with and had lots of fun with them. I enjoyed family get-togethers and wasn't dreading the "okay, all you kids and your spouses, let's take a group picture!" anymore. I, like bluebird, didn't define myself first as a widow, but was finding my way by myself again. I was taking pleasure in life again, not living under a black cloud. I find myself way more able to fly by the seat of my pants, make spur-of-the-moment decisions, take what seems to be crazy (but not dangerous) chances. When I got remarried, we both quit our jobs and took on a whole new life in a whole new place. I think at first we thought by going to a new place and starting over, we could "escape" our widowed pasts, but it's how we met, it's part of our story, and you know what? It's a great story. We both had great lives before, and we're building a new one together now. We're about to embark on a new adventure, and my outlook on life, I've realized, is "Life is short... Take chances and make memories while you can!"

Ooh, hand me a sparkly marker, and I'll grade the papers for grammar... Someone else can handle the content part. And I'll have a thin mint. Oh who am I kidding?? No one can eat just one thin mint. Hand me a whole sleeve. I just finished going through a giant plastic tub from the attic that was labeled "living room stuff". I thought this was from the most recent move in 2011. Nope... from the contents, this was from the move shortly after S died, when I sold our house. Holy cow! You'd think there wouldn't be anything in there that I'd want, since I haven't missed it in 7-1/2 years. But there's the wooden bowl that one of the custodians hand-crafted for me after S died... The custodian that drove S absolutely bonkers with the endless complaints he had. And the personalized quilt that my church family made S and me, when we got married. And a decorative plate of my old home church. And an ornament of the old school where I worked, made when the new school was built and the old one closed. I don't need or really want any of those things anymore, but neither would anyone else. But how do you just toss those things? **sigh** So yeah, grading papers sounds great. Can I add some Bailey's to my coffee while I'm working?

Jumping back on this again today... I just brought down a container from the attic that's labeled "living room stuff". That means it's all the junk that was lying around after the important things were carefully wrapped and packed before our move 4 years ago. This should be fun... and should result in a very large trash/burn pile!

That sounds great! I'll have one... or two... of those pancakes. I'll be in and out. We're doing spring cleaning/purging around our place this week. Gotta go spelunking in the attic for another box to bring down and go through. Let's see what interesting "treasures" this one brings. So far we have a whole lot in the "give to kids/donate/garage sale/burn barrel" piles, and not a lot in the "keep" pile. Why have we been saving all this stuff????

Well besides all the glitter and sequins on the floor (which add a very nice sparkle to the Bistro) and the wads of paper thrown in the corner, things look pretty good in here this morning. How late did everyone stay grading papers? Sorry I wimped out early. Shouldn't have had that last glass of wine. I'm not much on fixing lovely breakfast things, but I could whip up a mean bunch of scrambled eggs and bacon. And how about some grits to go along with that? Coffee is perking, and there's juice in the fridge. Hey, those of you outside lurking... I see you peeking in the windows. C'mon in! Pull up a barstool and sit a spell. Oh, and the disco ball is a nice touch, kmouse. Thanks for finding that!

Ooh, a Mojito I can do... AND a tequila sunrise, with the good stuff. Then I'm going to have to turn in my green pen and start again tomorrow. I'm fading fast. It was hard work getting the Bistro to look acceptable again. Just don't look under that stack of blankets in the corner. Someone take over the drink slinging for me till tomorrow. Oh, can I keep my sequined Shriner hat? I've become attached to it. ;D And yes Rob, you can entertain the rest of the wids here at the mike. Sing away! Do you take requests? Later gators!! Last one out, turn out the lights.

Oh, I'm an old pro at grading. Having given up my red pen (actually, I preferred green... didn't seem so harsh) a few years ago, I may be a little out of practice, but with another glass of wine, and a sequined Shriners cap, I can probably jump right back on that horse.

You bet! Shall I add in the poodle skirt and saddle shoes costume I also found? ;D Oh that would be awesome!! We could do our own Dancing with the Wids.

Can you ride the unicycle while wearing the sequin trimmed leotard with the gold fringe skirt? I think that would be pretty exciting!

And Mancino... Can you bring the sequin trimmed leotard with the gold fringe skirt, and the unicycle, to the Bistro? I think maybe we could have fun with those.

Dang... someone took my punch line!! Oh well, tell ya what... Y'all just hop behind the bar and help yourself. Umbrellas are on the house. Anyone want me to change the channel off of Dancing with the Stars? I like to imagine I could dance all of the "stars" off the floor. Although I'd like to do a body-swap with Rumer Willis. :-\

Oh, Rosie would love Kimba and Missy! We *may* be there in early-mid May... Not sure yet. I'll let you know!

Do you like fruity little umbrella drinks? I can probably mix up something pretty... Not sure how it will taste. We have lots of umbrellas though. ;D Yeah, getting rid of that stuff that we don't really need, but have emotional attachments to, is really hard... No matter how much we tell ourselves it shouldn't matter.

Love reading all of these stories!! My son is 27, he was 20 when S died. He was my son's stepdad, but the only dad he ever knew. My son has a boy that's 18 months old, and he is such a good daddy. Makes my heart swell. He's 4-1/2 years out of college, and he's already gone from being a zookeeper, to being a supervisor over 4 other zookeepers, to being the curator of the zoo. He's finding out that management isn't always worth the larger paycheck... But he's handling the stressful situations well.

Right now we're using a local Buy Sell and Trade site that has a facebook page. If things don't sell there, some will go on Craigslist or Ebay, but we're trying to avoid the hassle of postage.

Whoa! Wait till the kids have to make family trees in school!! ;D Seriously, this is awesome! I'd love to hear the story of how this developed, how the family (families) reacted. Was everyone cool with it from the beginning?

Friends and family. Wherever they are, so is my dock.

Today I opened a box that had a bunch of old comic books that belonged to S... Put those in the container for his son. Dug 4 formal dresses out of the closet and listed them for sale on the local Buy, Sell, and Trade site... 2 of which were my wedding dresses #2 and 3. Yeah, 3 weddings so far. There will not be a 4th. And people wonder why I chuckle at the term "Chapter 2". I think I'm on chapter 37. :-\ The hubs listed 2 trombones and a guitar... And already sold the guitar. He also pitched several things in the burn barrel, and sorted out some other stuff to go to the St Vincent's. We're on a roll now!!