Gone (Sob)

Joey left for his fishing trip on Sunday. I didn't think I would get so upset...but I did. I started becoming more and more grumpy as 6:00 approached. I realized I was making it difficult for him to leave so I pretended to be happy and that made it worse. It's so crazy how things change. When he left, I actually wasn't sure what to do with myself. I felt a little lost. Now, keep in mind that I don't even see him Monday through Thursday. Could it be God is drawing us closer together? Nah..... :o)

I hung out with my Grandma, aunt, mom and niece yesterday. We visited my grandfather's grave in Breckenridge, MI. Breckenridge is where my grandmother is from and where my grandparents started their family. It is a cute, little village in the flatest part of MI. The cemetary is beautiful with a field of wildflowers bordering the west side. I always feel at peace when strolling through the various resting places: my great-grandparents, my great uncle, friends of my grandma's. My mom usually grabs a watering can to give the flowers a drink. It doesn't matter if she knows the people or not.

My mom was telling me about a headstone that had the Pittsburgh Steelers logo on it in color. I found the headstone on our way back to the car. The rest of my family came over to see it, commented on how unique it was and then started toward the car, again. But as I stared at the headstone, a chill shot through my body.

"Mom, come back and take another look at this," I said. When she approached, she didn't notice what I had noticed...at first. Then, she exclaimed, "Oh, wow. He had your birthday." Yeah, this person who had passed away was born February 22, 1976. We were born on the same exact day but he died in 2002. It was a little creepy staring at my birthdate on a headstone, knowing that someday it would be mine. Of course, I will never die....spiritually...but sometimes I get weirded out when I think of my body decomposing in a grave. Hope you weren't eating lunch when you read that.

Anyhow, we went to visit my great aunt Marlene afterward and then went to the old soda shop for lunch. It still has the same soda fountain counter my grandma used to sit at when she was in high school. After lunch, we went to Soaring Eagle casino where I lost $40 of my own, $40 of my aunt's and $10 of my grandma's. My aunt won about $2,000 so I was happy for her.

After a stop at Tom's Western Store (I stayed in the van to take a nap), we returned to Holt. I went home from there but stopped to visit Hemi and Chessie. They were already upset at being left alone for a day but there was nothing I could do. I started to feel sad on the way home but Jennwy and Yi kept me company. I love them :o)

Anyhow, I only have three more days to go and I will see JAC on Thursday. We leave for Chicago on Friday morning and it is going to be a blast. Check out where we are staying. And yes, same room, two double beds, and a strong Holy Spirit. :o)