BACK IN SAN ANTONIO

Well, it's been a few weeks since I last posted here. In that time I flew to Syracuse, New York, to see my mom while John drove the RV from Clarksville TN to Fort Sam Houston TX. The 3 mutts travelled with him and probably did not even notice I was gone. (We still have an iffy relationship!) Mom's not her usual spunky self. She's coping with the diabetes and Parkinson's, but 35+ years of heart disease is wearing her down. My sisters are terrific! They are always there for her. Me? I fly in. I got on the bus for NYC at the Greyhound Station at 18 and have never looked back. Spent the days with Mom at Forest View, her "independent" living facility; I read; she napped; we played Yatzee; I won; we played Shut the Box; she won. My sisters, Mom and I went out to lunch on Saturday and then visited with my nephew Jim and his gal, Mary Kate. It was a nice visit! No rush; no fuss; just nice visiting.

Mom was the 1st to sign up for Forest View which is a beautiful 1 year old facility with space for 15 residents and has 24-hour care. Jack, Norm, Sylvia and Mom were the 1st to move in and the 4 sat together at mealtime for a year. Jack, Norm & Sylvia were all in their 90's. Sylvia passed shortly after her 99th birthday a couple of months ago. Jack and Norm died just since the New Year within a week of each other. Mom has taken the losses hard. I took her to Norm's wake. She really wanted to go, but it was hard on her! Getting older is not for the faint of heart!

Meanwhile John made it to San Antonio; got the RV all set up and the pups settled in and picked me up at the airport. Definitely warmer here than it was in Syracuse or at Fort Campbell. We'll be here for several weeks. Then we head back to Fort Campbell to see my son Hans prior to his late March deployment to Afghanistan.

NEW YEAR'S EVE IN NASHVILLE

No, John and I didn't boogie in the New Year in Nashville! We stayed in Clarksville and overnighted with Eva! Hans & Andrea and Ned & Heather went into Nashville for New Year's Eve. Ned & Heather flew out of Nashville home to Reno on New Year's Day. I'm not sure we made it 'til midnight! Taking care of an 8 month old reminds you why we're parents when young and that we're not young anymore! Crawling on the floor is easy; getting up is not! Some things have changed for the better - disposable diapers, new fangled bottles, no more sterilizing bottles & nipples. But, more stringent guidelines re: what foods baby can eat and when.

The 4 kids had fun in Nashville. Oma and Opa did, too! In the morning when Opa John got Eva up, Eva wasn't so sure about things, wondering where her mommy was. But, then Opa showed her her bottle and all was okay.

EVA'S 1st CHRISTMAS

Christmas was WONDERFUL!!!! We spent it in Clarksville (just outside Fort Campbell, KY) with Hans and Andrea and baby Eva. Ned and Heather flew in from Reno. It was terrific being with them all! It was great Hans and Ned got to spend time together and Andrea and Heather get along wonderfully. For the record, I am sick of hearing about the chocolate mouse their Oma sent them for Xmas in the early '80's that they found out about after I ate it. (I had a chocolate panic attack. What was I supposed to do?) Next year Hans will be in Afghanistan so this holiday was especially nice! Too many presents! Too much fun!! Oh, and Eva got her 1st tooth plus teeth 2 & 3. Currently working on #4!

LONG TIME NO SEE!!

Well, I have not been very diligent about my blog postings! To bring the blog up-to-date, we spent Thanksgiving in Boerne, Texas, with John's family. LOTS of food, lots of fun! Trust me it's not easy getting the people or the dogs to stand still for a group shot. In front of the column is Myrtle surrounded by her brood - or part of it. All 5 dogs are in the shot, too, but the 2 cats refused to join in. (John's holding Ginger; Amy, Tinkerbell. Molly is the beagle; Sapphire, the Golden Retriever. Then, Tiger is headed toward the back.) Good food! Good people! Good times!

Then we started travelling again heading out on 12/15 for Clarksville, TN, to spend the holidays with my kids. Arrived in Clarksville 12/19 and are still encamped! Ned and Heather arrived 12/23 and left on New Year's Day for Reno and back to the workday grind. We'll stay here until mid-January when John heads back to San Antonio and I to Syracuse to see my Mom. I'll join John in San Antonio after my visit.