Labor Day 2010

Well, here I am posting on Labor Day weekend...my last post was Memorial Day weekend. I didn't plan to let so much time pass in between posts. It seems summer has come and gone without getting much done on my "to-do" list. Life happens. On June 4, my mom was hit by a car as she was walking into Walgreens. She had surgery two days later to repair a broken left wrist and broken right leg. She spent a few weeks in the hospital and rehab center, then came home to spend the summer in a wheelchair. John and I went to St. Louis in June as we had planned before mom's accident...mom had just gotten home a few days earlier. We spent most of our time with family for my Aunt Marilyn's estate sale. We were also able to attend the O'Fallon, IL Relay for Life with my cousins, Joe and Mary Beth. It was an emotional time, as a year earlier, we were there celebrating the good news of Marilyn's remission from her cancer. This time we were there celebrating her life, and missing her greatly. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her. She is still missed A LOT. John and I drove back to North Dakota, getting back on Monday night. I worked Tuesday-Friday morning, then I flew back to St. Louis to help my mom as Doug had to get back to work. The day flying home has to be one of the worst days of my life. I woke up with a terrible migraine...got sick twice before I even left home...then proceeded to get sick at the airport, the flight from ND to MN, then the flight from MN to St. Louis (twice)...then on the Metro-Link train from the airport to the station near mom's house, and then the parking lot of that station. It was horrible. By the time I got to Mascoutah, I nearly collapsed from exhaustion and dehydration. A bottle of Pedia-Lite and several bottles of Gatorade later, I was able to make it the next day to the Wesemann Family Reunion. I didn't have much energy--but I was there! I spent 10 days helping mom...by the time I left, she was able to spend more time at home by herself. She had some people come in through the week to bring her lunch, but other than that, she was able to take care of herself. We were blessed by a number of good friends, neighbors and family who brought dinner to Mom and Doug after I left. John and I spent our 2nd Anniversary on a trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota. We had a great time touring Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, and more. It was nice just to get away and be together...by ourselves. In August, John and I drove back to St. Louis for my 20th class reunion. It was fun to catch up with friends from the past. We were also able to spend time with the Milkert side of the family--getting together to celebrate my Grandma's 88th birthday, as well as just spending time with lots of the Milkert cousins. Once we got back, it was fast and furious for me at work to get things ready for school to start. It's hard to believe that I am into my 3rd year as Principal at Martin Luther School. Also hard to believe that this is my 17th year in education. Things remind me that time is not slowing down...I was realizing yesterday that my 1st group of Kindergarteners from my 1st year teaching are now in their 20's...several former students are married...several are starting families of their own...sadly some have passed away, 3 that I know of. Hannah several years ago in a car accident, Daniel of a drug overdose, and just the beginning of August, Caitlyn, in a motorcyle accident. That's the hardest part to accept--untimely deaths of young people who had so much life ahead of them. Our dog Kona continues to be wild and crazy---but we still love her! She spent some time at "Four Paws Inn" in Bismarck during all of our trips this summer. I never thought I'd use a kennel--but they have ended up being a Godsend! I don't know what we would have done without them. Mom couldn't handle Kona's energy this summer!!! Kona had great fun swimming in their doggy pool and playing with the other dogs there. John just started his 4th year with the Corps of Engineers. He also continues to work on projects at the house. Most recently, he and his dad installed a new front door for us. It was a huge improvement on the house! We are enjoying fresh veggies from the garden. But, I can already tell summer is ending here--fall is soon upon us--and in ND that means just a few weeks after fall arrives--winter comes and stays for months and months. I still haven't adjusted to the winter weather--and must confess I am not looking forward to it. The only good thing about it, is that John's schedule switches from working lots of weekends...to being home on the weekends. It's nice to be home together! Other than our times in St. Louis, we haven't had much of an opportunity to go to church together this summer. It will be good to get back into our routines again. I don't know when I'll post again, but until then---God Bless!!!