A bright spot in our week...Nina's birthday!

What a winter this has been so far. School was cancelled again on Monday and Tuesday this week because of the extreme cold. That makes four snow days this month. I cannot recall a winter ever all my years of working that we had four weather-related cancellations in a whole school year. That just sorta messes things up and makes for a longer school year.
A bright spot this week was Nina's fifth birthday! Her actual birthday was Sunday, the 26th and Arne and Beth had a family pizza party for her on Saturday. Nina was so cute and so excited! Being 5 is a pretty big deal :)
Nina is such a joy. It is hard to believe that it was already 5 years ago that she was born! Nina is fearless and enthusiastic and a love bug. We are so thankful for her. Love you, Nina Kathleen!

Abbie and Nina in a birthday hug

blowing out the candles on the Frozen cake

Out and About

This winter weather continues to be a bit of a drain. More snow, blowing snow, below zero temperatures (not just wind chills either). They say it's the worst winter in 20 years. But as lifelong Chicagoans, we have adapted and we are making the best of it. 

Last night Jack and I ventured out for dinner with Jack's dad. We went to a fantastic restaurant in Bucky's neighborhood named Ken's. As Bucky said, it is like a little Irish pub. We ran into several of Bucky's neighbors which made it even cozier. And the food was delicious. It was the perfect way to spend a cold winter's night. 

Winter Walking

I just wanted you to see how attractive I am on my morning walks with Jean. The wind chill today was -9, just within my boundaries. Thank goodness we were able to get out this morning because we couldn't walk yesterday and probably won't be able to tomorrow. 

But spring is just around the corner! 

PS it was too cold to put in the main line yesterday. Hopefully by the end of the week. Keep your fingers crossed!!! 

Face Time

I love facetime. When I say facetime, I am not talking about video chatting. I am talking about spending time with people, face to face. And I got some nice facetime this long holiday weekend.

Yesterday I had lunch with Sue and Jenny. I have not seen much of my sisters lately and I missed them. It was such a great feeling to spend time with them. We had so much to talk about and it wasn't nearly enough time, but had we sat there any longer, we might have been kicked out of the restaurant :). I have always been close to Susie and Jen, but as we have gotten older, I have come to treasure them even more. I just cherish them. And I should mention that it is Jenny's birthday, a big one by the way. Jenny does not like to be the center of attention and did not want a big birthday celebration, so we honored her wishes. But we will get her celebrated somehow, sometime.

There was no school today because of MLK birthday observance, so that meant more face time, this time with Cath and Christy. It is sort of a tradition that we get together for breakfast on the Monday morning of these three day weekends. Again, so good for the soul to spend time with people you love. Nothing like it. I didn't get a picture. Lately I have been worried about being too annoying with my picture taking (we can thank a distant relative for that!!!) and so I did not ask about getting a picture with my girlfriends. Wish I had!

Epilogue

Our family gathered together today to take Marie to her final resting place which is a niche near the statue of St. Michael and very near to where Mike was laid to rest two years ago. It was a simple event, just immediate family and a few prayers (including the Prayers of Faithful that we didn't read at the funeral). Afterward, we went to lunch at Palermo's. Lauren suggested we go around and each share a favorite memory of Grandma. It was so special. Lots of laughs and wonderful stories.
It was such a cold, gray winter's day, but it was made warmer by the love of family and knowing that Grandma is safely home.


Friday nights

I am feeling more relaxed tonight than I have in quite some time. It has been a crazy two months or so. Lots to process. The number one issue? We still cannot believe that Marie is gone! Really?
Then there is the whole holiday season thing. Add in some very extreme weather conditions. And work (though it has not been unusually busy, I must admit...just the normal 8-9 hour work days, no big reports or anything)
AND a flooded basement.
A week ago right about now, I was dealing with some big time issues. I started to blog about it, but never finished and my post was saved as a draft.
Here is what I wrote last Friday night 1/10 around 11pm:
"We have been managing a "drainage" issue with our house for the last 18 years or so. Living in a house that was built in 1948 and in an area with mature trees, we have had problems with tree roots growing into the "main line" (we have learned so many technical terms). It hasn't been a huge problem (i.e., get the pipes rodded every 2 years) and we have dealt with it. One of the side effects of this issue is that heavy rains don't always drain properly. This can mean water in the basement. Which happened tonight. Who would have thought the artic temperatures of 40 below on Mon and Tues (not to mention the 10 inches of snow) would turn into 39 degree temperatures just two days later which meant rain instead of snow which meant massive flooding which meant water in our basement. Again.

Deep breath. 

There is nothing quite like the sight of water coming up into your garage and basement. What the heck can you do about that?

Especially if your brainy and brawny husband is out of town on a business trip. 

It was bad tonight. 

But God is good and heard our prayers. We did the possible and God did the impossible. The rain let up and our dear friend Mike came over and helped me hook up some pumps. We got rid of most of the standing water. 

Still so much to deal with tomorrow. But you know what?

It's just a house. 

God has a plan for us and it will become clear. 

It always does. "

Jack and I were able to dry out the basement in two days, thanks to God and the equipment we have collected over the course of this journey (Ridgid air mover, anyone?) And we are scheduled to have our new main line installed on Tuesday, "weather permitting" (?! it better!!!).
Last Friday night was a pivotal moment in my life. With that water coming into our house and not being sure now to plug in/hook up the pumps without electrocuting myself, I had to access my Conscious Discipline training. I started to melt down while talking to Jack "long distance" (I have not used that expression in years!). I remembered what causes meltdowns. It is not being able to accept and deal with "what is" (your reality). Freaking out and going into a state of panic was not going to stop the water from coming in our basement and garage and it wasn't going to get the pumps hooked up. So I accessed my inner brilliance and calmly waited for our friend Mike to come over and help me safely connect the pumps.
Because really? If my family would have found me lying in a pool of water in our garage (because I did not connect the electrical components correctly while standing in two inches of water), THAT would have been a problem.
Perspective!

this was after about an hour of pumping

 

Back after an extended Winter Break

We ended up with two extra days tacked on to our winter break. The wind chill was  39 below from late Sunday night until noon yesterday. It was incredibly cold. As in painful to breathe after just a few minutes outdoors. 

Jack and I did go to Andy's wake on Monday night. We offered to take Bucky, but we all decided it was not the wisest idea with the dangerous temperatures. That turned out to be an excellent decision as there was about an hour long wait at the wake. We shared Bill/Bucky's condolences with Andy's family. They all commented about how badly Andy felt about Marie's death and how much he enjoyed her. So sad that both of them are gone, less than a week apart. Still difficult to believe. 

Yesterday, I finally got some schoolwork done in preparation for the big return to class. Jack had a boatload of work to do, too, so we were both busy all day.

Last night we had our January outing for the Birthday Club group, this event again organized by Teri. We did a painting class through a company called VinoGogh. Everyone in the class simultaneously paints a picture, following the directions of two instructors. It was a great experience! It was relaxing and peaceful and we all walked away with our own masterpieces. We had dinner, painted a picture and were home before 10. And Jack loved my painting! It was so sweet. For both of us it was, for some reason, soothing. 

Today it was back in the saddle.  It felt good. As we all know, I like my routine! The kids do, too. We had an awesome day. 

Update from yesterday

Crazy weather. We did not go to Jenny and Jay's today. Too much snow and it was not going to quit, so the decision was made to cancel our Dane's birthday brunch. Disappointing, but the right thing to do. Instead we spent the day shoveling and waiting for school to be cancelled for tomorrow, which it was. Kinda weird, though. Personally, I would much rather have a regular old winter day and get back into my routine than deal with the blowing and drifting snow and wind chills in the minus 30s. Not that I have any choice in the matter!
Luckily, we still have Santa outside our door, keeping watch over the house.

Deep thoughts on a snowy January night

There are lots of thoughts running through my mind tonight. It is the last Saturday of winter break, it is snowing (again) and there are wind chill warnings out for tomorrow night into the start of the week. There is talk of cancelling school on Monday, so I have my list of students to call, but I am hoping that the really bad weather will pass us by.
At the very least, I hope that the weather is good enough for us to go to Jenny and Jay's tomorrow to celebrate Dane's birthday. He would have been 32 tomorrow. Nine years gone from this earth, but not gone one minute from our hearts. Any of ours. Miss that smile and that hug and that laugh. Everyday.

Clearly, death has been heavy on our minds lately, with the passing of Jack's mom. Still very hard to believe. Jack and I visited with Bucky, Downtown Sue and Paul on New Years Day before driving Paul to the airport so he could catch a flight back to Florida. After we dropped Paul off at the airport, I received a phone call from Sally with the extremely sad news that Grandma and Bucky's doctor, Andy Perez (as mentioned in the Prayers of the Faithful on the side bar) had died suddenly of a massive heart attack on New Years Eve. We were all stunned. Shocked. Speechless. Saddened beyond words. I have known Andy for many years, mostly from my morning walks especially back in the day when we used to stop in Einstein's for coffee (now we only stop twice a week and we go to Starbucks). Andy was the funniest, cutest, most entertaining guy. And he and his wife Patrice have a son and a daughter exactly Wayne and Sally's ages, so we also knew him from those connections (show choir, plays). But the strongest connection was the fact that he became the doctor for Jack's parents. And he treated them so well! Andy was the best. He listened and he cared. Andy was so there for Marie and Bill in the last month of Marie's life. I saw him the day after Marie died, on Friday, Dec 27th. Jean and I were finishing our walk and I saw him at his usual table in Einstein's, so we went in so I could thank him. Andy was so kind and compassionate and genuinely sad about Marie's death. He held my hand and recounted how much he respected her. Andy loved to call Marie "Miss Camelot" because of her Jackie O-ness. Andy said she was one of the smartest women he had ever met. He also said that our family was a big hit with the nurses at Little Company of Mary. Mutual admiration society, for sure.

Andy had season tix to the Hawks; big fan

Last night, Jack and I had dinner and a good visit with Bucky. He is one strong guy. It is fascinating  how death makes you look at your world and the people in it a bit differently. Please say a prayer for my amazing father-in-law.

A time for every purpose

I just love that passage from Ecclesiastes 3  (it was one of the readings at Mike's mass), "There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die....a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.."
The last week has been a HUGE one in my life, not unlike the week between Christmas and New Years two years ago when my mom died.
It's a lot of work to lay a loved one to rest. It's a lot of tears/laughter, remembering/looking ahead, details/gestalt.
And it's a lot of quality family time. Such a blessing.
Yesterday, I walked up the aisle of the church with Sue, behind Bucky and Downtown Sue who were behind Marie's casket. I saw the gloved hands of the pall bearers who were her two surviving sons, her two grandsons, and her two granddaughters (gender neutral! just like Grandma would want!). Such a beautiful sight. Then I looked to my right and I saw Susie, Jenny, Kjell, Arne, Beth, Abbie and Nina (from my family of origin, as Grandma would say!) and I felt so incredibly blessed.
Jack and I are so fortunate to have been raised by parents whose legacies will live on for many generations because they are legacies of love and devotion and loyalty.

December 2012, view from breakfast room