Catch Up Time

Hello dear friends. First things first I want to thank you for all your kind comments on my last post back in July regarding my husband's passing and the birth of my granddaughter. I'm sorry I didn't respond to your comments as I usually do or make it by to visit, it's been a tough time for me. Thank you to all who have checked back in on me since then too. It means so much to me to know you have been thinking of me in my absence.

I am hanging in there. I have continued to immerse myself in work and have dealt with and am still dealing with the seemingly endless paperwork and phone calls that come with the death of a spouse along with changing and rearranging everything to keep my own affairs in order. It's been quite a nightmare.

Speaking of nightmares, hurricane Ian showed up back in September. It came ashore about forty miles south of where I live. Ian was one of the scariest and worst hurricanes I've ever been through, that's saying a lot after living in Florida my entire life. There was quite a bit of damage to my home, but in comparison to so many others I consider myself one of the lucky ones. I still had a roof over my head and my home was still safe to live in. Of course it has added more paperwork, more phone calls, and more money out the window. I guess I have to be thankful I still have a window to throw the money out of, so many lost their homes in that devastating storm. I sure hope any of you who were in the path of Ian made it through safely and hopefully with minimal damage.

The holidays were difficult for us this year but we managed. My son, his wife, and the baby were all directly exposed to someone who came down Covid the week before Christmas - I hadn't even thought about Covid in so long. We played it safe and had a throwback socially distanced outdoor get together. It just figures, for the first time in many years we had a cold Christmas day, it was in the 30s, overcast, and windy. It was not ideal for an outdoor get together. It was a fairly quick celebration but at least we were together for a little while. It was probably for the best for this year anyway, no time to dwell on things. Thankfully none of those who were exposed came down with Covid. It has been long enough that they should be in the safe zone now.

This year has obviously sucked overall for me, but my sweet little grandbaby has been the one constant bright spot. I have been taking care of her a few days a week since back in August. She hit eight months old on the 28th. She is all over the place, into everything, and as fast as as can be already. She sure can wear me out but has brought me an amazing amount of joy. My baby girl was certainly named appropriately - Luna means moon and she has definitely been the light in the darkness for me.  I can't wait to share more about her with you.

I guess I'll wrap things up for now. I just wanted to pop in to let you know how things are going. I still have no idea when I might be able to get back to blogging but please let me know how you've been and what you've been up to. I miss all of you so much.

I hope your holidays were wonderful. Here's to a Happy New Year!

Peace, love and hugs,
Martha

The Best of Times and the Worst of Times

Hello friends. I'm sorry I've been away for such a long time. I sure have missed all of you. It's late, but I can't sleep and a catch up post is long overdue.

The last time I was here was way back on March 1st. I had mentioned then that one of our assistant managers at work had gone out on medical leave. I knew I would be working those long ten hour days again with no time to blog for what I thought would be a few weeks. Right after the assistant manager returned to work our store manager walked out the door, quitting without notice. I found myself in the same position I was in last year and once again I stepped up to the plate.

Things were finally looking up towards the end of April when a new store manager was scheduled to start the first of May. I was so looking forward to cutting back my hours and getting back to my own life and my regular routines.

This is where the best and worst of times comes in.

On April 28th our first beautiful little grandbaby was born. She was a few weeks early, but a perfectly healthy baby girl, 8 pounds 8 ounces. Her name is Luna. My husband and I were so thrilled and so excited to start on this new journey of being grandparents. It was one of our happiest days ever and one we've looked forward to for a long time.

A few days after the baby was born my husband wasn't feeling well. We thought Covid may have finally found us. He took a home test, it was negative. Over the next ten days he had some concerning symptoms and continued to feel unwell, but he refused go to the doctor. On May 12th my husband had a massive heart attack. He passed away before he even made it to the hospital. 

I'm so thankful he was able to hold his grandbaby in his arms before this happened, but how sad that she will never be able to get to know him and that he won't be able to experience all the joys of watching her grow. 

As hard as things have been, I will say that our little Luna has been the saving grace for me and the rest of my immediate family. She has given us all something beautiful and positive to redirect our attention and emotions to during such a difficult time. I don't know how we would have made it through this without her.

I have continued to immerse myself in work, but by choice this time. I have felt like it's the best thing I can do for my own well being right now. 

I'm unsure about how much time I will have for blogging in the near future but I wanted to stop by to let you know what's been happening in my world. Please let me know in the comments what's been going on with you and how you are doing.

Peace, love and hugs,
Martha