celebration of life

We are sick here on Pecan Lane AGAIN this time with some kind of viral kick one's ass thing that turned into a bad case of shingles for BG. Eww and eww! I knew immediately what it was and that wonderful drug on the 4 buck list at Kroger has already begun to do its' job. It's a horribly painful ailment that begins to hurt deep down before the rash every breaks out. She said it was like having knives stuck in her side. My lymph nodes are the size of golf balls and my right ear hurts like the devil. I just got back from a funeral at which I spoke a few words about my late friend Sandy on behalf of all of the lab folks who worked with her through the years. We filled up a row in an almost full chapel of people who came to say goodbye. She was put in hospice a year ago and was told she'd have about three months. That turned into six and after her last hospitalization she moved in with Roe Roe who took excellent care of her little weezel self. Last time we visited she was pretty out of it but managed to know who I was and tell me she loved her little fishlips. Everybody had a nickname with Sandy.

She loved music..all kind and every kind. Her talent on the banjo and guitar brought me lots of great listening opportunities and she was in a bluegrass period then so it was pretty much foot stomping time! An old hippie like me, she loved the classic rock of the 70s and even like classical. When she became a church goer she loved singing in the choir and it was from the heart I'm told. Her church friends were there and the hospice chaplain gave the message which was one of hope for us who had come to pay tribute to the gutsy smiling little gal who walked with a perpetual limp. She survived a horrific wreck in a tiny MG in her 20s and later on in life had multiple bypasses yet she kept on going like the energizer rabbit. We were friends both at work and out but that changed when she hooked up with her hub. After that, she was all about home life and his business. She loved animals and had one particular dog named Petey who could play ball from here to next year. We had cookouts at each other's houses and brought the kids. We were all really young and had a blast.

Her liver disease really kicked into gear about six years ago and it has been downhill for her since then. She wasn't a transplant candidate because of her heart so she lingered a long time, not fully alive in some ways but still fighting in others. Her faith in God led her to become a minister during middle age and she volunteered at a local christian TV station. She was on fire for Big Ernie and you can always tell when he's up in somebody's world like that! The hospice chaplain delivered the message that she had for US as survivors on this earth without her, we should simply love one another like she loved us. And oddly enough, that was a very comforting message.

There is currently a large bug looking piece of equipment spraying the beans outside my house which means no yard mowing. I wasn't in the mood anyway. Looking forward to brunch with the grands because we've branched out and I'll never have to eat another bacon and cheese omelette again just because it's all there is. It's different if that's what I'm in the mood for!

Love ya. Mean it. Big hugs^j^