Back to Reality

We returned home from our cruise on Wednesday afternoon and had an extra day to adjust and relax before going back to work on Friday.

Thursday, we decided to go out for a late lunch - early dinner, and ended up driving by the car dealership that has the car I've been talking about for months. For at least six months, I have been eyeing this particular car. Everytime I saw one on the road, I'd point it out to whoever was with me. Well, there it was, sitting in the corner of the lot, all shiny and new looking. My guy decided to test drive it. I protested, "No! ...if we drive it, we'll come home with it!"

Well, we have a new car! I love it! It's the car I've been looking at and wanting for months. It's got all the bells and whistles from leather seats, gold tinted windows, sun/moon roof, stereo... just everything.

It's a used car and pretty much in perfect condition, a 2001 Lexus ES300. Reality has not hit our pocket books yet.

We missed my daughter for Christmas, she was here from Seattle and gone before we returned home. My little rock star has joined another heavy metal band, Day of Contempt, and moved to Los Angeles, CA, the day after Christmas. It's been kinda nice, she has emailed me frequently since she's been in L.A. The band is a bunch of guys from Australia and New Zealand, and she's the only gal, playing guitar and piano with them. I'm excited for her, excited that she has the opportunity to do what she wants to do in life and is actually do it. They started touring this week.

My son has been recovering well from his accident at work in November. We saw the doc last Monday and he expects my little guy will have a 70% recovery of the nerves in his finger. He has regained good mobility where before he couldn't move his finger at all. The feeling will take a long time to heel. The doc says it will take a year to regain what he'll have in feeling, to touch and sense hot and cold. The nerves will continue to recover as time goes on. My little guy is doing good. Other than his injury, he has finals this week and is studying hard. He had gotten far behind in all his classes when he had his accident. The teachers have all been very understanding and have allowed him to make up everything he's missed.

My parents are doing well. My mom has been cancer free and treatment free for a couple of months now. Her hair is starting to grow back, it'll be awhile before she'll be able to go without her wig. My dad seems to be doing well. They have been taking care of my grandmother's affairs while she is still in a Skilled Nursing home.

My grandmother is probably not going to be able to leave the nursing home. She is just not progressing as well as her caregivers had hoped. I made a promise to myself that I would stop by and visit with her most every day after work, she's just about on my way home. Today, she had been crying. She realizes she may never leave this facility. The goal was that she be able to get some rehab to get moving again, from the bed to the chair and back without help. Right now she still requires assistance, and she cannot go back to assisted living if she cannot transport herself. Her Medicare benefits run out in less than two weeks. Her reality is hitting her hard.

Me, I'm doing okay. You'd think I would be flying high with smiles after being a first time cruiser, then buying a new car, and Saturday will be my birthday. Of course, being gone from work for a week and it being just before year end, I am way behind at work. I'm working long hours every day to catch up. My guy has been gone since we got back from our cruise, two and a half weeks this run. I too have worked every day, except yesterday. He's coming home later tonight and will be home all week, loading and leaving again on Saturday, my birthday, for his next run. Yep, back to reality... work, work, work. Oh, but this time I plan to work for another cruise!