Friday the 13th. . . .

Usually a bad luck day for most, but since 13 has always been my lucky number, I'm looking for something good to happen today. We're having the twins birthday dinner tonight since everyone is feeling pretty good. The flu seems to have left our family. . . finally.

I finished up the quilt top I was working on, made the binding, ironed the backing, and today DD Mary is shipping it to my favorite quilter in Florida. Can't wait to see it finished, although Linda says it will probably be 2-3 months. She does such a beautiful job that it's well worth the wait. I'm now sewing the binding on the Sampler Quilt that I got back just before Christmas. I want to make pillow cases to match the sampler quilts that are done, and then they will be ready to give to Pat and Pam. Now I need to finish the quilts that I started for Mary (a batik attic windows) and for Kristin (a 30's repro basket quilt).

Yesterday I got to keep Izzy for the first time in nearly two weeks. She's finally feeling better and Kristin was finally able to return to work. I don't know which one of us was the happiest to see the other. She ran across the living room with her arms outspread, and gave me the biggest hug when I picked her up. We spent most of the day snuggling and watching movies. She's a big Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer fan, and hasn't allowed it to be put away. For dinner we had pork chops, parsley potatoes, and Lima beans. She really ate well, although the pork took too long to chew, so it was left on the plate. I held her when she took her naps. I probably could have put her down on the couch, but it seemed like such a long time since I'd held her that I just couldn't let go. Granny prerogative!!.

I haven't had Bubby for over two weeks, either. Jimmy has been laid off, so he keeps Bubby. I really miss him. I asked if he could come over to stay today since he and Izzy keep asking about each other. Really I miss him too. Hopefully Jimmy will say yes. He'll be going to Kindergarten in August, and I don't know how I'll part with him. When he came home from the hospital after a 69-day stay, I had to learn how to use an IV pump to give him his antibiotics. I've cathed him from the first day he stayed here, and have been there at his side with each seizure that he's had. A good friend of mine once told me that "God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called". That's the way it's been with me and Bubby. When he had the first big seizure, I knew that something was wrong, I called Kristin to come down (she's the dr.),I called Mary to come home, and I called the ambulance. It was the scariest day of my life. Krissy was at kindergarten orientation, so Mary had to leave her (only until Aunt Kristin got there). My official title is the Holder of the Fort. Once orientation was over, Krissy came back here and we spent the day making a pillow for her to take to kindergarten, answering all the phone calls, and mostly just hugging each other. The girls and Rod all went to the hospital, but I held down the fort. I guess I've been the stable influence in Krissy's life when something has gone wrong with her brother. She's really special to me.

Mom was in the hospital, and then was sent to a skilled nursing facility. There she almost died, and went back to the hospital. Now she's in a different skilled nursing facility. She's been there many times before and feels like it's home. So, she's decided to make it a permanent arrangement. It will make my life a lot easier, but I'm still having a tough time accepting it. I tried so hard to take good care of her, but I'm not a nurse, nor did I want to be. The night she fell here, I felt so guilty because I couldn't get her up and she had to lay there for nearly 30 minutes before Jimmy could come to get her up. I should have called the ambulance then. My life is going through some big changes.

I guess you can tell that today I'm a little maudlin'. Don't know why I feel so down, but it will get better. I'm looking forward to dinner tonight. It seems like forever since we've all been able to be together. Have a great weekend.