Reflections-- Yep, I'm doing that too.

Today is the 6 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. And while my story is way less dramatic than some, partts of it are still way too personal to get into yet. Let's just say that I did not lose anyone, my house is intact, FEMA and Farmers Insurance did what they were supposed to for me, and anyhting beyond that is cake.

Some of the things I did learn:
1. If you pull the string out past the first part of resistance, even a girl can start a huge generator. (Thanks, Dego!)
2. Beer pays electric workers.
3. Park your car on your neighbors property. Park theirs on yours, homeowners insurance does not cover yours, but will cover someone elses if a tree falls on it.
**Not responsible for results for legal advice** LOL
4. Car alarms get really annoying after approx 3 hours. 2 hours, ok.
5. MRE hamburgers are the worst. The dog won't eat them.
6. Pull over to cry. Don't do both when there are trees in the road.
7. When hanging your undies on the fence to dry, check for squirrels FIRST.
8. Shampoo smells awesome when you don't have any for a few days, so don't be surprised when people are following you around sniffing you. (right Lynn?)
9. Some days, you just have to cry, and then move on. That's ok.
10. The limit for how long the motorcycle can stay in the kitchen is 30 days. I made this one up.

These rules are flexible for any natural disaster, and can be modified as needed. Hoping our neighbors on the east coast are well.:)

On losses and gains.

This past spring I had about 3 weeks of what seemed like pure loss. My friends and family suffered 3 deaths. A hard aspect of this is that it was a close work friend, a family member on my husbands side and my maternal grandmother, so I had three unconnected support systems. Well, really only 2 but that's another story for another day. These deaths were due to a crazy accident, an illness unknown to most of the family, and the end of a long life lived out. How the ends came is not the point here. I learned from each and am still processing the lessons.
I realized just how much I don't know about my grandmother. After a memorial service that I was so blessed and thankful to be able to get to attend, I spend a few hours hanging out with my aunts and cousins looking at photo albums and talking. We laughed alot and I heard stories that I had never heard before. But the main thing that stood out was some of the pictures. There were pictures of our grandmother on a girls weekend. A girls weekend?? The grandmother who NEVER did anything for herself? Always doing for others? Took time for herself, to enjoy herself? And she was having a blast! Now I wonder what else I did not know. Was our grandfather her first love? How did she feel on her wedding day? Did she ever wish she had more children? Regret never having a son? A million questions and now the time has passed to ask them.
So now I wonder how, and when, and what to tell my kids. What will they want to know about me? Have I shared enough? Too much too soon? Is it too simplistic too hope that a blog can accomplish some of this? Who knows. What I do know is that there will never be as much time as you think there will be. You could live to be 100, and for the ones who love you, it will never be enough.
Ask the questions. Make a margarita or open a bottle of wine if you have to, but talk about some of this stuff. Buy a journal and write it down. They make fill in the blank Dad books, Grandmother books, etc. Buy one of those if you don't know where to start. Just do something.
Think of the two 10 year old girls who lost their fathers this April. Think of the fathers who cannot share their personal history with their kids. I do, and I will. Love you always, Kendall and Wade.