Goodbye Julie

My step sister, Julie, went on hospice three weeks ago and went home two weeks ago.  Julie has been very sick for sometime, unable to eat.  She had a feeding tube for a while but that also stopped working.  She has been fighting the failure of her digestive system for several years and finally lost.  She was only 50 but I know she was ready to go home.  She was tired and worn down.  She leaves behind her mother, Betty, two sisters, Kate and Davetta, two daughters, Kandiss and Tifany, and a grandson Jakob.  We will miss her gentle nature and soft heart. There have been a great many tears in the last two weeks and yet we celebrate her peace and homecoming.  I was privileged to be your sister for 25 years. I love you. 

Oldest to youngest, Julie is the middle

Our lives do go on.  Some of what is below is before Julie died and some after.  We watched the Super Bowl with a friend. I have to admit I am very disappointed in the Falcons.  I didn't think the commercials weren't that great either.  I did make a minor mistake by telling Sidney that the commercials that had the kids and a Super Bowl number were the kids who had been conceived after a Super Bowl win.  Sidney promptly asked me what conceived meant....

All of Sidney's teeth have manically appeared.  She never complained or cried about her baby teeth or any adult teeth...until now.  She is getting her 12 year molars and they apparently hurt. She didn't cry but she was not a happy camper.  We got her some topical anesthetic which she accidentally got all over her mouth. That was funny.  

We have continued volunteering at the food bank.  This time we worked in the garden.  It is 35 plus acres where everything grown is distributed through the food bank.  I planted rows of corn (by hand) and Sidney pulled cabbage to prepare those rows for summer vegetables.  We planted the corn by hand because the rows are mulched with plastic mulch.  We were planting the third crop in the mulch and the last. The first crop, which was watermelon, was planted when the mulch was laid. To save money the next two crops, cabbage and corn, had to be planted by hand to reuse the mulch.  You have to plant in the existing holes in the mulch.  Sidney is demonstrating her independence. Hence the not working on the same thing I was. 

She also doesn't sit with me at church.  She has been sitting with other people but I think she is participating more.  It's funny also because she won't share a bulletin or hymnal with me but she will with others. Pre-teen is so much fun.

We had the last swim meet of the short course season. It was outside and 46 degrees with a great north wind.  It was mightily cold. 

I did career day at Sidney's school again. I had a lot more fun this time talking more about my career and all of our moves during my career as well as the careers of others.  I got a lot of questions and really enjoyed the dialogue. 

Work has been busy.  All of our big reports are due in the first three months. And I am down another team member.  One of the members of my team is moving to the engineering team. I am very sad to see him go but happy he is getting another opportunity.