Welcome Emma

Mel, Brian and Cole welcomed baby Emma Lyn on Veteran's Day, November 11. She has already grown so much and I love seeing her smile!

Happy Everything

Happy Halloween ~ Happy 4th Birthday ~ Merry Christmas ~ Happy New Year!  There, now I'm caught up and can begin blogging more often in the new year.

Here's to seeing what 2014 has in store for us!

Cheers to the O'Tooles

Ali and Jason were married in early September at the scenic Bourne Farm.  They're celebrating their first Thanksgiving today as a married couple and I'm just getting around to posting some pictures from their amazing day.  Congrats guys!!  Disclaimer: I snagged some of these shots from Facebook.

Realism

It was an emotional week. In the media, in social media, I feel like sad images and touching videos surrounded us. Of course each individual’s background and life experiences mold us and how we will feel about particular topics. As I get older I find myself becoming more of a realist and less of an optimist. The world is a scary and unfair place.

Collier Strong

For 7 months I’ve successfully avoided the majority of graphic footage from the Boston Marathon tragedy. It is honestly too much for me. Then I got caught up in this emotional week, my monthly friend dropped in for a visit and BAM I found myself clicking on this link from Facebook, watching from my kitchen table and crying.

A New Perspective for Moms

We place so much pressure on ourselves to be the best Mom, wife, friend, employee, volunteer. This pressure is from US. To our children we are perfect. We are rock stars.

and speaking of rock stars ... the Plourd ladies

On Thursday I exchanged texts with my college roommate. We’re planning to get the group together next Saturday and she’s not sure she’ll be able to come. I knew her Mom had cancer but yesterday I learned she was not doing well. I knew Jen had a kind heart but yesterday I learned just how much we’ve grown since college. I saw Jen’s maturity and her fearlessness to face reality. Realism not optimism. In this surreal period of her life, she took the time to apologize to me for not being there more when I was going through this with my Dad senior year of college. “I didn’t understand,” she said.

My optimist ways dwindled senior year when my Dad was diagnosed with cancer and died 6 months later. I questioned life and God. I kept people who wanted to help at arm’s length. I withdrew. “Going through this” sucks, but we never have to do it alone.

Congrats to the McAdams

Yes, this happened 2 months ago, but as you can see, it's time for me to play some serious catch up.  Internet Explorer has been giving me a hard time uploading pictures but I finally had 3 minutes to figure it out and I downloaded Firefox (again).

In late August, we celebrated Kelley and Jordan's wedding at the White Cliffs Country Club in Plymouth.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day and we (my roommates from senior year of college) were so happy for Kelley and her perfect day!

Remembering Gram

Gram Furze passed away Monday night, August 12. The phone call from my Mom woke us with a jolt at 11:30 p.m. Although I knew it was coming (and it was a relief when it finally did), I still walked to the bathroom and cried. She was gone. A fall in the middle of the night two Saturdays prior sent Gram to the emergency room for stitches on her forehead. Scans revealed bleeding in her brain that the technicians believed were not new. When the hematoma shifted, Gram went downhill. We spent many hours in the hospital that weekend and the following week. Aunt Marjorie flew in from California Tuesday night. My cousin Krista and her daughter Aubrey followed. We said our goodbyes and I love you’s and “everything’s going to be alright” throughout the week. Gram asked God to take her to Gramp (he passed away in 2005) and my Mom and Marjorie both cried. It was a week with boxes upon boxes of tissues. On Friday Gram went unconscious. To me, this is the day we lost her. Her body didn’t give up until Monday but the last day I visited was Friday. She was asleep – although likely already unconscious – and I held her hand and kissed her forehead. “I love you, Gram” was all I could say without completing losing it. So I left her room and ran into a family friend in the hallway on the ground floor and lost it in Mrs. Benoit’s strong arms instead. Then we went to my brother’s surprise 30th birthday party. The services were held Sunday night and Monday morning. This is when I finally got the chance to meet my Gram’s best friend, June. She was so sweet and such a lovely woman. I can see why Gram went to lunch with her every Sunday. The Canning families and my girlfriends from high school came to the wake. It was so good to see them. Gram’s fellow volunteers from the soup kitchen came. They actually closed the soup kitchen on Monday (the day of the week Gram volunteered) so that everyone could attend the funeral service. Gram’s ashes were buried next to Gramp in the National Cemetery in Bourne. Here’s the eulogy I delivered at the end of her Mass: My Gram and Gramp were married for 57 years before he passed away in 2005. A few years after that I asked Gram about their relationship. They never argued. How is that possible, I asked. “He knew I was always right,” she said. Gram was a smart cookie. She graduated high school when she was 16. She didn’t just play Trivial Pursuit with Marjorie and Tony. Her team won. More often than not, she knew the answers to Wheel of Fortune, the Daily Doubles and Final Jeopardy, while watching with Gramp and a big bowl of popcorn. She was an independent woman, living alone with her cat, Sophie, mad she didn’t have the strength to mow the lawn herself anymore with the lawnmower she just bought. She was thrifty yet giving. Just throw those stale potato chips in the oven and they’ll be like new. Save the other half of the banana for tomorrow. It will be fine. Meanwhile, she spent countless hours volunteering at Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen and the Taunton Public Library. She donated to many charitable organizations: Doctors Without Borders and MSPCA were among the favorites. My Gram was caring. How else can you spend your entire career as a psychiatric nurse at Taunton State Hospital? Her patience was amazing. She took great care to never offend anyone. “If you don’t have anything good to say about a person, say nothing at all.” This included ugly babies. Gram would smile and say, “How intelligent looking!” This included her own family. My grandparents never complained. Instead, they ate my Mom’s tortellini soup for years before one day my Gram pulled my Mom aside and said, “I have to tell you something, Janet. Your father and I hate tortellini.” Life is hard for us today, but it’s easy for Gram. She was tired and she was ready to join my Gramp in heaven. Her life was filled with love. It was fulfilling. So while we will miss her dearly, now it’s time to remember her genuine kindness and character. Here are a few things I learned from Grammy Furze: ▪ 60-degree water isn’t freezing cold. It’s “refreshing.” Jump right in. Now swim laps and keep your fingers together. ▪ Bake Christmas cookies. Just don’t eat them all. You will get a bellyache. ▪ Write Thank You notes. ▪ Ask for what you want, even if it’s a glass of milk at a fancy restaurant in Key West. ▪ If you’re going to do something quickly, the correct analogy is “quick like a bunny.” ▪ You are never too old to play on the floor with children. ▪ Be polite, kind and charitable. ▪ It’s possible to have a crush on Tom Brady at any age. ▪ That ripped stuff animals AND dog toys should be stitched up and returned complete with a doctor’s report. ▪ To never say never. There are so many stories and wonderful things I could say about my grandmother. But I think some family friends said it best on the funeral home website when they wrote, “She gave so much to so many and will always live in our hearts.” Love you, Gram. I was very honored to write my Gram’s obituary. Here’s a link to a very shortened story of a life very well-lived: http://www.hathawayfunerals.com/obits/obituaries.php/obitID/257057 (Apology for the one massive one paragraph as apparently I really have to learn HTML since Blogger is not cooperating!)

Beating the Bug

Jill's finally feeling better after her stomach bug this weekend. She was sick Saturday overnight and into Sunday and I was sick Monday night. Hopefully Tony will successfully miss this one because it was not fun!