Monday, May 25, 2009

I'm Back

Hello out there to all of my bloggy friends! I am still alive. I've got about four days worth of blogs to read, but I don't know if I'll get the time to do that. I'll probably just go read everyone's most recent post. I was just busy on Thursday and Friday and then went to visit my parents Saturday morning and didn't return until Sunday night.

We had a nice time, although, I woke up with a killer headache Sunday morning. I had to take some Advil and go lay down with a warm washcloth on my head. I finally felt better after lunch.

Just a little more background on me....I'm the youngest of 5 kids; I have 3 older sisters; my brother died a year before I was born (brain tumor); my oldest sister is 12 years older than me and the twins are 9 years older. So all of my sisters are in their 50's, and my parents are in their early 80's. All of my siblings were out of the house by the time I turned 9, so I kind of grew up as an only child. My kids are the youngest grandchildren; the 7 others range in age from 16 to 31. I've been an aunt since I was 12! Now I'm a great-aunt to my niece's daughter, and she is expecting another little girl in July. (And this one will be named Tinkerbell Ranger according to her big sister!)

It's kind of strange to me when our family gets together because my sisters grew up in a different time and literally a different place than I did. I'm not really close to any of them, however, I'd say my oldest sister and I have gotten to know each other better in the last 10 years. I think she and I are most alike, and our husbands get along the best. Plus, her 26-year-old son gets along great with my two boys.

I meant to take pictures over the weekend but never got my camera out. I could kick myself! This is rather morbid, but I always wonder when I see my parents if it will be for the last time. I wanted to get some pics of them and the kids. Plus, we should have gotten photos of my sisters and I with our parents. All of us only get together about every 12 to 18 months.

My mom, my oldest sister and I are going to try to get together later this summer to do some canning from our gardens. I've just never done it before and feel intimidated by it. Since they've both done it before, they can teach me. (I really regret that I never let my mom teach me how to sew!)

I guess that's enough about me for right now. I pray that each of you had a beautiful and relaxing long weekend!

3 comments:

Kelly said...

Glad you had a nice visit! My husband's parents are in their late 80's and I always worry about them as well, as we only see them once a yr. They live in Iowa.

Glad you're feeling better. Get ready to enjoy your summer without all those preschoolers! LOL!

Sue J. said...

I never allowed my mother to teach me to sew either. We tried, through Girl Scouts, but I was at a stubborn age with no real interest, and she was done trying. But, I did get myself back into it, and now I machine-sew more than she does. Canning? That's another story. She still cans. I can't even grow a veggie garden where we live (too wooded).

Definitely encourage you to break out the camera next time--even if it's over canning! You will be glad... But, it's hard when you want to take in the moments, too. I've been on both sides of that fence!

Heart2Heart said...

Leslie,

So glad that you're back! I do the same thing when I have been off the blogging end for awhile is read the most recent ones first. If I have more time later, I go back and read even more, much like good books.

I am doing two things this summer to get past my life list, one is preserving strawberries and making jam and the other is to make homemade pickles.

Let me know how things go and perhaps we can compare notes.

Love and Hugs ~ Kat