Loss, Yet Again

June was a horrible month, should have been a good month (my birthday you know!)  

We lost Dana on June 20th.

This is the last photo of us three.  Daddy is gone, Momma is gone and now Dana is gone.  Heartbreaking.

We also lost our sweet friend Tom a few months ago.  

July 15 would have been my best friend Gail's birthday.  It went by without a blip in most minds.  Then July 18 would have been Dana's 64th birthday.  

This week we lost yet another friend that we've know for 21 years, dear Maggie.

She had a massive stroke on Friday morning and was gone by Wednesday.  Man, she and I were messaging a month ago talking about stopping by to visit her but I just didn't feel well enough to be around her.  DAMMIT!  Wish I had just gone to see her.  

This stuff is just happening too often, I am damn tired of it.  I need a few months, no a year or two without losses.  I miss my sister, my momma, my daddy, everyone.  Doesn't help I have been sick for over a month now.  

Honestly today I actually feel like I am getting better.  Can you imagine having a sore throat for over a month, well, I don't have to imagine as I have been dealing with that.  Every swallow has been excruciating but today it is finally where I am not eating Tylenol or Advil.  Of course, it is just before I FINALLY got an appointment with an ear, nose and throat doctor on Monday.  I bet by the time I go in there will be no pain whatsoever.  Just my luck.  It honestly feels like a throat infection.  At least I am on the mend, I feel it.  The past three nights I have slept better than the past month.  My voice is a tad better but I'm trying not to use it much which seems to be helping.  

The babies are all home in their respective homes.  I've had Snicklefritz every morning so her mother could go to work.  She really is quite wonderful to have around.  Next week she goes to horse camp and she is so very excited.  I'm pretty sure I will have her in August before school starts too.  Her favorite thing to eat at my house is breakfast, scrambled eggs, cinnamon toast or waffle.  I taught her how to make the scrambled eggs and now she gets all the stuff out and makes it all by herself, I just supervise.  She LOVES my scrambled eggs.  We've eaten out breakfast a few times too this week.  Yesterday I had both girls as there was a car shuffle with Min's parents as they are still trying to make do with one car.  I think they've got the second one now.  Anyway I had her yesterday too so I took them for breakfast at a place here in Tulsa, Big Baby Rolls that specializes in vegan donuts and cinnamon rolls.  OMG, absolutely delicious.  It was fun on a rainy morning and then a grocery pickup, some watercolor painting, granny napping, yes Friday stuff.  I love having them but I do need some rest this next week and will totally take it.  

So my week is a doctor appointment, which is absolutely NOTHING!  Then delivery of paintings for an art show that opens in Broken Arrow on Thursday.  I've had to enlist my friend/former studio partner, Linda to deliver the paintings on Monday as I will be at the doctor.  We'll having the opening on Thursday and I hope my voice is better by then.  Lunch with my brother on Friday (missed this week because of my gaggle of children in tow) and hoping to head to the cabin after that.  I'm going to try and enjoy my free time the next few weeks, rest, paint and act like I'm retired before August 31.  That is when our little Max has his next surgery.  He is doing very well and even got his first tooth with another one on it's way.  We are hoping that he breezes through this next surgery and will be home quickly, just in time for Min to start her preschool classes again of which I'm sure I will be her taxi driver.  This time next year things (praying) will be more on the normal scale.  

Covid Ramifications, Family Loss

Good Monday Morning and yes it is a GOOD Monday morning!  

After a week of isolation and battling the "VID"  I have won and am testing negative and so is The Hubby.  It has not been all pleasant for me I can assure you.  The Hubby had just a little sniffle and that was about it, oh and he threw his back out leaning over in his chair one evening at dinner.  Me, well, my covid took a dark turn, I got strep throat, at least that is MY diagnosis.  My throat was so sore, so very sore I could not swallow without crying out in pain.  For nearly 3 solid days of this I contacted the doctor again and said I needed something to help, thinking it was just the virus.  They sent a prescription of liquid lidocaine, a viscous concoction that did not help at all and only made me want to throw up, which was not appealing with the throat I had!!!!  I tried, man I tried but it was not working and the throat just got worse and worse.  I slept Wednesday night with a hand towel stuffed in my mouth to catch the saliva so I didn't have to swallow, now that is pain!  The PA said wait to Friday morning and then they would call in an antibiotic if nothing had changed.  By Thursday evening I was a basket case.  I sent three messages PLEADING for help and she sent in a prescription for the antibiotic.  Today, Monday morning, there is still a tinge of sore but I can sleep, I can swallow, and I can talk without screaming and I tested NEGATIVE!  I can tell you I've had strep many times and this is the worst, absolute worst I have ever had in my life.  And honestly if I had not been vaccinated and boosted I probably would have been in the hospital because it wanted to go to my chest really bad.  I don't care what anti-vaxxer's say being vaccinated may have saved my life or at least a stay in the hospital.  On the plus side, we can get it again...ARGHHHHH!  WTF.  One of the tech's who had to come and fix our A/C that went out during this crap said he's had it three times!  WHAT!  Well, CRAP.

It's also been kind of crappy month family wise because I've lost a cousin and Saturday morning my Aunt Jane, one of my Daddy's sister's had a heart attack.  There are now only two precious aunts left.  Jerry, my cousin I used to babysit him and his little brother.  He had a heart attack too, but he had heart issues.  

Aunt Jane

Cousin Jerry in the front in the little red suit!