somewhere over the rainbow

Oh where to begin... Well there's a lot I could talk about I guess. Life has been hectic to say the least.

My 'baby' brother turned 18 last Sunday, now that's crazy. He's into rugby, boxing, girls, Guitar Hero and every other 'boy' thing out there. I don't claim to have a very good memory but some how I remember the day he was born. (I was a little too young to remember Kyle's birth day) I was 10 and such a proud big sister! He was the cutest little kid, well I mean, they all are really. So for Glen's birthday this year the whole family went to dinner at the Olive Garden - birthday boy's choice. It's funny to reminisce about when people were younger and all the funny stuff we used to do. My aunt Lynne talked about how she dressed Glen up as a little girl when he was a baby. She wanted Mom to have a girl SO bad! Glen was quickly embarrassed. :) mission accomplished. hehe.

Sunday was also the day of the horrendous wind storm that tore through Ohio and left several people, including us, without power. At first we made the most of it... my girlfriend Valerie came over and we all played pool, played the 'Friends' trivia game (my favorite :) ), and just hung out while the storm did it's thing. At one point I looked out the window at the back yard and noticed the elderly neighbor lady out in her back yard. A few minutes later she was on the ground! I was a little confused at first and started to say something like 'What the heck is she doing on the ground?' when I realized she may have been pushed to the ground by the wind. Instantly Matt ran out side and jumped our adjoining fence to 'rescue' her. It seems she noticed a tree limb was hanging by a thread so she decided to pull it down herself before it blew away??? She was fine but did not learn her lessen! Not even 10 minutes later she was out in the front of her house about to do the same thing. ugh. idiots.

So due to this huge wind storm we have been without power since Sunday afternoon since about 3:30. It is now Friday and still no power. I have had the luxury, I guess you could say, of having to go to Cincinnati for a work conference. The hotel I was staying in thankfully had power (I was a little worried because they had the same horrible wind storm as Columbus). I felt terrible leaving Matt at home to fend for himself with the dogs and having to run all over the place to move our freezer items and try to 'work from home' at the same time. He has spent most of his time in Marysville at his parents house. Thankfully the have electricity and extra freezer space.

Life without electricity just plain stinks. We are definitely spoiled with our air conditioning, dish washer, washing machine and over heading lighting. Boy do I miss it. I feel like I'm walking through a haunted house at night. The candles are all lit, there's not a sole around, the flashlight flickering because it can't keep up with its constant demand. It's really hard to get up in the morning and get ready for work when you can't see your closet or anything else for that matter. I'm hoping, praying, that we have power back by this weekend. Otherwise I might need to borrow some body's laundry facilities. :)

Along with the pain of having no power, my aunt Madelyn passed away on Wednesday night. She was diagnosed with lung cancer only a few short months ago but the doctor's discovered it had already metastasized to other places in her body. She quickly began to lose weight and strength. My Dad called me Wednesday around 5:30 and I knew the instant I heard his voice that he was not calling with good news. She hadn't passed yet but feared she wouldn't make it through the night. My Dad's voice... oh God, it breaks my heart to hear him so upset. I can't bear to hear the voice of someone I love crying.... it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

Later that night I was sitting by the campfire... as that's all you can really do when you don't have electricity... Matt had already gone to bed because he had an early morning the next day and my step-mom Angie calls. I knew before I even picked up the phone. Madelyn had passed. Oh how the tears started to pour. I started to think about my grandma, she'd been caring for her the entire time, which she's not in the best health herself. Putting her sister first and being there for her every beck and call.

I sometimes have a hard time dealing with death. I wasn't very close to my aunt at all, but the impact she had on the rest of my family was enough to bring me to tears. Madelyn didn't want a funeral or viewing or anything like that. She wanted to be cremated and put to rest, the end. So we, the whole family, were able to get together for a quick goodbye at the Underwood funeral home in Marysville yesterday at 12:30. I almost didn't make it because, of all things, my car wouldn't start that morning. I swear if anything else could happen?!? My battery was dead... actually that's probably not a good word of choice... it needed to be replaced. So after having to jump start my car several times I was able to make it back in time for the quick viewing. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many family members there, all within only a few short hours notice. Tears spilled all over the room, but I must say it was really really good to see my family who I hardly ever get to see. To hug them and say I love you, which we never do, to support each other and really just be with each other. It's amazing what death can do to bring people together. My poor great-grandmother. I really had a hard time seeing her cry. We were all walking up to say goodbye to Madelyn and she just lost it. "I'll see you in heaven" she said. I can't imagine having to bury my own daughter. I can't imagine being her and having to see her daughter in the pain she was in only to remind her of what her husband went through when he passed away from cancer 15+ years ago.... I can't imagine. After the viewing I learned that we are actually going to get together for a grave side funeral only this Sunday then afterward meet at my cousin's house for a late lunch. Hopefully we can have some closure and be able to come closer as a family.

In other random news, I cut my hair off! I would say a good 4 or 5 inches. It was kind of crazy but after the viewing yesterday I decided I've been in a slump and need something to spice up my life just a little bit so I went to Great Clips and told the girl to cut it off. She looked at me like 'are you sure?' yes, do it before I change my mind. So she cut it and it looked cute. Well I got home and was of course kind of bummed that I couldn't play around with my new do because we don't have power, I know you're sick of me complaining, but I decided I wanted my hair to be shorter than what she cut it. So I put my hair in a small ponytail ...and cut it off. I know! Wow, what got into me? It was totally uneven in the back and I was trying to rush to fix it, backwards in the bathroom mirror of course... and before Matt got home. I didn't do too bad of a job but it definitely needed some fixing. Later that night we went to hang out with Kathy in her light filled apartment and she helped straighten out the back for me. haha! I might still need to go in and get it trimmed up a little bit and deal with the hairy eye of the salon lady looking at me like ' are you crazy???' but oh well! I'm crazy like that... change is good and I needed some change. :)