And Then There Were None

I missed my sisters today. Maybe it’s the cold winter blues. Maybe it’s the fact that a lot of my friends’ lives have drifted away from my own. Maybe it’s simply because all three of my siblings moved away in such a short period of time.

I am almost twenty-nine. My closest sister is twenty-seven, the next, twenty, and the youngest is eighteen. The baby of the family left for college in the end of August, moving five hours away to the other side of our rather large state. One week later my closest sister moved an hour and a half south to take a job in Philadelphia. And then in October my last remaining sister married and is making her new home three hours away in Maryland. I’m the only one who stayed.

Everyday life generally keeps me busy enough that I don’t notice, but today I found myself feeling emotional and rather lonely for their company. I suppose I shouldn’t complain because they don’t live terribly far away. And I suppose it’s nice that we all get along and love each other to the point of missing each other now and again.



















Kneeling from left: my mom holding my daughter, my son, my daddy
Standing: my closest sister, my baby sister, me holding my baby, my little sister, my grammy
Back row: my husband, my brother-in-law, my pop-pop

God Bless Us, Everyone

Not to be outdone by the others in our house, the infected boogies in my body decided to have a potluck dinner and take up residence in my sinuses and left ear. The circle is complete. I have joined the club of antibiotic takers that started with my son; membership has reached 100%.

For those who do not remember what an ear infection feels like: there is pain, sloshing fluid in the ear canal, dull aching pain, constant ringing, general wooziness, stabbing pain, and pain. Bending over, moving from sitting to standing or lying down causes all the fluid in the ear to relocate causing more pain. I feel even more sorry for my babies, if that’s possible, now that I know first hand what they were going through.

I don’t know how I would have managed to keep my sanity without my family. My mom came as often as she could when the kids were sick, and she was here yesterday so that I could go to the doctor, rest and sleep. My mother, sister, and grandmother all brought food, so that I didn’t have to worry about cooking or getting to the grocery store. And they brought me delicious soup because I cannot chew due to the sinus infection. I love them.

It is such a blessing to know that there are people in my life that I know I can count on to help ease my burdens. I am also very proud of my husband for dragging his sick ear to work with him to provide for our family and make money to pay for all of the doctor bills and the dozen boxes, vials, tubes and bottles of medication that are scattered throughout the house.