snapshots
Tuesday, Dec. 03, 2002 || Ramblings and musings of a worn out woman

Nicole feels The current mood of nacwolin at www.imood.com

I am worn out.

It seems I can't quite get my energy back. I went to Texas with a head cold, which is mostly gone, but the lingering weariness continues. I even took a 2 hour nap today and still feel as if I could crawl back under the covers and sleep till noon tomorrow!

~ ~ ~

Strep-fest 2002 continues.

If you read my sister's and cousin's diaries, you know that strep has been making it's rounds, beginning first with Tara's hubby, then on to two of Mar's kiddos. Now, Rob has it. And, of course, he has to have the big-bucks prescription to heal it. He was a bit frustrated today, to say the least. At least we caught it before the daggers-in-his-throat feeling he usually waits for. And it is worth every penny to get him feeling better again.

Oh, and Kaytlin has a sore throat now. But no fever and no sign of those lovely, snowy puss-pockets in her throat.

Yet.

Now there is a google-able term: puss-pockets.

~ ~ ~

It is SO cold here. I want to know what happened to fall. It seemed to jump right from shorts to parka weather. If it is going to be this cold, it should at least snow so that we have something other than naked trees and brown zoysia to gaze upon.

Yes, folks, some naked things aren't the best site to behold.

~ ~ ~

I bought a down comforter. It is just the snuggliest, yummiest, warmth-inducer - outside of my honey, of course - that I have ever laid under. Now I just have to find a duvet for it. I have a 15% off coupon to Kohl's that is simply burning a hole in my purse, but they are out. For now.

~ ~ ~

I am such a dork sometimes.

I went to Kohl's today to look for ornaments. One for the "Rob Your Neighbor" ornament exchange we have at our church's women's Christmas party (yes, folks, the only church activity in which we encourage you to break one of the ten commandments) and one for my secret sister. I found the cutest teacher ornaments as well, and bonus, they were on sale! Gotta love that.

I grabbed two of those babies, feeling rather smug to have a bit more of my Christmas shopping complete. It only dawned on me about 3 hours later that I have three teachers to buy for this year.

Nope, it doesn't take me long at all, eh?

~ ~ ~

Does anyone else have comfort foods?

Tara was such a sweetie and brought me my absolute favorite chips in the whole world: Utz Salt and Pepper. TWO BAGS! I feel like Winnie the Pooh with his honey pot.

I also opened my favorite holiday cookies last night: Archway's Nutty Nougat. OH. MY. GOODNESS. I love these things.

Whenever I open a box of these, I think of Grace.

One spring I answered a newspaper ad for a 3-hour, 2-day per week housecleaning position. The kicker in that gig was that the dear lady owned about 20 cats. Twenty cats make for mucho catfood, litter box changing, and hair to vacuum/sweep. Her home was quite simple and surprisingly clean and easy to clean: no carpets and all slip-covered furniture. I accepted the challenged and it wasn't long before a mother-daughter type of relationship developed between us.

I cared for her home as she underwent her masectomy. Two days per week became five. I stayed with her for a week while Rob went to a Navy school in GA. She spoiled me with lunches at Captain D's, breakfasts at Shoney's, and she always paid me too much. Rob and I even moved in with her for one month while the Navy kept us in limbo about a transfer. She still teases me that when it is time to have another baby, "our room" is still open.

Grace never had any children. She had chosen a military life instead, serving as a Navy nurse for over 20 years. She always reminded me of Weezer from Steel Magnolias. Brash, strong, but sort of pudding underneath.

We fussed and argued at times. We giggled like school girls. She worried over me as I went through morning sickness and walked the mile to her home each day, cleaning right past my due date ("I feel fine, Grace! I want to stay busy.").

I continued to work for her, even after Kaytlin's birth. She would hold her as I vacuumed and mopped. "She was fussing," she would say as she rocked her. Kaytlin hardly had to whimper before she was lifted from the basinette into her soft arms.

My children still call her Grandma Grace, and we try to visit her every few years when we are on the east coast. She spoils us still.

Sometimes, like tonight, I think of her, and how she doesn't have hardly anyone close by anymore to take care of her. She is almost blind now. And sometimes I feel guity that I am not closer. It is not really the mild southern winters that I miss.

I miss her. Her kindness. Her crabbiness. Her sarcastic sense of humor.

So, when I open that package of cookies each year, I think of Grace. She introduced me to Nutty Nougat cookies. She liked them, and when she saw how much I enjoyed them, she always made sure they were in her cupboard as soon as they hit the shelves around Thanksgiving time. A simple, silly thing really, but looking back I know that was just her way to say, "I love you."



~ ~ ~

test - Saturday, Oct. 01, 2016
Just a reminder - Friday, Aug. 10, 2007
Rockin' Girl Blogger - Wednesday, Jul. 18, 2007
A good end - Friday, Jun. 01, 2007
Moving on? Yes and no. - Monday, May. 07, 2007

All entries (c) Nacwolin 2001-2006. These are my words. Use your own, m'kay?

journal

bio

contact

extra

credits