~Alex Tan
Bright and early began this day! I was off to an early start this morning. First there were some pancakes for breakfast, then I started collecting all of the household garbage and recycling to put out for pickup tomorrow. Then, I decided to start the laundry and wash all of the towels in the house, as well. Next it was the inevitable dishes time...my least favorite part of the day, aside from the fact that at least it has one redeeming quality: I get to organize the clean dishes when I put them away. By then I could switch the laundry into the dryer. After that, I sanded down the toy chest and put on the first coat of white spray paint. Unfortunately, the sanding didn't take off as much of the paint as I had hoped, but it did rough up the surface at least enough to hold the spray paint. I pulled the toy chest out to the grass in the back yard for the spraying portion, as to cut the inhalation as much as possible by having it outside in a windy area. I think it was a good first coat, however it will need at least one more coat, if not two. Plus, I realized after it dried that because it was on a slight incline in the grass, one of the sides has droplet marks, which I will need to sand before spraying on the second layer.
I came inside, after that project and wrote in the belly book that Mom gave me. We are officially done with 23 weeks of pregnancy, meaning I am starting week 24...which, for those of you who don't know a lot about pregnancy, means that on Thursday of next week, I will have finished the 2nd trimester. As part of filling out the belly book, I measured my belly (as I do every week) to find out that within the last week, I have grown TWO INCHES in my belly. Perhaps that is why I am unusually tired...I think Monkey had an unusually large growth spurt and that is why I've been so exhausted after taking it easy. I really need to get more variety of maternity pants as I fear that my ability to "stretch" my non-pregnant wardrobe is swiftly coming to an end.
Next on my list of things to do this morning was to send out a thank you to Mom and Dan for the cute baby gifts and to head to Kinkos to print off the eldest boy's (of the new nanny family) birthday invitations. He is having his 2 year birthday next month at a local pumpkin patch. It was so nice last year, I can't wait for this big day for the little man! Thirty nine copies of Halloween-inspired invitations later, I was on my way to the Dan's mass, funeral, burial, and celebration of life.
Although it was a Catholic mass, and I am not familiar with most of the rituals, it was a very nice and honoring service. After the service, everyone drove out to the cemetery for the burial. What a beautiful day to signify a serene and peaceful transition for Mr. A into his heavenly life. We all gathered afterward at the Citrus Heights Community Center for his celebration of life/memorial. It was a touching tribute to an amazing man, complete with a heartfelt speech by his daughter Darc, friends of the family, and sweet slideshow. Of course, it was meaningful to be able to lend emotional support to dear friends during this difficult time, but it was apparent that Dan surrounded himself and his family with the highest quality of individuals. He truly was a remarkable man who fought so hard for his three girls and who will continue to live on in the hearts of all who knew him and in Team Big Papa.
After returning home from the day's events, the laundry had to be put away and dinner had to be made. We're getting low on groceries, so one of our few choices was a dinner of macaroni and cheese and sausages. Mikee chatted about her last day on the job at CB&T and knew that after today's events, she made the right decision to leave. She is excited to start her new job on Monday and to have a fresh start in general. She was pleasantly surprised when she came home from work to find that the last of the divorce settlement monies owed her by her ex have finally made their way into a fidelity account in her name as of this afternoon. She can now move on from the past in more ways than one: she no longer needs to deal with her ex, she is done with a frustrating job and onto a new one, and she will be moving out and living for herself all within the same month. Seems like we need to celebrate. It is so great to know how happy all of these changes are making her!
Tomorrow is Aunt Nettie and friend DeAnna's birthdays as well as another day spent with two very special boys. I realized today how important it is to surround yourself with people who make you feel good, who cherish your company, who respect your individuality, who make you want to be better, and who love you unconditionally. Today is truly a blessing and I just wanted to thank you all for the roles you play in our lives. Thank you to all of you out there who have extended us a kind word, a smile, a shoulder to lean on, memories, laughs, who have challenged us, and who continue to be there and laugh with us when we have our "moments"...we really can't thank you enough for how you continue to touch our lives. Know that we are saying a prayer of appreciation and love for you all, and that we hope your lives continue to be blessed!
Hope you all had a terrific Thursday!
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