We came home around 1:30am and were greeted by some wonderful strawberry milkshakes that Kelly had made for us. I made up the couch for BJ to sleep on, and before I knew it he was curled up under the blanket, nearly completely asleep with his milkshake still in hand. It was so adorable... I hated forcing him to get up and take out his contacts.
The next morning we did a whole lot of nothing. We lounged until around 11, and then I made breakfast. We did a little more lounging, and then asked Kelly to join us in a game of Scene It. Kelly won. (duh) After that, we ate pizza and watched "Outbreak". Nothing like pizza while watching a movie about an infections disease that makes you bleed from your eyes (and everywhere else) while making your organs liquify. Yum!
After the movie, we headed to Tiger Town and hit up Office Depot for some ink cartridges (for Kelly) and BJ checked out what kind of wireless internet adapter to get for the laptop I gave him. Woot! Woot! Yeah, anyway.
After that, home again. Did a little more nothing, and then did our devotionals. It was grand. It doesn't matter what we do together, I'm always happy with him. He makes me laugh. We did a lot of laughing. That's not nothing. That's laughing. And it feels really good.
Moving on! As promised I will now show you an adorable baby picture of adorable Cairo. I still get sad when I think about him. I feel like I gave up a friend. I know he's happy, and I know he's well taken care of, but I wanted to be the one to take care of him. Sometimes I think I screwed the whole thing up. But would keeping him of been selfish? I don't know. But hey... he was a gift from my beloved Amber...and she made a lot of people happy. I guess I need to get over myself. Cairo has blessed many people. Take a look at this little guy, and you tell me that you wouldn't fall in love with him too!
Isn't he just adorable? If you know how big a box of Irish spring soap is, you can see just how tiny he was. And then if you look at the pics below, you can see that in Jamie's arms...he is quite huge. Kelly, who is sitting behind me, wishes for me to inform you of the following:
I just burped. (and this is what I REALLY said afterward.) It tastes like banana peppers. And pickles. Which taste quite similar on a good day. (It's true, and this IS Truth Be TOLD, afterall.)
ANYWAY. Yes, Cairo. He's a big boy now, but he has been a blessing to so many people. He may not have been the buddy to me he was originally intended to be, but he has been a little puppy miracle. He's helped my mom out a lot, for instance. My Grandpa (her dad) is really not doing well. He's in stage four of his cancer, which is how far along my mom was with hers before her miracle. That's why she hasn't given up hope. It's really hard for her. She's told me so many times how raising Cairo has been an amazing distraction. A new baby, since our doggies are family. She loves him very much, and he's a wild and crazy young one, so that keeps her busy whenever she's home.
But as for Grandpa, he doesn't have much time left. It makes me really sad, because BJ never got to meet him. I really don't think he will. It's almost laughable sometimes when my mom tells me "You don't understand. This is my dad! My parent. It's too hard to watch this happen to him. You have no idea." I'm like...whoa. HELLO! I went through the same thing with her! I think she forgets that. She doesn't forget how almost dying affected her, which I don't expect her too. But now...she's seeing the other side of the spectrum, which I think she really underestimated before. Nobody is ready enough to watch a loved one die. No one can be prepared to make post-death arrangements. No one wants to talk about a will, nobody wants to think about the end.
My great Aunt Lorraine called up my Grammy (who has been divorced from Grandpa for a long time) and asked her to ask my mom to gather pictures of herself and her dad (Grandpa) for photo arrangements for the funeral. My mom was outraged. She was so angry. That side of the family claims to be so spiritual, and she just couldn't believe that they had no hope. I don't think they believe in miracles. They all heard about my mom, but none of them witnessed it. None of them believed in it.
I really love my Grandpa. None of us got to spend as much time as we wanted to with him growing up. Kelly, being his very first grand child got really spoiled... but I think I weaseled my way in there good enough. I'm the only grandchild whose Graduation he attended, the only grandchild to go stay with him in Arizona. That was a good trip. It was me, Grandpa, and Grandma Isabelle. We drove down there from Minnesota after a family reunion in their luxurious towncar. It took 3 days. Each night we stopped, the got me my own hotel room. the first night we stopped in Kansas, and the second night we stopped in New Mexico. It was the first time I had ever seen Cactus on the side of the road, and I was enthralled.
Grandpa learned the hard way that summer to appreciate my quiet side. That man has been the source of a lot of different emotions for every member of his family. But for me, all the memories have been good ones. I guess I'm blessed that way. I can only remember him after he had calmed down. (He was an alcoholic. But back then, NOT drinking a lot was wrong. not the other way around.)
My memories of my grandpa are awesome. This one thing he did would amuse me for hours. He would hand us a broom stick, and had us hold it p horizontallly in the air. He would leave the room, and one child would touch the broomstick in one specific spot. Grandpa would come back, sniff the broomstick up and down, and point EXACTLY to the spot where one of us had touched it. I still don't know how he did it.
He always gave us presents, and gave the best hugs. The last time I saw him was this past summer. One last reunion... they got everyone together for what they all honestly believed to be the last time. All my uncles came up, and it was good. Lots of laughing. I couldn't stop hugging my Grandpa. He had a cough, and we compared inhalers. (We had the exact same one) I don't want to believe that that was the last time I would ever see him alive. I want to be like my mom. I had hope for her, I need to have hope for him too.
Anyway, that went from happy to sad really fast. I hope BJ calls soon. Time to read the Bible. Love you all! Talk to you soon.
Corrie
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