Thanks so much to those of you who messaged me with such kind words this past week!
I've been MIA for a while, it's been a sad and busy past couple of weeks. My uncle up in the Sacramento area wasn't feeling well and went into the hospital the end of April. I couldn't make that long drive by myself so my daughter and I were planning a trip up there to see him but she's got a husband and 3 little ones, 2 of which were still in school, so timing was an issue. Fortunately, my wonderful SIL took off work and stayed home with the kids, so it was just she and I on the trip without having to worry about the littles on a 7 hour drive one way.
My uncle got much worse very quickly and passed away before we were able to get up there. He had pancreatic cancer.
We were up there for a week with my aunt, and helping her with whatever we could, and just got home a few days ago. Cancer SO sucks - he was 86, healthy and fit, working out on his treadmill twice a day and still an active member of the Senior Hikers Group in his town. They were world travelers and used to being on the go. My aunt Mary Ann has gone downhill fast - dementia is setting in and I've been on the phone several times a day trying to arrange for in home care for her which she needs immediately. But she is adamant that she doesn't need it. She only has one other relative who is able to help get the ball rolling on her care, but she's also several hundred miles away in the other direction - in Nevada up by the Idaho border.
My Aunt Mary Ann goes to bed around 7 and takes a 3 hour nap during the day, so on a lighter note, my daughter and I were able to get in some sightseeing of the beautiful Mother Lode country up in NoCal. We ate at delicious little mom and pop restaurants and got extra to take to Mary Ann for her dinners. We took a little side trip to Lake Tahoe on the way home and had lunch at a little picnic table on the shores of that beautiful lake and watched the boats go by.
Sorry for the long post, and thank you for reading this far.
I'm stuck between doing whatever I can do long distance, and knowing that there is only so much I CAN do. It's good to be back here.