Better to Laugh

It was a looong weekend.  I went home Friday at noon with chills, aches, intestinal issues, etc.  I slept hard (the drool kind), but still felt achy when I got up.  Around 7:00 p.m., I could feel the bug, or whatever it was, leaving my body.  Terry’s niece, Tiffany, and her girls stayed with us Friday night.  Saturday, I was feeling pretty much good as new.  We (Terry, Brad, Tiffany & girls) drove 6 hours to Wisconsin and spent time with Terry’s family.  It was good to see everyone.  Brad and I drove home on Sunday.  Terry & Tiffany stayed for Terry’s dad’s surgery on Tuesday (having bladder removed due to cancer).

On a lighter note, Tiffany’s girls, Jaelynn (3) and Gaby (11 months), were an absolute joy.   Brad and Jaelynn built a fort with tray tables and blankets.  Brad took it down, because he didn’t want Gaby to get hurt.  Jaelynn came up to me and said, “Your brother took down my house.”  Wow, that made me feel good, even if she doesn’t get the whole family tree thing!  I can’t wait to be a grandma! 

On the other hand, on the way home from Wisconsin, the McDonald’s guy asked me if I needed the senior discount; I am 45 years old.  I told him no and explained it’s the gray hair thing.  He got all embarrassed, but I just laughed it off and told him I should start asking for a discount anyway.

The weather is absolutely gorgeous!  I had two good runs on Saturday afternoon and tonight.  I don’t know how long the warmth will last, but I am going to enjoy this little gift from God while it is here!

So, just to clarify yesterday’s post, Indiana is not on Daylight Savings Time right now; this is the time we observed for all of those years when we didn’t change our clocks (eastern time).  However, a couple of months a go when it was Daylight Savings Time, it was still light out after 9 p.m.  The point being that losing light that quickly really screws you up.

I came home tonight and thought about going to the gym and swimming some laps.  It was getting dark outside, so I thought about just getting ready for bed, eating dinner while watching the Biggest Loser, and hitting the hay.  I started changing into my warm jammies, then I looked at the clock and saw that it was only 6 p.m.!  What?!  Dang!!  So, I forced myself to put my swimsuit on and swam laps.  I’m glad I did; I feel a lot better.  Is this how it is going to feel until March?  Blah.

Halloween was lots of fun!  Terry and I went to my brother’s house, as we do every year.  My brother, Mario, puts out this elaborate display in his garage and out into his driveway with strobes, fog, black lights, ghosts, a giant spider, webs, etc.  Then, we dress up in different ways and scare the kids (not the wee ones, though).  This year, Mario dressed as Michael Myers in a coffin, Terry dressed as a demon holding a machete wearing a mask and robe, and I dressed as a rocker/biker mannequin.  Jimmy, my brother’s friend, usually dresses up, also.  This year, he was having so much fun with the kids that he just handed 0ut candy.  Jimmy’s commentary was so funny that it was hard to be still and not laugh. 

Here are some Jimmyisms:

• An 8 year-old pimp?  That’s just not right.
• What’s up with Spiderman’s muscles? (4 year-old with stuffed Spidey suit) 
• Hey Michael (Mario’s 8 year-old son), stop messing with the help. (trying to get us to move)
• We have victims.
• It’s nice to see the older kids actually using some creativity this year instead of just coming around with a bag and getting free candy.

After a little 4 year-old girl had already gotten her candy, Jimmy put a candy bar on the giant spider and told her that if she picked it up, she could have that one, too.  She thought about it…but ended up walking away.

We had groups of people at the end of the driveway.  Parents were practically pushing their kids to go up the drive to get candy.  Terry actually scared some of the adults that didn’t realize he was real.  It was another successful year!