When I last posted here, we had just gotten our snow storm! It's hard to believe that 3 months has gone by so fast. What's even harder to believe is that Bill has been gone a year already! Sometimes it seems like yesterday, and sometimes it seems like a long time. But, I've survived the first year and I know I'm going to make it!

It's been a busy spring and is going to be a busy summer. One of Bill's granddaughters got married in April and my sister and I went to Oklahoma to the wedding. We kind of made a deal. Our niece is getting married in November in Northern Illinois. She said she would go to Oklahoma with me, but I had to go to Illinois with her. She knows my proclivity to just stay home, even without throwing in the "grieving widow" aspect. So, off to Oklahoma we went. And, we had a good time. The wedding was lovely and it was good to see everyone. I got to see the other grandkids and was hoping to see the new baby, but he stayed home. I even made sure that I was considered fully vaccinated before the date. It was a very quick trip, got there on Friday, wedding Saturday evening, came home Sunday. Ronna left on Tuesday. We both decided we are too old for these quick turn-around trips anymore!

Brianna and David are getting married in less than a month now. It doesn't seem possible she's old enough to get married. I was visiting my friends John and Phillis a couple of weeks ago and John said the same thing. He hasn't seen her for awhile so she's still a little girl to him.

McKenna's boyfriend graduated this week and Monday starts a great job at a support company for the steel mill as a welder. He's all excited about that.

Kenna and Kayden are both driving now and Kiyann just earned her orange belt in karate. She didn't want to do it when her mom signed her up, but she loves it!

I still haven't made it to Florida to see Shirley. With everything that still needs done on the house and the weddings, I keep putting it off. I'm getting an estimate on a new furnace Wednesday and the siding still isn't back up. I think I'm going to call a handyman to come and do it. I know the guys are still willing, but they don't have time either. So, this will be easier.

Shirley has been in the hospital and rehab now for a couple of months. They think that her problems with weakness and balance are partly to do with long-term Covid effects. She also does have a problem with spinal stenosis and arthritis and some nerve damage from that, so she's looking at surgery. They're waiting on the consult with the neurosurgeon and I think that's still a couple of weeks away. She does realize that she can't go home by herself right now, and she's OK with it, but she misses her animals. A neighbor down the street comes every day to care for the cats and the birds and another neighbor has taken the dog to his house. He had been good to help with Sadie in the past.

I still haven't been able to have the committal ceremony for Bill's ashes. And, I'm a little miffed at my government officials. I have contacted the governor and a state senator to see when the ban will be lifted and neither one has answered. The year for the free inurnment of course ends today. I'm hoping that requirement will be waive because of Covid, but if not it's only $300. I also can't just get an answer that it can be held next week since unless I do it without his kids being there, and that won't work. Logistics, logistics, logistics.

I've been told by several people who have followed this blog that I should turn it into a book, so I'm exploring that idea. Just to print it in book form is more than 1000 pages, which is too much. But, I'm investigating the possibility of doing something along the lines of what blogging did for me during this journey. So, stay turned!

I don't know how many more posts there will be here, especially since it is Bill's journey. I know there will be one more when he can finally be laid to rest. So, don't worry it weeks or months go by in between. 

All for this time!