This photo of my favorite brother speaking at the MGM in Vegas — AND a bonus of the best dad on the planet on the big screen — sure made my smile today. My favorite sister in law sent the photo to me as she was in the audience… she knew I would love it.
I have one item of furniture that I will probably keep until the day I’m buried. It’s an old sideboard that belonged to one of the most influential people in my life — my Nanny. It’s held some crazy spots in my homes and has been used in many different ways.
I took the back “lip” off and put it back on flush with the top, so now, the sideboard is a bar in my kitchen. Every time I see it, I’m reminded of my grandmother and her selfless love of family.
Katie’s first trip to a casino upon turning 21 and the Horseshoe in New Albany was the destination. There was only one winner…
When I looked at this iPhone photo from our weekend night of fun, I could barely believe my eyes. Did both these women shrink? The 3 of us have been about the same height ever since Katie was in high school, but I’ve had a recent growth spurt as evidenced in the picture below:
I sure am grateful to have these 2 awesome (albeit short) women in my life.
My uncle Max (my Dad’s youngest brother) woke on his birthday and baked himself a birthday cake and a cherry pie. He didn’t know his two daughters had a surprise party planned for him that afternoon at his granddaughter’s house. I’m pretty happy he didn’t know anything about the gathering because that cherry pie was amazing!
I was late (typical Shelley) and had to park 100 miles from the house. So many family and friends took time from their busy Sunday to celebrate Max’s life, it was more like a football game at Seymour High School than the 82nd birthday of some old dude.
My Dad was from a large family and I was reminded of that fact as I looked around at all my cousins and their kids. Our get-togethers were a LOT more frequent when my parent’s generation was in charge — but when we DO gather, it’s always a treat.
Here’s hoping my Uncle Max has many more birthdays — he is the last of the McKain 13.
The past couple weeks have been difficult — certainly more so for my favorite cousin and friend than for me — but still an extraordinarily sad time. My Aunt Shirley suffered a stroke that created a large brain bleed. She’s been in ICU since Thanksgiving Day and is to be transferred to a rehab facility today. Sadly, Shirley isn’t aware of her move. She hasn’t recognized anyone since the stroke.
I remember my Aunt Shirley picking me up to go swimming and sledding when I was a kid. When I got older, I remember her forcing Jerilyn and I to work as ‘meat wrappers’ at the locker she owned. I attribute my skill of wrapping liver to her (yes, it’s a skill to wrap liver with freezing cold hands into packages where the paper remains white and not covered with blood) and I don’t even like liver. Although we complained, she never did — and her job was on the kill floor. This little woman could skin better than any man.
Getting old(er) is horribly difficult. As Jerilyn had to make a decision to have a feeding tube placed or ‘let nature take its course,’ my heart broke for her. Getting old isn’t just difficult for the person with health issues, sometimes it’s even more difficult for the loved ones who must make incredibly impossible decisions… because they are getting old(er) too.