Baby Aiden

A little three-month-old baby passed away today. His mother went to his crib and he was gone. SIDS, apparently. This baby was my third cousin on the same branch of the family as my cousin Luann who recently passed - only days before the baby was born, actually.

The only solace I feel is knowing that Luann is holding Baby Aiden close in Heaven, loving him and laughing with him.

I know we aren't meant to understand everything that God does, but really...

This is so sad.

If you would say a prayer for this family, it would mean so much. The pain of losing Luann was only just barely starting to dim.

Thanks.

Looking for a ray of hope... just one. That's all I'm asking...

What is going on????

People are trying to raise children and pay mortgages and have babies and keep food in their refrigerators and hours are getting cut, hard working people are getting laid off, and there is a general consensus of hopelessness all around.

We aren't losers. We aren't unwilling to work, we aren't looking for hand-outs, we aren't sitting around doing drugs while our children cry in their cribs.

STOP SELLING YOUR STOCK, PEOPLE! Wait it out! If you keep selling, you're not going to get enough for it anyway and you're just making the stock market fall farther and farther. This economy is CRAP and we are paying for it.

This is getting seriously scary. Please help out those who need it if you find yourself in the position to do so.

God Bless America

This is so totally random

A Decade Later

My ten-year high school reunion was last weekend. TEN YEARS, MAN!

((Didn't anyone besides me see Grosse Pointe Blank??))

So, anyway... wow! I cannot believe how much has changed since high school. There are the obvious things: husband, kids, moving, working, not working. Then there are some less obvious things relating to my personal experiences... I was baptized, I've been through agony and elation, I've dealt with the California Family Court system, I've gotten to know my grandmother better, I've become closer with my mother and my sister, I've learned to appreciate what is good about California, I've missed the Midwest, and I've really figured out who I am.

I'm inspired to write

Top Ten Things I've Learned In The Last Ten Years

10. Diaper Smell will permeate any container the diapers are in.

9. Declaw your cat the day you find out you're pregnant.

8. You will become your parents and that's okay. Deal.

7. Grocery shopping is harder than it looks.

6. Take pictures.

5. Send thank you cards.

4. Cherish your siblings.

3. Make "I love you" a common phrase in your home and always say it like you mean it.

2. Family before friends. Friends before work.

1. God is knocking. Open Up.

Here's to the Grayslake Community High School Class of 1998! Go Rams!

((I feel compelled to disclose that I did not actually attend my reunion because it was six states away, but I wanted to be there and have still been profoundly impacted by its occurrence))