Pittsburgh

Yesterday we piled into a rented SUV and headed to Pittsburgh for the day. Our SUV, which was purchased when Robby was born, now boasts over 340,000 miles. Concerned about her ability to tackle Squirrel Hill, we decided that it was worth the aggravation of securing a rental. We knew that a 7 hours RT was going to be a lot for everybody and being comfortable was going to help stay the bickering.

Although the drive became long and boring, everybody held up beautifully. We were able to visit with my Aunt Janet for a few hours before heading back home. Her severe memory issues, coupled with our lack of familiarity with each other, makes conversing for long periods of time uncomfortable.  I never had a relationship with my Aunts, so being throw into the mix as responsible for her well-being is difficult to navigate.  

It was a long day of driving, but I'm glad that we went. Timmy has never met Janet and now he has a memory. (If he loses the memory, he will have photo proof.) Janet has been asking to see Robby, which prompted our immediate visit, yet she seemed to have no real interest in him during the visit. I'm hoping that she will remember that he was there, even if she forgot why she wanted to see him.

 

 

 

Anniversaries

 Yesterday marked 27 years since my foot was injured. Anniversaries are odd. Some years they fly by without pause while at other times I find myself paralyzed by memories. Yesterday was an odd amalgamation of both.

I found myself haunted by what-ifs and memories throughout the night and into the wee hours of the morning. It was odd because it was the anniversary of my accident but the majority of my thoughts focused on my brother. It has been almost a year since he was killed, and I miss him.  I guess my anniversary somehow opened a floodgate of emotions that I have been artfully concealing for nearly a year. 

In an attempt to maintain my sanity and to get through the day, we spent the majority outside working in the yard. While Timmy was logged into class upstairs, Scott, Robby and I cleared out a huge rock garden in our side yard. We uncovered nearly 100 daffodils that had been struggling to peek up through the leaves and debris.  It makes me so happy to look at our cleaned out bed and I can't wait for the flowers to bloom. 

I did my best to try to assist Robby and Scott, but my efforts were minimal. Clearing the bed required a combination of rock climbing skills and billy goat balancing that I simply do not possess. While they climbed the rocks and pulled the vines, I stayed at the base and picked up the debris after it was tossed.  I definitely got the easy part of that chore!

 

 

Home

 Friday was Scott's birthday. As luck would happen, it coincided with the start of Robby's spring break. Going to pick up Robby from college to bring him home for a week was the perfect way for Scott to spend his afternoon. (This came straight from him, not me.) Having a full house was definitely the best gift we could provide, but the Washington Capitals tickets (hopefully timed for Oveckin's record goal) were a pretty close second. 

Yesterday afternoon we headed to hibachi to celebrate the start of another school break. (Finding a new hibachi restaurant was a family priority when we moved.) On our way home from lunch we discovered an amazing restaurant supply store where we scored 10 pounds of irregular sliced Kunzler bacon for $20, delighting my little bacon eater. 

This week will be awkward because Robby is on vacation while Timmy is still in school. This is the first year that their vacations do not coincide. I don't like it, but I'm going to embrace what we were given. This week Robby is home, and I'm delighted.  Now I need to go fry up some bacon.