Michael and I had some "fun" on Valentine's Day - - we shipped my Mom off to New Jersey to visit my sister and her family (Ha, ha, ha!!! NO...that wasn't the "fun" part). She was to watch the kids while sis & dear hubby went house hunting in MD. Before Michael dropped her off at O'Hare, I was already at her house for the latest version of "Extreme Makeover!" This year we decided to tackle her living room which was in dire need of some freshening up.
Michael had to make a quick trip the doctor before he made it back so they could check his blood levels again. Of course, we had to make sure that he wasn't doing anything too strenuous because of his blood clot (we didn't want it traveling any further!). By the time he made it back to the house, I had already been clearing things out of the living room and taping. I selected the paint colors, bought the paint and then we got started. Michael was in charge of the ceiling and I got started on the rest of the room. By the end of day one, we finished the ceiling and a coat of paint on the walls. We couldn't believe how quickly the time flew by! We headed home with the wonder dog, Cosmo, who was to be in our care for the next nine days.
Day two was more of the same - - paint, paint, paint. By the end of the day, we had everything cleaned up and we had the room mostly staged (but it wasn't perfect...we just ran out of time). No worries - - we had time to finish up the following Sunday before Mom returned.
Cosmo decided to surprise us on the second morning of his "vacation" with us by christening our bedroom carpet (Thanks a lot Muttley!!). When I informed Mom, she was mortified!
Michael continued his endless odyssey of doctor visits (geez...every other day)! My work has been dismal (the understatement of the year) and I've been in such a funk since getting word about the twins (sob!).
The highlight of my week was picking Mom up from the airport and taking her home for the big "reveal." Michael was already there with Sir Cosmo. Needless to say, she was shocked! She figured out that something was up, but when she finally walked in the living room, she loved it! It was the first truly positive reaction she ever had to my mini makeovers! Other times she was quietly shocked and it would usually take 2 - 3 days before it sunk in. I felt good about her reaction.
The next day (yesterday) was quite a shock. I received a call from her in the morning from HOME. She was supposed to be at work! I asked why she was calling me from home and she replied, "Because I don't have a job anymore!" What the?! She was LAID OFF! It was her first day back from vacation and they never even let her take her coat off! How RUDE!! Apparently her bank had a reduction in work force and she drew the lucky straw because she was one of the oldest. Nice. Some appreciation. I felt so awful for her. I didn't know what to say..."I'm so very sorry" or "Congratulations on your [forced] retirement!"
She came over last night so that I could help her fill out the appropriate unemployment forms online. She seemed in relatively good spirits (still on that vacation high). I just felt terrible. I've been really struggling with everything that has gone on this year (don't even get me started on how bad things have been at my office!). Before she left, I came to the decision to tell her about the twins that we lost. I figured it couldn't hurt now (I didn't want to tell her earlier in case something like this happened). So...I opened this blog and let her read a little of it. She was a little confused, but finally asked, "What's this about twins?" I explained the situation and why I had been so sad. That was about it.
Now...the more cheerful news (the Lord knows I need it!)...I received an e-mail from Amy Eldridge this morning stating:
"Just wanted you to know that the director from Shangrao called us today SOThis beautiful message gave me hope all day long. Because it's Ash Wednesday, I went to church during my lunch hour for ashes and prayed that things would work out. We'll see...
UPSET that provincial sent the boys through as healthy. She had put your
information directly on their files.
She is going to call the CCAA this week to ask them to reconsider their SN status. I don’t want you to get your hopes up, but I did want you to know that the director is trying. I gave her all of your information again….LID, agency, etc.
Amy"
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