I know it’s been forever since I wrote, but we’ve had quite a month. First I went to Mexico for Dan’s wedding, which was a ton of fun. I took Arden and she did very well - a much more flexible traveler than her big sister, especially since I didn’t have to deal with trying to feed her Mexican food. When I returned, I was home for two days before Mike’s mom took a turn for the worse. I headed down Thursday with my sister-in-law and she passed away on Saturday. Thankfully Mike came down Friday afternoon and Lois, his other sister, on Saturday - so everyone was there for her. We stayed until Wednesday as the funeral was Wednesday morning. Much as you hate to see anyone in your family pass away, the alternative for her was living with a horrible, painful disease - and I think we were all glad that she died peacefully at home with minor pain. I saw first-hand how hospice works and how amazing those people are. It almost made me want to change my job - but of course I’d be terrible at helping people to let go and die - I’d be bawling my eyes out and begging them to stay most of the time.

Lily, Arden and I all got stomach bugs - Arden has been throwing up and Lily has it on the other end. Mercifully Lily’s was short-lived and mine only took a couple of days. I hope that by tomorrow Arden is feeling better. Arden has really begun to develop a personality, and it’s totally different than Lily’s. She’s calm, easy to please, and tends to be very laid-back. In general she loves people and goes to anyone who wants to hold her (except for Mike’s Aunt Arlene - for some reason, she was petrified of her, and she’s the sweetest lady on the planet).

Mike is doing okay and I think getting back home and to work has helped him feel more normal. Neither of us slept much in North Carolina and we were both very emotionally and physically drained by the end of the time there. I think his dad will move up here eventually, which will be great for the grandkids. The trip down to where they live is closer to 5 hours than 4 and it makes visiting with young kids very difficult.

Seeing my mother-in-law in the condition she was in when we got there made me want to clean up my life - get healthier, work out more, eat better. Of course I’ve never been a smoker but cancer scares me to death. My friend Julie’s father passed away on Monday, just two days after Susan - he also had cancer. It’s just a nasty way to go, and if there’s anything I can do to prevent myself, and my family, from getting it, I’m going to. I have a sneaking suspicion that so much of the cancers these days come from all the weird processed crap we eat. I hope not, because that means I’m doomed . . . but seems like it’s pretty rampant.

We all hope that March is a better month than February, and I’m so glad I got to attend a family wedding especially in Mexico so that a month of bad news was peppered with some great news as well.