Just a note on the inactivity around here

A lot of things have been happening lately to keep me distracted -- we've been dealing with the holidays, I've been trying to cram in work on my internet teacher certification during the time off from school, etc.

But two things have kept my mind off of blogging. My Dad recently had an "episode" or something, though it sounds like a mini-stroke. It happened before Christmas, and he's had some difficulty talking, walking and using his left hand. It's hard for anyone in my family to see this.

On the other hand, Dad being Dad, he's just kind of shrugged the whole thing off and kept on doing what he does. And he's rapidly gotten better -- he was almost back to normal when I saw him two days ago.

The other thing is my Grandad ending up at the hospital in ICU on Wednesday with pneumonia. The doctors have indicated that his health is failing, just how badly we'll know after some tests come back next week.

It's sad for everyone, but Grandad's had some health difficulties for a while, and at age 93, you kinda have to consider every day to be a gift. On the plus side, he's been lucky enough to have kept his mind in good shape. When I saw him in ICU, I asked him how he felt and he said he was good except for the pneumonia. Then we got into a discussion over which sister of mine the nurse most closely resembled.

It's wierd how you get into a routine and then everything just falls down on you, like big cars being dropped on you by renegade aliens in a dumb movie. (Eh, metaphor bank is empty right now.)

On Wednesday, Vivi (of V Marks the Spot) happened to be passing through and droppped by for a short visit and to see Sam. Hadn't seen her in about five years. Then our water heater goes kaput, and we have to spend the morning trying to get a plumber out. Then Meredith's sister and husband come by before they ship out to Virginia. Meredith's parents were coming, but they had to cancel at the last minute. Then I get the call about Grandad being ill.

Seemed I had spent the last month doing nothing but taking care of Sam, gaining weight, and then trying to lose weight.

This isn't a blog where I lay down my troubles and send angry missives to God. This is a blog where I pick out aspects of life to inspect and go "Ha!" Or talk about Tech football.

But since my audience basically consists of about 8 old friends and random people looking for information on dead cougars, I'd thought I'd let y'all know what was going on.