-*- 2 years -*-

... 6-24-2011 ... that date marked 2 years since mom passed away ...

I have been dealing with a lots of ups and downs lately.  I know I haven't blogged in a while.  Ironically how one feels guilty for not blogging.  Weird.

Dad is back with me.  He moved back in January of this year.  It has not been easy.  My garage looks like something from the tv show "Hoarders" ... not a pretty sight.  He has been dealing with bouts of depression, understandably so.  And thankfully, he listened to my advice and went to see a counselor.

My son is doing good - thanks for asking ;-)  He started orthodontic treatment in the month of May and now has upper and lower expander.  I have him in summer camp at the same day care where he used to go when he was a baby.  It is also a big help that it is right across the street from my office.

We have some changes at work and well, when you work for the government, is good that you don't get too attached to sides 'cause you never know who you will be working with in a year or two.  I am a believer that change always brings something good.  So I am looking forward to the changes that are coming.

Like I wrote at the beginning, on Friday June 24th, it was 2 years since mom passed away.  I can say that a day does not go by in which I don't think about her.  Not a day.  I took that day off and went to the beach with my dad and the boys.  My dad went to buy flowers to throw them at sea and well, they were wrongly marked and well, the flowers ended up being free.  Coincidence?  I think not.  And well, the beach is one of my mom's favorite places to be.  It was a beautiful sunny day.  The waves were a bit rough but the kids had a ball.

The next day we went to Mass and it would have been one that she would have truly enjoyed, with lively music and all of us there together.  I could just see her dressed up, with all her jewelry and clapping as she sang away.

I will never understand why she was taken away from us while she still had so much to live.  I know that she was in a lot of pain.  And she didn't deserve it.  No one does.

I would like to think that she watches over us and she is in a better place, with those that left before us, without pain, without suffering.

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday.  It marks the beginning of the Lent season.  This season is a very special one as by the end of it, the Saturday before Easter, the kiddo gets baptized, confirmed and will be doing his first communion.  All three.

We attended Mass today with my sister and her son.  The kids adore each other, they are like brothers.  Well, "brudders" like my nephew says it.  So needless to say, keeping a straight face during this Mass was quiet a challenge.

I personally enjoyed telling my son about the Mass and what is going on.  The best part was when the priest was blessing the bread and the wine ... my nephew busted out with a "WOW!, that's amazing!" ... and the people around us squirmed a bit, shushing him ... but you know what?  He IS right!  WOW!  It is amazing and mind blowing to realize the miracle we are witnessing right then and there in front of us.

As we walked outside and I looked at everyone that was there I realized that we all look different, come from different backgrounds, speak different languages ... yet we all shared that ash cross on our foreheads.  It made me think that even if I feel alone, I am not alone ... and that is a comforting thought.