When it rains...

When it rains, it pours ... so they say, but I can attest to the fact that it is true!  This has been one of the hardest years I have ever had to deal with ... new responsibilities at work (which I welcomed 'cause I was feeling like I was in a rut) ... more responsibilities with my mom due to her health (which I shared with my dad and my sister as we have no other family here in Orlando) ... then in June mom passed away ... BAM!  That was one hit that I was definitely NOT ready for ... none of us were ... so I moved my dad in with me and my son in July, in August he retired and in October ... BOOM!, another hit ... my dad had a car accident that had it not been for him wearing a seatbelt and the airbags, it would have been much more worse ... his car was a total loss and he is at home recuperating, slowly but surely ... he broke his right arm and leg and he is healing (thank God!) but it is a slow process ... he won't be able to put weight on it at least the first week in January 2010.

 

At this point I feel like the ham (or the cheese if you don't eat ham) of the sandwich, smack right in the middle.  I am responsible for my kid but now I am responsible for my dad too ... I am a parent and a parent to my parent?  Does that make sense?  The one word that truly describes how I feel right now is overwhelmed.  Very.  Overwhelmed.

 

And to make the deal even sweeter (or sour, depending on how you look at it), my sister's car broke down.  Just like she was saying this weekend ... first there were three (cars), then two, then one ... I told her to shut up and don't jinx my van ... which by the way she is driving today.  So yeah, when it rains, it pours ... where's my friggin' umbrella?

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving is the first Thanksgiving without my mom, G's grandma.  That boy was the light of her eyes, her first grandson ... she took care of him since he was 6 weeks old - when I had to return back to work.  She took care of him until he was 3 years old which is when her health started to decline.

 

After we prayed and before we started eating my dad asked G what he was thankful for and he said his grandma... and then he told my dad "abuelo, I really miss her but she is better with Papa Dios, right?" ... my dad's reaction was just to hug him real tight, just like my mother would.

 

Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Family

This was our first Thanksgiving without my mom. It felt as surreal as when we celebrated the birthdays and other important dates after her death. Sis stayed over as she was going to Black Friday the next day. I tagged along after 7am and only because I wanted to go to CompUSA - where I treated myself of course. I realized one thing ... Black Friday just brought out the worst part of my rican-ness and boy was that like, not good. I don't know if I will be going super duper early next year ... maybe if they can sell patience in a bottle.

The best part of this weekend though was that G's paternal grandma came to visit from Puerto Rico. It was awesome to see her, my ex-MIL (mother-in-law) - I always got along with her and one of the drawbacks of being divorced was not seeing her as often. She is the only grandma that my son has left, I want to make sure he has a relationship with her ... then again I can only do so much.

Now if I could just take a break from my family... oh yes, am going back to work tomorrow.