Doing the Right Thing

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Nora

Sometimes it’s really hard to do the right thing; not because you don’t believe in it with every fiber of your being, but because of the unknowns: the big, awful, scary, who-knows-what-is-going-to-happen-next feeling the lives in the pit of your stomach and eats away at your thoughts during the day. That’s where I’ve been the last few weeks. Excited and hopeful but also nervous and scared.

About two months ago, Knight and I made a huge decision. One that we feel is right not just so we can live our lives peacefully but so others can, too. One that we firmly believe in. One that takes a lot of strength, patience, grace, resources and support.

Because of the legalities involved, I will be vague for awhile longer until it’s all sorted out but trust me when I say we are working on making a positive change to the sticky wicket that is living with divorce. Everything I shared in that post and everything I didn’t share became to much for us to handle and frankly, no one should have to live like that. It was infringing on our daily lives and how we went about business as usual and it got to the point where something really did need to change.

This is not one of those decisions that was made lightly. There were weeks if not months of talking, hashing out plans and details, researching, seeking counsel, weighing options, praying, and finally, taking the step in what we feel is the right direction.

This direction though? Comes with costs, especially when it’s a battle for what we believe is right. There are costs to our sanity. We don’t quite know what awaits us on a daily basis directly or indirectly; there’s a constant fear or the surprise of the unknown. There’s the emotional toll it takes on us, our relationship; sure we workout, go to work, be social, remain parents and a couple, but sometimes it takes every single ounce of our energy to push through the bullshit that’s we are facing, to put on a smile, to try to remain positive. There’s the fear factor, and trust me the opposition is trying to scare us; sorry to say some days it works. There’s the distraction factor: distracted from everyday life, the fun and the mundane alike. The exhaustion factor. The I’m-so-tired-I-don’t-wanna-blog-factor. The tired-of-considering-other-possibilities factor. The how-much-more-of-this-can-we-take-factor. It’s all there. Every raw, intense emotion that goes along with making a big life-changing decision; they are constantly lurking right beneath the surface. There’s also anger, frustration, disappointment, hopelessness, confusion and a general feeling of make it all go away, but alas, we are going down swinging.

I wish I could say doing the right thing was easy because who doesn’t like easy? But as they say, nothing worth having and fighting for is ever easy. So we forge on, into the unknown, not sure of how things will turn out in the end but know in our hearts that we are doing the right thing and as a result of this battle Knight and I will be forever stronger and unbreakable.

Apologies for the vagaries; I hope you’ll trust me when I say we are doing what we feel and believe is right. In time, I will be able to share more. In the meantime, thanks for being here.

The (Three Day) Weekend

Posted on April 7, 2010 by Nora

This past weekend I…

… enjoyed a leisurely Friday with the family full of Italian food and gelato, laughs and good debates.

… daydreamed about buying my own townhome with a backyard for Jack and a porch on the second floor overlooking a garden.

… ran 8.75 miles, without stopping, as part of my training for the upcoming Soldiers Field 10 miler in about seven weeks.

… felt surprisingly awesome after running the aforementioned miles.

… rummaged around my closet for clothes that aren’t too big for me, found nothing so went for a “bohemian” look on Easter Sunday in a flowy dress and curly hair.

… decided that it’s time to go shopping due to the fact I look like a bag lady in my clothes these days. (Thank you running.)

… baked a smore brownie pie and spinach lasagna roll-ups as part of Easter Brunch.

… listened to the laughs and giggles of the neighbors who were in hot pursuit of plastic Easter eggs filled with money.

… ignored school work for 36 hours without feeling the least bit guilty.

… reconnected with an old friend with a few glasses of wine, a whole lot of laughs and promises to meet again soon.

… lazed around with Jack, listening to the wind roll through my windows, the birds fluttering about as they make their nests and having a moment of zen.

photo sources:
garden, eggs, wine

Pet Peeves: The Gym Edition

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Nora

Now that I’m back to being a regular at my gym, I’m starting to feel like part of the community. On M/W/F the same girl shows up about 8pm and does some funky exercises on the treadmill. On Sunday afternoons at 4pm, a group of 20 high school boys flood the basketball court for a semi-impromptu pick-up game of “hoops.” Thursday evening is buff dudes in the weight area. It’s nice to see friendly faces, know the receptionist and just kind of feel like I belong.

However, considering 75% of the TVs at the gym feature CNN, Fox News, MSN-NBC and an insane amount of ESPN, I’m usually left to people watch and rock out to my personal supply of music. (Unless, of course, bull riding is on ESPN. I couldn’t take my eyes off the TV. Literally.) This also means that certain gym behaviors start to get to me…

* Cell phones in the gym. There’s one guy who walks around with his bluetooth glued to his ear. Half the time I don’t see the bluetooth device and think he’s talking to me. Let’s not get me started on the girls who use the treadmills and talk about last night’s adventures loudly. I suppose I understand if you’re a doctor on call, a mom with a sick kid, or have a family member undergoing surgery but if that’s the case, what in the world are you doing at the gym? If I bring mine in (it’s rare I do), I put it on silent and only take/make calls outside the gym.

* Towel-less people. There’s a very clear gym rule: You MUST bring in your own towel when you work out. It’s polite to put said towel on the seat of the weight machines, ab machines, and to dab at your sweat as you workout. It’s also required to wipe down the machines you use when you’re done. See those towels & disinfectant spray? Yup, that’s what it’s for. Sadly, one man in particular, an avid bicyclist, dripping in sweat, walks away from the bike without so much as wiping off the seat or handlebars. It’s gross.

* Commentary. I know it’s a public place but I get super annoyed when the dude next to me on the treadmill is listening to political shows while working out and each time he agrees or disagrees he loudly grunts or gives thumbs-up to the TV.

* Machine Hogs. During peak time, I follow the rules. Sign-up for a machine, use it for 30 minutes and move on. There are some people, however, who like to incorporate cardio machines into their weight-lifting, which I totally understand but I don’t see why they need to get visibly aggravated if the machine they *were* using isn’t free when they get back from their reps in the weight area. I’ve seen a confrontation on more than one occasion and really, it just seems so unncessary.

* Creepers/Ooglers. There are a few older guys , you know in really short short short running shorts and hairy legs, who insist on randomly talking to women on the stair climber/elliptical/bike. If one girl won’t talk to them, they go on to the next. I get they want to make friends or score a date but for a lot of us, time at the gym is sacred. It’s our downtime. Talk to us when we’re stretching. Or take the hint we aren’t interested and don’t talk to us at all. And the ooglers? The guys who literally stop what they are doing to watch women go by, high-fiving and giggling like school children? While perhaps it’s flattering it’s a little lot awkward (if you’re the girl).

(And if you want to read about other pet peeves, check out Nilsa’s post. A total coincidence that we each posted about pet peeves today!)

What are your gym/public pool/public place pet peeves?

The Business

Posted on November 20, 2009 by Nora

The business of breaking up isn’t pretty.

After you get over the intial gut-wrenching pain and fear of being without someone you’ve known for a number of months (or years, as the case maybe) which always results in the infamous “Ugly Cry,” where your face is all scrunched up, red, oozing liquid from eyes and nose, tons of tissues strewn about, messy hair and other not-so-attractive characteristics, you have to get down to business. Business of moving forward, even if you’d rather not.

You know, things like deciding if you’re going to keep your Facebook Account. And if you are going to keep your Facebook account who do you need to purge from the list? It’s unpleasant to log-in and see a status update from the ex, or his best friend, or perhaps worst of all his family who you love and miss. Oh, and don’t forget about the cute couple pictures. DELETE; you have a copy on your computer anyway. Not to mention the obnoxious business of changing your relationship status which appears in two or three spots on your profile and potentially your friends’ walls if you have that box checked. It’s rather agonizing, really but two bonus points for you if you get through it without crying.

Then there’s the issue of the various reminders hanging out in your room. Picture frames. Little cards and notes. Stuffed animals. Paintings. Sculptures. You don’t necessarily want to throw them out because they still mean something to you, with or without a relationship. Best to box ‘em up and save them for a day when you can face them.

Don’t forget your stuff! If you lived together or practially lived together there’s a good chance that you amassed a fair amount of stuff at his place/your place. It’s easiest to approach the exchange of stuff via text or email and agree on a drop-off point or time, preferably not face to face as that could totally set you back about two weeks in the recovery process. If a drop off isn’t feasible, ask a friend to go get it for you or at least, go with you. This can be just as challenging as declaring your singledom to the world because I bet you forgot about that particular gift/note/memorabilia that he gave to you and you accidentally left at his place. When it shows up in the box(es) or bag(s) of stuff that’s been returned to you, be prepared for a return of the “Ugly Cry.”

Lastly we have the reconnection to the life pre-relationship which can be quite tricky. It’s not that the relationship was your whole life but you have to retrain everyone in your life to think of you as YOU and not “You + boyfriend.” This can be tough especially in your mid-twenties when 95% of your friends have already taken the engaged/married plunge, married + kid plunge, or are about to be one of the three. Their weekends are sacred, which is something you know well but the weekends are such a large expanse of time. Time to be alone. Time to reflect. Time that can be dangerous. Staying busy as a bee is the only way.

Your friends and family will marvel at how organized and clean things are. You’ll send more emails and snail mail. Your Google Reader will be clean. Your gym membership will finally get it’s money’s worth. You’ll investigate new areas of interest. You’ll try out various volunteering jobs until you find one that you really like. You’ll spend more time with your Gram. You’ll plow through your “to be read,” pile. You’ll add sexy new clothes to your closet. You’ll earn frequent flyer miles as you traipse about the country in search of the next big adventure. You’ll have momentary setbacks, biting back the tears or letting them fall, but you’ll put your head down and move forward. It’s the only way.

And best of all? You’ll find that you can survive.

All for One & One For All

Posted on April 21, 2009 by Nora

That’s how I view the blogging community I’ve known to love: we are all here to support each other. On a fairly regular basis I email, GChat, Tweet and even send real, old-fashioned mail to more than a handful of my close blog friends. I plan to meet a bunch of them in June. I trust them. .

Obviously I don’t expect everything people post about to be 100% true word-for-word, meaning how can we recall complete conversations we’ve had at bars while intoxicated? Or who remembers with complete accuracy what they were wearing when they were at their 5th birthday party? But the basic things like who/what/where/when/why and the whole feeling and idea behind the post I believe to be true.

Which is why when I heard about a blog that I had been reading for maybe 5 months or so was plagarized (you can read about it here), subsequently (and rightfully so) removed from the web I was in utter shock.

My first thoughts: WTF? Why would someone do that? Is my work being plagarized? How did people find out about this? Would someone tell me if they saw one of my posts elsewhere on a blog that wasn’t mine? How can I protect my blog? I can’t belive she made up so much of those posts. I sent her sympathies on more than one occasion. I commented faithfully. She met some of my other blog friends in real life… thank goodness they are safe. Do I really want to go to Vegas now? Maybe I should stop blogging or be more anonymous with my posts.

But, none of that would be true to me. I write how I feel, I write what happens and I write the truth. I don’t lie to my blog friends. If you ask me a question online or offline, I’ll answer it. It’s part of who I am. I admit that certain parts of my life are off-limits when it comes to blogworld but that is only because you have to have a few things to keep to yourself, right?

Do Irish and I have disagreements? Of course.
Do I blog about them? Not unless I really need too. Some things are meant for only Irish and myself to know about.

Do Darling and I always get along? Certainly not. We are mother/daughter. We have had knock-down-drag-out-fights on more than one occasion. I’m happy to say we haven’t had one in years and we never really knocked each other down. Usually a lot of screaming and crying and it’s all kind of funny now.

Do I have stress and annoyances in my life? Heck yes. And I post about them… just to a minimum because I don’t want to overshare and this is supposed to be a “Happy Girl’s Blog!”

Another part of me that is true to who I am?

Trust. As long as I can remember I have been that girl who finds the good in people… is determined to even if it’s the worst idea for me. So I believed this particular blogger had the perfect life she said she had. Did it seem a tad over the top at times? Yes, but some people really do live that way. Did I question my accomplishments because of all this girl did? Yes and now I’m really mad at myself for questioning myself over a fake, plagarized persona. (I understand there are two sides to every story but this is the only side I know.) I have over 70 different blogs in my Google Reader and another handful I need to add to it and guess what? If they say they are having a bad day, I’m going to wish them a better one and send virtual hugs (it’s what I do). If they need advice about to wear on a first date, I’m going to believe they are going on a first date and help them out. If someone has a baby, adopts a dog, plans a vacation, whatever… I believe you.

The best part about blogland is that we all rally around each other when we need to and this is a case where we need to be keep a watchful eye out for plagarism yet maintain our happy, positive, optimistic attitude that makes the blogging community a strong, great place to be. Yes, I know internet sites are public domain but stealing people’s work, writing and feelings is just all wrong. And Internet? We will find you and we will make you stop stealing. Blogland is a mini-mafia in a way. Don’t mess with us. Take my word for it.

(Editor’s Note: Irish pointed out to me that I must have been upset when I wrote this post because he noticed an unusual amount of spelling and grammatical errors in this post. I believe I have caught and corrected them.)

Mini Monday

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Nora

I’m back on Facebook and frankly, my dears, I’m not loving it. No, I’m not talking the new layout or anything like that but I’m talking about feeling like I need to respond to people, to reconnect with folks I haven’t talked to in a long time and of course seeing info on people you just don’t want to hear/see about. It’s not that I don’t want to reconncect but it seems I’m the one always doing the reconnecting. Why can’t other people reach out to me? (I’m cleansing my friend list again). It was also, as I mentioned, a great social experiment. Some of my friends refuse to talk to me in any form BUT facebook. Others don’t email (oh, I wish they would. I know this is terrible but I am not a big phone person anymore). Others don’t do phone calls or email. I’m keeping it for now, I’m not going to obsess over it anymore, but I’m not sure I like it. It feels like another intrusion/interruption. And yes, I realize I can make it all go away with a click of a button.

Wedding season! Irish and I attended a lovely ceremony and reception Saturday afternoon for one of his long time buddies. The bridesmaid dresses were not pretty… at all. But the bride was amazingly gorgeous. I still don’t know why she’s not a model. It turns out I went to high school with her brother (it’s a small world after all, it’s a small, small world!). The reception was good boasting some pasta that I could indeed eat, albeit at the pace of someone with dentures, a decent DJ, yummy cake, and a full dance floor. Oh, and a photobooth! (I scanned the pictures in and they aren’t super fantastic, but thought you’d like to see anyway. In the third picture I have my head down as we thought we had gone through all four flashes already. It’s quite artistic so I’ll have to find a better way to share them with you. The fourth one is bad so I cropped it out. Editor’s rights!) Random Side Note: We only have one other reception and one other full wedding to attend for all of 2009 so far. I’m kind of excited about that… perhaps a little too excited.

Easter. Irish and I did a marathon day. My parents, then his. Food and dessert at both. I did manage to eat a little bit though my jaws/sockets/other teeth hate me today. I’m back on my mush diet for a few more days as per my doc’s orders. Darling gave us both awesome, unexpected Easter baskets, my Gram only asked me twice what foods I’m allergic to (I’ve told her at least six times) and we all laughed a lot. At his folks house we watched the end of The Masters, made a fire, and then I tuned out the talk about politics (I have to keep my mouth firmly closed when there) until we called his sister who lives in Australia and talked to her for a few minutes. Now? I want to go to Australia.

The rest of the weekend: Wii, sleep, read. Walk Jack, grocery shop, drive to my house to pick up clothes I forgot for wedding and then on Sunday for the dessert I forgot to pick up on Saturday, questioned myself for being so forgetful lately, quality family time, quality Irish and Nora time, Tumblr time, enjoyed a day off, wished I had more days off, and stared at a few episodes of Friends Season Five before I drifted off to a blissful sleep while Mother Nature pounded StL with rain on Sunday evening.

Still

Posted on April 9, 2009 by Nora

(an original Nora post today. This may look like a meme but it’s straight from my brain.)

I still…

… sleep with some sort of cuddly thing when I’m alone. Sweatshirt, pillow, ugly ghost.

… worry excessively about things I can’t control even though I know I can’t control them.

… wish I had Sarah Jessica Parker’s body frame.

… cry every time I watch the last episode of Sex and the City. And yes, I’ve seen it at least ten times.

… crave popcorn and M&Ms in the same handful when I’m at the movies thanks to a learned behavior in college.

… wish on shooting stars, fallen eyelashes and 11:11 (only if I notice it’s the time).

… delete pictures I don’t think I look cute enough it.

… struggle with my personal fashion from time to time.

… have a hard time throwing away presents from my parents even if it’s old, doesn’t fit or not “me.” So I save them.

… contemplate permanently deleting my Facebook profile.

… love chocolate more than I should.

… hope to start a positive community effort/organization before I’m 40.

… struggle with certain parts of the IT world.

… need more cookbooks, kitchen supplies and spices.

… have an unparalleled love for Mexican and Italian food.

… would like to live in NYC for a period of time.

… feel unpopular or ugly. I thought that was only a high school thing?

… find a way to the silver lining in all situations.

… try to be nice to everyone I meet, no matter how hard it can be.

… get frustrated when I don’t understand.

… care about the number of hits my blog receives, comments I get and occasionally get struck with Blogger Envy.

… miss being on a college campus (at times).

… hug my parents.

… own a library card.

… read real books, you know, the ink and paper kind.

… notice the small things; not as much as I should, but I notice them.

What is do you still…?

The Aftermath

Posted on April 6, 2009 by Nora

(Thanks again to all of you for your lovely thoughts, support and get well wishes on all accounts the last several days. My family and I are still struggling but we will get through!)

I’m back to work today.

I wish I could say everything is going smoothly but in fact life without pain killers just plain sucks. Dealing with idiotic coworkers on top of pain and lack of food, which translates into lack of energy is doubly sucktastic. (The pain killers I have are so fabulous that basic social functions are near impossible so forget driving, working, being professional.)

Life without real food? Totally stinks.

Sure the first few days of pudding, jello, dreamsicles and mashed potatoes sounds appealing but after three days? Um, someone pass the bread, or cheese or chicken. I’m Italian and I love real food. I’m not afraid to admit.

I will take the weight loss (three pounds and counting) since it gives me an edge and leg-up as to where I want to be. I’ll even take the hugs from my parents and Irish because who doesn’t love hugs?

But the rest of it I’m ready to leave. I’m an impatient patient. I want to be at the gym, I want regular dinners (I’m craving broccoloi.), I want my regular social life back, my energy to return and no more pain!

I wish I had a more exciting, upbeat, positive outlook for this snowy, cold, blustery morning. And yes, I said SNOW. It’s April and we have dustings of snow.

So in order to not be a total debbie-downer, please leave a comment with one happy thing you enjoyed over the weekend.

My top three happy things: Going to the grocery store with Irish yesterday (domestic things make me happy), starting over with Season One of Friends, the fact that Darling texts.

Getting to know you, getting to know all about you

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Nora

I have a lot of new readers (hello, friends!) so I thought I’d be lazy do a fairly in-depth meme:

LAYER ONE:

Name: Nora
Birthdate: September 29th, 1983
Birthplace: Ridegewood, New Jersey
Current location: StL, MidWest
Eye color: Brown
Hair color: Black or dark brown, depending on the month
Height: 5’9
Righty or lefty: right
Zodiac sign: Libra

LAYER TWO:

Your heritage: Italian/English
The shoes you wore today: Chinese Laundry leopard print heels
Your weakness: Irish’s cologne, Jack when he’s cuddly, anything chocolate or cheese (not together) and rainy days
Your fears: Loneliness
Your perfect pizza: New York style with black & green olives, extra cheese
Goal you’d like to achieve: running a half-marathon in 2010

LAYER THREE:

Your most overused phrase on AIM: haven’t used it since college but probably “brb” or “lol.”
Your first waking thoughts: Must. Hit. Snooze.Button.
Your best physical feature: arms/abs
Your most missed memory: Poppy, my grandfather

LAYER FOUR:

Pepsi or Coke: Dr. Pepper
McDonald’s or Burger King: No thank you.
Single or group dates: Love double dates or group dates, but sometimes all you need and want is a single date
Adidas or Nike: Aasics but currently Adidas since I couldn’t find a good pair of Aasics
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Peppermint Tea from Celestial Seasonings, warm, not cold
Chocolate or vanilla: Both
Cappuccino or coffee: water

LAYER FIVE:

Smoke: Once, after high school graduation
Cuss: Like a sailor when it fits
Sing: in the car preferably alone
Take a shower everyday: six days a week (after workouts)
Do you think you’ve been in love: I am IN love
Want to go to college: Did my undergrad and working on my Masters. After this, I think I’m done.
Liked high school: Enough
Want to get married: Yup
Believe in yourself: 90% of the time
Get motion sickness: Only in the backseat of cars
Think you’re attractive: I struggle with this one
Think you’re a health freak: I can be. Need to get back to it.
Get along with your parent(s): Most definitely. They are awesome!
Like thunderstorms: YES. I’m a rain freak.
Play an instrument: Used to play the piano, flute and piccolo. Not so much now. Would like to relearn the piano again before I’m 30.

LAYER SIX: In the past month…

Drank alcohol: Yup, enjoyed some wine at Trivia Night on Saturday
Smoked: Not a chance
Done a drug: Allergy meds, advil
Made out: Yes, of course
Gone on a date: Yup, Irish treats to me a good date every other week
Gone to the mall: On Saturday!
Eaten an entire box of Oreos: No, but I could if I wanted to
Eaten sushi: Nope, allergic. But I’ve watched people eat it
Been on stage: No
Been dumped: Thank goodness, no
Gone skating: No but watched people skate
Made homemade cookies: Yup. Love ‘em.
Gone skinny dipping: Way too cold in StL for that.
Dyed your hair: No but I need to. Roots are showing.
Stolen Anything: No.

LAYER SEVEN: Ever…

Played a game that required removal of clothing: Yes.
Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Back in the college days.
Been caught “doing something”: I have no idea what this means, so I’m going with NO.
Been called a tease: Never.
Gotten beaten up: No.
Shoplifted: Nope.
Changed who you were to fit in: I will admit it- yes.

LAYER EIGHT:

Age you hope to be married: Before 28.
Numbers and names of children: yet to be determined.
Describe your dream wedding: Really? I have a few versions. So the first one: “Elope,” to NYC City Hall with the man I wish to marry, his family, my family and a best friend on both sides. A weekend celebration with the families before we ship off for a honeymoon. Upon our return a huge ceremony in the StL for all our friends and family who wasn’t at the “eloping.”
How do you want to die: In my sleep.
Where you want to go to college: Already did. Mizzou & Webster University
What do you want to be when you grow up: Happy and to look like Sophia Loren.
What country would you most like to visit: Italy

LAYER NINE:

Number of drugs taken illegally: never touched one.
Number of people I could trust with my life: I can count them on one hand
Number of CDs that I own: At least 120.
Number of piercings: Seven
Number of tattoos: None
Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: Four or five? As captions when I did pseduo-modeling.
Number of scars on my body: Three little ones from my appendix surgery
Number of things in my past that I regret: Giving up ballet dancing.

What is one thing I don’t know about you?

Unspoken

Posted on March 20, 2009 by Nora

The Twenty Something Writers Prompt today is to write something to someone that you’ve never said but want to say/wish you could say and etc.
Here’s my attempt, and please keep in mind that I’m only writing some of the mean things because I know that “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

***************************************************

Dear Last Guy I dated before Irish,

I’ll admit I was infuriated by the way you broke up with me and cursed your name for several weeks after the fact. You left me feeling broken, confused and angrier than I had ever been before. But now I need to thank you. When you broke up with me I realized that I had been looking for the wrong things in what I ideally wanted in a man. I also realized that I needed to learn to live more for me and what I wanted rather than what my friends did, what society suggested I try and I put myself first. It felt awkward at first, ignoring other people’s needs and focusing on myself but the end result was amazing. I felt confident, strong, in-touch with my sense of self, emotions and desires and finally discovered what I wanted in a man and wouldn’t you know it has nothing to do with you, even in the smallest way? So thank you for being a complete assclown- it was just what I needed to meet the real man of my dreams.

************************************

Dear Mean Girl,

It would really help all of us out if you stopped being a bitch. Your gruff personality, snide comments and rude behavior do not make me want to hang out with you and furthermore, I’m done trying to be nice. I think you’re the only person in this world who makes me feel tense, frustrated, angry and annoyed. You are the only person I know who has broken my kind spirit. I kind of hate you for that. You’re alienating people from your life at an alarmingly fast rate. I hope that you can sort out your issues so you stop hurting people and perhaps be a bright, sunny person that I think you want to be. Until that time, leave me the hell alone.

*************************************

Dear Poppy,

I’m sorry I didn’t say a final goodbye at your funeral all those years ago. I couldn’t summon the courage to look at your face one last time. I still regret it. Darling and I get tears in our eyes when we think and talk about you. You are missed more than you could possibly imagine. We’re taking good care of Gram for you; know that she misses you more than all of us combined. She’s never been the same since you left us which to me is a sign of true love, a great man and a strong connection. Hope to see you in my dreams again soon.

Love,
Half-Pint

*******************************

Dear Irish,

I don’t know where to begin with you. It seems anything I’ll say will sound too corny, cheesy or gushy. But it would all be true. You are my light, my love and my newest best friend. I can’t express how excited I am for any and all of the adventures we have before us. Thrilled you came into my life and even more thrilled that we have brought out the best in each other.

Love,
Spices

*****************************

Dear Blogosphere and blog friends,

I don’t think you could get any better unless of course blogs could involve teleportation so that the blog friends and I could get together and share drinks, baked goods, and fun? You’ve been here for me in many ways that some of my “real” friends haven’t. You don’t judge. You’re compassionate, supportive, genius and never cease to amaze. I hope I do half as much for you as you have done for me.

Eternally grateful,
Nora

*************************
What do you wish you could tell someone?