Sheeeeeeeee's Back! Ready or Not!

Well, I am tired of getting emails from everyone saying where are you, so here I am. A brief explanation of why I haven't added a posting for 3 months-I didn't feel like it! Truly, that's it!
My life has been a whirlwind of change lately. After working in education for 14 years, I decided to take the big leap and change professions. It was easier to stay in a job that I was no longer happy in than to make a leap of faith and try something else. I finally made the leap!
As some of you may have read in past postings, the past year or so has been a bit difficult for my family. My mother had a stroke, which we were very greatful did not seem to cause many effects that couldn't be fixed with hard work. Little did we know that was only a precursor to upcoming events. In November, she had a heart attack, which she described as an elephant sitting on her chest, but of course she failed to mention it until the next day because the Cubs game was on! By the next night she was in the hospital and then the triple bypass followed. I can tell you that this week, she has finally been released from cardiac rehab and seems to be doing much better, thank you!
Did I mention that two days after we brought my mother home from the hospital, we put my dad in. Then we brought him home a few days later, knowing it would be his last trip. The day before Thanksgiving, my dad was finally released from his earthbound body and is now toasting with Col. Peck, my brother George, and many old friends who passed before him with a heavenly bottle of scotch!
In the midst of all of this, my daughter got married, is expecting her first child this May, and my son disappeared into his own "I'm an adult now!" world. Yes, I suffered from empty nest syndrome (except for the dog the parents of my former boss found and somehow I ended up with, and the cat my daughter found, that I somehow ended up with) I'm not exactly sure if I get to claim empty nest syndrome- maybe just empty of people nest syndrome. Is this a reason to file a claim for disability payments so that I can stay home and enjoy my house to myself, now that I've gotten used to it? You lawyers out there, surely you can make a case for me!
Ooooops! I may have failed to mention that a few days ago, my son discovered that all of that adulthood with rent, car payments, car insurance, food, gas, yadda, yadda, yadda is not all that it is cracked up to be and magically reappeared in his bedroom. It's okay. He can legally buy alcohol now, so I can send him out for some Jamison's or Corona's now, so he has a useful purpose! Just kidding!
Anyway, I'm trying to find my new self and adjust to all of the changes in my life this last year. I've been reconnecting with old friends (EEE) and listening to old songs I used to love over the phone that my brother has dug up in the Smithsonian archives or Utube or something. I've been awaiting my granddaughter and thanking God for not deploying my daughter right after the baby comes, which was the original plan. Her husband will be deploying somewhere soon, but will get to spend a little time with the baby first, due to a medical issue that has to be resolved first. I'm feeling greatful and blessed and exhausted and confused, which makes me, I suppose, ready to enter the world again. After all, isn't that where most of us are on a daily basis?
Just one more little note: This past week, I told one of my co-workers that I would see her in the morning and she replied "I'll be here!" Well, she lied. She left work and went to water aerobics and collapsed in the shower right after. She had a brain bleed and never woke up. As I write this posting, her organs are being havested to save the lives of many other people. I will miss her!
Please remember that now is the time to say the things to the people you love. You may be young or old, healthy or ill, but for any of us, this day may be our last. I have discovered that I don't want the last words out of my mouth to be "asshole" as someone cuts me off in traffic. I want them to be something kind, not that I am not human and won't slip from time to time! Don't put off that phone call, letter, or even text or email until tomorrow. Sometimes, tomorrow never comes!
Next posting-NOT depressing! I promise!