Family

Family is such a big word. It conjures up so many different thoughts, feeling and emotions.

My family is minus one person this week. It feels so strange. There are six of us here normally - minus one shouldn't be a big deal. But there is a definite loss in the feeling and "life" of this house. Kody is at scout camp. I know he's having fun. He's shooting rifles and swimming and hiking and hanging with his buddies. I want him to have a wonderful time. But I'll be ready to see him on Saturday.

I watched an emotional TV show tonight about a Gulf war veteran who now has M.S. His wife and kids have to do so much to take care of him on a daily basis, yet he saved his son's life when his son was hit and dragged 25 yards by a truck. Somehow, in his wheelchair, this man was able to keep his son from bleeding to death after his arm was torn off by the truck. The boy was 12 years old when the accident happened and his 16 year old sister would go to the hospital every day affter school and sleep on the hospital floor to make sure her brother was being taken care of. Her mom had to stay with her dad, and his wheelchair wouldn't fit in their car so he couldn't leave the house. The kids say their father is their hero. The father says his wife is his hero because of how she takes care of him and their children. The daughter is going into the national guard to help finsh the job her father started.

That's family. They truly know what they mean to each other.

Oh, we know what we mean to each other, too. It's just that the little things sometimes get in the way. I know I miss them when they're gone to scout camp or on business trip or even overnight at a friend's. I guess sometimes it takes those thigns to remember how much I truly do love my family and how much I need them on a daily basis.

I Feel Good

I do, truly, feel good. I wasn't able to workout yesterday because of a medical procedure and I was thinking I wouldn't be able to go today, either. But today I felt much better and I went to the gym and worked out. Now I really do feel good. There is something about working out that clears my mind and helps me focus on the positive side of life. I have 4 wonderful children, a husband who loves me, parents and brothers and in-laws I adore, a puppy who is healing and getting better every day, a job I enjoy, a nice to place to hang my hat, friends that care, a healthy mind and body, a God who loves me. Good things are happening in my life and I feel good.

Goodbye, Dear

Today I said goodbye to my husband. He walked out the door and got into someone else's car. As they drove away they were laughing. I turned, sighed, and walked back into the house with my head held high and determination in my voice. I told the kids, "Dad's gone. What should we do?" We all yelled, "Let's Party!"



He'll be back on Sunday. He's gone to Atlanta again for work and this time Rolando came to pick him up. I hate it when he's gone. I don't sleep well and I get lonely. I promised him I wouldn't complain. We both know too many people who have been laid off recently. If Edward Don & Co. is willing to invest time and money on my husband I will be happy. But I'll still miss him. Sunday seems so far away. I hope it gets here soon!!



Jacke, I love you!

Last Week of Summer

It's funny how summer drags on and on and then, it's over. We'll clean tomorrow. We'll call so and so tomorrow. Next week we'll see the movie. Now it's over. I'm trying to cram everything into the next 5 or 6 days. Where does all the time go?



I took Jacob to Toys R Us tonight. He just wanted to walk the Lego isles and see what was there. We stayed and looked for over an hour. He had a ball. He now knows what to ask Santa for Christmas. His whole attitude about life got better after just walking through Toys R Us looking at Legos. How easy is that? Maybe I will actually remember how easy it is and do it again when he asks instead of putting him off for days, the "we'll do it tomorrow" routine.

Me, Myself and I

OK, they did it to me again. They started something and I want in on it.

I mean my brothers, of course. Two of them have these awesome blog spots, sites, I'm not sure what to call them, but they're amazing. My brothers are incredibly insightful and can use the English language to convey their feelings so well. Well, that won't happen here. I think I just need an outlet. Somewhere to go to let it all out. Hopefully in anonymity.

First of all, who am I? My brother Paul explained to me once how hard Alzheimer's is because it robs one of his/her memories, and who are we without memories? Thank God I still have memories. This is who I am. I am Katy Kimberlin. A wife, mother, daughter, sister. I have 1 husband, 4 children, 4 brothers, 2 parents, 5 sisters-in-law, 2 parents-in-law (if that's how you put it. See, the English language and I aren't the best of friends), 2 dogs, and 2 cats. That's me. The important parts of me anyway.

Memories. Kim wondered why we can't remember somethings we wish we could and why we remember things we wish we could forget. Me too, Kim, me too.

I've been cleaning out closets and drawers that have been untouched for too long. Memories come flooding back to me. Some buried so deep it almost hurts to bring them to the surface. Some simply pushed aside to make room for the here and now. Amazing how leafing through baby books and preschool yearbooks of my own children can make time stand still and fly by simultaneously. "It seems like yesterday that..." Yet other items make time almost non existent. I can loose myself reading material that has been shoved, yes shoved, in the back of the closet. Back behind the clothes, and the books, and model cars, and the Easter eggs, and prom dresses. Back where I'm not supposed to let myself go very often, for I loose myself. The me I am now. I go back to a time where I wasn't me. I was someone else. Not the me I am now.

I'm Katy Kimberlin. I'm a wife, a mom, a sister, a daughter. That's me.