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Yesterday was Independence Day, but I found it difficult to give much thought to celebrating the birth of my nation. I'm feeling a bit strung-out, emotionally, at the end of this week.
Wednesday was an extremely long day, and not just because I was up by 5am and didn't get back to bed until after 2am Thursday morning. I went to work to finish up somethings before disappearing for several weeks for some much needed vacation time, but I knew it wasn't going to be a normal day at the office. The week before, the former wife of one of the supervisors in my work unit shot and killed their 7 year old daughter, before killing herself. While I can't say that I am close friends with my colleague, he is someone I like and, having lost a daughter myself, I felt compelled to go to the funeral as a gesture of support. Of course, it turned out to be one of the hottest days of the summer so far, so that wearing a suit to work for the funeral was a bit uncomfortable, but nothing compared to the burden he now has to endure.
After finishing things up a work, I went home and packed a few days worth of clothes, picked up my daughter from her best friend's (16th) birthday party, had a quick supper of leftovers, and headed out to brave the holiday-heavy rush hour traffic with my daughter as we headed to my parents' house for the weekend. It took us an hour to work our way around the Beltway into Maryland, but after we squeezed past an accident just before the state line, traffic thinned out quickly and the rest of our trip was uneventful, even though it was 2am before we arrived. My daughter did about half of the driving, gathering some much needed night-time driving experience.
We were up early on Thursday, with a long day planned. My brother and his family had been planning to join his longtime friend and his family for a day at the Darien Lakes amusement park, and my daughter and I had been included in the invitation. My daughter has become a huge roller coaster enthusiast, which is why we drove up on Wednesday night. We arrived at Darien Lakes under overcast skies, but were hopeful that the weather would clear, which it eventually did, but not until after we had endured a couple of hours of soaking rain. We did manage to ride all six of the roller coasters in the park, and my daughter got to spend some time with her young cousins on rides more age appropriate for them, but it we were cold and wet, which made for a long day.
Yesterday morning, my daughter and I visited my grandfather at the local nursing home, where he was recently admitted after being in the hospital briefly after a taking a fall in his apartment. He has become incredibly frail and weak, and the staff does not believe that he will recover sufficient strength to be allowed to return to his home. He hasn't yet realized that this is his new home, and as my extended family arrived yesterday (for our annual get together this afternoon), my Dad and his brothers had a long discussion about how to break the news to their father. None of them want to be the one to tell him that he can't return to his apartment and independent life. They roll-played various possible scenarios, trying to form a plan and to make sure they were all on the same page. They are planning to visit my grandfather this morning. My parents are the only ones who live here locally, so it has been their burden to deal with my grandfather's issues by themselves up to this point, and it is clear that it has taken a toll on them. Combine that with their efforts to close my brother's estate, and it is quite clear that my parents would really appreciate a long respite from any further bad news.
I'm looking forward to the family gathering this afternoon, even though the issues with my grandfather are likely to dampen the mood somewhat. In addition, a couple of my cousins and their families weren't able to join us this year, and I will miss them. But even so, it will be nice to catch up with those who are here, sharing stories and laughter. It is a shame that we don't see each other more often, but we are scattered across several states, and everyone has time and money constraints, so we just have to make the best of the time we do have together.
Wednesday was an extremely long day, and not just because I was up by 5am and didn't get back to bed until after 2am Thursday morning. I went to work to finish up somethings before disappearing for several weeks for some much needed vacation time, but I knew it wasn't going to be a normal day at the office. The week before, the former wife of one of the supervisors in my work unit shot and killed their 7 year old daughter, before killing herself. While I can't say that I am close friends with my colleague, he is someone I like and, having lost a daughter myself, I felt compelled to go to the funeral as a gesture of support. Of course, it turned out to be one of the hottest days of the summer so far, so that wearing a suit to work for the funeral was a bit uncomfortable, but nothing compared to the burden he now has to endure.
After finishing things up a work, I went home and packed a few days worth of clothes, picked up my daughter from her best friend's (16th) birthday party, had a quick supper of leftovers, and headed out to brave the holiday-heavy rush hour traffic with my daughter as we headed to my parents' house for the weekend. It took us an hour to work our way around the Beltway into Maryland, but after we squeezed past an accident just before the state line, traffic thinned out quickly and the rest of our trip was uneventful, even though it was 2am before we arrived. My daughter did about half of the driving, gathering some much needed night-time driving experience.
We were up early on Thursday, with a long day planned. My brother and his family had been planning to join his longtime friend and his family for a day at the Darien Lakes amusement park, and my daughter and I had been included in the invitation. My daughter has become a huge roller coaster enthusiast, which is why we drove up on Wednesday night. We arrived at Darien Lakes under overcast skies, but were hopeful that the weather would clear, which it eventually did, but not until after we had endured a couple of hours of soaking rain. We did manage to ride all six of the roller coasters in the park, and my daughter got to spend some time with her young cousins on rides more age appropriate for them, but it we were cold and wet, which made for a long day.
Yesterday morning, my daughter and I visited my grandfather at the local nursing home, where he was recently admitted after being in the hospital briefly after a taking a fall in his apartment. He has become incredibly frail and weak, and the staff does not believe that he will recover sufficient strength to be allowed to return to his home. He hasn't yet realized that this is his new home, and as my extended family arrived yesterday (for our annual get together this afternoon), my Dad and his brothers had a long discussion about how to break the news to their father. None of them want to be the one to tell him that he can't return to his apartment and independent life. They roll-played various possible scenarios, trying to form a plan and to make sure they were all on the same page. They are planning to visit my grandfather this morning. My parents are the only ones who live here locally, so it has been their burden to deal with my grandfather's issues by themselves up to this point, and it is clear that it has taken a toll on them. Combine that with their efforts to close my brother's estate, and it is quite clear that my parents would really appreciate a long respite from any further bad news.
I'm looking forward to the family gathering this afternoon, even though the issues with my grandfather are likely to dampen the mood somewhat. In addition, a couple of my cousins and their families weren't able to join us this year, and I will miss them. But even so, it will be nice to catch up with those who are here, sharing stories and laughter. It is a shame that we don't see each other more often, but we are scattered across several states, and everyone has time and money constraints, so we just have to make the best of the time we do have together.
