Jaba - Here are the results of falling asleep early by accident. I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 4 AM. But since I am not working today and DH is, I strongly suspect that there will be a nap in my early afternoon future. lol.
Does anyone believe in death coming in 3's? Within the last few weeks, my friend's mother, my uncle, and last night the neighbor across the street all passed. Very sad at this time of year. We did not know my uncle well - very long story, but he was my mom's only sibling and she is quite nostalgic for her loss despite the not so wonderful history of him ignoring her. It's the neighbor's 3 sons I worry about. They are in their 50's but except for one who keeps getting fired from jobs, so 2 have never really been capable of working. They still lived with their mom and depended on her completely - she was about 75. I fear for what will become of them - they will likely have to sell the house sooner or later because they will not be able to afford the property taxes without an income. With no income and no SS and likely very little inheritance, they will not fare well, I'm afraid. The mom was a sweetheart, but her DH died when he was 35 and she never remarried. Her job skills were few (although her enthusiasm was big), so my DH found her a job as an apartment manager from which she only retired a few years ago. I'm sure other then free rent, she did not earn much and she supported 2 of her 3 sons. One of the sons (he's about 6'3" and big and solid) came to the door about 6:30 yesterday evening crying and saying, "My mommy just died. I don't know what to do." Just not something you would expect to see from a man that strapping. It's heartbreaking!! While they are not retarded, they are naive and dependent. Other than taking over a casserole, I'm not sure the best course of action. They are clingy out of desperation, I think. Once you do something for them, they ask for a mile if you know what I mean. They have asked for "loans" that they never paid back. I don't want to begrudge them, but I also don't want to become their supporter and caretaker, either. Gosh, life is challenging sometimes, isn't it?
On that sad note, I'll finish talking about this and going forward in 2013, I'm hoping for laughter and fun more than anything else. So bring on a fun swap and a happy 2013 for all of us.