*HUGS* I hope your trip brings you comfort.

It did; I hope and think that it also brought comfort to my father. Thank you.

I'm so sorry you have to go through this. Unfortunately, I can relate. Strength to you and your family.

*hugs* I suppose we all get to learn about hard life lessons. Thank you for the good wishes.

Sending comforting and safe travel thoughts your way. Be well Misty.

Thanks for the good wishes and the words of wisdom. We were lucky to have no ill-feelings between us but knowing that you would be willing to say the hard stuff in case I was hurting myself means a lot. Thanks. :)

*hugs* I'll keep your family in my prayers.

*hugs back* Thank you so much. I haven't forgotten your brother and I continue to send good thoughts your way.

I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am. Please let me know if I can help in any way. I'm in Houston this week, and I'll be in Florida next week.

Oh - I wish I'd seen this sooner. Sorry for being out of touch and I really appreciate your kind offer. Wish we could have gotten together - heaven knows I could have used a break while in Florida. I was down in Ft. Lauderdale; where in the state are you?

Where in Ft. Laud? My family lives in Sunrise.

I'm afraid that I explored very little while there. I stayed at a hotel at the Ft. Laud airport (exit 23 on I-95) and the hospital was in Hollywood (exit 20). I know those exits all too well.

I have family all down in that area, though. I visited my dad's mom, whom I *think* lives in Hollywood but I was following someone else and didn't note city boundary markers. I also have absolute metric piles of relatives up in St. Augustine.

<<<< hugs >>>>>


Sending vibes your way.

h

Thanks, hun. :) It has been a tough couple of years family-wise. Luckily, I still have lots of family and friends. *hugs back*

I had been wondering how he was doing. I am so sorry! You're all in my prayers.

Thanks; you know all too well the roller coaster. I haven't yet caught up with my f-list so I haven't yet caught up with your Dad. I hope that all is well with him and with you.

My dad is doing much better -- miraculously better. And it's the *doctors* who introduce the word 'miracle' into the conversation. Repeatedly. Dad is in a rehab hospital right now, where he's trying to heal up and get strength and coordination back. He'll have another surgery in a couple of months to reverse the colostomy. Still stressful and full of risks, but he's doing SO much better.

I read through your other comments here. I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm glad that you have gained some new family, though. I'm glad you were able to see him and say the things you needed to say, too. I don't know if it helps at all to hear this... I've asked my dad a bit about his time in the ICU while he was unconscious or semi-conscious and delusional. And he remembers a LOT. Some of it clearly wasn't real, but at least some of what we were saying to him did get through. I hope your dad was able to hear some as well. If not then, I'm sure he does now.

My thoughts are still with you.

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm thrilled to hear that he's recovering. I've been worried about him because I knew he was fighting some damned tough odds. Good news is always a welcome treat and I hope he continues his miraculous recovery.

I have great hope that Dad heard what we tried to tell him. Thanks for the good thoughts.

I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad, hon.

{{M}}

Thank you. Kind words mean a lot. I got to say to him everything I most needed to; I just hope that he was lucid enough to understand how much he was loved unconditionally.

I am so sorry that I was so completely under the weather when you posted this. Somehow I missed it, and therefore haven't been there for you when you needed all the love and support you could muster. I hope to talk to you soon. Feel free to call me.

*hugs and love*
Judi

I hope you're feeling better, hun. *hugs* I know how awful it is to be pukey sick. Gosh - I haven't even asked but I hope that your trip to D.C. was a good one.

Your support means a lot. I spent a goodly amount of time telling him over and over the things I needed him to hear. I was very surprised to find that his heart already seemed to have changed in the years since I had last seen him. He spent many years as a grief counselor (how ironic, no?) and he reached across racial lines to bring comfort to anyone who needed it. I couldn't be prouder of him for overcoming the handicap of his upbringing. The variety of people who visited him in the hospital and who came to his memorial service was heartening.

I was also thrilled to meet his "2nd family" (I need something to call them that doesn't make them sound like also-rans) which means I now have 3 new sisters and a new brother. There was lots of sorrow but I was lucky; it was tempered with joy.

I am saddened to hear that your dad didn't make it, although I suspected that would be the case based on your last letters. :( I AM thrilled, however, that you two seem to have but much of what went wrong between behind you. I know from the death of my father-in-law that unresolved issues can fester and come out later with shocking results. It must have been a very healing experience for you, and I'm grateful that you were able to be there for his last days.

Does this mean you're home now? I've thought a lot about you these last few weeks, wondering how things were going for you with your father.

The opening of Meg's show has been scheduled for the 20th (a Tuesday... not sure why) from 6 to 8 PM, so we'll be there bright and early on the morning of the 17th to start hanging all her pieces. We have only an hour and a half to get the job done, so I hope she invites a LOT of her friends along to help. I can't even imagine how we're supposed to get twenty large canvases on the walls in 90 minutes! *shiver*

*hugs* welcome home! How's Joe?

Thanks, hun. It was one of those situations that are infinitely sad but knowing how hard he fought and how much he suffered, I feel selfish to wish for anything but his own peace. I had gotten so used to seeing him at the hospital that it was a shock to see him without all the lines, tubes, and machines. I'm grateful beyond measure that Mom insisted I go when I did and that I got to witness firsthand how many people's lives he touched in a good way.

This is her show at Mo Mong, yes? It's just in time for a Wednesday night of fun! Two weeks from today -- woot! She must be thrilled. I won't be able to come out and help to hang art in light of all the time I've taken off recently (not that I'm a fully qualified preparator) but I'd love to come to the opening if it's open to the public.

Yes, I'm back in Houston now. Joe is currently snowed under in last minute details for the Classy Chassis at Reliant Stadium. He stresses over the show that they spend all year organizing but vintage cars are his passion so he's also a happy, happy boy.

OK - I'm an idiot. I just realized that the opening is Tuesday but the hanging is on a Saturday. As I said, I'm not a fully qualified preparator but if another set of hands would be helpful to you, let me know. I'd be happy to come out and help.

Omg, I would love to be able to turn you down on your offer, but we need all the hands we can gather!! One caveat tho- we have to be there at 8am on the morning of the 17th, and we only have 90 minutes to get the art up, so it'll be early as hell and we'll be working our tails off! But brunch is on me for any and all helpers!

Are you guys going to the pride parade, by chance? If you are, you might want to consider the deal that Friends of Pride have put together. (http://fophouston.org/)

You get unobstructed (invite-only) seating for the parade on bleachers that will be set up between Mary's and Chances on Montrose, as well as a parking space if you spring for the more expensive package.

*cringe* 8 a.m. is mighty early for a Saturday, but at least it's a shorter drive for me than it is for you. I'll be there.

Would you believe that I've never been to a Pride Parade? I don't count the year I lived just off the parade route as "attending." Joe is in no way prejudiced against gays/lesbians, but I don't know how interested he would be. I'll certainly ask him. If he isn't interested, I'll ask his Mom if she wants to go with me. It sounds like fun and in this time of constitutional amendment pushes, I feel the need to show my support. Thanks for the info - I never would have thought to buy tickets!

PLEASE feel free to sleep in on the morning of the 17th. I know it's an ungodly hour to be out of bed, let alone working hard LOL. You won't hurt our feelings or insult us at all!

I wish I had known you were back in town... we had an extra ticket for the Festival/Parade, but Meg invited one of her friends to go along. :(

I offered with the knowledge that it was "in the morning." 8 a.m. is early, to be sure, but I don't mind getting up and getting my day going. Left to my own devices, I'm a night owl and I won't get out of bed before 9 or 10 a.m. By then, a good chunk of the day is gone so I don't mind scheduling something for earlier most weekends.

Don't worry about the tickets. I appreciate the sentiment but if I buy tickets then that's more money for a good cause and it might be an opportunity to do something cool with Joe's mom.

Yay! I just got off the phone with my bestest friend - we've known each other since we were 8 - and she has agreed to go to the parade with me! We were chatting about how frustrating the whole gay marriage amendment BS is and it occurred to me that she might want to go, too. I look forward to introducing y'all. She's extremely cool and my almost complete opposite but she has been a soul sister since we met.

Woot!

Hey lady :) Just stopping by to remind you that we're hanging Meg's art in the morning (at the gawdawful hour of 8:30). Hope to see you and intro you to my other half :D

*hug*

I haven't forgotten! I'll be there...well, perhaps not with bells on my toes ('cause how annoying would THAT be?!?) but with as much fake morning cheeriness as I can muster. :)

Wait -- the time is 8:30? Not 8?

I know you asked about Joe and the opening. I don't know yet. He gets way, way stressed around the time of events and it always takes time for him to "recover" so that I can talk to him about plans. Last night's attempt to settle the summer vacation issue wasn't as successful as I'd hoped and that's months into the future. I expect that he'll be coming with me but I don't yet know. In any case, *I* will be there and I'm going to attempt to make The Brother accompany me.

It's 8:30... I got it wrong when I said it was 8, I thought it was, but we have between 8:30 and 10 to get everything done (zomg)..

I would love to see both Joe and your brother, so it either show up, that would be great!

I forogt to tell you- the lady who owns Mo Mong, Lisa, told us last week that her son died 3 weeks ago :( I was completely floored. He was 23, killed in some kind of car accident. She said she was back to work so soon because it was the only way for her to stay sane.

You should have done that on purpose. How else can you make someone happy that she doesn't have to be somewhere until 8:30 on a Sturday morning? *grin*

Oh my goodness! I can't imagine the pain of losing a child. I know I still get teary eyed over my dog who died 5 years ago and losing my brother would just about kill me. I'll try to be lucid enough to say something if she's there in the morning but heaven knows I'm likely to forget if I haven't had enough caffeine. I think that her son must have died around the same time Dad did. Memorial Day weekend was a hard time for several of us, I suppose. :(

Oh yes! I finally bought the tickets today for the parade. Amy and I will be there and I'll be at the festival, I'm sure.

Oh very cool! We should try to meet up and prowl the festival for a while before the parade starts. It's likely to be really hot and humid, so I'm not sure how long I will last under those conditions, but I do want to wander for a while and spend money I don't have on things I don't nee LOL

Sounds like a great plan to me. I'm not a fan of Houston in the summer - I have this weird thing where I don't sweat - so I won't be up to too much of the festival, either.

Amy probably won't make the festival as she is a musician and playing weddings is her bread and butter. I know she had a wedding to play that Saturday but I don't recall the times.

I'm game for shopping for stuff I don't need. Give me an ice cold drink to keep my core temp down and I'm good for at least one prowl of the booths. Hope they have some excellent earrings for sale. Short hair means earrings are more vital for me. :) (That's my excuse, anyway.)