How Time Flies

As I sit here tonight I am reflecting on a lot of things. I just can't believe how fast time goes by. I can't believe it has been 3 years since Dayton's accident. Three years since we lost one of the brightest spots in the Kruse family. I think about him nearly every day. I think back to the times he was here. I think about the last time I saw him and talked to him. About how a mear second can change our lives forever. But even more than that, we never know when our own time or the time of a loved one will come. I know it sounds so cliche to say "live life to it's fullest every day because you don't know when your time will come", but it is so true. If I knew when my last day would be, would I change the way I lived? I don't know. I hope that Dayton's life on earth was not in vain. That something good has happened because Dayton was in our life. For me, I know that his life and death have changed my attitude about many things. We are all better people for having Dayton in our lives.

A Roller Coaster Ride

The past week has been one of a lot of ups and downs. We had a couple of days of warmth and sun. It was fabulous! Everyone felt better and we got rid of a lot of snow. Then came cool, misty, cloudy weather. Back to feeling depressed. I had good days at work. I thought I was doing well, and getting caught up. Then came a meeting with my new boss. It was like a steak through my heart - at least for awhile. As I thought about it for day or two I started looking at it differently and it made me feel a lot better. Early in the week I thought Roy was feeling and doing better. I knew that Norm was going to discuss things with Roy and Dennis when he got down there. They were going to see if they could move Roy to Minnesota - or at least to Sioux Falls hospital. Now today I found out he is not feeling well at all. There is no way they can move hime for awhile. Today I am home by myself. Leon has a long rehearsal for a cantata the choir is doing next Sunday. That is okay with me though. I am finishing up cleaning and laundry to get ready for the new work week. If it were a little bit warmer I would be outside working in the flower beds. Maybe in a week or two. Until then, I will get the rest of my projects done around the house.

A Good Weekend

It was a nice weekend. Friday night we went out for supper with our usual group of friends. That is always nice. We all get caught up on each others work week. I look forward to our Friday nights all week long.

Saturday morning a friend and I were going to head to Sioux Falls shopping. I was a little nervous driving as it had rained during the night. The news people said to be careful at intersections as it could be slippery. Yup, we found that out the hard way. At the first intersection at the edge of town, we almost put the car in the ditch. The rest of the day was fabulous though. We had so much fun shopping and eating. I didn't get everything I was looking for, but got a lot of great deals - including a new purse. :)

Today we headed to Iona after church. The fire department had a chili challenge there. Lots of yummy flavors of chili. it always amazes me how many different ways you can make chili. When we got home, Leon headed for cantata practice and I started cleaning one of the attic spaces upstairs. When he got home we watched a couple of movies and then grilled steaks for supper. That's right we grilled. Yum!!! The weather was warm but foggy so we decided that it would be a good day for grilling.

Tomorrow another weather front is moving through. The weather man says it could be a major weather maker. Mostly rain, but the temps are right at the 30 - 32 degree mark at night. Could make for intersting trips to work for some of my co-workers every morning this next week. On the other hand the rain should help shrink the snow banks. YIPEEEEEEEE

We're Back

I can't believe our time in Michigan went so fast. It was so nice to see them again. Leon helped Travis with a few carpentry items around the house and I helped Randi with a few decorating things. We painted the bathroom and made/altered some curtains for Logan's room. Of course I cried all the way home. The actual drive out there was good. We have a Garmin so that made the drive pretty stress free. Well, except for an incident at one of the toll boths. But I know we would have had a lot of troubles in Chicago if we didn't have the Garmin. The trip home was a little more stressful. Aside from the tears, we ended up driving 4 hours in blowing and drifting snow when we hit the Minnesota boarder. Going back to work the day after we got home was not fun. I was tired and emotional from the trip. But it didn't take long to get back in the groove. The stress level at work continues to get better every day. One of our main tellers is going to have a baby any day though, so it could get a little more hectic very soon. Well, I better get back to my cleaning.

Exciting times

Tonight I am so excited. Right now we are packing our suitcases. early tomorrow morning we are heading out to Michigan to see Randi, Travis, and the kids. It is exciting to get to see them again. We haven't seen them since Christmas. I was so used to having them around all the time. It has been really hard on me to have them so far away. Just as exciting though, is getting a few days away from work. Since the beginning of December I feel like I have lived at the bank. I stayed late again last night and tonight to try to get everything done before I left. Well, I got as much done as I could, but of course there were some things I didn't get done. It will just have to wait until I get back. Another worry is the weather. I sure hope the weather holds out until we get back. Well, actually I wouldn't mind getting snowed in in Michigan. A few extra days out of the bank would be very healing for me. But driving that far in crappy weather is not good. Makes for frayed nerves and hot tempers. Oh well, nothing we can do about it now. Back to packing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just when I thought . . . . . .

Well, more snow, more snow and wind. It has been one of the worst winters I can remember. The snow along the sides of the streets are so high right now, you can't see over them. It is difficult to see oncoming traffic when you come to an intersection. Because of the cold, cloudy, gloomy weather I can feel the depression creeping in. I especially feel it on Sunday nights. I feel the weight of the coming week on my shoulders. I try very hard to keep up beat, but it is very hard. But then this week we started finalizing our plans to go to Michigan to see the kids. That made me feel so much better. I am so excited to see them. And then things started getting better at work this week too. I felt like I was getting caught up and getting a handle on everything. Ya, just when I thought everything was looking up - today happened. I was blessed with a 25 page report containing ACH transactions that are still trying to hit the old UP routing number. What does that mean for me???? It means I will be burried in calls to customers trying to help get these ACH transactions corrected. AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know when I will fit this all in. It takes me at least 2 hours to get my normal daily reports done. Then I have phone calls and customers who want to open new accounts. I am there until 5:30 - 6:00 the way it is. I just can't imagine what the next several days is going to be like.

Another Day Another Blizzard

Wow, have we had an usual amount of winter storms this year. Over the weekend - Saturday - we had a lot of rain. Yipes, rain in Minnesota in January is not good. It usually means lots of car accidents and loss of electricity. Well, there were a lot of car accidents, however we did not lose any electricity. Yesterday it got colder so all of the rain from Saturday froze solid - just like glass. Today we had more snow and 40 mile an hour winds. There were white out conditions. The girls who live out of town left the office at noon. I am glad I live in town so I don't have to worry about driving home in bad weather. In that same thought, however, I am getting very tired of covering for them when they all leave early. I know that sounds terribly selfish, but those who live in town do get the shaft when this happens. I sure hope we have better weather tomorrow.