Today is a sad day for many reasons. All of the company is gone and that always makes me feel sad. What is left is the cleaning. I have the beds stripped and sheets washed. All of the towels are washed and put away. The floors are swept. Everything is put away where it belongs. Tomorrow I need to clean the bathrooms and scrub the floors.

But I also feel sad for another reason. I have had time to think about Roy. I am so sad that he is not with us any more. I am sad that I didn't have a chance to say good-bye. I am sad that during the last 30 years I didn't call him more. I didn't keep in contact with him more. That when he was here I didn't talk to him more. That he won't be at Kruse-a-palooza any more. I have so many regrets. sometimes I get so busy with my life that the really important things like that get forgotten. I can't let that happen again. I need to make sure to tend to the really important things - family and friends. I need to say "I love you" and "I'm sorry" more. I need to do more for others and be less selfish. I need to be a better person.

Pray for a Miracle

This isn't exactly the way I thought I would be spending the weekend. At home, alone. Leon has taken off for Texas with his brother and 2 sisters. Roy is not doing well. In fact, the doctor prety much told him there wasn't anything else they could do for him. It sounds like Roy has really rallied since all of his siblings got there. I sure hope that is a good sign. Maybe they all gave him hope and a new reason to live. Maybe he will fight harder and allow the doctors to do more. I made a prayer shawl for Roy and sent it down there with Leon. I hope the love and prayers of the family that are crocheted into that shawl will uplift him and give him renewed strenghth to fight. All we can do is pray for a miracle.

On the other hand, I have gotten a lot done around here since I am here alone. I cleaned nearly the entire house, caught up on laundry, cleaned a couple of closets, worked on a blanket and went to church. Tomorrow I am going to alter some curtains and work out in the gardens. It was a beautiful day today and is suppose to be even nicer tomorrow.

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!