What day is it, anyway?

HUH?
I'm not even sure what day it is, but I'm thinking it's something like Tuesday which feels like Monday, but should be Friday. How 'bout that day?

UPDATE:
Thanks to everyone who has sent their well wishes, etc. The viewing was yesterday evening. It was exactly how my Granny would have (& preplanned it) wanted it. Over 400 people came by. There were oodles of flowers, plants, etc. The video memorial was outstanding (I'll post a link to it when it becomes available). My PapPaw was pitifully without words, but full of disbelief. When he walked in to the room where she was before anyone got there he said, "Hey Doll. Why'd you have to go so soon? I really didn't think you'd go. I can't believe you are gone. I'll really miss you. " He didn't talk anymore until he said he was ready to go after sitting by her casket for 4 1/2 hours.
LIFE WITH LIBBY:
Libby stayed home with Steven's mom and dad during the viewing. Thank God for them. They came to Dalton after they got off work, picked Libby up from daycare, and took her to IHOP to eat. PS-never eat at IHOP, his mom found a screw (yes, a screw) in her blueberry pancake.

Libby will be at daycare today during the 2:00 service.

"She's Out Of Pain"

The past week has been one of the hardest and most horrific weeks to have to endure. My grandmother passed away. Her six children, their spouses', ten grandkids and many of the great grandkids, along with my Pap Paw all stood by her bedside as she began to struggle to leave. There were some very sweet times, as well as tough times. She finally took her last breath last night around 11:15 pm. As the week progressed, we all remembered so much about her character. You know, she had the most amazing character and they didn't even have to teach that to her in school. She was just phenomenal---feisty, strong, gracious. She loved to host big family gatherings, visit others, and uplift everyone. My grandfather has dementia and so it's hard to see him silently hurt. He really doesn't have the words to say how he feels and can't quite connect what's happening to what he is feeling. He told us he'd miss her, they'd been together since they were 18, and that he'd be with her soon.

Tomorrow, as strange as it may seem to some, my aunts (who do hair and make up) will prepare her for viewing. I will be in charge of her nail polish coloring, etc. I hope I can make it through. I've done it before for others, but this one will be hard. We picked out her dress suit today. I think she'd like all the pampering.

I once heard a sermon about when you die and how your tombstone will have your name, the year you were born, a dash, and the year you died. The preacher emphasized that your life is about the dash.

My grandmother's "dash" was amazing. She simply lived a good life. The following is her obituary. My cousin and I wrote it for the family in honor of her.

Mrs. Eloise Dixon SoutherJanuary 27, 2008 08-024 Mrs. Eloise Dixon Souther, age 80, of Dalton, Georgia, departed this life Saturday evening, January 26, 2008 to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ at the local hospital surrounded by her loving husband and children after a long, brave battle with kidney disease. Eloise was born November 15, 1927 in Gordon County, Georgia, a daughter of the late John Edward and Lou Alred Dixon. She was the last surviving child of twenty-one siblings. Her brothers and sisters were the late, Howard Dixon, Verlon Dixon, Roy Dixon, Raymond Dixon, Lloyd Dixon, Johnnie Ruth Parrish, Mollie Ingle, Dolly Dixon, Edna Burton, Lois Childs, Geneva Dixon, Irene Fite, Dovie Dixon, Mary Dixon, Lela Dixon, Lula Dixon, Oal Dixon, Emma Dixon, Selma Dixon and Elzie Dixon. Eloise and her husband of fifty nine years were active members of Riverbend Baptist Church for forty years. She was a devoted wife, loving mother to her six children and a caring grandmother and great-grandmother. She was a lady of great faith, strength and courage with a smile that could brighten up any room. Compassionate, sincere and dependable would describe her. She will be greatly missed by many. She leaves to cherish her memory, her husband, Gordon Souther of the home; children and their spouses, Joyce Souther of Milledgeville, GA, Brenda and Billy Rogers, Debra and Xavier Castro, Janice and Bill Strawser, Tony and Rhonda Souther, Terry and Sandy Souther all of Dalton, GA; grandchildren, Keith Stafford, Ryan Stafford, Shean Starks, Meleia Bridenstine, Sanna Gilbreath, Chastity Blanchard, Shannon Brewer, Jake Souther, Brandon Souther and Zack Souther; thirteen great-grandchildren, several nieces, nephews and many friends. Services to celebrate the life of Mrs. Eloise Dixon Souther will be held Tuesday, January 29, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. from the Melrose Chapel of Ponders Funeral Home with Reverend George Ross and Reverend Jimmy Patterson officiating. She will be laid to rest at Colonial Hills Memorial Park Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home after 5:00 p.m. Monday. We invite you to share your thoughts and memories with the family at www.pondersfuneralhome.com

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow......

Yesterday: We had a lazy-stay-at-home-keep warm kinda day. At about 2 pm, we were stir crazy. We went to visit Steven's parents in Ooltewah. Upon leaving their house, we journeyed to PF Chang's (strong urge for Spring Rolls). We ran into our good friends and neighbors (no it wasn't State Farm! hee hee, anyone remember that jingle?), but it was the Brad, Shana, Bryce, Sara Kate Crew from the other side of Rolling Hills Way. We had dinner with them. Seeing the parental weariness in us, they graciously took Libby with them for a few hours. We went to Target and bought who knows what for way too much!

Today: I stayed at the hosipital with my Granny Souther. She will be passing on at any time. It is absolutely the most horrific thing I've ever had to witness. She has kindey failure and has been battling it hard for 2 years. The time has arrived and her kidneys aren't functioning. The hardest part is that she is completely aware of everything. I fell apart at her bedside today. I don't usually do that, but it was just so hard to stand next to someone that you know is dying---rapidly. The sounds and sights were overwhelmingly harsh. She told me not to cry, so partially scared that she might still have some feisty swing that I used to deservingly get as a kid, I dried it up. She said she wanted some fried okra, so I journeyed out into Dalton "aka Little Mexico" (meat and 3 is hard to find in tortilla land) to find some fried okra. I was in a mad rush to find it because it just seems like she has seconds left. Steven kept Libby. Granny asked where Libby was. I just couldn't have Libby see that side of life at this point. Hard.

Tomorrow: I will have Libby and Kaylee for the day because the sporadic daycare is closed. I didn't know they were closed until I'd already scheduled a doctor's appointment, so my sister will actually have Libby in the am with Kaylee and I will have them in the pm. I need to go to work just to get some rest. Ha haa

What the heck???

What the heck, right? I mean what in the world could this mean? No post in forever and now this picture? Well, now that I completely had your inner dialog out with myself, let me explain....

LAST WEEK:
Kaylee (my sister's 4 year old) went to Bi-Lo and got the "Homie" from one of the 25 cent, now 50 cent machines. Libby got hold of it and it seems to be all she cares about.

What is it with the little things that kids get hung up on? You know how before you have a child, you purchase the Pottery Barn Kids' stuff you anticipate they'll get "hung up on", you know the cute personalized bunny.....NOT LIFE WITH LIBBY, NOPE. It's "Homie".

YESTERDAY:
Well, she left the "Homie" in Steven's car and when I picked her up from school, she was demanding "Homie".

Three hours of me looking everywhere for it, she finally states "I had to 'leeb' it in the black car 'dis morning. Daddy made me. I think he wanted to take it to 'de work wid him." Part of me didn't doubt he wanted to enteratain his coworkers with it. It's a weird little figurine. UUUUggghhh.

That Evening:
Libby was was upstairs, in the bath and her micro hearing heard the garage door open. She doesn't say, "Daaddddy." She says, "my homie is here!" and suddenly is able to exit the tub without the normal tug of war, rush to cover the drain with anything in sight routine.

So, the "Homie" episode doesn't end.

TODAY:
I was out of work today. I went to the foot doctor to get a cortisone shot for my heel pain. My heel used to feel bruised, now it feels broken. You can count on something to get worse before it gets better (that's always the doctor's forcast), especially when it involves my comfort level. It was in the midst of the shot in my foot that I thought, "hey, we can work Homie to our advantage and use him as potty training incentives." I must have had an amazed look on my face because the doctor putting the shot in stopped and said...."you okay?". I didn't bother answering him because if I were okay, I wouldn't be there. I just said, "it'll get worse before it gets better, right?"

I went to Wal Mart to find the "Homies" (something about that sounds like I'm looking for a group of people I know well, right?). Anyway, I actually had to ask around which was like an episode of Candid Camera. At the time, I didn't know where Kaylee had gotten him. I found the homies and was a little frigthened by them. They are very strange characters, much like a group you'd find with an eternal spot on a "Thoughts and Prayers" list. They were found to be in the coin machines in the front. People, (grown people), actually collect them. Weird. I hope this phase ends as quickly as it began. How many potty trips will $5 worth of Homies get us?

Prayer Request Updates:
Mom's mouth: Her dental implants are healing, she is back at work and goes to the doctor tomorrow.

Granny Souther: Kidneys are same. She is slightly better.

My Sister: Keep on prayin'.

My Nanny Ree: Lost a very close cousin. Pray for her to have peace. She seems okay with it, but I'm sure it will really hit her soon. They've pretty much lived next door to each other for their whole lives.

Christmas & New Year Updates

Sorry not to have posted in 4 EVER. I forgot the power cord for my laptop and couldn't make myself go back to school on a break to get it. Worse than not updating my blog was that I didn't get to catch up with everyone else until today!

We had a wonderful holiday season, full of drama--which is what makes the world go 'round, right? Just kidding.

Christmas was celebrated by several fun get togethers. The first was a school party at someone's pool house which was great. It's so fun to see how insane people can get over an ornament! When we left the party around 9, we called my mom to check on Libby and to let her know that we were on our way. My mom told me Libby had fallen down her staircase--head over heels several times on the way down. Fortunately and thanks be to God, she was fine, but that was rather upsetting. I try to EMPHASIZE to everyone that she has to be very closely watched because she is little, but ...................

On Christmas Eve, we went to Anna and Graysen's house for a family gathering which was nice. We took 10 lottery scratch tickets for the gift swap. NONE were winning tickets. YUCK. The food was great and their place is beautiful. They were very gracious hosts.

On Christmas, the rat race began. We did the Santa presents around 8 am, breakfast and presents at my mom's around 10 am, Christmas lunch at my Granny Souther's at noon, and finger foods and presents at Steven's parents' house at 2. WHEW--we needed a sleigh!

After Christmas, we kept Kaylee for the next three days. She is a delightful child and Libby has lots of fun playing with her. We chose toys we no longer needed or had duplicates of and donated them to Providence.

Things you can pray for:
My mom had dental implant surgery, so she's been getting through that adventure. Pray for her speedy recovery.

I saw my dad for the first time in a year, that was nice.

My mom's mom (Granny Souther) has refused dialysis and is in kidney failure.

My sister has a ton of unspoken prayer requests.

More soon!