10 Day Rundown

Quick rundown of the last 10 days -

Megan & Ryan came to Columbus for the weekend last weekend. They didn't get here until 2am and drove 330 miles to get here, but we had a great time all together. We walked around Easton and "took our fun!" to Dave & Busters. I truly love my sister. We just have so much fun together, and I love talking and laughing with her.

Dallas got a big win last Sunday against division rivals 6-2 Giants! No one (including me) gave them a chance in hell to win that game, but they did! It was a great feeling to actually feel proud of my team.

This week was another ridiculous week at work. It has been a really trying last month or so, but I'm just trying to hang in there.....

Had to send flowers to a crewleader's family this week for the death of his sister. This guy is one of those slightly older guys, just blue collar, comes to work day in and day out, works his butt off, always does what you ask and then some. His sister was only early 40s and died unexpectedly in her sleep. So sad.

The saddest, most tragic moment of the week, though, came on Friday afternoon. I learned that one of my fellow BAs here in Columbus is, and will be, going through something I can't even imagine. The story has been all over Columbus, Ohio and the US......the 4 people that went missing last Thursday (a mother and her 2 children + a family friend) were found this past week. The 13-year old girl was found bound and gagged in this sicko's home (but alive, thank God), and the other 3's bodies were found in the bottom of a hollowed out tree outside of Columbus. No other details have been released, and I'm not sure that I care to know. All I know is that someone I know now has to go through life without her sister-in-law and nephew, and somehow help her niece through what must have been an unimaginable 4 days before she was found. I am heartbroken and outraged.........and ??? It's hard to explain. When a tragedy like this happens across the country, it's sad. You don't know those people, you think about them while it's in the news, but after something else comes into the spotlight, you quickly forget about it. But this.......this just hit a little too close to home. There ARE bad people out there. Sick people. And now a friend of mine is hurting because of it. You just never know. If you're reading this, please keep Trisha and her family in your prayers.

Another sad day was yesterday. November 20, 1980 - a day that obviously I wasn't around for.....but had it not been for that day.....my parents may not have gotten married as soon as they did (they had been engaged for 3 weeks on that day, but weren't planning a wedding until 1983)....and obviously wouldn't have had me when they did. My dad almost didn't make it through that day alive. That day is why I don't take any kind of mental illness lightly...........that day is, without a doubt, why my dad is who he is today.......everything I know about that day is from my mom and Nana and those who were there that day, because my dad doesn't talk about it. That day is why, no matter how often in my life I've seen my dad run without a shirt, do yardwork without a shirt, etc - I always cringe and am a little sad for my dad.....even if somehow he could put that day out of his mind, the 2 scars he has (one in his back, one on the side of his stomach) won't ever allow him to forget. And at the end of that day........my mom almost lost her would-be husband, and my dad lost his dad. Mental illness is no joke. It is scary, scary business. Who knows how that whole day would've been different if they would've known what we all know now about schizophrenia.

Today, the Cowboys get another win.........winning streak alert!

But somehow, birthdays and Cowboys wins all seem a little less important in the light of what happens in this world on a daily basis. Somehow, though, life went on after that day in 1980......and life will still go on after this past week. That's where family and friends are so, so important...........I can't think of a better week for Thanksgiving.

God bless all........