Wednesday, December 29, 2010

The Weir High Class of 1979

Throughout my high school years I always ran around with girlfriends who were older than me.  There only maybe 2 people from my class that I was close friends with and continued to be friends with.  One of those friends passed away a few years ago from cancer and the other one pissed me one day and I quit being friends with her.

I went to my ten year and twenty year reunion.  I had a blast at my ten year and a so so time at my twenty year.  I did not make it to my thirty year because I got to drunk the night before at the ice breaker!!!

Last year we had our first annual Christmas get togehter and tonight our second! I honestly have to say what a wonderful time we had.  I not had seen a few of the people since we graduated 31 years ago.  God that is a long time not to see someone. 

It was so nice to catch up on everyone and what they were up to, how many kids they had, what their kids are up to, who has grandkids!  It was nice to just sit and eat and talk to all these wonderful people.

I am so glad that I put forth an effort to get reconnected these last two years.  We all stay in touch via Facebook but to see each other in person after all these years was the best Christmas present I could ever ask for.

So the my classmates of The Weir High Class of 1979: "We are still mighty fine"

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

For My Grandparents: Sherwood and Victoria Higgins

As my brothers and I were growing up we spent more time with my mothers parents than my father's parents.  We were always at my grandparents house as children.  My grandparents would of been 101 years old had they lived to 2010!
My grandfather passed at the age of 80 and my grandmother at the age of 94! Today I spent the day scanning pictures of my grandfathers parents, his siblings and my grandfather as a young man.  I also scanned pictures of my grandmothers parents, my grandmother as a young girl and her siblings.  I scanned documents that are over a 100 years old.  My maternal great grandmother came to America from CzechoSlovaka and my maternal great grandfather came to America from Austria. My great grandmother arrived in America in 1906 and my grandmother was born 3 years later.
It was fasinating to look through all these pictures and documents. The unfortnate part is I have no history of all they met, how they ended up in Weirton, WV! Why did they leave their countries of birth? How could they leave their families and come to this strange country?  I have no information on how my grandparents met or what their life was as children.  I do know my grandmother quit school in the 8th grade to go to work because her father died and she had to help support her family.
But you know what ? All that doesn't matter because what I do have are great memories of these two wonderful people who played such an important part in my life.  The sad part is it took me a very long time to realize how important they were.  I was lucky enough to have realized that  before they both passed. 
My grandfather was a very quiet man.  I never heard him raise his voice, not once.  My grandmother on the hand was the dislipian! What she said went and you never opened your mouth to say: "but why"? Her word was higher than God's word!  Trust me! 
Today as I scanned all those pictures and documents I began to realize how much I miss them and today made me realize that I was truely blessed to have the best grandparents in the world. 
So if your grandparents are still alive, let them know how much you love them and how much they mean to you!


Saturday, December 25, 2010

Nick and Christine

My pride and joy are Nick and Christine! My 18 year old nephew and my 14 year old niece! My how fast they have grown.  I held Christine when she was 3 hours old and our first Christmas together she fell asleep on my chest as I lay on the couch watching "A Christmas Story".

Now their both to big to lay on my chest, their both to big for me to cradle in my arms, their to big for me to rock to sleep.

But they will never be to big for me to hold in my arms and tell them how much I love them and how much they mean to me.

I never married and do not beleive in having children out of wedlock so they are the children I never had! I have attended football games, volley ball games and now basketball games.  No matter what they come first in my life.

They are the reason I live and breath! There have been times when I have been so depressed that I thought to myself I just want to lay down and go to sleep and never wake up! But then I stop and think I would miss out on Christine and Nick's lives! I don't ever want to do that

I know as a teenager family is not as important as our friends are but you reach an age and you realize that family is important.  Hopefully it is not to late when we realize this.  I was one of those teenagers and I am sure a lot of us have been one of those teenagers.  And I know that I am not the most important thing in their lives right now but no matter what I will always love them and I will always be there for them 24/7 no matter what.  They are young and experiencing life as a teenager and in  these times it is hard to be a teenager. More so than when I was a teenager in the 70's!

But no matter what I am their Aunt and I will always love them and they will always make my life better because they will always be a part of my life and they will always be connected to me.

Oh yeah, Nick congratulations on making straight A's your first semester at WVU and Christine congratulations on making the Weir Middle School basketball team.  You know I will be at the games shouting: "Go Christine, Go"!  I love you the two of you with all my heart.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

For Pia and Christine

Today was my last day of work until 01/18/11! My job is so stressful I had to ask for medical leave.   My doctor told me if I do not get my blood pressue down I am going to have a stroke this afternoon! She doubled my blood pressure medicine,  put me on an anti depressant and an anti anxiety drug!

One of my coworker's husband had a freak accident yesterday and she now has to decide when to take him off life support! How do you make that decision two days before Christmas?  My other co worker is having her first Christmas since her husband of three years died in April!

Another friend is having her first Christmas since her father passed away eight months ago!  Another friend had her husband of thirty years tell her he wanted a divorce yesterday!

We never know what each day is going to bring us! We never know where we will be when Christmas comes around! We will never know who will be missing from the dinner table Christmas Eve or Christmas Day!  We never know.

I thought my life was in the dumps even with my health issues but it does not compare to what my co workers and friends are going through this Christmas.

I have a lot to be thankful for and two people that I am very thankful for is my sister in law Pia and my niece Christine! Tonight they showed up at my back door with meatballs, soup, chocolate chip cookies and a minature Christmas tree for me.  She even bought lights, bulbs and a bow for the top and oh a beautiful gold mat to sit the tree on top.  It is sitting in my picture window. 

And for those of you that do not know me or Pia we did not start out as friends when she and my brother married.  It took us a very long time to get to that place we are now- more than sister in laws! It took us a very long time to tell each how other we love each other! And tonight as she was leaving I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tight and told her "I Love You". And then I turned to Christine, wrapped my arms around her and said: "I Love You". 

" I Love You" for  letting me forget about my stressful job, for letting me not worry about my blood pressure, for not letting me worry about my friends and co workers, for making me feel so loved!  Thank You!  You have made my day such a good day! 

Saturday, December 18, 2010

The Most Wonderfual Day of the Year

So I woke up in a so/so mood today but I knew my day was going to get better because I was having dinner and a movie with the girls!  I have several groups of friends that I run around with and each group is a great group of women but each group is different.  This group I call the football mom's because I got to know them thru the football boosters when my nephew was playing football in middle school and high school.  Their boys went off to college this fall and well I have no children! Each year for Christmas we get together to dinner and catch up with everyone.  Instead of a movie we decided to do some Christmas shopping! We had the most wonderful time shopping.  Laughing at Barb because when we came out of the mall there she stands with her buggy from Walmart filled to the top! She looked like the bag lady with  her buggy full of bags!  We laughed at Linda because she had never been to Ollie's- the biggest discount store next to Big Lots!  She was totally amazed that they had made shelves out of plywood and block's!

Laughing at myself after I almost slammed Tracine's foot in the car door! Laughing at Tracine because the cash register at K-Mart broke down just as she was checking out and there were ten people behind her! 

Listening to Ruth and Pia talk about their sons and their love lives! Oh to be young and in love! 

After shopping we all ride back to Linda's house that smells of fresh baked goods.  Her wonderful husband made us a dessert! 

Oh what a wonderful day I had with these women.  Women who make me laugh, women who laugh with me when I laugh at myself over something stupid I have done.  Women who accept me for who I am and do not try and change me.  To these women I say thank you.  Thank you for letting me be me and thank you for being my friends.  I love each and everyone of you and from the bottom of my heart I want to say to you: "BW'S FOREVER"

Friday, December 17, 2010

It's That Time of Year!

It is hard to beleive Christmas is just 8 days away! How fast 2010 went by! Did we all complete our new years 2009 resolutions? I know I have not. Why do we make them if we aren't going to complete them? Does anyone have an answer to that question?  Should I make new ones this new years eve? Do I plan on keeping them/completing them? What do I do?

I have decided to just take each day as it comes.  I am not going to make promises to myself if I am not going to keep them.  We don't know what the future holds so how can we make resolutions each new years eve?  I never dreamt that I would soon be approaching my 50th birthday and never married, never had children, have lost half of my family to family squabbles, have speant half of my life being a coulda, shoulda, woulda, person.  I swore I would never ever be one of those kind of people.

But as I look back over the last 49.5 years I have.  So I guess what I am saying to all you young people out there: take a chance, do things on the spur of the moment, be impulsive at times.  Don't let life pass you buy and one day wake up at the age of 50 and say to yourself, what the hell have I done with my life?

Live your life like it is your last day on earth.  Do something that when it is done someone says: "I never thought they would do that"!  Enjoy life and make the most of it !  Enjoy everyday of your life!

Oh Yeah: "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year"