Comments on: Cramming a lifetime of memories into one long weekend

By: Ellen Finch

Ellen Finch — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:57:18 +0000

And of course vacation rentals are pretty much completely booked for all weekends for the rest of the summer, and it could be difficult to impossible for some folks to get off work in the middle of the week on short notice–without risking their jobs. Wish we all had jobs as flexible as mine, but we don’t. Sigh.

By: Ellen Finch

Ellen Finch — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:55:51 +0000

I already looked into vacation rentals and have started an email discussion with my sisters about it. This *is* tough, as I’ve already committed to 4 of the weekends between now & when school starts, one sister & family are in Europe for most of july and I don’t know whether they’ll be available at all when they get back; another sister lives out of state and is planning to maybe head up to CA later when she her kids go stay with her for a week “later in the summer” but they dn’t have any money, honey, and no set schedule… I want to do something *now* but of course that won’t work. We’ll just have to do what we can as soon as we can.

I agree with Dawn: You just never know. And I dispute the line that says “live every day like it’s your last” (or like it’s your mom’s last, or your sister’s , or…) because that’s absolutely not a practical way to live every day. You do what you can when you can, and that’s all there is to it.

By: Dawn King

Dawn King — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:58:20 +0000

I know sweetie, don’t beat yourself up about it, who knew? It was a hard lesson but we all learned from it, that’s why we get together as often as we can now, right? And that’s why we’re always there for each other. Mom and Dad are proud of the way we’re getting through this. We’re doing our very best, and that’s good enough.

By: Beth

Beth — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:11:37 +0000

The “someday” we have is now.
I didn’t go to the 2004 Fourth of July in Alabama with the rest of my family because my husband was too busy at work.
A couple of weeks later on the 18 of July, Mom left this world.
Time to stop thinking “someday”.

By: Ellen Finch

Ellen Finch — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:07:06 +0000

Wow. Another thing I shouldn’t procrastinate on. I keep thinking: Family reunion out in the woods somewhere, someday. Parents are now 80. Time to stop thinking “someday.”

By: SheltieJim

SheltieJim — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:18:11 +0000

Dawn, you are a very thoughtful woman. Too many people seem to live only at the surface and/or not be interested in really knowing themselves. But you run deep, girl, and your introspection is nice to witness. Glad you had a super time! But, ummm, where was Katie while mom was off having so much fun ?

By: Melanie

Melanie — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:59:29 +0000

This was beautiful, Dawn. And I agree with Sara – sounds like your parents were with you the whole time.

By: Ludo

Ludo — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:34:50 +0000

Glad you had a good time. It sounds very bitter sweet.

By: Ricky

Ricky — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:02:03 +0000

Sounds like a great trip – how fun to spend all that time with your siblings sharing your memories! Glad you had a good time!

By: Key West Collies

Key West Collies — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:37:15 +0000

While my father is still here, I can relate. There are times I really miss my Mom. I will look over some of the small things they gave me and think about both of them.

Essex & Deacons Dad