and no...i'm not talking william shatner "novels".
I've never been overly imaginative or creative when it came to making up cool names, user names, ids, team names, whatever. My buddy Jim Graves would name his fantasy hockey team things like The GraveDiggers...other stuff like that. I think one year I used my hometown and called my team the Melvindale Sharks.
The next year I decided that was stupid and didn't come up with a name. Since I ran the league, I could just call myself The Ed King Team.
I ran a golf league. Other people came up with The Masters, or the Shankers, or ThroatWobblerMangrove. I just registered our league as The Ed King League. I guess it made an impression on some of the golf course workers...after not playing at the Links of Novi for 4 years I ran into one of the guys that worked at the course and he says...Hey...it's Ed King of The Ed King League!
So when I started playing fantasy football, again I was just The Ed King Team. The bright fellow running the league started calling my team TEKT. I thought that was kinda cool (not the eponomous-ness...just thought TEKT looked kinda cool.
So this is The Ed King Blog...TEKB.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Another Note On Amy
My sister is one of the most generous, loving people I know. (She's also the most crabbiest, crankiest, stubborn people I know...but this is a nice post).
I've been a self-employed software development contractor for 10 years. I've made a nice coin. I've spent most all of it and more. My wife is a school-teacher, and that's a pretty decent job in Michigan.
In September 2006 I was released from my long-term contract as the company went through a significant down-sizing. Here in the Detroit area the economy has gone in the dumper pretty badly. I thought my skillset would make it easy to land a new contract. But I was off for 9 months, and burned through all my tax money and savings.
Amy doesn't make much, her raises are in the 25 cent or 50 cent range. If her friend didn't live with her, I'm not sure that Amy could make her house payment.
Several months during my downtime my sister Amy gave me a little envelope with $300. Having little money for herself, she sacrificed for someone who should have taken better care of himself.
I've been a self-employed software development contractor for 10 years. I've made a nice coin. I've spent most all of it and more. My wife is a school-teacher, and that's a pretty decent job in Michigan.
In September 2006 I was released from my long-term contract as the company went through a significant down-sizing. Here in the Detroit area the economy has gone in the dumper pretty badly. I thought my skillset would make it easy to land a new contract. But I was off for 9 months, and burned through all my tax money and savings.
Amy doesn't make much, her raises are in the 25 cent or 50 cent range. If her friend didn't live with her, I'm not sure that Amy could make her house payment.
Several months during my downtime my sister Amy gave me a little envelope with $300. Having little money for herself, she sacrificed for someone who should have taken better care of himself.
Happy Birthday Amy.
Okay...I'll get back to the wedding weekend later...it was terribly depressing.
Today is my sister Amy's birthday - today she turns 36. I'm sure it's a very tough day today for her, basically being the closest to my mom.
Amy hasn't been as fortunate as the rest of us kids. My brother and I both left college before finishing because we got into the IT world. My sister Christine got married and moved across the river to Windsor. I got married in 95, Christine got married in 96, and Jerry got married in 98. Christine had a daughter (Mairi) in 2000, then Caileigh in 2002. We had Chloe in 04, and Jerry had his son Ethan in 05. Jerry and his wife April are now expecting their second child in August.
Amy never did well at school, so I think she only took a few college classes. She didn't luck into any good jobs like Jerry and I did. So she was at home until probably 4 or 5 years ago. She's had some medical problems - thyroid problems, bell's palsy which hasn't entirely gone away, weight issues, depression.
Amy moved out...maybe at the age of 31...buying a small house very near my parents. I know she felt embarrassed at living at home at her age, so it was very important for her to move out. Her best friend Dawn moved in with her. She started puttering around outside and put in a garden, much like my mom had at her house. They'd compare, trade, give each other garden advice.
My parents started going to a nearby church about 7-8 years ago. Amy was kind of depressed - a lot of it had to do with not being married and having kids. Of any of us kids, we've always felt that Amy would be the best with kids. She's the most considerate, caring, thoughtful of us. As we've each had kids, Amy has been GREAT Aunt Amy. She just loves taking care of the kids. Which made it so tough for her to see us all have spouses and kids.
My mom talked Amy into going to their church, sort of help Amy with the way she felt about things. Amy started going, and she really enjoyed it. As much as anything else, she really enjoyed the community. She made a lot of friends...and my mom and her actually shared a bunch of friends.
Amy lost a lot of weight over the last couple of years. She's exercising more. She'd walk over to my parents house, even in the winter. She liked a guy at church, but he kind of played a lot of games with her. But she got out there and started living. She was proud of her house, and really loved to work in the garden. She was really building up her self-esteem.
Amy was the closest with my mom. Amy called my mom probably 4-5 times a day from work, just to say hello, BS. She'd stop over my mom and dad's house probably every day. They went to church together, and did a lot of the church activities together. They went shopping together. Gardened together.
I'm sure this is Amy's sadest birthday.
Today is my sister Amy's birthday - today she turns 36. I'm sure it's a very tough day today for her, basically being the closest to my mom.
Amy hasn't been as fortunate as the rest of us kids. My brother and I both left college before finishing because we got into the IT world. My sister Christine got married and moved across the river to Windsor. I got married in 95, Christine got married in 96, and Jerry got married in 98. Christine had a daughter (Mairi) in 2000, then Caileigh in 2002. We had Chloe in 04, and Jerry had his son Ethan in 05. Jerry and his wife April are now expecting their second child in August.
Amy never did well at school, so I think she only took a few college classes. She didn't luck into any good jobs like Jerry and I did. So she was at home until probably 4 or 5 years ago. She's had some medical problems - thyroid problems, bell's palsy which hasn't entirely gone away, weight issues, depression.
Amy moved out...maybe at the age of 31...buying a small house very near my parents. I know she felt embarrassed at living at home at her age, so it was very important for her to move out. Her best friend Dawn moved in with her. She started puttering around outside and put in a garden, much like my mom had at her house. They'd compare, trade, give each other garden advice.
My parents started going to a nearby church about 7-8 years ago. Amy was kind of depressed - a lot of it had to do with not being married and having kids. Of any of us kids, we've always felt that Amy would be the best with kids. She's the most considerate, caring, thoughtful of us. As we've each had kids, Amy has been GREAT Aunt Amy. She just loves taking care of the kids. Which made it so tough for her to see us all have spouses and kids.
My mom talked Amy into going to their church, sort of help Amy with the way she felt about things. Amy started going, and she really enjoyed it. As much as anything else, she really enjoyed the community. She made a lot of friends...and my mom and her actually shared a bunch of friends.
Amy lost a lot of weight over the last couple of years. She's exercising more. She'd walk over to my parents house, even in the winter. She liked a guy at church, but he kind of played a lot of games with her. But she got out there and started living. She was proud of her house, and really loved to work in the garden. She was really building up her self-esteem.
Amy was the closest with my mom. Amy called my mom probably 4-5 times a day from work, just to say hello, BS. She'd stop over my mom and dad's house probably every day. They went to church together, and did a lot of the church activities together. They went shopping together. Gardened together.
I'm sure this is Amy's sadest birthday.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Wedding This Weekend
Today's my Mom & Dad's anniversary...but I won't get to spend any time with my dad.
We have a wedding to go to on Jenny's side of the family. Her mother's family is really close - seems like most of the Dani's and St. Julianna's migrated to a little town in Upper Michigan called Hermansville - north of Escanaba.
Peg (Jenny's mom) had a brother and a sister...and their families lived up in Escanaba. When Jenny was young, they'd take a couple two or three trips up north in the summers, and Peg's sister's and brother's family came down to Peg's house for the Thanksgiving holiday.
While up north, Jenny spent time with her extended family. Let's see...Jenny's nona (Italian for grandmother) had 7 siblings...and her nunu (sp? Italian for grandfather) had seven or eight siblings. Much of the family lived up there, so it was like a huge family reunion whenever the family would go up there. Huge family.
Jenny's sister Darcy moved up there when she turned eighteen. Some sort of mother-daughter thing. After Darcy was married for a few years she moved to Appleton, Wisconsin...near Green Bay.
So in the 13 years that we've been married, we've gone up there at least once a year. Most times we'd go sepatately from Peg & Ed - they'd stay up there for 2-3 weeks. Many times Darcy would come up to Escanaba, and some of the time we'd take an extra few days to go visit Darcy in Appleton.
Probably one of the nicest times was when we took a spur of the moment trip at Darcy's 40th birthday. Peg and Ed were going to be there, but nothing special was planned. I think we flew into Milwaukee and drove up from there on a mid-week day. We stopped in to see Darcy at her job at Fox Rivers Bank...and she was really excited to see us. She was in a bit of a bad mood, things weren't going so great at work...she'd been looking down when we walked in...and she started saying "You...." without looking up...when she looked up she said "...You're my sister!!" It was a really nice visit. oh...i can't believe she's gone.
So, this weekend is a wedding...let's see...it's Jenny's 2nd cousin, Luke. He's probably 12 years younger than Jenny...so she doesn't know Luke and his sister Danelle very well.
But this weekend is going to be hard on Jenny. It's the first family get-together in a three years that isn't a funeral. But for something like this we would most likely have driven with Peg & Ed...and we'd have really looked forward to seeing Darcy. In fact, Jenny mentioned that for about half a second she was thinking about seeing Darcy this weekend.
*sigh*.
We have a wedding to go to on Jenny's side of the family. Her mother's family is really close - seems like most of the Dani's and St. Julianna's migrated to a little town in Upper Michigan called Hermansville - north of Escanaba.
Peg (Jenny's mom) had a brother and a sister...and their families lived up in Escanaba. When Jenny was young, they'd take a couple two or three trips up north in the summers, and Peg's sister's and brother's family came down to Peg's house for the Thanksgiving holiday.
While up north, Jenny spent time with her extended family. Let's see...Jenny's nona (Italian for grandmother) had 7 siblings...and her nunu (sp? Italian for grandfather) had seven or eight siblings. Much of the family lived up there, so it was like a huge family reunion whenever the family would go up there. Huge family.
Jenny's sister Darcy moved up there when she turned eighteen. Some sort of mother-daughter thing. After Darcy was married for a few years she moved to Appleton, Wisconsin...near Green Bay.
So in the 13 years that we've been married, we've gone up there at least once a year. Most times we'd go sepatately from Peg & Ed - they'd stay up there for 2-3 weeks. Many times Darcy would come up to Escanaba, and some of the time we'd take an extra few days to go visit Darcy in Appleton.
Probably one of the nicest times was when we took a spur of the moment trip at Darcy's 40th birthday. Peg and Ed were going to be there, but nothing special was planned. I think we flew into Milwaukee and drove up from there on a mid-week day. We stopped in to see Darcy at her job at Fox Rivers Bank...and she was really excited to see us. She was in a bit of a bad mood, things weren't going so great at work...she'd been looking down when we walked in...and she started saying "You...." without looking up...when she looked up she said "...You're my sister!!" It was a really nice visit. oh...i can't believe she's gone.
So, this weekend is a wedding...let's see...it's Jenny's 2nd cousin, Luke. He's probably 12 years younger than Jenny...so she doesn't know Luke and his sister Danelle very well.
But this weekend is going to be hard on Jenny. It's the first family get-together in a three years that isn't a funeral. But for something like this we would most likely have driven with Peg & Ed...and we'd have really looked forward to seeing Darcy. In fact, Jenny mentioned that for about half a second she was thinking about seeing Darcy this weekend.
*sigh*.
Mom & Dad's Anniversary
Today's April 18th...it would have been Mom & Dad's 44th wedding anniversary.
I thought I was going to be doing okay...but I'm feeling pretty blue. We just finished a pretty fun Werewolf game over at TCF...that kinda perked my spirits for a little. But I didn't sleep well, woke up at 2:30am...and stayed up until I went into work at 6am.
Had the ipod on instead of Talk Radio...seemed like all the sad songs came on.
My family never really celebrated anniversaries very much...we'd try to be good...but that was about it.
We really celebrate birthdays, though. We're not a large family...Mom, Dad, four kids, three in-laws, and four grandkids. But we get together as a family for each person's birthday. We do dinner, cake, and gifts. Until last year, we pretty much would do "cake & ice cream" for everyone's birthday.
I think it was mostly because we could count on that time to get together. We all live within 45 miles or so of one another...but just don't get together much.
So that always makes birthdays special. Mom always liked it because she got cake.
Amy's birthday is in a few weeks, then Mom's is in May. I think these next two birthdays are going to be hard.
I miss my mom.
I thought I was going to be doing okay...but I'm feeling pretty blue. We just finished a pretty fun Werewolf game over at TCF...that kinda perked my spirits for a little. But I didn't sleep well, woke up at 2:30am...and stayed up until I went into work at 6am.
Had the ipod on instead of Talk Radio...seemed like all the sad songs came on.
My family never really celebrated anniversaries very much...we'd try to be good...but that was about it.
We really celebrate birthdays, though. We're not a large family...Mom, Dad, four kids, three in-laws, and four grandkids. But we get together as a family for each person's birthday. We do dinner, cake, and gifts. Until last year, we pretty much would do "cake & ice cream" for everyone's birthday.
I think it was mostly because we could count on that time to get together. We all live within 45 miles or so of one another...but just don't get together much.
So that always makes birthdays special. Mom always liked it because she got cake.
Amy's birthday is in a few weeks, then Mom's is in May. I think these next two birthdays are going to be hard.
I miss my mom.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The King House When I was Young
I'm the oldest of 4 children. My sister Christine is 3 1/2 years younger than me. My sister Amy was 3 1/2 years younger than Christine. And Jerry came along 2 years later. That's 9 years between me and Jerry.
My dad worked at Sears most of his working life as a technician...repairing TVs, washers, lawnmowers...pretty much everything Sears sold. It was tough, because it seemed like Dad was either working, laid off, or on strike. I think for a good 10 years it was half working and half not.
Mom was a stay-at-home mom...with 4 kids it would have been tough to do otherwise. Somewhere around the time that I was 12 Mom took a job at the ice arena, working the concession stand. She was injured at work - she suffered a ruptured disk when she turned and hit the stainless steel sink. She lost the feeling in her leg for a while. She ended up stepping on a piece of glass. Because of the nerve damage, it didn't heal right, and Mom developed osteoporosis, which basically ate away her heel bone.
So Mom was in and out of the hospital for 10 years; she was in a wheel chair for a while, and ended up using a walker for many years.
Despite some of these problems, I'd say my home life was filled with love and laughter and doing things together. we always had dinner together, watched TV together. we had a nice pool in the backyard, so we spent a lot of time together when we might have been at a friend's house. we went on vacation to upper Lower Michigan a lot...especially the Mio area. I played hockey as a youngster, and we went on a lot of hockey trips as a family.
a lot of this time together was spent laughing at one another. woe be to the one who fell or dropped something...even at 5 my youngest brother was in on picking on everyone.
spent a lot of time watching TV together. During the afternoons I watch game shows with my mom, and we laughed at Password and Hollywood Squares and Match Game and the such. This was the time of the mini-series, too...so we watched Roots, several mini-series (series-es?) on WWII and Nazis, Civil War...and the Human Body. But my parents took the time to explain about the things we watched. I particularly remember being fairly grossed out when the "pregnancy" episode of the Human Boday came on...and Mom and Dad explained exactly how the making a baby thing worked! :O
Because my Mom was sick a lot, my sister and I took care of the house a lot. I remember changing diapers, cooking dinner, generally taking care of my siblings. We were a close family.
Those were the things that stayed with us the most. Laughing. Learning. Family. And the things that we'll make sure that Chloe grows up with too.
My dad worked at Sears most of his working life as a technician...repairing TVs, washers, lawnmowers...pretty much everything Sears sold. It was tough, because it seemed like Dad was either working, laid off, or on strike. I think for a good 10 years it was half working and half not.
Mom was a stay-at-home mom...with 4 kids it would have been tough to do otherwise. Somewhere around the time that I was 12 Mom took a job at the ice arena, working the concession stand. She was injured at work - she suffered a ruptured disk when she turned and hit the stainless steel sink. She lost the feeling in her leg for a while. She ended up stepping on a piece of glass. Because of the nerve damage, it didn't heal right, and Mom developed osteoporosis, which basically ate away her heel bone.
So Mom was in and out of the hospital for 10 years; she was in a wheel chair for a while, and ended up using a walker for many years.
Despite some of these problems, I'd say my home life was filled with love and laughter and doing things together. we always had dinner together, watched TV together. we had a nice pool in the backyard, so we spent a lot of time together when we might have been at a friend's house. we went on vacation to upper Lower Michigan a lot...especially the Mio area. I played hockey as a youngster, and we went on a lot of hockey trips as a family.
a lot of this time together was spent laughing at one another. woe be to the one who fell or dropped something...even at 5 my youngest brother was in on picking on everyone.
spent a lot of time watching TV together. During the afternoons I watch game shows with my mom, and we laughed at Password and Hollywood Squares and Match Game and the such. This was the time of the mini-series, too...so we watched Roots, several mini-series (series-es?) on WWII and Nazis, Civil War...and the Human Body. But my parents took the time to explain about the things we watched. I particularly remember being fairly grossed out when the "pregnancy" episode of the Human Boday came on...and Mom and Dad explained exactly how the making a baby thing worked! :O
Because my Mom was sick a lot, my sister and I took care of the house a lot. I remember changing diapers, cooking dinner, generally taking care of my siblings. We were a close family.
Those were the things that stayed with us the most. Laughing. Learning. Family. And the things that we'll make sure that Chloe grows up with too.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Tough Weekend Coming Up
Ah...more sad news today.
Jordan is our 17 year-old neice on Jenny's side - Jenny's brother Craig's step-daughter. A young man in her class died the other day - it sounds like it was the result of a suicide attempt. We just learned about it, but we don't know very much about it...how Jordan's doing and such.
Being so down last week, I really forgot something. We're going to a wedding next weekend in Chicago for a second-cousin of Jenny's. Her mother's family is Italian, from up in the Upper Pennisula (U.P.) of Michigan...and they've always been really close. Weddings, especially, have always been big to-do's.
I think it's the first get-together since Ed, Peg, and Darcy have all passed that isn't a funeral. For the last bunch of years, we'd have travelled together with Jenny's parents. Darcy had been living out-of-state since she was 18, and it would have been another one of those fun weekends where we would have all been together.
Jenny mentioned that she's had a few bad dreams recently...dreamt about her mom a few times. And she also mentioned that for just a second she was looking forward to seeing Darcy this weekend. So it's bound to be a tough week and weekend.
Jordan is our 17 year-old neice on Jenny's side - Jenny's brother Craig's step-daughter. A young man in her class died the other day - it sounds like it was the result of a suicide attempt. We just learned about it, but we don't know very much about it...how Jordan's doing and such.
Being so down last week, I really forgot something. We're going to a wedding next weekend in Chicago for a second-cousin of Jenny's. Her mother's family is Italian, from up in the Upper Pennisula (U.P.) of Michigan...and they've always been really close. Weddings, especially, have always been big to-do's.
I think it's the first get-together since Ed, Peg, and Darcy have all passed that isn't a funeral. For the last bunch of years, we'd have travelled together with Jenny's parents. Darcy had been living out-of-state since she was 18, and it would have been another one of those fun weekends where we would have all been together.
Jenny mentioned that she's had a few bad dreams recently...dreamt about her mom a few times. And she also mentioned that for just a second she was looking forward to seeing Darcy this weekend. So it's bound to be a tough week and weekend.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Just wanted to post a little note. I've heard from several people, and I really appreciate the thoughts.
I've had a good couple of days. I really think just putting these thoughts out there has helped a little. I've also slept a little better and started eating a little more...I'm sure that'll help.
I've thought about posting some more, but I kinda want to enjoy this feeling of not being sad right now.
It's Saturday...and we're going to try to get out a little and do something...at least until it starts snowing (stupid Michigan).
I've had a good couple of days. I really think just putting these thoughts out there has helped a little. I've also slept a little better and started eating a little more...I'm sure that'll help.
I've thought about posting some more, but I kinda want to enjoy this feeling of not being sad right now.
It's Saturday...and we're going to try to get out a little and do something...at least until it starts snowing (stupid Michigan).
Thursday, April 10, 2008
A Quick Thank You
At the risk of seeming trite...I wanted to say hello and thanks to my new friends at TCF Werewolf.
I've been fairly depressed since the beginning of the year, and joining the TCF gang in playing an online social game called Werewolf has provided a nice ... I hesitate to say "distraction" ...
But I wanted the TCF WW gang (BGs and GGs) to know that they've helped make my grief a little easier.
So everyone else, come over to http://www.tivocommunity.com/, go to the Funhouse forum, and join us in a Werewolf game - we love fresh meat!
Thanks guys. Truly.
I've been fairly depressed since the beginning of the year, and joining the TCF gang in playing an online social game called Werewolf has provided a nice ... I hesitate to say "distraction" ...
But I wanted the TCF WW gang (BGs and GGs) to know that they've helped make my grief a little easier.
So everyone else, come over to http://www.tivocommunity.com/, go to the Funhouse forum, and join us in a Werewolf game - we love fresh meat!
Thanks guys. Truly.
The First Blog Post
Hello, and welcome.
2007 was a very bad year for my family. It's April 2008, and it's really starting to hit me. So I've decided to start blogging...put some of my thoughts out on the web...hoping it'll help.
I just don't know how to start. I want to give a little background and such...
My name is Ed King. I was born in 1965, and that makes me 42 right now. My wife Jenny was also born in 1965...and we both have lived in Michigan all our lives. We've been together for 21 years...dated for 8 and married for 13.
We never tried to have kids...and we didn't really try to avoid it...and we found ourselves in or late 30's thinking that it was going to be in the cards for us. Until that fateful day when Jenny told me that we had a 'glitch' (as I was about to by airline tickets to Hilton Head!). In June 2004 we "welcomed" Chloe Elizabeth to our family. Chloe's 3 now...turning 4 in a few months. She really is a joy, but we didn't realize what a gift from Heaven she was really going to be.
The short story is that our family has lost 4 family members in the last 2 years.
My wife Jenny's dad Ed Waldron passed away in September 2005 at the age of 72. He had a tumor in his spine that was thought to be lung cancer.
Jenny's mother Peg had suffered from long-untreated high blood pressure. She developed kidney disease. Following a burst divirticulitis, Peggy suffered mulitple organ failure and passed away in August 2007.
Late in 2005, Jenny's 43 year old sister Darcy was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. She fought her way through chemo, radiation, and other treatments. She passed away in September 2007. Darcy was married and had a 16 year old daughter.
Darcy's illness really took it's toll on Peggy, along with missing Ed. Peggy was fairly depressed, and we asked her one time if there was anything she really enjoyed...and she said Chloe just brightened her day. As tough as it was to lose her, we feel it's fortunate that Peggy went before her daughter Darcy...I just don't think we're supposed to bury our children.
Jenny had lost half her family in 2 years. She has two older brothers - Eddie and Craig.
As tough as that was, I remember thinking that...with Jenny's family being 10 years older than mine...that the Kings should have another 10 years or so before we started dealing with such grief.
We had a relatively uneventful October, and we were starting to try to figure out what to do for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was Peggy's holiday...her family from Upper Michigan would always come down and stay at the Waldron house.
Then my mother went into the hospital in November. Mom had suffered with various things through her life. The last year she had a cough/cold thing that just kept coming back on her. Her doctor "diagnosed" her with COPD and IPF...a pair of lung disorders. They wanted to do a biopsy on her lung the year before, but the procedure scared her.
Well, she went into the hospital with pneumonia on Sunday, November 11th. They moved her into an isolation room while the tested her for TB. Mom passed away early Thursday morning. The doctors were all shocked, they did not understand what happened. My father and I choose not to have an autopsy done. The doctors speculate that she had a heart attack or a blood clot. There are lots of questions...but I don't think it really matters. My mom was 63.
I have a lot of things to say about my mom, and I'll get to them in later posts. Losing so much of Jenny's family I think helped a little when my mom went. But right now it just seems like all the color has gone out of life. I recently realized that I just don't want to leave the house right now. I'm on like 20 mg of fluoxetine (it's like zoloft), but I think I need to get in for some extra help.
My goal is to post more...tell everyone what my mom meant to me...how much we miss Jenny's dad and mom...how horrified we are that Darcy's not around anymore. I'm going to try to get pictures up.
2007 was a very bad year for my family. It's April 2008, and it's really starting to hit me. So I've decided to start blogging...put some of my thoughts out on the web...hoping it'll help.
I just don't know how to start. I want to give a little background and such...
My name is Ed King. I was born in 1965, and that makes me 42 right now. My wife Jenny was also born in 1965...and we both have lived in Michigan all our lives. We've been together for 21 years...dated for 8 and married for 13.
We never tried to have kids...and we didn't really try to avoid it...and we found ourselves in or late 30's thinking that it was going to be in the cards for us. Until that fateful day when Jenny told me that we had a 'glitch' (as I was about to by airline tickets to Hilton Head!). In June 2004 we "welcomed" Chloe Elizabeth to our family. Chloe's 3 now...turning 4 in a few months. She really is a joy, but we didn't realize what a gift from Heaven she was really going to be.
The short story is that our family has lost 4 family members in the last 2 years.
My wife Jenny's dad Ed Waldron passed away in September 2005 at the age of 72. He had a tumor in his spine that was thought to be lung cancer.
Jenny's mother Peg had suffered from long-untreated high blood pressure. She developed kidney disease. Following a burst divirticulitis, Peggy suffered mulitple organ failure and passed away in August 2007.
Late in 2005, Jenny's 43 year old sister Darcy was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. She fought her way through chemo, radiation, and other treatments. She passed away in September 2007. Darcy was married and had a 16 year old daughter.
Darcy's illness really took it's toll on Peggy, along with missing Ed. Peggy was fairly depressed, and we asked her one time if there was anything she really enjoyed...and she said Chloe just brightened her day. As tough as it was to lose her, we feel it's fortunate that Peggy went before her daughter Darcy...I just don't think we're supposed to bury our children.
Jenny had lost half her family in 2 years. She has two older brothers - Eddie and Craig.
As tough as that was, I remember thinking that...with Jenny's family being 10 years older than mine...that the Kings should have another 10 years or so before we started dealing with such grief.
We had a relatively uneventful October, and we were starting to try to figure out what to do for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was Peggy's holiday...her family from Upper Michigan would always come down and stay at the Waldron house.
Then my mother went into the hospital in November. Mom had suffered with various things through her life. The last year she had a cough/cold thing that just kept coming back on her. Her doctor "diagnosed" her with COPD and IPF...a pair of lung disorders. They wanted to do a biopsy on her lung the year before, but the procedure scared her.
Well, she went into the hospital with pneumonia on Sunday, November 11th. They moved her into an isolation room while the tested her for TB. Mom passed away early Thursday morning. The doctors were all shocked, they did not understand what happened. My father and I choose not to have an autopsy done. The doctors speculate that she had a heart attack or a blood clot. There are lots of questions...but I don't think it really matters. My mom was 63.
I have a lot of things to say about my mom, and I'll get to them in later posts. Losing so much of Jenny's family I think helped a little when my mom went. But right now it just seems like all the color has gone out of life. I recently realized that I just don't want to leave the house right now. I'm on like 20 mg of fluoxetine (it's like zoloft), but I think I need to get in for some extra help.
My goal is to post more...tell everyone what my mom meant to me...how much we miss Jenny's dad and mom...how horrified we are that Darcy's not around anymore. I'm going to try to get pictures up.
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