Dunham Family and My Stroke Story!

As noted in a previous post, Ethan is a bit lost now th at his best buddies moved away; however, the other day, Heather babysat the kids, and Ethan had a blast. When I asked him what he did, he exclaimed "We played, and played, and played Daddy!!" Not a bad way to spend the day when you're a kid.

We didn't have Ethan go to school this summer because his friends in the neighborhood had the summer off. Unfortunately, over July 4th, his best buddy moved away (along with his buddy's sister who is the root of all evil according to the boys), and Ethan is now a bit lost. The new boy who moved into the neighboring house isn't friendly, and our neighbor girl down the street is busy with a visiting grandmother for the summer. So, Ethan has grown bored easily. He asked his mom the other day "Who will I play with?"

My only niece on my side of the family turns 30 today. Where did those years go? I remember what I ate the night before she was born. I remember that entire day vividly. Now, I have a son, and my niece just had a son of her own. Before he died, my father told me that his biggest regret was not living to see my children. Now, almost 15 years after his death, he has a grandson and a great grandson he will never see. My mother now has two grandchildren (a 30 year old and a 3 year old....talk about pent-up Grandma demand!), and she has yet to meet her new great grandson because it's tough for her to get to Boise for many reasons. I've talked to friends about the sadness of watching their once-vibrant parents age, and my mother and my beloved step-father are growing older and more frail. My friends and I spend a lot of time helping our parents deal with the complexities of age and the resulting fears that seem rather insignificant to us but can overwhelm the elderly. My mom and s