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Kindness

So I wrote about struggles last night and choosing kindness. I thought I’d share an example of kindness we witnessed on Thanksgiving. This year, like every other year, we headed to my brother’s in Boca for Thanksgiving dinner. This time it would be our family, Richard and his wife along with a Richard’s dad and his partner.

Shortly after we got there, I noticed an individual I didn’t recognize. I thought perhaps he came with Richard’s dad and his partner. This young man was non-verbal autistic and was plugging his ears due to the noise. He walked around the island looking at the food. Suddenly, he put his hands into the brownie tray and grabbed a handful of brownies and ate them.

After he finished the brownies, he moved on to the chips and dip. At this point, several of us are horrified that whoever’s he’s with isn’t stopping him from eating potato chips and French onion dip directly from the container with a spoon. Eventually, my brother and sister-in-law figured it out. It was there new neighbor’s son, who is non-verbal.

My brother walked over to his house to talk to his parents. Their only response to my brother was that they had told him not to go inside the house. Obviously, this didn’t stop him from entering the house. My brother came back into the house to escort him out. However, before Jon walked the surprise visitor back to his house, he put the dip and bowl of chips on a plate for him to take home.

While my brother and his wife could have raised hell over their neighbor walking in and helping himself to their food on Thanksgiving, they didn’t. They chose to treat him with kindness and dignity. Unfortunately, his parents don’t supervise him very well. This story could have easily had a different ending. After all, this is Florida where people shoot first and ask questions later.

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Struggle

The holidays are an awesome time, but for many folks it can be a struggle. Our Thanksgiving was awesome. We had a great time celebrating with our family in Florida, but there was an emptiness there. It’s our second Thanksgiving with Jake not at the table and it doesn’t get easier. We did get a special call from him, which did ease the pain somewhat. Nevertheless, I miss him.

The FaceTime was a lot of fun. He got to talk to my Grandma, who he is really close to, my uncle, my parents and of course my brothers and their families. It was really special for him to be able to talk with my Grandma. She was so delighted to be able to chat with him. Honestly, it was the perfect Thanksgiving surprise.

I took some time off from blogging last week because I’m emotionally, physically and mentally exhausted. So much so that I slept most of Thanksgiving. I fell asleep at my brother’s after dinner and was in bed by 8:30 pm. Staying awake was definitely a struggle for me on Thanksgiving. Sometimes it’s just best to rest and take a break than stress write a blog.

AEP will be over in little more than a week and then I will spend December recuperating. My company is giving us the option to take as much time off in December as we want, which is awesome. Except for the fact, it’s a sales job and to make money, you have to be present. I’ll be taking some time off, but I intend to maximize my time in the office.

Anyway, this holiday season choose kindness. There are so many people dealing with unseen challenges one couldn’t imagine, be nice. Be the person that brings someone else up. It’s free to be nice, so give the gift of kindness this holiday season. Your kindness may make all the difference for someone who is struggling this season.

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Long Arse Day

It was a long arse day today as we left our house at 6:30 to head to Orlando for games. I went to bed early hoping to get enough sleep. Unfortunately, i haven’t been sleeping at all this week. And when I do sleep it’s been a restless toss and turn not the restorative sleep I need. Hopefully, I’ll sleep well tonight although I doubt it.

This past week, much like today’s games, was bloody abortion of the week. While work went well, everything else went to hell. My stomach has been bothering me, so I haven’t had solid food since last Sunday. Meanwhile, my blood pressure has been all over the place. I’m looking forward to a shortened work week because at least I can sleep in on Thursday.


The Long arse day that is AEP, or should I say seven long weeks, is almost over. It’s a grueling marathon, but has gone well for me so far. Nonetheless, I’ll be glad to catch up on some rest and relaxation once season is over. OEP, open enrollment period, is also busy for us, but not nearly as busy as AEP. Also the hours aren’t nearly as long.

We just witnessed a lovely bit of instant karma. As the Hubby was pulling into the gas pump area of the rest area, a BMW whipped around us to beat us to the open pump. Both pumps were open, so the driver pilled through to a pump that was out of service. Fortunately, the pump we pulled into was still in service. Needless to say, it gave us all quite the chuckle.

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Made It

We made it to the weekend. Thank God. Except nothing really changes for me since I’m working. The Mayor has two games today and the Goalielocks has two tomorrow. Tomorrow will be the first time I can see his team place since Labor Day. It will be nice to spend a day with the family even if it’s in Orlando.

The week has been an ass kicker for several reasons, but work has gone well which is awesome sauce. That’s about the only thing that has gone well. As always, the highlight of my week is Jake’s call home. He looks good and sounds good. I can’t wait to visit him once busy season is done.

This morning’s drive to Dunkin is was sponsored by Carrie Underwood.

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Thursday Pick Me Up

I got my weekly Thursday pick me up with a call home from Jake. It’s so good to hear his voice and see his face. Thankfully, he looks good and he sounds good. I’m counting days until we can visit him again out West. It’s hard to put into words how proud we are of him and all that he has accomplished.

My Thursday pick me up, aka cal from Jake, has become the highlight of my week. It’s a sure way to put a big smile on my face. Today he was also able to speak with my sales associates Athena and Anakin, which Athena appreciated. Thankfully, my boss is really accommodating, even during busy season, so I can take my break when he calls.

Speaking of my sales associates, Athena is obsessed with hanging out in our room. Even now, with the lights off and everyone else hanging in the family room, the Piggie is chilling in our room. Cleary, she’s living her best life in her new sanctuary. I tried to coax her out, but she gave me her stubborn growl to say she wasn’t moving. However, I’m sure once she hears her food being poured she’ll come out quickly.

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Beautiful Weather

Beautiful weather has been here for the last several days. The humidity is lows and the temperature is just right. This is the weather I wait for every year. Of course, what kind of Minnesota would I be if I didn’t talk about the weather. Naturally, my Florida is much better than the weather in Minnesota where they saw snow this week. I definitely don’t miss winter.

The dogs are also enjoying the beautiful weather. Mostly because I love being outside, which means they get to play around. Instead of the quick in and out of summer, I’ve been letting them hangout outside for a bit. This has been a great way to break up my day since I haven’t been taking a lunch break during AEP. After our outdoor adventures, we all go back to work. After all, they’re my sales support staff.

Unfortunately, my brother’s dog Diego passed away this morning. It made me think of how much our puppies and our family’s puppies shape our world. For my boys, my brother’s dogs Oliver and Shelby were the first dogs they spent a lot of time with. Their Grandma Sandy had dogs, the legends Pepper and Pronto, but they were pretty young when they were still around. Nevertheless, these sweet puppies have colored the pages of our collective memories. It’s incredibly hard to let them go because Maya, Shelby and Diego were the best.

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Grind

Today was a grind, but hey would it be Monday if it wasn’t a grind?!? I worked a twelve hour shift, so I could hit both my production and less goals. Fortunately, I got to be where I wanted to be, but it literally took until my last call. If I hadn’t close that call, who know how long I would have ended up working.

Today was an emotional grind as well. My older brother’s sweet dog Diego is dying. He caught some type of infection and it spread to his heart. This year has been absolutely devastating for our family and our dogs. Please keep their sweet puppy and their family in your prayers as Diego transitions. Honestly, it’s a total gut punch for all of us.

Speaking of grind, my left shoulder has been killing me. I haven’t lost any range of motion, but it’s awfully noisy know when I lift my arm. I’m not sure if I hurt it lifting or if it’s from sleeping on my side. Nevertheless, the pain has been horrendous and my entire arm is quite uncomfortable. If it doesn’t get better soon, I’m gonna have to get it checked out. Such as life at Level 41.

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Day Off

It’s my first day off in over two weeks. I’ve been so busy with work that I gave myself that last two nights off from the blog. Also, I haven’t had much to say. Work is going super well, but it’s all consuming. Fortunately, I’ve taken the lessons learned from last year and implemented them this year. Consequently, I work out before any shift and my production is more than double last year’s.

Nonetheless, it’s a bit isolating. I don’t leave the house ever, even my coffee is delivered. My social life has become my puppies. Obviously, they’re the best sales support staff I’ve ever worked with. Unfortunately, the hockey schedule hasn’t been great this year either. I’m missing a lot more games this year than I did last year.

I enjoyed my day off by finishing Maid on Netflix, cleaning around the house, binged the Great British Bake Off and baking. I started some brioche, which I’ll finish tomorrow after it rises for 24 hours. This evening, I baked some lasagna for dinner. Truly, this lasagna has been my favorite food since I was a little kid. My great grandma, my grandma and my mom all made it. Now, it’s my turn.

Anyway, it’s just after 7:00 pm and I’m ready for bed. Clearly, I’m adjusting well to the end daylights savings time. Or perhaps, it’s just that I’m utterly exhausted emotionally, mentally and physically. Needless to say, I’ll be in bed early again tonight. Hopefully, I’ll adjust to the time change some time soon.

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Great Day

Today was a great day. I love seeing all the love our veterans got on social media today. These men and women wrote a blank check to our country to protect our freedoms. Moreover, they paved the way for those serve today. I’m forever grateful for their sacrifice and proud to be a Blue Star mom.

We dedicated a wall to our family members that have served. Obviously, Jake is the centerpiece. I’m still waiting to finish it. At this point, I still need the pictures of the Hubby’s dad, brother, stepdad and grandfathers. Once they’re up on the wall, the collection will be complete. It is going to look awesome once it’s done.

The best part of my great day was the call from Jake. Since his schedule has changed a bit, we know have our weekly call on Thursdays instead of Sundays. It’s something to look forward to on Friday eve. Also, it’s a signal that Friday is almost here. What could be bad about that?!?! Nada my friend. I’m finishing my great day with some Panthers and Wild hockey.