Sad

Friday was a sad day. Our next-door neighbor died suddenly of a massive heart attack. He was only 40 years old and has 9-year old twin daughters. I got a call at work from a mutual friend and was just in shock. All I could think about was the two little girls going off to school in the morning, and not seeing their dad again. We went to see his wife that evening and she said it was all too unreal. She said she didn't even know how to feel. I think that is the only thing that makes sense.

Then when I was home for lunch I got a call from a sister-in-law (R's brother's wife) who proceeded to let me know how angry she is with my husband. She said she sent out an e-mail to the six siblings (not us) telling them he had chewed her ass after she called him to ask if they could have two of the four extra cemetery plots his dad bought years ago. Her husband has been having health problems for the past month or two, and she decided he has ALS (she is a former nurse with an internet connection and way too much time on her hands). R told her she was welcome to the plots but maybe they should first get a diagnosis for his brother before they go plot shopping. He wasn't angry when he said it, just trying to put a little reason into the situation.

The phone call I got was to tell me she was done with my husband and his attitude. I told her we were a package deal and if that was what she wanted, she was done with me too. The funny thing is, R is the guy with the least attitude of most anyone we know. He's known for being calm and reasonable (I'm the one with the attitude in case that isn't clear by now). But there's no arguing with crazy, so I just had to hold it together and let it go. R did call her later and smoothed things over and an apology e-mail was sent from her to the siblings along with a doctored copy of her original e-mail that she sent to us at my request.

It was positively exhausting.

Then that night my friend from the old job called to tell me she had been given notice that her job would terminate at the end of December. She is the receptionist, and she is kind and helpful and tries really hard. It made me sad, but we both were expecting it so it wasn't a huge surprise. Not a great time to be job hunting, huh?

Thank goodness we had the g-kids today to bring some sunshine into our lives. The four-year old big brother woke up this morning and went to check on his sister who is two. He told her he was so glad she was awake and how much he loved her. Those words spoken in a four-year old voice repairs any heartache that a person might have.

I only work two days this week and then I'm off. Can't wait to get cooking and cleaning and also to celebrate our 32nd anniversary with my calm and reasonable husband. My neighbor's funeral is on our anniversary. It will make us appreciate what we have.