Remembering a Brother, Lost

It's a bittersweet day for me.

I'm an only child but for the first 21 years of my life, I had a pseudo sibling. I've written before about this faux brother of mine who was really a third cousin. He couldn't have been a better brother though if the mother had birthed him herself.

Steve was amazing. He was funny and sweet and just a genuine good guy. All that in spite of the less than stellar deck he was dealt. A diagnosis of chronic nephritis as age 7 after one kidney stopped working and the other all but did the same. He would recover -- miraculously -- after being given just two weeks to live. (He's actually written up in medical journals.)

But, every day of his life for the next 15 years was a huge struggle. And he bore it better than anyone should ever be expected to.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of him, and none more so than this week every year. Today is the anniversary of his birth. Next week is the anniversary of his death.

He really was one of the best people I've ever known. Happy birthday, cuz. Know that you are loved and missed always.

Blogger is Back!

Well, whaddya know? Blogger is working again! (I've tried to post a few times recently and had major issues.)

Things are good for know. They've been busy (which is always good) but is largely responsible for why I've not posted much lately. It's 55 degrees outside. The sun is just now starting to go down but it has been out all day. Hard to believe that we are going to be under a winter storm warning in a few hours. We could get up to 10 inches of snow. BOO! HISS!

The good news is that we have everything we need and don't have to be anywhere. (At least not until Monday morning. And that's gonna suck!)

Hope everything is good with all of you. Here's a summary of what's up with me.

• I'm still battling a sinus infection. (In my second week of 3 on antibiotics). The mother has done something to her neck/shoulder and has been miserable the past few days. She is coughing, too, and once we get going, it sounds like a TB ward around here!
• I've been traveling again for work. Been to Dallas twice and would have gone again next month but it appears I'm off the hook for that one. I'm enjoying it though.
• I got my introduction to Downton Abbey. Love it! I made it through the first two episodes of Season 2. I'm trying to savor it but it's difficult. I know I have a whole season after this one, but there won't be any more of it until NEXT YEAR! :(
• If we can get a weekend where either the mother or I aren't sick OR I can get a good enough schedule from one of my key clients so that I can schedule a few days off ... we might actually get something else done around the house!

Catching Up

A while back, faithful follower Karen Anne issued yet another of her “speak to us” requests. At the time, I fully intended to honor that request. Life, however, got in the way.

This year is off to something of a raucous start with a multitude of things both good and bad going on. If the first quarter of the year though is setting the tenor for all of 2013, it should go down as a reasonably good year.

In the interest of bringing you up to speed and to getting me back on track, I’ll try to share a series of brief updates, some that even have pictures. Overall though, they don’t have much to do with the house. We’re back to the occasional trickle where the house is concerned. That’s something I hope to rectify in the not too distant future.

Patience, my friends. Patience.