The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

I've been away. It's been far too long. It would sound like I'm bragging to say that I went to Mexico on a trip with a friend, and had an anniversary getaway with my husband in beautiful Asheville, NC. But here are the things that have happened during the last two weeks, as well.

1) My husband's father is in the ICU and we had to go see him in Florida, where he was not conscious and the prognosis is not great.

2) On the drive down, we were notified that my husband's grandmother (his father's mother) had died. 

3) We had to then go from the ICU in one Florida town, to planning and attending a funeral, and closing out the affairs of his grandmother in another Florida town.

4) We found out a family friend died the same day in a freak mountain biking accident.

5) We got a call from the tenants of our rental house that the washer overflowed and flooded that basement. The floors need to be replaced.

6) The air conditioning at our home broke. It's August.

7) My husband just came home with a bleeding head wound and drove himself to the ER to get stitches. I almost passed out. 

I am comforted by the fact that some moments are refreshing and lovely like the pictured watermelon cocktail lined with Pop Rocks. I am comforted by all the food that the old ladies from his grandmother's church lovingly provided to us, his family. I am comforted by the coral reefs I saw in Mexico and the beauty of the world at the top of Mount Mitchell, the highest peak in the Eastern United States (my husband made me do the 12-mile steep hike). 

There are some times when there will be a lot of crap. But there will always be a lot of beauty.

I must now go fan myself. Partly because of the hotness of my house, partly because of my husband's head wound.