And The World Keeps Turning

Life is a funny thing.


While I'm mourning the loss of my grandmother, another friend is celebrating the news of a new baby. Yet another friend is worrying over her husband, who is undergoing surgery to repair a deviated septum. And yet another friend is excited by the prospect of a brand new book club.


A baby is conceived. A grandmother is lost. And the world continues to turn.


What struck me most about yesterday's events was the sense of finality and sadness interspersed with laughter, joke-telling, and merriment over our impromptu family reunion.


In keeping with our usual traditions, there may have been some fart jokes. There were embarrassing stories retold about cousins. Smack talk about our favorite sports teams. We all took delight in the newest, youngest generation.


There was a lot of hugging. Tears were shed, memories shared. Quiet moments of contemplation, hand squeezing, looks of understanding passed between family members. Someone talked about Nanny's cheddar biscuits. Another remembered her laugh.


Even as we left the grave site, we gathered for family pictures-commemorating the first time all the cousins and grand kids and aunts and uncles had been together in one place in several years. (And because Nanny would have wanted us to.)


Smiles, silly faces, and bunny ears ensued. (Which Nanny would have loved--except for the bunny ears. She was never fond of the bunny ears.)


As goodbyes were said and cars began to drive away, I looked over my shoulder toward the grave site. The world seemed to stop for a minute, and all went quiet around me.


There, surrounded by oceans of flowers, with the sounds of laughter in the air, were my Nanny and Paw, finally side by side after 10 long years. 


For the first time since Sunday, I took a deep breath, wiped away one last tear, and felt peace. Peace with her death, peace with his. And peace knowing they are together again.


At that moment, a shriek of laughter caught my attention. I looked around to see my 24-year-old brother being chased toward the cars by a laughing 8-year-old cousin. Everyone around them laughing, watching with anticipation to see if he would be tackled, then tickled.


And in that moment I felt my grandparents smile down on us. Because when it comes right down to it, I know they would've been laughing right alongside, telling the best stories, remembering events no one else would've thought of, sharing hugs and kisses and laughs right along with us.


Today I wait patiently to hear status updates on our friend's husband, who is having surgery. I share the joyous news of another friend's growing family. I send emails filled with book lists to another friend. And I think of my grandmother, and how she would have laughed at little Sammy chasing Adam through the parking lot.


And life goes on.

Thoughts for Thursday

Today is one of those days where I have more than one thing to say, but none of them are quite so complex that they require an entire blog. So...here are a few random thoughts for Thursday.
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Thought Number One:
Lo and behold, readers--my silly (whiny) video blog yesterday got us some linky love today! Thanks to our friend, Stephanie, at the Love Life Project, who included our blog in a list of "must reads" in her "Reader Grab Bag" post. Make sure you stop by and visit so you can check out the other awesome posts she listed!! But I was so touched by what she had to say I just had to quote her here:

"Abby's blog is filled with funny, lighthearted stories about her life, her husband (who's kind of a superhero and I think much of blogland is secretly in love with him) and her family. Yesterday's vlog was both funny and touching...weight loss is HARD. I empathize with her and send her all of my support."

How incredibly sweet is that?!? And I love that the hubs got shown some love, too. This will only inflate his ever growing ego some more because...


Thought Number Two:
...it is already getting to be the size of Texas! Why, you ask? Well, Brian got an email yesterday informing him that one of his professors recommended him for a coveted Student Coach position! If the interview goes well (and I'm sure it will because, let's face it, my husband is a Rock Star) he'll be spending some free time in the student center this semester, helping new nursing students make use of the many different resources the college has to offer!




My hubby---a TUTOR! I'm so proud I could scream! Speaking of screaming...


Thought Number Three:
...I'm thinking of getting a tattoo.


(Pause for reactions.)


Now, I've had some serious reactions to this particular thought, ranging from "That's so awesome, go for it!" to "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"


The funniest of the "don't do it" comments was left by a friend of the family on my Facebook page:

"Don't put a bumper sticker on a Bentley!"

*snort*


For those nay-sayers, let me assure you that I do not have plans to come home rockin' a face tattoo.

When taking the photo, I had originally intended to create a "Mike Tyson-esque" look. However, once faced with Photoshop, I realized I could have a more "Jem-like" face tattoo. So I went with Rock Star over Thug. I think it suits me. What?

Here's the thing. I've always secretly wanted a tattoo. Well, since college anyway. But I could never think of anything that would have significant meaning, and so I always talked myself out of it. I didn't want to just get a tattoo for the sake of getting a tattoo, I wanted whatever artwork I chose to have a deeper meaning.


A few months after Brian came home from life-saving surgery, the desire to get a tattoo came back full force. I never said anything to anyone, just kept it to myself. I knew Brian would have a daily reminder for the rest of his life to never take life for granted in the form of his 10 inch long surgical scar. I wanted something like that for myself--something permanent. Corporeal. Sentimental.


And so the idea of getting a tattoo resurfaced. And the design began to take shape in my mind. Something referencing our favorite "Love Expression." 

"I Love You To The Moon & Back."

This tattoo would be very small. Like, the size of a nickel. It would be something sweet and sentimental, like a crescent moon with a heart hanging from it. And it would be on the inside of my wrist. See?

It would be easily covered with a sleeve, watch or bracelet. It will most likely be solid black, no neon green or bright pink. Most importantly, it would be for ME. My own little reminder to stay present, grateful, thankful.


I'm hoping you'll have some comments and opinions of your own to share today, Abby Gabbers. And in doing so you may notice....


Thought Number Four:
...that I've disabled Disqus for future comments on my blog.


*GASP!* "We thought you LOVED Disqus, Abby!"


You're right. I did. But my husband made a very astute observation a few days ago.


B: It seems like ever since you added Disqus, your comments have dried up.
A: Grumble grumble something about wanting to be able to reply to individual comments gripe grumble.
B: Yea, I know you wanted to be able to reply, and that Blogger doesn't have that feature... 

(pause for moment to shoot daggers at Blogger via 

vicious, evil, she-devil looks)

B: (continued) ...but it's really complicated to comment via Disqus. I mean, you have to put in your name and your email and other personal info. Some people may not want to do that, you know? And so they just leave without saying anything about your posts.
A: *wheels turning...*
B: I mean, when it comes down to it, you added Disqus for YOU. Not for your READERS. Right?
A: *LIGHT BULB MOMENT!*


He's totally right. I did install Disqus to fulfill my needs. I never considered it might be less user-friendly than the original Blogger commenting system.


And so, with my husband's wisdom, paired with several emails over the past month from readers who either couldn't figure out Disqus in order to leave a comment, or had an issue with Disqus not working correctly, I'm back to the original comment form. I've still got Captcha diabled (Cuz that's a pain for everyone, too.) So I'm hoping that comments will pick up, since it's now less of a hassle for you to do so.


But don't worry. I will never delete my Disqus account entirely, because it stores all the wonderful comments you have made on past blogs. I can go back and revisit them anytime I want. And if I figure out how to upload them here, I will!


Doesn't that make you want to cheer? I'll tell you what else makes me want to cheer...


Fifth & Final Thought (At least for the purposes of this blog)
FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!
Finally!!! Football is right around the corner. My Carolina Panthers are back as of Saturday's pre-season game against the Giants! THAT makes me happy.

♥GO PANTHERS!!!!♥

Happy Thursday everyone!