Hiking and Halloween

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all doing well. I feel bad writing about how bad I feel because I don't want this blog to be doom and gloom. But, if I am being truthful to myself and to you, I have to tell you how I really feel. I think of Lauren all the time and miss her more than I could have ever imagined. I try and put on a happy face when I am with others, but the pain in my heart is so great. We finally moved Lauren's bed back up to her room last week. We re-arranged the living room and it looks so different. Wo's bed had been in the living room for over two years. She wanted it there so she wouldn't miss anything when she was not feeling well. She wanted to be with all of us all the time. Mark and I have been going through her room and boy, does she have a lot of stuff! We have already taken at least 8 bags and boxes of clothes and shoes to Goodwill. Wo loved to shop and was always looking for bargains. She has a mini store in her room with toiletries and makeup. She was such a crazy kid!

Mark and I have been trying to exercise every day either in the basement on the treadmill and bike or by walking outside. Saturday we went to Quail Hollow, a park in Hartville, which is a little town right next to ours. I wore a pair of hiking boots Mark had bought me for Christmas back in 2011 for the first time!! I enjoy walking through the woods and I really don't know why we don't walk there more often. It is very peaceful and beautiful.

My cute hiking boots that I have had for two years and wore for the first time on our hike.

My hiking buddy.

Ready to head off on our hike.

Thank you for your prayers concerning Mark and finding a new job. He has a few leads. We are hopeful things will turn out for the best.

I had breakfast with my friends yesterday at the Frontier Restaurant. We all had a good time as usual. Thanks to Dawn, Debbie, Chyrel, Ruth and Liz for making me laugh. You guys are the best.

Well, it is almost Halloween and our Trick-or-Treat is always on Halloween in our neighborhood. Lauren loved Halloween and she and Giovanni always passed out candy at our house. Mark and I will have to pass out candy on our own this year. Halloween is a special day to us because that is the day our Sis was born. She will be 31 this year! Wow, does that make me feel old. I will leave you with a sweet picture of Wo getting ready to go Trick-or-Treating when she was little.

Thanks for continuing to read my blog. Much love to all of you.

-Pam

 

Sweet, little Wo.

I Hope Things Turn Around Soon

Hi Everyone,

I'm really sorry that it has taken me so long to write a new post. I've been having a really hard time lately. See, I knew the bottom was going to fall out sooner or later. Oct. 9th was the four month anniversary of Wo's death and ever since then every day has been very difficult. I try so hard to stay positive and upbeat, but I just can't.

We also had another really bad surprise this week. Mark came home Monday in the middle of the day and said he lost his job. He was very surprised and dumbfounded as was I. That sent me over the edge into a deep, dark hole. We are survivors though, so I have faith Mark will find a new job and so will I. I quit my job in 2011 to be Wo's caretaker and haven't felt that I was healed enough to go back to work yet. How embarrassing would it be to bust out crying at work because something hurts my heart or reminds me of Lauren. It seems as if the pain of losing Wo is intensified now because we have lost our comfort of having stability. I just need to be strong like everyone else is when they lose a loved one.

Ok, enough depressing talk. My Mom and Dad took us on such a fun trip last weekend. We went to St. Clair, Michigan on the Jet Express. It was a four hour sight-seeing trip there and back. We traveled on Lake Erie, Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, and St. Clair River. We saw Detroit, which looked very gritty with steel mills on the river banks. We could see Michigan on one side of the rivers and Canada on the other side. Crazy!! St. Clair was very pretty and the water was much clearer up there. We had a delicious buffet lunch at the St. Clair Inn, a very old hotel. We walked on the boardwalk there and just enjoyed the lovely weather. The boat was a lot of fun. We chose to sit on the top deck and boy was it windy!! We lasted up there the whole trip except for about the last hour. The sun was setting and it got a little too chilly. Mark doesn't do to well on boats, but he got a prescription for Zofran which really helped. He was not tired from it and did not feel seasick at all. My sister, Linda, went with us too. She is always so much fun to be with. We got back to Port Clinton about 7:30, ordered a few pizzas, went back to my Mom and Dad's and crashed. We were all exhausted from the day. We went to the Tin Goose Diner at the Port Clinton Airport for breakfast on Sunday. My Dad and Mark had breakfast that featured chipped beef on toast. I guess when you are in the Army, they call it SOS. (Sh*t on a shingle) Haha!! Anyway, their breakfasts came on a metal tray like it would in the Army. I have pics of our trip and the breakfast that I will post.

I have always loved my family, but I have come to realize this year how much all of them mean to me and that is the world!! Nobody else loves you more than your family and nobody cares for you like your family. I am very blessed to be loved and cared for. If you think of it, please say a little prayer for Mark. He is a great husband and father and one of the hardest working people I know.

Thanks for all of your support. I will try to update more in the future. God bless.

Love,
-Pam

We just got on the boat and got great seats!

Lunch at the St. Clair Inn.

The Boardwalk at St. Clair, Michigan

The Bachman Family



Chillin' in the sun.

The Jet Express

Linda!!

 

What a gorgeous day we had!!!

Perfect sunset.

Mark's gigantic breakfast with his SOS!!


 

And a picture of our sweet Wo....





She was so happy to be shopping for her wedding gown.