Well...

happy new year kids! i cannot believe i have been lax in my blogging. well, first, christmas was lovely, well, it was fine anyway. stressful because i help mom and we both do so much work- more mom than me of course however, still a little hectic. i had a relaxing and enjoyable week off, and then of course--- new years eve. violently ill, and barely able to move. i went to my mom's anyway just for a few hours. i couldn't have a happy new year without my parents. unfortunately, the fun had to end and i had to go back to work- boo, hiss!

the biggest thing that was/is this month is my dad's 60th birthday! this is a huge day. it means a lot to me that i have my dad, let alone have my dad to 60. my grandfather, my dad's dad, died when i was 1, when my dad was 29 years old, and he was 58 years old. i still don't really know how it affected my dad, but when i think about the fact that my dad is 60! i feel super lucky. RB's dad died when RB was 29, and he was 58 years old, which is just another reason to feel super lucky. dad was not happy about turning 60, he was feeling old, and unhappy about his age, but i kept trying to remind him that it was great to be 60, i was happy he was 60 and he is nothing like a regular-everyday-run-of-the-mill 60 year old man.

i finally had enough with my dad feeling down on himself. so i shared an unfortunate story with him: last monday while at work it was reported that a lovely, sweet, and caring paraprofessional who was nothing short of wonderful, had gone into the hospital for a routine heart surgery. with any surgery there are risks, and she continued with her surgery. after 7 hours, doctors attempted to wake her up, while coming out of anesthesia her organs began shutting down one by one, and she passed away. she left behind her 3 kids, and her loving husband. she was 42 years old.

although it was sad, and truly heartbreaking, i think my point came across. dad stopped, at the very least, complaining to me.

dad and mom often have this conversation about "what do you want to accomplish before you die or get old" kinda thing. usually, mom says things like, a doctorate degree, travel, etc. dad on the other hand, a man who has already accomplished more in a day than some do in a year. dad's thing on his list-- be able to do a back flip. a back flip! so, what does one do when they want to accomplish such a thing? register for gymnastics classes and hide it from everyone. he is currently practicing 1-2 times a week, working on the very least, a back handspring. the. man. is. nuts. but i love him. i'll let you know how the back flip goes... just picture it though, it's hilarious but yet pretty amazing!