Meet the Parents Plus

It has been a very busy past few days!

My assessment with the BEAUTY program went fairly well. I haven't lost any ground in strength or flexibility. Aerobic capacity was different however. I was stopped at just after the nine minute mark when they added an incline. My heartrate went over the calculated maximum for me. Combine that with the water retention I have been experiencing and it will be interesting to see what the MUGA scan to test my heart function shows on January 7th.

Thursday found me trying to get some baking done, my ambition was greater than my energy level but I did manage to get a little baking put away. The highlight of Thursday was being able to hold Gayle's grandson Lucas who had arrived from Wisconsin the evening before with his parents. What a beautiful baby!

Friday morning was spent at work, attending the team meeting where my manager showed pictures from his trip to southeast Asia in November. What a surprise to see Xin's beautiful smile in his photos from Shanghai, China. Xin is one of our old teammates, she and her husband have gone back to China for her husband's job for a few years. They showed Mike around Shanghai while he was there. I have missed her smile and her wonderful laugh. Mike was smart enough to have Xin pick out his gifts for all of us while he was there.

A highlight of my morning at work was when Lidija and her young daughter Sara came up to my old desk where I was sitting. They had a Christmas bag that they handed me. Inside the bag was a card from Lidija, her husband and Sara and Sara had added a penguin that is part of her trademark signature. Inside the bag was a beautiful multi-colored scarf that Sara and Lidija had made for me. A beautiful scarf that I promise to add a picture of, very impressive to me that someone of Sara's age was able to accomplish the majority of the work on it and even more impressive that she would want to do this for me.

After the meeting we went for a buffet lunch and exchanged our Secret Santa gifts and received Mike's gifts. Great morning with everyone!

I didn't have much more in me for the rest of the day, use it or lose it doesn't seem to apply to me at the moment. It is more a situation of 'use it wisely'. It was all worth it, though.

If Rod wasn't already my hero, he certainly is after last evening and today. I drove Kenny to his hockey game in the evening and when I returned home Rod had just gotten there. It was close to 8 p.m. and he needed to be at the game so we quickly caught up with each other and what needed to be done prior to our Christmas brunch this morning. I went to bed after he left so I could get up at 5 a.m. with fresh energy. After the game and while I slept Rod was very busy tackling my 'to-do' list, so busy that when the alarm went off at 5 a.m. I was able to go back to bed for another hour and a half. :)

Rod and I set to work in the kitchen once we were up and soon Jordan and Celia joined us. If there's one thing I have finally learned in my working life it is how to delegate and I have transferred that skill into my personal life. Jordan and Celia were rapidly absorbed into the productivity of brunch making.

Before we knew it,  our 'granddog' Charlie was bursting into the house to greet us, followed by Caleb and Leisha and Leisha's sister and her parents. There were hugs all around with the explanation from Leisha's parents that they are 'hugging people'. That made them family and soon Diane, Leisha's Mom, was right beside me in the kitchen scrambling eggs while I finished up the waffles. Celia has earned a permanent place in Charlie's heart by providing him with a bone for his Christmas present. He provided the background noise throughout our time together as he chewed happily away at it.

Wonderful days! Wonderful people! Wonderfully blessed! :)

Take care, everyone.