Living with no regrets...

Do you try to live life with no regrets? Do you try to do things "right" the first time. I know that I do, but not always very successfully. I have gotten upset at Mr. Shook or my children at times when it really didn't matter all that much. I have said something that didn't come out the way that I meant it. I have allowed myself to not be spontaneous and then been disappointed in my reaction. But, I think it's learning from these regrets that makes me a better friend, wife and mother.

Lately I have been having some regrets on the last few months of my Grandpa's life. I know it's the way life works out - I lived 480 miles away from him, I have 3 kids under 7, my husband is busy at work and we couldn't get to Ohio nearly as often as we should have...you catch my drift. I hope that Grandpa knew how much we all loved him. I think he did but I wish I could have had one last chance to tell him. I wish I could have hugged him one last time. I wish I could have heard Bether once last time.

Mr. Shook, my brother, my sister-in-law and myself are moving my parents to Illinois after Thanksgiving. It really feels like a whole chapter of my life is going to end. We have been Buckeye's for a very long time! I know that I will still have many reasons to go there and visit but things will be different. I guess it will eventually be like driving past an old house you use to live in. It's always a part of you but it becomes less and less of a memory over time. That can be said about the house on Pleasant Street but that could also be due to how scary it looks now!

If you are reading this it's probably because you are a friend or you are my family. Thank you to each and every one of you for appreciating my quirks, my sometimes weird sense of humor and for just appreciating me.

Because you are important to me and I say that with no regrets.

This time last year...

Mike gets MLK Jr.'s Birthday off at work. I don't know why I didn't remember this but it was a pleasant surprise last week. I said to Mike I wonder what we did last year on this day. He said probably not much. I went on about my day and in the shower - where I get my best quiet time and do some deep thinking amongst the hot water - I realized that we were moving our stuff out of our Michigan house this weekend last year. How could we forget that??!! Hard to believe it's been a year since we sold that house and officially became members of the Land of Lincoln. What a relief that house sale was, too!

Yesterday we quietly celebrated by taking the kids to see The Princess and The Frog. I would be interested in hearing what other's thought about the movie. I left a little disappointed and not thrilled with some of the imagery. Why is it that EVERY Disney movie has to have a really sad moment and a kind of scary moment, too. Luckily the kids didn't think it was scary so maybe it was just their parents. The last thing we need is scary dreams from a rated G movie!