Girlfriends...

I am trying a first . A whole blog post on my phone. I have time to kill as I am on the train headed to the windy city to see my dearest friends in the world, Tami, Tracy and Julie. We use to do spa dates when I was in Cleveland and they are all in Columbus. But now I have moved some 350 odd miles away and we have all grown up. Between us we have 11 kids ranging from 12 to 18 months. We all have been married over 10 years. We all were at each others weddings. I was in 2 of theirs. One of us survived cancer and then went on to achieve her Phd. One of us is a teacher and the other owns a business with her husband. We all survived MANY heartbreaks during the college days and we all were sorority sisters. Pi, Pi, A Dee Pi! We are all really good wives and mothers. We are all really good friends. We all have new friends but one thing will never change. Even when we are apart, for long stretches of time, we will always be friends. My wish for you is that you ALWAYS have a friend like that.

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.