10 (5) on Tuesday - The RIP Edition

I am dedicating this 10 on Tuesday to those who have passed on.

I have found myself crying a bit yesterday and quite a bit today as I prepare a condolence package to mail. The mother of an old friend of mine passed away last week from cancer. I only reconnected with this high school friend over the past year or so but I feel this death more than I expected so here it goes...

(I apologize ahead of time for the downer theme)

1. To Miss Georgia (the mom mentioned above) - Much like my own mom, she was always around in high school. 1 of a team of moms helping us do everything and get everything the most out of our high school years, in a good way. She always had a smile to share and even after years of not seeing her, a huge hug to share. I was blessed to see her last fall/summer? looking well and enjoying time with her beautiful grandchildren. May her family find peace and keep warm memories.
2. Which reminds me of Andy's mom and that's probably why I'm crying. I think what makes me the saddest is knowing that my kids didn't get quite enough time with her. They remember her but her memories will fade. Which brings me to...
3. While sad, I am so wonderfully grateful more each year for my own parents. I love seeing the adoration in my kids eyes in regards to their grandparents.
4. It seems every time someone passes I think back on my own grandparents who have all passed on, the last one 15 years ago. I cannot believe it has been that long. I still get tears every once in awhile over that. I wish they could have stayed around longer.
5. That also makes me grateful to be an adopted granddaughter to Andy's 3 living grandparents. They have truly treated me as one of their own and it is a lovely feeling.

So with that, I end this - I figure with such a heavy subject, 1/2 of 10 is better than a full 10.

I wish love, hugs, happy memories and peace to anyone who has lost a love one both recently or years ago. It is character building for better or worse and each loss becomes a part of you and travels with you.

Much love. S

March Madness 2010

It's that time of year again. Last weekend, all 4 of us created brackets, even Will. I'm not able to post a scan of the full brackets but I will list our Final 4 picks. (Also, the brackets are all marked up from the 1st round.)

Will's picks:

Final 4 - Georgetown, Morgan State, North Texas and Siena

with Georgetown taking on Morgan State for the win.

(Poor Will has already lost all 4!)

His strategy, as far as I could tell, was to pick teams with names or full names over states. North Texas was the only one that slipped through. His choice of Georgetown was a no brainer since his favorite animal to sleep with is George the monkey. He was a big fan of Sam Houston and Murray State too.

Sarah's picks:

Final 4 - Maryland, Montana, Florida and St. Mary's

with Montana taking on Florida for the win.

(Her final is already gone but oh well!)

Her strategy - I have no clue. She picked places she knew - San Diego, California and after that, I have no idea.

Andy's picks:

Final 4 - Maryland, Kentucky, Syracuse and Texas A&M

with Texas A&M taking on Maryland for the win.

His strategy - Some upsets, some obvious winners by their rank numbers, and loyalty to places we have lived before, hence his final 2.

My picks:

Final 4 - Maryland, New Mexico, Duke and Kansas State

with Maryland fighting Duke for the win.

My strategy - More upsets than Andy, leaning toward the underdogs and some loyalty to Maryland who won the whole thing while were living out East (many years ago!).

And.... who is in the lead after Round 1??? That would be me. YAY! We'll let you know how it goes. For now, I'm the most obsessed with checking the scores.

Also - I know I'm way behind in blogging so I'll try to fix that this week.