Pieces of the Pattons

Christopher Robin: I've cracked. Winnie The Pooh: Oh, I don't see any cracks. A few wrinkles, maybe. 2018 has definitely added some wrinkles for me. Anyone who knows me well knows relating my life to a Disney movie would be what I would do. A week ago today, it was my 44th birthday. It was the last Sunday before my oldest son left for college. It was the last Sunday I would see my Dad having normal, effortless conversations, the best he could in his state of health. It was the day I saw a Disney movie I had greatly anticipated since Ashley showed me the movie trailer months ago. And that movie was the movie that best fit last week. Our Sunday began at church followed by a visit to Rolling Hills to see my mom on my birthday. Fortunately, Keith and Linda had taken Dad out to see Mom so they were all there too. It's always nicer to have more people together so I really was glad to have my parents at the same place on my birthday. They haven't seen each other much si...

This was from July 23 and I never hit publish... The summer continues with lots of Mexican restaurant stops and Emily has been taking notes on them but not keeping up with blogging about them as much as she is eating. Today wasn’t a taco day as she and I tagged along with the boys and their friends to Worlds of Fun. The kids all have a season pass because they usually make so many group trips each summer, so it’s cheaper that way. But this summer, none of us have been here a single time yet. So when Andrew started organizing a group with Zach as the driver, I crashed their teenage party. But the great thing about my boys is they didn’t seem to care a bit. I had thought I’d keep Emily and completely separate while we were here, but that plan changed too. While they are riding Boomerang and Mamba and who knows what else, I’m waiting for a phone call from my sister-in-law for a meeting with Hospice for my dad. Meetings about Mom have been endless since January when her brain tumor was f...