Don't touch that dial

Only a few days until Christmas!
Just wanted to let you know Kathy is still alive and getting stronger every day!
Super busy right now, but will catch you all up as soon as we get a minute.
Haven't set a deadline for walking yet.
I'm told we shouldn't try that until she can stand on both legs first.
Maybe a New Years Resolution?
Since we used all our bad luck up this year, next year is going to be AWESOME!

send whiskey and fresh horses

It doesn't help that,
during this painful and ongoing process,
I am gone so much,
having to work.
Kathy is extremely bummed at me for being gone all the time.
She's right you know.
I haven't spent a full day just hanging with My Girl since I brought her home!
During the month after the accident I missed three weeks of getting jobs completed.
As soon as we came home the cold weather hit.
I was already buried at work from missing so much time away.
The heating/cooling business is not one to make people wait on you.
There are too many HVAC shops in this valley to expect people to wrap up a week or two until you get done with personal stuff.
That's a good way to lose customers!
So, here I am working like I never have in my life.
That's a good way to lose my wife!
I'm trying to grow this new business AND take care of My Girl!
Except, the most important part of taking care of Kathy is being here with her.
I can't win in either area without sacrificing the other.
Can't win completely anyway.
I keep asking for patience from Kathy in this, like she hasn't been so patient already, like days don't turn into weeks and months.
Her friends are tremendous in all the help they give me, but in Kathy's words, they can't babysit all the time.
It's not fair to ask.
It's also not fair that an Angel like Kathy is grounded (temporarily).
AND it's not fair that the success of my business competes directly with the success of my relationship.
I keep going back to what I've always told my boys growing up -
 "Whoever told you life was fair, lied to you."
I am well aware of this and have never complained about it or quit making it better.
I won't start now.
This is no time to be still.

cuz it's what Tiggers do best!

The ups and downs of Kathy's new life situation are taxing to be sure, however I'm not sure that there isn't a full recovery in this.
Try as she might, Kathy can't seem to convince me otherwise.
The helplessness, of waiting for time to heal, plays on Kathy's resolve.
It is counter intuitive for a person of action.
You'd think being in the medical field and knowing that time heals would make it easier for her to wait.

I think Kathy is like a rabbit.

Not just because she is cute and cuddly, but because a rabbit gets eaten by the big bad wolf if it stops running.
If she can't stop AND she can't run, what's a rabbit to do?
Kathy waits day in and day out, for her ability to run to return.
Watching her muscles fade as she hides out, feeling the big bad wolf creep closer and closer.
It must be a maddening kind of crazy.
Friendly faces can distract and make noises that drive the big bad wolf away, but friendly faces can't always be here.
Some days it's like tuning into a National Geographic show, where you can't bear to watch as the predator nears its weak and helpless prey.
So far those days keep surprising me with unexpected victories.
Like when a crocodile has a baby antelope in it's grasp, and suddenly it gets free and runs away to the safety of it's herd.

It is definitely a reflection of Kathy's inner strength.
The way she keeps rebounding. Keeps bouncing back from the abyss.
It will startle a few when Kathy bounces from where she is at and runs full speed to safety.
It will startle a few, maybe even herself, but not me.
I am still convinced she will.

sticky sweet, like molasses

Yeah.
The things I say to Kathy are pretty corny (as in corn syrup), but if you've been around us long, you know I don't stop, it isn't for show and it IS from my heart.
What can I say?
She keeps me inspired. It's not hard to be imaginative when I'm always trying to impress her.
Even if it didn't get her attention, I would still tell Kathy sweet things because I know it SHOULD get her attention!
Oh and that's not ALL I do to show her what she means to me.
I send her texts whenever she is at work, hide the occasional card, give her rub downs, call whe... HEY! If it has a chance of impressing her, I'M DOING IT!

I don't think this should get my Man Card pulled.

In my defense, what you should also know (Guys listen up), is that Kathy impresses ME all the time too!
She is so damn Cute and Sexy!
She shares my new adventures, I get my own rub downs, she makes great food, is classy without pretence, smart, empathetic, tough... I can go on and on!
Let me just say, I get LOTS and LOTS of jellybeans!
I don't think I'll ever get the gushing over this girl out of my system.

I hope I never do.

Guys, when you meet someone who makes YOU feel like Kathy makes ME feel,
you better not take any chances of her getting away!
Sweep her off her feet and don't ever stop getting her attention.

Unless it's Kathy and you should just move along.
Cuz she's MINE... and forever is a long time to wait!

WOW!

THANK YOU!
That's a gigantic "Thank You!" to so many of you who showed up last night!
It was more than we expected in so many ways!
I keep telling Kathy that this story of her life is just beginning.
You all are helping me prove that to her.
What a great way to recharge her damaged psyche, by stuffing Roscoe's full of people who love her!
Kathy was really nervous as we drove to Phoenix.
I tried to downplay expectations, as it was a Thursday night and only ten days before Christmas.
Seeing that there was no close parking available was the first surprise.

The shoulder to shoulder people, packed inside like sardines, who clapped and cheered as Kathy was wheeled in, made for such an overwhelming moment that my heart swelled for her!
It couldn't have been better! Everything about it exceeded expectations.
It was so so good for Kathy to see how many support her.

I feel like I should list everyone who was there and did so much, but this post would be a long and tedious read if I did.
I'll wait and do a separate post for that.
Mostly I want to say that we BOTH can't thank all of you enough, for the words of encouragement and love, the generosity, the great company and time out of your busy schedules.
Nobody wants to be forgotten.
You all showed Kathy that THAT will never happen!
THANK YOU!

truth or dare

Time for a secret.
We are all gullible in one way or another. (No, that isn't the secret).
It doesn't matter how educated we are, there is something that each one of us thinks that isn't the accepted norm.
Kathy is no exception to this.
She thinks some funny stuff!
Not just since, but even before the accident.
One of my favorites is that Kathy swears we hit HUMMING BIRDS when we drive!
It cracks me up!
She says they are so small and fast that we don't see them, but every now and then she hears one hit the windshield!
It stands to reason that we can't find them when we stop because, being so small, they would be flung far and would be hard to see in the grass.
Being a man, I thought it would be fun to tease Kathy about this idea.
One day I found a little bitty bird skeleton (probably a baby pigeon), stuck it in my truck grill, and pretended surprise as I "found" it!
Kathy couldn't believe it!
She was vindicated!
Here at last was proof!
Proof that we DO hit humming birds when we drive!
I had to act fast to keep Kathy from calling her friends (so my prank didn't last long).

Hey! I didn't make this up!
I wasn't mean about it!

Maybe I took advantage of her trust in me.
 If so, I figure I would fall for any trick she pulls on me.

Sunday, Monday, Happy Days...

I wonder...
How many of us would be happy to have reached our dream even if we couldn't hang on to it?
World champions in sports almost always come back to defend their title until they lose it for good.
Mountain climbers look for higher mountains until the highest is climbed.
Then what? Are they satisfied to have "been there done that"?
Or...
Do they feel a hollow place where their dream used to sit?

I tell Kathy that my dream is fulfilled, that SHE IS MY DREAM!
If ALL she was was JUST my dream, I could stop trying, my happiness assured.
(Cuz you can't take it away from me or pretend it never happened. Nyah nyah!)

Except my dream wasn't just to HAVE Kathy, it was, and still is,
to make her happy for the rest of her life.

Ouch. This dream just got complicated.

It's really hard to make someone happy if they don't want to be.
When you can't go back in time or take their pain away,
even Angels can only smile through tears for so long.
I have an imagination that never stops and a heart so full of my dream,
that it will never feel so hollow that my dream dies.

That means;
Kathy better hold on tight because HAPPY DAYS ARE COMING AGAIN!
(stating your objective is the first step in planning your dream)