Sometimes it takes me a MACK truck to wake up to all that is going on around me and to my friends.  Last week started out as a good week, until Tuesday when I let an old boss get the best of me.  However, I stood my ground and emailed him as well as several others stating that I did not appreciate how he treated me and I felt that he was wrong in doing so.  Turns out, I was right.  Not that I wanted to win because accusations, assumptions, and other factors always seem to cause nothing but trouble.  I am proud for the way I dealt with this individual, whom I refer to as "The Lord of the Flies" on my FLICKR site.  In this case, the flies weren't attracted to honey but something much more offending. 

Last week was the second week in a row that I had to deal with a jerk and there better not be a third week. 

While I was dealing with this situation and others that cropped up during the week, I missed some important events.  Deni's poor kitties had to be put down due to a rabid raccoon and she herself is undergoing the shots in case her sweet kitty, Noodles, was infected by the raccoon.  I know these kitties were more than pets - they were her babies and my heart breaks for her.  Monica is taking a break from blogging because of her son may be battling lymphoma for the second time.  She needs to focus on him and getting him well.  Vickie's mom is in kidney failure and it is taking its toll on her.  Dawn is also having a hard time right now.  All are so special to me and I ask that you keep them in your thoughts.

I'm sure there's more going on and I don't want to exclude anyone but I have not been able to visit as I want to.  My point is that I seem to get buried in my own pile of sand while others are drowning around me.  My dad's his late twin sister's daughter got married on Friday and my parents asked me to drive them to South Salt Lake for the wedding luncheon.  I thought of all I had to do this weekend and actually hesitated before saying yes.  There were a dozen reasons for saying no but they were all selfish and I'm glad I made the right choice.

My cousin literally broke out in a sob when she saw my dad walk through the door of the restaurant.  She hugged him tightly and introduced Dad to her husband, proudly.  She's always felt closer to Dad than the other siblings, probably because of him being her mom's twin and the connection they had.  Dad misses his sister every day and I know it did him good to see Jeanette happy.  As I sat next to Dad, he was so happy, he was glowing.  Then it hit me.

All we need is love.  Love from family and friends. 

I knew it before, however, I obviously need to be reminded.  It's more than the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons when I take notice of all I have to be grateful for, it's what I need to remember every minute of every day.  Focus on the beauty  and love in life... not the flies.

My dad is slowly disappearing and I feel so helpless because I am unable to fight for him.  Parkinson's disease is taking him away from us.  He has good days but lately, it seems as if it's more bad days.  Yesterday, he couldn't remember my name and it made him feel so bad and it made me feel bad too.  I hugged him and said, "Just call me Kammy as you always used to.  I liked it when you called me Kammy."  He laughed and hugged me back and as I pulled away, he had a tear in his eye.  All I can do is love him and tell him how much he means to me... which is the most important thing.  No one or anything can ever take away that love.