Ok, I was going to write in here on a consistent and regular basis beginning January 1st! It didn't happen. That is because EVERYTHING has shifted. I don't think the earth is still rotating around the sun on the same axis as it was in December. Let me explain...

We have been planning a trip to Maui and Kauai for several months. My husband won a company contest to Kapalua on Maui. We decided to add a hop over to Kauai for a few days because it is our favorit island. Jim is a surfer and he has a favorite surf spot there. We were scheduled to leave on January 3rd, but on January 2nd he received a phone call, (a phone call?) telling him he was being transferred to Souther California!!! No, this is not optional. If we want a job, which we do, because he only has 18 months until he can retire, this is where we will be.

Needless to say, we had a lot of talking to do! And it worked out perfectly. We spent a lot of time together in the sun, discussing our options, making plans and figuring things out, between surf sessions, watching the golf tournament, shopping, snorkeling and eating! We came up with what we thought was a perfect plan.

With his raise and bonus which he is expecting in March, we would buy a small condo probably somewhere in Orange County, CA. He would work and stay there Monday through Thursday and fly home on Thursday nights. We would be together for a long weekend and he would fly back on Monday morning. The condo would be an investment and the kids and their families could come and stay for California vacations. Jim would enjoy living there because his good friend of 23 years, Wayne Seebold lives in Huntington Beach and they could surf and fish in the late afternoons and evenings.

We had a fabulous time in Hawaii and returned home early Sunday morning.

Late Sunday afternoon we received a phone call from a friend I haven't talked to for many years. She was calling to let us know that Wayne Seebold had died of a heart attack earlier that morning!!! Jim was shocked and devasted!!! He flew down to Orange County on Tuesday and I followed on Thursday. The whole thing was just so terribly sad.

Jim spoke at the funeral and did a great job. We say many people we hadn't seen since we lived in Huntington Beach 21 years ago. They had a "Paddle Out" which is what surfers do when "one of their own" dies. They all paddle out on their boards and form a circle. They have a prayer and one surfer starts it by going into the middle and talking about their thoughts, feelings and experiences about the person who has died. One after another takes turns. There can be singing or other things too, like throwing leis and flowers into the ocean.

It was such an emotional week that I am physically and emotionally drained. Jim is more so than I am.

But now, what do we do? Jim doesn't want to go to California and be all alone in a condo for four days a week, and I certainly don't want to move to Orange County! We just don't know what we are going to do at this point. Life can be so hard!

But, anyway, that is my explaination for not posting sooner. I will try to do better and I threaten myself by saying I will have to go back to hand writing in a journal if I don't keep this up.