Giddy Up!

At the end of August I will be heading to a "Dude Ranch" in Wyoming. Another check on my bucket list. I am going with my hairdresser, who is young enough to be my daughter, and parties like I used to. Of course if she was my daughter she would not be joining me, she would be on restriction, but I digress.

For the preparation of this trip, I have been taking horseback riding lessons.

Now I used to ride. So what if it was 42 years ago, how much can change in 42 years?

When I did ride, it was "Western", now 42 years later, I'm riding "English". These are 2 totally different styles, with or without 42 years. From saddles to bridles everything is different. Have I mentioned how long it's been?

I've been taking lessons since May, every Tuesday morning at 7:00am. Now I don't just show up and climb on the horse. I curry brush, to loosen dirt. Soft brush to remove dirt, Clean all 4 hooves, to make sure there is no debris from a previous rider. All this usually takes about 15-35 minutes depending on whether or not my horse rolled around in the mud the night before Needless to say, you don't wear your favorite outfit, or anything white. Now I put on the the saddle pad, saddle, girth, and the bridle. This can take anywhere from 5-20 minutes, depending on how co-operative the horse is. It usually takes me the full 20 minutes.  After all this the lesson begins.......

Burial Done Right

For those of you who witnessed my father's ("The Colonel") funeral, you know that there is nothing more impressive than a full military honors funeral at Arlington National Cemetery.



My mother's was not quite all that, but it was 6 marines in full dress blues. The precision of "The Corps" is matched by none. They carried my mother's casket to the grave site in the proud manner that only a Marine can.
Father Jo-Jo gave the final blessing, and we all gave our own silent, personal goodbye, and followed it by placing a red rose on mom's casket.



Rest in Peace Mom.

The Never Ending Mourning Period

Jacqueline Marie Theresa Gunning

10/7/1926 - 7/10/2009

Mom came home from the hospital on Tuesday June 31st. The Last Rites were given to her on Saturday July 4th, and she held on for 6 more days, taking her final breath on Friday, July 10th. Kris finally reached me ( I was getting my hair done), I got someone to cover the shop, and then meet Kris and Donna at Barranco's Funeral Home. All the arrangement were made, the only glitch in the entire process was Arlington.
The absolute only thing that I can find wrong with being buried among some of the most renowned, is timing. You work with Arlington's schedule, not mom's. At first Arlington gave us a date in August. WHOA!! Wait a minute. Thanks to Donna offering a priest from her parish to be there to give the final blessing, it moved us up to July 21st date. That is still 11 days after mom's death, but it wasn't August. Once we had a burial date we scheduled everything to coincide. Viewing at Barranco's Sunday July 19th, Mass on Monday at Our Lady of the Fields and the Burial at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday.

No Words

I usually like for my posts to be funny and upbeat, but unfortunately life is not all sunshine and lollipops. With mom's health, or lack there of, there has not been a whole lot of upbeat going around.
Last Saturday a priest from Donna, Brian's, and (for a short while) Mom's parish came to the house to preform "Anointing of the Sick" over mom. Kathy came up from Louisville, and we all gathered in mom's room for the ceremony. Afterwards we all talked about some of the details of the inevitable. All in all it was a pretty down day.
Donna has been sending out updates of mom's state of being after the hospice worker has come in. I think Donna missed her calling. She has done more than most would do, and it's really been a blessing knowing she is there.
Kris and I will head over after work tonight to see if there is anything we can do. Unfortunately with the drugs they have her on, she is incoherent. She is generally sleeping and really all any of us can do is hope for a peaceful passing. It is very sad to see mom in such a state. She has lost so much weight, and is so weak. It truly is heart breaking.