Thanks so much for the kind words. I appreciate them more than I can possibly express. We just returned from visiting with my grandparents - Grannie is in the hospice wing and Grandaddy is still in their room in the nursing home portion of the facility, so we spent a little time with each of them. It's heartbreaking to see my grandmother looking - well, just positively skeletal is about the only way to accurately describe her physical appearance now - but she still has that old familiar light in her blue eyes. She still calls me "sugar" and asks my husband "what's new?". Today she said she sure would like to have a Dr. Pepper, and when I asked her when she was born (1917), I told her that the years have gone by so quickly and made the brilliant observation that "time flies." Never one to miss a beat, she came right back to me with, "when you're having fun." Bless her. It's so painful to see her this way, but I am very much aware of how fortunate my family is that we have this time with her. We are truly among the lucky ones. At 96 years old, Grandaddy is still relatively spry (he still attempts to work the daily crosswords although admits that there are now some new pop culture and technological references in the puzzles that make it impossible for him to complete the entire thing). We got him to talking about trips he and Grannie took to Rome, Paris, and Copenhagen. You can tell when his mental wheels are turning; it's like in his mind he's revisiting those places all over again. Now I'm in my pajamas and having a glass of wine, and there's pretty much nowhere else I'd rather be than home.

This is kind of going along the same lines, although a little different...my mom is an alcoholic. She is incredibly smart & accomplished ( has two Masters degrees, etc.) and was a wonderful SAHM to us. BUT--she became depressed when I was about 9-10 and my brother was 5. She started intense psycho-therapy and her psych. gave her Valium. (WHY you would give a depressed person valium is beyond me.) Anyway, then she started abusing it and started drinking, as well. My dad played the classic codependant DH for years---threw her meds away, took car keys, etc. She drank off and on until I was 21. In those years, there were periods of a year or even two where she stayed sober. But when she drank--she was a binge drinker. She would chug a bottle of vodka and pass out on the floor for days. My dad just muddled along, trying to take care of me and my brother, and keep the family going. I grew up in a privileged family with private schools, vacations, summer camps, and plenty of material things---but the shame was almost greater than because we were "supposed" to have this perfect family on the outisde and that was not true! I lived with a lot of secrets, even from my own grandparents. My mom's disease took off when I was in HS. By then, she was in and out of rehab centers all over the country. My parents separated when I was 16--got back together when I was 17--then divorced when I was 18. In that time frame, I saw my mom rushed to the hospital many times, was told by our family counselor that she might die, etc. She missed my May Day at school (biiiig deal for senior girls!) and my prom and a bunch of other things. I went off to college without seeing her because she was in rehab. :( IT SUCKED. I have a lot of hurt and sadness over it. But---she now has 8 years sober! She is recovering one day at a time. She goes to AA several times a week, works a program and has for the last 8 yrs. She is a FABULOUS grandma to my DD. I mean, THE BEST. She is super involved---adores my DD--and she is pretty darn great w/SS, too! But she & DD have a special relationship. A few yrs ago, my mom made her ammends to me. and she said that she was so sorry for all she had done/not done when I was growing up. She said she knew she couldn't make up for it. But she said that in one small way she could make up for it a bit by being a great grandma to MY daughter. And I know what she means. My DD is very blessed to have my mom as a grandma. So---this is maybe something your DH could do, if he feels he didn't do the best he could have with SD and SS. He could be the best grandpa he can be to his grandkids. AND I know his relationship is strained w/SS for good reason, but I bet he could improve things with SD--maybe he could take her to lunch once a month? Or call her just to say hi. Little things like that can not make up, but can certainly mend fences...

Sherry , love your image . the contrasting color of the daylily against the purple/mauve Rose of Sharon is sooooooo beautifu . Olfactory Evidence really sparkles against the purple and green . Yup , I love it

Nice to see a first bloom this time of year. The NOID is pretty and no idea what it could be. I like the bloom on your Rose Of Sharon bush. Do you remember the name of it? Mine have been blooming for a couple of weeks now. They are the typical purple ones. Julia