Great news about Terri. I have learned to love pink as well as not complaining about having another birthday....at least I am here to have another birthday! Saturday I did my 3rd Relay for Life walk.....with my daughter and granddaughter with me. The first lap is for survivors and the second lap is for survivors and their care givers. Lots of sniffling going on for those 2 laps. If Terri has Relays in her area encourage her to go....each year I attend is a greatful year. I bared my head as soon as I felt comfortable doing so....when I flung the wig I never looked back to see where it landed! Because of my job I was forced to "cover my head" longer than I would have liked to....but thats OK cause it's all back and now I complain about how often I have to get a hair cut. I will keep Terri in my prayers as it takes a good while for life to get back to normal.

Hi all, I read your posts last night, but I wasn't up to posting a reply. The earliest I've arrived home from work this week has been 7:00 and then there's dinner and cleanup and chores and stuff. Like all of you don't already know how the days go. :-) All of you continue to amaze me with what you do day in and day out. Anyways, yesterday I took the fruit and lime soda water to this dear woman, but she wasn't interested. She was in pretty bad shape. We talked for a few minutes and then she fell asleep. I tucked her in and left. I didn't visit today, cuz I had a bunch of errands to run after work, but one of the co-workers went to see her. She was much better. She ate some fruit and she felt well enough that the co-worker helped her outside and they sat in her yard so she could enjoy the sun and fresh air. She liked that. We're realizing that the time spent with her has to be spent at her pace not ours. It's ok if we were hoping to spend time stamping (just an example) and she's not up to it. This is her journey and we'll take each day as it comes. The Home Health people arrived today and did an assessment. They'll send a health care person twice a week to help out. The local hospice organization called back; they're re-organzing but will get someone out to help the family as soon as they can. We're in a very small rural community so services aren't as available or as efficient as in larger communities. Another bit of good news. As I was leaving last night, her daughter and grand daughter showed up. The daughter came to cook dinner and tidy up the house and the grand daughter spent time with her grandmother. It's not easy for the grand daughter; she's only 14. The grandson who will be graduating next week is a wonderful young man and has always been very close to this dear lady, but so far is staying away cuz he can't stand to see her in her present condition. That's ok too...people deal with things in their own way. We're hoping he'll find the strength to visit soon so that he doesn't regret staying away and end up sorry that he didn't get to say 'goodbye'. Derry, I hear what you mean about 'fizzling'. We don't want a spurt of overly enthusiastic helpers to not see this through, so we're organizing so that there aren't a bunch of people one day and none for the long haul. We're trying to coordinate our time so that it evens out and no one feels overwhelmed. So far, so good. One day at a time. Thank you again for all your wonderful advice and kindness. It means a lot. :-) edwinna

First, it seems you have far more of a need of a relationship with him than he needs with you. Could that be part of the problem? No offense, but some have to be "popular" with everyone and possibly this is what's troubling him. You tried to be a bigger person by offering help, but perhaps the attitude of "bigger person" is coming across in a way you didn't intend. Maybe you're coming across as he's not doing his job, not doing it to your standards or something? You say you're a strong personality and perhaps you're not coming across as kind as you intend. Are you coming across like you're trying to boss him around? Very possible. Again, no offense, but can you live with a situation where you're not loved by all your coworkers? I'm sure you're intentions are good, but sometimes the delivery is bad. I'll admit, when I read that you tried to be the bigger person and do things, it really came across as arrogant to me. I suspect this is part of the issue. Going to the boss because someone won't talk to you is pretty petty to me. I haven't really seen anything causing trouble in the workplace. Perhaps his remarks are because you're trying too hard? Maybe he's bothered by that. Why not try giving the guy some breathing room? A friendship might develop or might not. But at least if you back off a bit, maybe it will solve the problem. Since you don't know what's going on in his life, you don't know his intentions, but you're definitely coming across here in a noncompassionate way to me. Perhaps he's having tough times? Family issues? Financial problems? To have someone at work putting pressure on doesn't help. Give him a break. The other option is whether there's someone who knows you both that you could ask if they have any idea. But the problem is whether they would tell you or not. Perhaps he's confided and they'd feel a duty to not spread it out. I think it'd be nearly childish to run to the bosses over what has been said so far. Would certainly make you look like Mommy/Daddy, Jimmy isn't being NICE to me! And would only cause more tension in the workplace for everyone. Sometimes less said is better. Especially when there's the tension there clearly is.

Well, they came at lunch but did not take very much. They wanted to go to the garage first, and I gave them some plates and bowls that were overflow and do not fit into the kitchen or dining room. He took three dinner plates, three salad plates, and two dessert bowls plus two small mixing bowls. I also gave him some pans that were there, plus two 9x9" square glass Pyrex pans that I had forgotten I had. Since I never ever use those, they were just taking up space. I prefer to use my Corningware pans instead, since they have lids, and they are the same size except that they are a bit deeper, which is better. Before they left, I gave him some microfiber cloths, which Lee had introduced me to. I had bought a huge supply at Home Depot when they were on clearance sale and had more than I could easily store. I told him he needed them. They were supposed to take two quartz trivets that I got from the quartz mfg when I had my countertops installed, but they forgot to take them. Those are also just taking up space. I can take those to work to drop off, however. I was hoping they would take my Cuisinart ice cream machine, since I never use that any more, now that I have a compressor ice cream machine. I think they could have gotten everything they took at a thrift store, but I think perhaps they do not shop at thrift stores.