Marilyn and sad news...

I made this card for my bank president b-i-l's 50th coming up. He's the one currently fighting the relapse of melanoma, and also my favorite in-law. So, I wanted to make him a memorable card.

The inside sentiment: "We figured that if Obama can be the next JFK, so can you, Dude, so can you. Plus, you're already a President!"

I have had this image of Marilyn for a while and printed her on smooth tagboard cardstock, on my laser printer because I'm just lazy that way. But I love how she came out.

If he's in a good mood when he gets it, he'll laugh his ass off.

That might not be the case though. Today, my father-in-law, Hub's Dad, passed away. It was the strangest day all around. I woke up to the chaos of the phone ringing and waking up Hubs since he had worked a graveyard the night before and was scheduled to work an overtime one tonight, trying to tell him the news and getting him to understand this really was reality.

He rushed off to his Mom's, and as I had a ton of stuff to prepare for mailings that I had commited to, stayed behind to join them... at some later time. So, I didn't finish up until 4:30. Drove to the P.O. and then decided on the spur of the moment to meet up with Hubs. I'd missed my shower the night before and was in raggedy clothes and less than stellar hair, but I refused to let that stop me.

Anyway, I am really glad I went right then as opposed to later that evening. Hubs was missing me, and his mom just clung to me for the longest. Hub's youngest sis is the one married to the bank pres, and he had just been released from the hospital for a few days before beginning his next round of treatments, so she wasn't able to come. The teacher sister was able to leave work to come over, so there was enough family around, and she stayed there overnight just in case Hub's mom needed someone.

Tomorrow, teacher sis, Hubs and their mom go to the funeral home with clothes and whatever else was on the list. I feel kind of bad for Hub's brother that irritates me, though. Yesterday was his birthday, so he's like got this memory scarring it from now on. I'm not upset with him so much anymore.

It's very strange when a loved one passes on that you know is going to, you just don't know when. He'd just finished his radiation treatments, and his heart just decided to quit. He was taking a nap in his recliner when he went. My dad would say, you can't get much luckier than that. Plus, my comfort is that he avoided all that long-drawn-out disease suffering from his Parkinsons and the cancer.

So, we await in limbo while the day for his funeral is decided and family arrives from other states. Missy has a wedding she is a brides maid in this weekend and may have to juggle things around if the funeral's Saturday. But we'll get things worked out.

Oh, and Lynn, too funny, I cannot believe I forgot to answer the bad habits on that tag quiz, but I had left that for last and then forgot. Still not into figuring out 3 of them since I have so many. LOLOL Sitting here now, all I can think of is how this year, 2008, may end up being a hard year for me, full of challenges and life changes. I've had to deal with a lot already, plus my chronic illness and being separated from Missy. I try to plug away though and keep on truckin'. My sense of humor not only comforts me, but it also helps me comfort others, as I did today. Not perfect, far from it. But, real.