What Can You Do In 63 Million Seconds?

As I set the keys down on the counter, I headed to the refrigerator for a bottle of 16 oz. water. I am cheap so it wasn't real bottled water, just refilled bottle water. I was wearing a blue GAP polo shirt and a pair of torn Levi's (I told you that I was cheap). Jen and I had just come back from the movies. As I approached the den, my mother-in-law said that I needed to call my mom and that my Grandmother had a stroke. Immediately following;

Brain: What did she just say?

Brain: Ask her to repeat what she just said.

Brain: Which Grandmother?

Brain: Why are there the sounds of train sirens in my head?

Brain: Ask her which Grandmother.

Brain: Someone, please stop the sirens.

Brain: SPEAK. TALK.

Actual conversation: silence.

I can count on two fingers actual nights that I have never slept a single minute. The first was when I was at A&M and completely unprepared for my Finance final. The second, Father's Day 2007.

So, Happy Father's Day to everyone.

Happy Stroke Day to Gramma. There are no cards for such an occasion although I can come up with a few just sitting here. Maybe having Micheal Phelps on the cover saying "Nice Stroke Recovery" or something. I don't take it lightly knowing that strokes kill 150,000 family members a year, but you have to celebrate the victories against such an event and I assure you this was a clear cut victory. She is in much better shape than the faded GAP shirt and the jeans that I have thrown away long ago.

Broccoli 24/7

This photo has not been photo-shopped. THIS IS ACTUALLY MOM. Mom going down the luge course which happens to be located on the side of a mountian. I never thought I would see the day.

Kids by the lake in Bravaria.

The "cool" person boat in Paris.

At the Eagles Nest.

We had a great time with Mom. I took a day off in Paris and we toured the Louvre and the Musee d Orsay. I sound like a hick, but I don't necessary love artwork, but the Louvre was amazing. You can spend days in there without seeing it all. We left for Germany and spent a few days in the Bavarian Alps. We fought the dragons in Neuschwanstein Castle, walked to the top of the Eagles Nest, and walked the concentration camp of Dachau. The trip was fantstic and very educational.

Dachau- It is hard to understand such hatred. It is even harder to see it. We all hear about stories of hate and racism, but the conditions at Dachau made it hard just taking pictures knowing what had happened there.

Eagles Nest- The 50th birthday present to Hitler is perched on top of a beautiful mountain. The Austrians/Germans have turned it into a restuarant. The road up to the Nest is like any other I have been on. It makes going up Cottonwood Pass look like a walk in the park. To make the trip better, our driver decided to drive up with only one hand (something that I did not need to see as I was looking off the side of a several hundred foot cliff).

Luge World Championships- While planning the trip, I stumbled upon a luge course that was near on of our visits. We spend an hour or so racing down the mountain several times. It was a blast and I have found that my daughter shares my love for going fast. She had me scared on one run.

In the end, we had a great visit with Mom. It would be a lie if I didn't say that it was different without Dad being there. It is kind of like seeing a white zebra, you automatically look for the black stripes. Without the stripes, it is not a zebra. I have never seen Mom so spirited to try new things. I mean a luge and crossing a suspended bridge that had to be 2,000 ft over a gorge are things that I thought I would never see. She proved that is never too late to reinvent oneself and to try new things. You have to really respect that. It is almost like she wanted to see what Dad would have wanted to see and we all know where Dad goes--to the top and over suspended bridges.