All the men and women who have given their time and sometimes their lives for the freedoms we often take for granted. Even if we are not at war, their lives are not always comfortable as they serve and they always know that any minute things could change and they could be at war.

My oldest grandson and his wife came over and dusted everything in my house (including the blinds and fans), vacuumed the carpets, swept and mopped all the tile, and cleaned the bathrooms for our anniversary. Our house looks and smells so good. I can keep the house neat, but I can't vacuum, sweep, and mop more than a couple of rooms at a time before I get down in my back and hip/leg (sciatica) and have to sit down for a day or two before I can tackle a few more. They agreed to come every week to do that for me. I will pay them, of course. I just can't find house cleaners here. My DIL, her mother, and I have been trying to find someone for three years.

We have been weathering all the storms. Since mid-March, every weekend we have had severe thunderstorms and tornado watches with many warnings. Two times we were able to go somewhere that had no weather warnings, and it was so calming.

My husband finally agreed today that we need to get new paint and new carpets and get this house listed before the bottom drops out of the market again. We can sell the furniture and things that we don't love, store what we want to put into a new, smaller house, and live in the lake house while we look for a new place to live. I love this house but it is getting too much for both of us. He lived in the same place from birth to marriage so he is not a fan of moving and has put it off every time I have mentioned it. We can even set up a bedroom and sitting area in our office building in case we want to spend some time here close to the kids, we already have a bath and kitchen there. It takes the pressure off trying to find something quickly.

My cousin, who I grew up living beside that is more like a sister to me had breast cancer 9 years ago. She had surgery, and they thought they got it all, but last year she developed masses all over her body, including her lungs. She has been on oxygen for a year and went through chemo/radiation for months recently. She is in PT now and off oxygen during the day and can now drive. She still gets winded and fatigued easily, but is getting stronger every day and able to mostly take care of herself now. At her last PET scan, they said that many of the masses are gone and the others are shrinking; none are growing, and all the fluid is leaving her lungs on its own now, so she should not need another thoracentesis.