This past week has been fun, but also incredibly sad. I don't know exactly where to start, so I'll go in chronological order.
On Saturday we left for Colorado. Evan did very good on his flight and only fussed a little. The first part he got hungry so that helped, then it was all with the pacifier that kept him calm. We visited my Grandma, who got to see her great grandson! She was so surprised to see us she didn't quite catch that she was seeing her grandaughter and great grandson. But when she saw us again on Thursday, she knew. After that we started our drive to Fort Robinson Nebraska.
Sunday was the day we arrived since we stayed in a hotel. Evan also started sleeping through the night on Sunday. He now sleeps 6 hours in a row! I'm very happy about that. He might wake up a little, but not to eat and usually falls back to sleep once the pacifier is in his mouth. I swear he's addicted to that thing. I love it and hate it all at once because if he's not sleeping heavy he wakes up the moment it falls out and starts to fuss. Anyways, I met up with my cousin Jen and Aunt Juanita, Unclue Jim, Uncle Joe and Aunt Pat. My Uncle Joe and Aunt Pat are further into their years so my Uncle Joe didn't really remember me. My Aunt Pat did though (their married. Juanita is my dad's sister and married to Jim)!
After that day we spent our days together and just enjoyed seeing each other. Evenings we'd eat together and then play games. On Monday my Uncle Joe went into town for Dialasis and everyone but me and my Aunt Pat went. Evan needed his naps and I just wanted to some time to read. It was a very relaxing day and everyone got back in the evening. Then on Tuesday we went to South Dakota to see the monuments and ride a train. My dad and I also went and visted an old family friend from Tennessee since they were living close by. We got back in the evening and again, played games!
Wednesday started out good. My uncle had to go back in for dialisis and my Aunt Juanita and dad were going to go with him. Jen and I had planned on going for a walk, watching a movie or 2, and play some games. My dad and Aunt had just left not too long ago and Jen and I had gone to sit on the hamock and continue our talk. That was when my Aunt Pat came out the camper and called Jen, she sounded so worried and just sad. I then started to wonder what had happened and if our Juanita and my dad were Ok or if someone had been hospitalized. Death never crossed my mind. After a few moments I could hear her crying but I didn't really know what was going on. Shortly after that she came and was barely able to say that Ben had died that morning in an accident.
For those who don't know, Ben is her brother. Our families were pretty close. They lived 2 houses down from us from over 8 years. We used to spend weekends together and holidays together. Once I left for college it wasn't quite the same because we had grown up and we weren't spending as much time together, but we still saw everyone during the holidays. Apparently Ben had just gotten off work that morning and he and a few collegues had decided to go off roading. They had been driving pretty slow at the time and were going up a hill, but a freak accident happened. The jeep rolled, Ben went out the window and got crushed. He hadn't been wearing a seat belt. My aunt is thinking that he must have gotten out to see something, then got back in and forgot to buckle up because he was normally very cautious and smart about that.
I still can't believe it. He was always off roading and dirt biking. He had gotten into mutlitple accidents and the only thing to show was early onset of arthiritis, but I never thought he'd actually get killed, especially in some random freak accident like that. Josh (their other brother) is trying to get out for the memorial that will be sometimes next week. My aunt wants to have a party to celebrate his life. I think that's what he would want. He was always so happy and full of life, he wouldn't be the type to want a serious sad get together.
So yeah, I'm still processing it. I think it will be something that's always being processed. I wasn't as close to him as I was to Jen, she was like a sister to me, but he was still family and I have lots of memories of him, like how much he loved cats, the time he dyed his hair black, wanting to set me up with a friend, and just spending the holidays and weekends together.
We're still in Colorado at the moment and will be leaving tomorrow to return home. Jen, Juanita, and Jim are already driving out there. They'll probably be getting in around the time we do.
Anyways, I will end this after a strange up note. A few nights ago I dreamt I was dating Matt Belamy (lead singer in Muse). I was at some studio looking for him when I saw a news report on how Korea and China were setting off so many bombs around their area that the end of the world would follow due to the thick cloud coverage that would result of it. I was watching the report wondering why they would bomb their own countries when the alarm went off to evacuate the building, which lead me to wonder why we would be sent outside when a thick cloud coverage would be coming soon. I started to wander off and look for Matt. I had a bit of trouble due to everyone running around and started callingo out his name. I found him sometime after and we just walked off ignoring all the panick because we wanted to be alone and thought everyone was stupid to panic and run outside when it would be the smoke that kills us.
Strange...very strange. I don't even think he's that cute. It's Dom (the drummer) that's cute. But of course they don't stand a chance against my hubby Joe!