I have survived the Flood of the century. I am luckier than alot of people in my community.  The water didn’t reach my home. I was marooned at home with no telephone for a few days, but that was the worst of my problems.  I’ll say that 1/4 mile down the road from me, people lost all of their worldly posessions. EVERYTHING!! There was water over the roof of their homes, and it didn’t just destroy their homes. It has destroyed their lives.  I would post some of the pictures that I have taken, but I just don’t have the heart to do that.

It has stormed every weekend for a month. I’m over this weather. Who ever pissed mother nature off, would you kindly apoligize so the rest of us can stop paying for it?  The weekend before the flood, there were tornados. The weekend before that, there were severe storms. The weekend that it flooded, we got 11 inches of rain in 4 hours. Yesterday, the waters were rising again. It flooded the parks again. It flooded already damaged homes. It didn’t destroy much this time around, but only because there wasn’t anything left to destroy. 

My hometown was also hit pretty hard by the flooding.  I’ve heard that as many as 900 homes were totally demolished. The people affected by the floods are still trying to find answers. The water rose 10 feet in 20 to 25 minutes, and there was no warning. I understand that weather is unpredictable. I am well aware that no one could have known, guessed or imagined that the water would rise so much so quickly. There should still be a warning system or some sort. Or, maybe there is, and it just wasn’t used or isn’t available in the areas affected.  There were flash flood warning for all of the areas, but I just don’t see how that is enough. We woke up, and there were whole towns flooded.  WHOLE TOWNS under water. The town where Hunter’s dad lives was under water. They were lucky. They had water in their crawl space and their garage, but their neighbor had three feet of water in her home.  (The step mom told me this morning that her house burned to the ground early this morning. Isn’t that sad) I’m over this crap.

Today, it’s 74 and beautiful. It’s absolutely wonderful outside. You know what? I’m sick or something. I just have ZERO energy. I can’t even get out and enjoy the day.

Do you know what happened 30 years ago? If you guessed that gas was 79 cents a gallon, you were right, but that’s not what I was going for, The Cold War was still ongoing. Artificial Insulin was created. Abortion was legalized in Italy. Pope Paul VI died of heart failure. Keith Moon died of an overdose. Pope John Paul I died.  I couldn’t believe all of the things that I had found that happened in 1978. The list was pages long. It was neat to see things that happened the year that I was born. Did you know that the blizzards of 78 killed 90 people? I didn’t know that. Do you know the single most important thing that happened in 1978?  Can you guess what it was? I was born (of course.)

This is Hunter after his “Rookie Run” at the Indy 500 Kids Festival yesterday. He started in the 5th wave of kids and finished with the first wave. I should mention that there are 30 kids in each wave. He’s a runner. I don’t know where he gets it from, but the boy LOVES to run.

This is Hunter after last years “Rookie Run”.  What a difference a year makes.  He was a different kid this time last year, but then again I was a different person then too. I guess we don’t really realize how much we change year to year until it is captured like this.

Madison loves ducks. Baby ducks are even better. This evening, she heard a baby duck chirping.  Matt went to the back door and saw it. It wasn’t long until it was on our back porch.  Matt got his rain jacket on, (did I mention that it’s been raining here for days?) and went out to see if he could see the momma duck. He looked around for a while, and didn’t see her, so he picked up the baby and carried it to the pond behind our house.  The momma duck was there and very happy to see her baby. Matt put the baby in the water and immediately the momma duck swam in a circle  around the baby. Matt left the baby in good hands even though I’m pretty sure that it was in trouble. 

And maybe a good therapist. I went to see a counselor today. Not for me, but for Hunter. Her protocol calls for a meeting with the parents before she meets with the kids. So the parents can decide if she’s a good fit for their children.  Her name is Amy. She’s been a therapist for 10 years. She specializes in children.  I talked to her about the things that have been going on with Hunter. We talked about the situation at home, both mine and his dad’s. I have three appointments scheduled for him already. I’m hoping that I can get an emergency hearing with the judge to make Ronnie take Hunter to counseling. If I can’t make him take him, then there is almost no point in his going at all. I’m really worried about them undoing any progress that he makes.  I think that he would be better off just not going to his dads at all. I’m going to try writing a complaint myself to file with the court. I know that Ronnie will take it as a personal attack, but it isn’t like that. I have tried talking to him about this in the past, and he just laughs at me. Like I don’t know what I am doing or talking about. I get the “he doesn’t act like that here” talk. Like i’m making it all up or something.  The next phase is coming, I just wish that I knew it would go well for Hunter.

This is the most beautiful picture that I took while in Georgia. Okay, so there were alot of really pretty pictures, but this is my favorite one.

As some of you know, or maybe you don’t, my son’s father is a worthless human being. I don’t know what i was thinking when i got involved with him. I know that it pissed off my parents, and that was all the reasoning I have. I know that I have a beautiful son, and that his sperm donor is making my life HELL. Hunter goes to his dad’s house every weekend and during the week for the summer. I’ve noticed a huge change in his behavior. He tells me that he hates me and that he wants to go live with his dad. He is getting into trouble at school. I’ve decided that he is in obvious need of counseling, and have made an appointment to meet with a child pychologist. Is it bad that I’m not sure if she’s an ologist or atrist? I don’t remember. I know that I asked, but the last few weeks have been a blurrrrr.

My grandpa’s been gone for two weeks today. I don’t think that I’ve accepted that he’s gone. I was there when it happened. I was distraught for a bit, then I calmed down and haven’t cried since then. I guess I realized that he isn’t suffering anymore and that my aunts aren’t making him crazy anymore. He’s definitely in a better place, and I’ll see him again one day. There’s a song that just popped into my head. It’s by Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton. I think it’s called “When I get to heaven”. It’s so true. I’ve lost 5 family members since December. I was only close to one of them, my grandpa, but still that’s alot of death for one family to handle.

I’ve been trying to get ahold of the Child Advocate in my custody case with Hunter’s dad. I’m trying to find out if I’m justified by not sending him back to his dad until I can meet with the therapist and find out what’s going on. I’m worried that THEY will undo anything that she accomplishes. Isn’t that sad? They don’t want him to go in the first place. I’m paying for it, so they don’t really get a say. Hunter’s step mom says that “They” put things in kid’s heads.  I knew that she was stupid, but I didn’t know that she was ignorant. If it weren’t for Valle Vista Hospital, I may not be here today. My therapist helped me get through alot of stuff, even after I stopped seeing her. I remember things that , to this day, help me get through my issues with my parents. I’m worried that they are trying to hide something from me. I think that’s why they don’t want him to go. The first appointment is Monday, and it’s just me this time. I get to meet her and tell her what’s going on so that she can make a plan of action. I’m not telling Hunter until it’s time to go to his appointment so that he can’t tell his dad. I want to find out what is going on with my baby. I need to figure it out soon. I can’t let him go at this alone any more. Anyone know how much jail time you get for contempt of court? I’m not taking him to his dad until I can get a grip on what’s going on. So I kinda need some legal advice. The free kind is best, but I’ll pay for it too.

Does anyone know a cheap way to find out if you’re adopted without asking your “parents”? Seriously, there is NO way that I came from the same gene pool that they did.  I won’t get into it. It still kind of hurts.  I’m serious about the DNA testing. Is there a way that I can do it and not tell the rest of them??

Matt and I went to Georgia for the weekend. We actually went down to catch the Tour De Georgia bicycle race. We stopped in Chattanooga Friday night to sleep and then drove on into Blairsville, GA Saturday morning. I have to say that the drive from Tennessee into Georgia was beautiful. We actually went into North Carolina for a while too. We drove through the Cherokee National Forest. It was the most fun I’ve ever had driving, or riding rather. I’ve never been through that strech of mountains before.

We got into Blairsville by 10. See, we were going to the highest point in Georgia. Brasstown Bald Mountain. The view was spectacular. I took some beautiful pictures. We took a shuttle up 2/3 of the way to the “parking lot”. There were bicycle related boothes set up. Then, I decided that I wanted to get to the observatory deck. The only way to do that was to walk. It was a mile or so to the top. Let’s just say that I am pretty sure I busted a blood vessel or two making the hike up. The hike down was awesome.  I can’t say enough about how beuatiful it was. The race got to the mountain about 2 hours after we found our “spot”. We hung out with some great guys from DC. They were hardcore fans. That’s all that i’m saying…lol.

After the race was over, and it was totally worth the 8 hour drive to watch it, we hiked down the mountain. Did I mention that this mountain is 25% grade in places?? It was my idea, and trust me….it’ll be a while before I suggest shit like that again. We finally made it to the van and drove to Helen Georgia. If you’ve never heard of it, google it and check it out. It’s a tourist trap. The hotel was great though. We met up with Gidge and her brood. It was great seeing my boys again. We went to dinner at an over priced german place, but then went to Hansel & Gretels Candy Kitchen for dessert. YUMMY!!!! The chocolate was fantastic. Check them out. They mail anywhere in the world. And the Chatahoochie Snappers were to DIE for. Seriously. They were the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten.  Finally, we crashed. I was asleep by 10. We got up Sunday morning,  and headed home. It took forever to get back.  We were really happy to get home though. We missed the kids, even though we needed the break. It was good for us to get away for a few days.  I’ll post some pictures later. It’s been a rough couple of days. I’ve been sick, and just plain tired. I have a slide show up on Matt’s blog though. You should go visit him. He likes new visitors. It makes him happy.

It’s a beautiful day in Indiana. For some people, anyway. The weather is wonderful. It’s sunny and 70. I got to spend my afternoon at the hospital. My grandfather passed away at 1:15pm.  I’ll never be able to look at another milky way without thinking of the time that we had 14 inces of snow and he got stuck at the end of his driveway and walked to the gas station to buy me the milky way he had promised me the night before.  I’ll never see an old man with false teeth without thinking of the first time I realized that his were false. We were playing around in the sunroom, and he stuck his teeth out at me. It scared the total bejeezuz out of me.  I can laugh about it now, but when I was 4….I was really scared.

I hope that he knew that I was there. I hope that he heard me tell him that I love him. I hope that he felt that last kiss I gave him on the cheek.  I hope that he is resting peacefully now. I hope that he is breathing well now. I hope that he knows how much I love him. I hope that he knows that I’m sorry that I didn’t spend as much time there as I know I should have.