feeling fortunate but very sad

Today I came back to my house by myself after dropping Tom off at work for a few hours. We are staying on campus, and he works across from Gordon-Palmer, so my route was down Hackberry, then right on Hargrove, and then left into The Downs, where we live (just before the intersection with 10th Ave.).

I KNOW how lucky I am to be alive and to still have a home to return to. But what saddened me this morning was that we have lost so much of Tuscaloosa. All those glorious trees and homes along Hargrove. Alumni and fans passing through for 60 years have driven past those same trees and homes. Even the apartments have been here for 40 or so years, and you can talk to alumni across generations who all lived/partied there. Gone. My uncle and aunt used to walk through my shady neighborhood when they were dating 30 years ago, and now there are only a few scraggly trees standing. And some of the homes are beyond repair.

We will rebuild our home and bounce back and move forward, but even those of us who didn't lose everything have lost an awful lot. I'm having to come to terms with it being OK to feel this sense of loss while knowing how lucky I am. It doesn't cheapen the losses of people who have lost everything for me to feel overwhelmed with sadness.

--Jennifer

the new year is a month old...

Updating this blog hasn't crossed my mind in ages. There has been more going on than I can begin to recount here: I became a full-time instructor for Kaplan in January, I defended my dissertation proposal in December and am waiting for IRB approval to launch my web survey, I've turned over a new leaf with regard to my diabetes and have been checking my BG like it's my job, and I'm getting ready to go back on an insulin pump for the first time in nearly 25 years.

It has been colder this winter than I remember Alabama ever being, and there's snow on the ground as I type. We're still loving the house,and last month Charles and Dalila moved back to Alabama. We have only seen them once, but it's nice to know they are near once again.

We've endured one great tragedy since my last post. Our dear old dog died in October, a few months shy of her 14th birthday. She went down very quickly, but the hole in our hearts still feels like it may never fully heal.

More soon, I hope....

--Jennifer
Oooh, look, shiny things! 

wow -- two months have passed!

I can't really believe it's been two months since my last update. We successfully closed on both houses, moved all our stuff out of the old house into the new, closed out our storage unit, and brought all the non-Christmas stuff from Grandma's basement. Feels like we may never be finished sorting it all out.

Also, we had a gigantic pine tree taken down, we had the chain link fence completed, and Tom has cut vines and shrubs and small trees out of the backyard. We've been busy.

Currently I am working on the long-awaited literature review for my dissertation and preparing to teach my first GMAT class in September. And getting the house ready for football season's visitors.... We'll stay busy for a while yet!

--Jennifer
Oooh, look, shiny things!