Vacation Weekend #1



It's a crazy time, this. Spike (my ex-father-in-law, with whom I remain close) turned 95 on the 22nd. I had spent the better part of the summer trying to get the family down to Fullerton to visit him, to no avail. Either someone couldn't get the time off, or someone else couldn't afford it, or someone else had something else planned. It was ridiculous. So when Koby got Friday the 23rd off, I figured it was now or never.

After putting our plans in action, I found out that the extended family will be there on the 30th to celebrate his birthday with a big family BBQ get-together. Well...Koby couldn't change his days off so we kept our plan for Brooke, Koby and I to go down the weekend of Oct 24-25, and Steve and I will go down Oct 30-Nov 1.

Spike still lives alone, which is a testament to his ... tenacity? stubbornness? resiliency? For 95 years old, he is truly amazing, trimming trees, painting the kitchen, etc., etc. He's looking at surgery soon to get the battery in his pacemaker replaced. He's outlived four of them so far!

So, with no further ado, and too much tiredness to be any more creative, here are some visuals from our weekend with Spike and our stop in Visalia on the way home for a bite of Landon.









Come back next week for more photos from the Musso family's celebration-of-Spike's-95th-birthday-and-excuse-for-a-BBQ-and-get-together!


Please Slow Down


I have only one thing to say today.

A very sweet family that is dear to my heart is in some horrific pain. They've lost their only daughter, their only granddaughter. They may also have lost her father. The apparent cause of all this pain is some hot-dogging on the road.

Please slow down when you're out there. Our roads should not be a war zone. What's the big rush?! Slow down.

Take care of the people who bob in and out of your sphere as you move through this life. Everyone has a family, friends, people who love them, a mother who once held them close to her breast. Devastating loss occurs when you're not paying attention. All it takes is a moment. Slow down.

Please just slow down.

RELATED LINKS:
In Memory of Jessica Roberts
Jessica's Memory Slideshow
A memorial held by Jessica's softball team
ViperClub Discussion Board
Memorial in the West Valley Girls Softball Newspaper
Response to story in The Acorn
Calabasas 365.com