13

I am not typically superstitious, but I would say the 13th had its way with us this weekend.  Two of the worst happenings I can not even mention in a public setting, but you can trust me when I say they took it out of me.  Third, we found out that its true...our computer is toast.  That means I lost about 10,000 pictures and all of mine and Dustin's school work.  Fourth, the furnace quit on the coldest day we had had this year.  Fifth, I wrecked the car--my first car accident ever.  I always thought it would be fun to race a car, but as I did a 180 in the highway at 45 mph, I decided that I prefer slow drives on a dirt road to anything fast and spinny.  Sixth, my childhood pet died.  Daisy was sixteen years old and my mom's faithful companion.  My mom has this way of making pets sort of people-like, so its fairly accurate to say that Daisy was a kind of "sister" to me.

We ended the weekend with a birthday celebration for my grandpa, which helped me put things into perspective.  Kids running like crazy, fits galore when candy was denied, playful shouts from the basement toy room,  and enough food to feed an army makes for a great gathering to honor Pa.  If "all's well that ends well" then all. is. well.  I have a  new computer, the house is warm again,  I was unharmed in what could have been a tragic car accident, and Daisy's life as a dog was long and meaningful.

Happy 83rd Birthday Pa!!