This week has been tough on me, my family. It’s always stressful around this time of year and while I optimistically and perhaps a bit stupidly expect every anniversary to be a bit easier, I’m always smacked in the face with the frying pan of grief, wondering when the pain will go away.

So I decided to step back from the computer and my online community and focus on the community I’m building at home. The kids needed to see more of me than the back of my head as I played on the computer and my husband certainly appreciated the fact my laptop wasn’t glued to the tops of my legs.

But how I’ve missed thee, sweet, sweet Internet. You are my crack. My addiction. Heck, you are the wind beneath my wings.

(Sorry. Couldn’t resist.)

I’m taking the kids away for the weekend so they can focus on something other than missing their little brother. I’m hoping by surrounding them with family and cousins they will be too busy having fun to remember they have been sad all week.

This means having to subject myself to unending arm-wrestling matches with nephews, being forced to dress up in princess outfits for my nieces amusement and playing hide and seek in the dark hours of the night where I can sneak up on all the kids and scare them so bad they cry for mommy wet their pants.

The things I do for my children, my family. Heh.

I want to say a special thank you to everyone who sent me a joke, an email, a comment this last week. It helped buoy my spirits, knowing I wasn’t facing this pain alone. 

And some of those jokes were damn funny. 

Congratulations to Sarcastica for being the lucky random winner of the iPod Nano. If you haven’t read this young lady’s thoughtful blog, I’d recommend checking her out. She’s proof positive that not all teens are dough heads. 

And because I was so grateful and a bit overwhelmed with the amount of joke submissions I made a second draw to give away a 1 gb iPod shuffle. Congratulations to O’Neal for having the right random number attached to her joke.

I’ll be back Monday morning. If I’m not eaten alive by small children.

Smooches to all of you. And my sincerest gratitude. You guys rock.

 

***Speaking of community, I would like to ask you all to go here and read about this community’s heartbreak. It’s a world away from the comfort we all live in, a world I can’t really understand, yet it became part of the fabric of my life when a loved one decided to make this community her home. Regardless of where we call home, or what community we live in, sometimes we all need a little help. Like a joke sent to make a grieving mother smile or a few dollars to help buy food for a flood ravaged village. Please consider helping my community in another country. I’d really appreciate it.***