I'm still in Oregon.

Hello friends/family, I am still in Bend, visiting my family. My children and grandchildren have been here this week. Everyone got to spend a little time with grandpa Tom. We had to spread out the visits to times when he was feeling strong enough to visit. He gets very short of breath with activity and talking. His cough is pretty bad and makes him tired too. The first cough medicine had Codeine in it and it made him vomit, so now we are trying a new medication. Chris (my sister) is picking up the medicine today while she is out doing errands. Fortunately, dad does not have pain. I hope it stays that way. I am trying to get business paperwork done for the end of the year. I am my mom's "bookkeeper", although I really don't know anything about bookkeeping. I have quickbooks 2008 and have been trying to figure out how do use it over the last year. I have printing paycheck stubs down pretty good, but can't figure out how to do the taxes, W-2's, W-3, etc. I have a friend that I consult with to figure these things out. She would probably help me more but she just recently broke her ankle, so is staying close to home. She can't drive or walk yet. (Hope you are getting better Vicki!). Since I live so far away from my mom and her business I am thinking that I need to get her hooked up with quickbooks payroll and let them do all this stuff for her. I can still try to record her expenses and income other than payroll and taxes. Although if they do that too I may just let them. She needs to have someone who knows what they are doing, and that is not me! I am homesick for my Panhandle home. I worry about my cat, worms and rabbits. I also need to go home to get some business records for my mom. Dad's best friend since they were about 12 years old, Jerry Mack, just had a massive stroke on Christmas morning. We are all upset about Jerry. He and his wife Darlene have been a part of the family since I can remember. He is still in ICU in Eugene, OR and they are taking it "one moment at a time". His outcome is unknown. His stroke was caused by a bleed to the brain. I wish I could get my mom over to Eugene for a day or two to visit with Darlene, and also to visit with my auntie Jo. My uncle also had a massive stroke recently, so my aunt and cousins are still adjusting to this change. I must admit that it makes me MAD that these things happen. Being a nurse doesn't make it any easier to accept. In fact sometimes I think it makes it worse because I have seen what patients and their families go through during these times. I know that I am going through the various stages of grief. I think I have already gone through denial, and am now on to anger. It is impossible to believe that I will not have my dad forever. I am too young (55!) to become fatherless. He has been the greatest dad. He has taught me to have humor. He has taught me that men can be trusted (of course, my x-husband kind of killed that trust). I expect fathers to be like my dad, and I am always surprised to find that they aren't all like him. My dad is 5'6" and I remember when I was a little girl I thought he was so tall and big. I got lost in a store once and was crying. A man (probably the manager) asked me if my dad was a big man. I said "yes". Then when my dad came to get me the manager started to laugh, and I noticed that my dad was a lot shorter than that man. I was about 3 yrs old at the time. It was the first time that I had ever taken notice of details about people. I am going to post a picture of my family when I was a little girl. Guess which one is me! Love you all, Cathy