Karma?

The last year hasn't been the most pleasant year of my life. And honestly I've been forcing myself more than I would like, to find the joy in each day. Carlton has given me a task that I'm sure he has never realized the effect it has had on me.

Each day he asks me "What have you done to make me happy today?" Honestly at first I was baffled and was sure that he hated me. Remember I'm blue and the first thought is always that I'm hated, unless specifically told that I'm not hated. Anywho, now, I go to him with "happy's" as often as he asks me. It really is the small things that count.

The small things that have happened since Nannie became ill are beginning to come together! Since October 2007, death has weighed heavily on my mind. I'm not suicidal, yet not afraid to say goodbye to this plain of existence and move on to the next either. Nothing has made me so excited that it has wholly consumed my mind since we acquired the tickets to Willie and then were actually close enough to touch his boots. I've spent the last few months thinking that God was punishing me for that selfish happiness - it was on our way out of Dallas the very next morning that Nannie refused dialysis and a week later she was with Poppie.

What I didn't realize is that in my contacting NT with Nannie's condition and other things, a series of events were unfolding that would bring me to this week. Other times when my mom asked me to contact NT with critical information, the correspondence was brief. This time, mayhap out of extreme grief, we have kept in touch - emailing almost daily - and have truly made a bond that I treasure more than words can express. In our emails we began talking about how wonderful it would be to have a get-together. This of course led to he and Steve planning an Oklahoma visit. That turned into Joy and Jeff tagging along. Because, you see when NT visits Oklahoma, it's like a Rock Star coming home. The "family" is loved, but NT is a folklore.

This led to the night I walked into the restaurant and announced to my mom that I had heard Tommy Lasorda was coming out of retirement to help Joe Torre manage the Dodgers. Which led to Jeff having to pick his lip up off the floor. I guess he isn't accustomed to totally gorgeous women knowing baseball. Next thing I know, I have an open invitation to visit Tucson and watch baseball. If you're curious as to how exciting that invitation was, call Patty.

I haven't blogged about the trip. A bit afraid that it is only a dream and if I put it in writing, it will be stolen from me. But if you walked into the station and asked anyone around News where I'm going this weekend, you would get the answer. I've tried to be cool about it. After all, it's not like I'll be seeing the Redbirds play live. It's the DBacks and the Nationals. I'll be damned if I can name any of the players. But, it is live Major League Baseball.

I can name all the live MLB games I've seen. Living in Oklahoma all my life, the chance doesn't come around often. Jeff asked me for seating preferences. I jokingly said anything behind home plate. When honestly, anything inside the ballpark would be fine. Tonight I found out where we are sitting. Let me just say, it's going to be awful tough for anyone to knock Jeff off the #1 spot now. The only way this weekend could get any better is if LaRussa and the Redbirds were to materialize in place of the Nationals.

On my Bucket List - See a game at all the MLB stadiums; Visit Cooperstown

Enough baseball chit chat for now. If your phone number is in my contacts list - fair warning - the game is Saturday night - starts at 7:10pm CDT. You may be called.

long days and pleasant nights...ye kennit?