Some of you know that my summer has basically been nothing but bad news and it feels like it's been years long.  It all started at the end of June, the majority of it was cramed into July, and then it has been spread out fairly evenly through August up to now.  Seriously, this has been an unbelievable sequence of events. If someone told me all this shit happened to them, I probably wouldn't belive it. It is exhausting.

The most recent news:

My Great Aunt Katie, with whom I was very close to, had a severe gall bladder infection and was given 2-3 days to live on Thursday 9/4/08.  She was diagnosed with Alzhiemer's a few years ago. It started out slowly, and then once it got a good grip, it took her mind apart rapidly. Last I knew, she was nearly oblivious to the world. Acknowledging people near her every once in a while. When we heard the news about her gall bladder, my mother went up to Ohio Friday morning. Later that day, she told me that Katie doesn't even know when someone is talking to her now. All she does is lay, curled up, on the bed, staring into space. I was so upset, because I couldn't even say goodbye to this wonderful woman and had to step outside at NKU for a little while with Jessica. There was no way that I would be able to have one last conversation with her, because the Alzhiemer's had completely separated her from the rest of the world.

We all agreed though, that this would be a better way for her to go rather than have to go through the final brutal stages of Alzhiemr's. Especially since the medical staff would keep her on medication for pain.

She passed away today at 4:50pm with her sister (my grandma) and my mother (her niece) holding her hands.

I would just like to ask everyone to pray for my family and especially my grandma Mary. Katie was her last sibling in the area. The next closest one is now a few hours drive. After that, it's days or a required flight to Hawaii. Mary and Katie lived together ever since Mary's husband, John, died in 1988 up until a few years ago when Katie had to be moved to a permanent assistance program. She is a strong woman who has lost a great part of herself early this evening and I know this will be especially hard for her.

Thank you so much,
Allison

I laughed reading this....it's true!  Jessica...this one's for you.

OTHER FRIENDS: Never ask for food
KENTUCKY FRIENDS: Are the reason you have no food.

OTHER FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr. and Mrs.
KENTUCKY FRIENDS: Call your parents mom and dad.

OTHER FRIENDS: Bail you out of jail and tell you what you did was wrong.
KENTUCKY FRIENDS: Would be sitting next to you saying, Damn...we messed up...but that was fun!"

OTHER FRIENDS: Have never seen you cry.
KENTUCKY FRIENDS: Cry with you.

OTHER FRIENDS: Borrow your stuff for a few days then give it back.
KENTUCKY FRIENDS: Keep your stuff so long they forget it's yours.

OTHER FRIENDS: know a few things about you.
KENTUCKY FRIENDS: Could write a book with direct quotes from you.

OTHER FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that's what the crowd is doing.
KENTUCKY FRIENDS: Will kick the whole crowds ass that left you.

OTHER FRIENDS: Would knock on your door.
KENTUCKY FRIENDS: Walk right in and say, "I'm home!"

OTHER FRIENDS: Are for a while.
KENTUCKY FRIENDS: Are for life.

OTHER FRIENDS: Will take your drink away when they think you've had enough.
KENTUCKY FRIENDS: Will look at you stumbling all over the place and say, "Bitch, you better drink the rest of that, you know we don't waste!!"

OTHER FRIENDS: Will talk shit to the person who talks shit about you.
KENTUCKY FRIENDS: Will knock them out!!

OTHER FRIENDS: Will ignore this.
KENTUCKY FRIENDS: Will repost this

OMG!  I have just finished my first video game EVER!!!   WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it happened thursday night!!!!!   EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!

ok, so maybe it's not a big deal to you soooo... shut up! i mean dang!  i'm happy, just be happy for me!!!  i've never finished any video or computer game....this was my very first one!  I just didn't get bored with it and it is a F******  AWESOME GAME!!!

  finally got that out of my system...let's hear some hootin' and hollerin'!

most of you who will read this don't know everything i've done in my life.  A memory that will always be bitter sweet will be the year i lived in Hungary as an exchange student.  Unless you've done this yourself, unfortunately, you will never understand the heartache I live with every day of my life.  I have had the rare pleasure of making friends all over the world...in person...not over the net.  Whenever I hear about another country in the news I immediately see faces of friends that live there.  There's not a SINGLE day that goes by that I don't think about my Hungarian classmates and all the amazing people I had the priviledge of meeting.  Glenn from Belgium.....he became my closest friend out of all the other exchange students.....I don't get to see him anymore.  My best friend, Petra.  We became friends when we couldn't even communicate without a dictionary handy.  The family I lived with?  Just like my own.  They ARE my family.  I have a home in a city in Hungary.  I could fill books upon books with names and memories that I shared with people I may never see again.  People I love and hold close to my heart.  I hate the fact that the ocean is so wide...that's the ONLY thing keeping us apart.  I still remember where all my classmates sat in class because all I could do in class for the first 6 months was study a chart my host sister, Judit, had made for me.  It showed the names of all the classmates and where they sat.  I wanted to learn everyone's name, because for the next year....they were my life, my classmates, my friends.  I miss them so much...there are no words.  I have to choke back tears if I talk about the time I spent there for long.                

For those of you who just read the entire thing.....thank you for listening.