Drawing a Blank

I wasn't really sure what to write about this week, not because this week has been uneventful, but because it has been full of highs and lows and I wasn't really sure where to start.

I had a fantastic weekend with my family.  We made homemade pizzas on Friday night (love those Trader Joe's whole wheat crusts!) and treated Sophie to some Bubble Guppies entertainment.  Saturday, we made banana pancakes and headed to our favorite greenway for a family run with Sophie and the dogs.  

Banana Pancake photo courtesy of Skinnytaste.com

There's a great playground about halfway through the route, so we stop and let Sophie run and play before finishing the run.  It's always fun to see the other families stop to pet our sweet dogs.  They love the extra attention! The route is a nice, relatively short distance of about 4.5 miles.  We promise Sophie each time that she can "run" the last stretch of about 1/4 mile.  How can you not smile when you watch this video of my little runner?

On Saturday night, I had a date with my mom.  We had a great dinner at a neighborhood restaurant in Green Hills called Firefly Grille.  I've only been there twice, but the food is fantastic and the menu changes about every 6-8 weeks, so they keep it fresh.  It was nice to spend time alone with her.  It was just the two of us for so long growing up, sometimes I miss that time together. 

On Sunday afternoon, my Grandma, who moved to Nashville in November along with my parents, was taken to the hospital by ambulance from her memory care facility.  She had a fever and an infection in her arm that was causing pain and swelling, and found out later that she also has Influenza A and some other issues.  Not a huge deal for a young and healthy person, but at 90, things like this are difficult to overcome.  She's still in the hospital and has a few days to go before she might be well enough to move back home.  

Grandma hasn't always been an easy person to be around and she was never warm and fuzzy, but I have always known that she loves me and I love her fiercely.  I hate watching her struggle with dementia and the loss of my grandpa, and it's hard to watch her struggle with this latest set of issues.  I know she has had a long and full life, but it doesn't seem fair that she has to suffer at the end of her life.  I hope somehow she knows she's still surrounded by people who care about her.  

I've been thinking a lot this week about my grandma and all the memories we created when I was a little girl, and the nostalgia led me to a few old photos from when I was Sophie's age.  Here's an oldie but a goodie from the 1980s Olan Mills collection!

Me at about 2 years old.  Love the corrective shoes!

 Here's hoping the next few days will bring some improved health for grandma and fun with the family.  Have a great weekend!

P.S. I just signed up for the Glencliff High School Stampede Against Diabetes 5K on Saturday, April 6 at 8:00 a.m. with a route starting and finishing at Glencliff High School.  Please consider registering to support Glencliff's efforts!  Here's the link.