spend more time with my family

I feel like this goal is unattainable at this point.

A year ago my Great Grandmother was moved from Texas to Minnesota to be put in a nursing home closer to some of my cousins who can care for her on a regular basis. This doesn’t make her further away, but it does mean that I now have to travel to two opposing locations to see her and my Grandparents.

With many requests for time off of work denied and only so much money from each paycheck to play with, I feel like I’m just beating my head against a wall.

Next Wednesday I am going to be traveling to Texas to see my Grandparents. I hope to maybe see my Great Grandmother some time this Fall/Winter. But, at this time there is no reason to believe that I will have the time off of work approved.

Aside from those two portions of my family, I have not seen anyone else (brother, father, etc.) since 2004. I talk to a few cousins from time to time on Facebook and my brother & father on the phone about once a month. But, that’s all I seem to get out of them.

Definitely losing hope in this arena.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look as though I’ll be able to head down to Houston to visit my Great Grandmother or Grandparents. I can’t imagine that I’ll have come into enough money by that point to cover gas and a possible day off of work. It’s just too much when I have a lot of money hungery problems festering (dental, vision, car tires, etc.).

It’s going to be a really heart breaking email to my Grandmother.

Three weekends ago I made the drive from my little town in Kansas to St. Paul, Minnesota (approximately eight and a half hours if doing the speed limit). The occasion was a cousin’s wedding.

While there I got to visit with my Great Grandmother and Grandparents (flew up from Houston), cousins from Colorado, and old family friends. I got to meet my newest cousin, Emily (who made it a point to up-chuck on me whenever she got the chance).

It was the first time many of us were even in the same state together. Quite the event.

There was talk of the majority of us heading down to my Great Grandmother’s place in Houston for this coming Thanksgiving. Let’s hope people actually go through with this. I’m looking forward to it.