I've had some stress lately, not much online. Our quiet anniversary on Sunday ended with a shock, when Angie's mother's health took a dramatic turn to worse. She's feeling better already, but we have to take turns to be with her. She is a wonderful lady with great personality, 85 years September this year, three strokes already. I just hope and pray together with Angie that we could still have her with us for a long time.
You friends here, you should hear the stories she can tell. Born in an entrepreneur family who lost everything but a small shop for Nazis, she continued to keep the shop alone when new regime took over and she found herself alone in new, communistic DDR (East Germany) when rest of the family ended in West. Fighting 40 years to keep the shop, being one of not too many private entrepreneurs in the whole Leipzig region, being constantly interviewed and searched by Stasi, the secret police, who thought she was an imperialist spy, trying to revoke her license for shop but not being able to do that ( her business was arts and culture related, and she had some powerful supporters among the culture scene of DDR, which had its center in Leipzig).
To be honest, the egoistic part of me is feeling sorry because all summer plans have to be forgotten, to be able to be here with her. For instance, Angie and I were invited to participate
this event in Washington, D.C. next week, or rather I was invited by the buyer of my company and asked to take the wife with me. All expenses paid, nice hotel, pleasant company, a possibility to meet some friends I'm not able to meet too often etc. Should have been on plane on Saturday. Now the trip is cancelled, I called and cancelled it Tuesday with a heavy heart, as we say in Finnish. Same thing with trip to meet the family in Finland, have no clue when or if we can organize it. I simply can not leave Angie here alone to take care of Mutti.
Guilty conscience hits always after these kind of egoistic worries. Main thing is, of course, to be here and support Angie as much as I can. Her mother is the last family she has, so I can understand how hard this is to her.
Everything looks already better, we had luck this time and don't have to be so scared anymore. I'm expecting I can soon have a nice afternoon in Ice-cream parlor with Mutti, sneaking there so that Angie does not notice it (she says Mutti and I should not eat so much sweets and Ice-cream and is constantly watching us like a hawk
, doesn't like when I smuggle cookies to hospital).
Life is good and it goes on. Some things we can change, some things not. That's it.
Kari
