For several years before meeting Hubby, I would spend New Year's Eve at my girlfriend's house with her and her boys. She has five boys, and when they were younger, if I showed up and we made a lot of food, it was a party. So on 12/31/95 I went over in the early evening and we started to party. That entailed drinking some wine, making food, and watching movies. A little after midnight, after we had counted down to the New Year, my girlfriend said, "Let's go to the Hop." The Hop was a disco — yes, disco — that she liked to frequent. Since I was a raging workaholic, I did not go out at all. She had decided that my New Year's resolution should be to get a life, so she convinced me to head to the Hop. I was wearing flat shoes, a sloppy sweater, and my hair was flat — not my typical going-out attire. But we went. (Her oldest son was old enough to stay at home with the other boys, and my girlfriend had a pager; we could be back in 10 minutes if something happened.) When we walked in the door, I looked across the bar and saw a tall, good-looking guy in a white shirt that made his broad shoulders look even broader. Hmmm, I thought, but figured I was not dressed to pick up any hotties. My friend said, "Oh, look. There's Bob!" and headed across the room. This girl knew everyone in that place! Yes, she was a partier, but only when her kids were with their dad. She walked right up to the broad-shouldered hottie and said hi. Oh my God — that was Bob, and she knew him! We ended up talking and dancing until the bar closed. I figured that was it until my girlfriend invited him to follow us to her house to continue our New Year celebration. He agreed and followed us. In the car she told me all about how she had seen him there for the last couple of years and what a nice guy he was. He was divorced with three kids and loved them like crazy. Well, I knew he was not for me in that case. I was not interested in kids and didn't want to date anyone with kids. I actually didn't want to date anyone. After my divorce several years earlier, I had decided I was better off on my own. We got to my girlfriend's house and ended up drinking wine and talking into the early morning. We had sobered up by the time we decided to leave, so he said goodbye, got in his car, and left. I got in my car and left. That might have been the end of it, but my girlfriend decided that he and I should get together, so she started playing matchmaker. It took her a few weeks, but she finally got us out together. I thank her regularly for her perseverance. I'm going to catch up on the happenings around here. On Friday, December 19, I had scheduled a day off to go with my husband to pick up his new leg. The Thursday before, I woke up and felt funny. I don't even know how to describe it. My tummy was mildly upset, but I figured it would go away, so I got ready and went to work. When I got to work, I felt worse. I didn't know if I had a stomach bug or if something I ate had disagreed with me, but I was just feeling worse and worse. I told my boss I might need to leave, and he told me to go if I needed to. Hubby called me around 10, and when I told him how I was feeling, he offered to come get me. I have never asked Hubby to come get me from work. I said, "Yes, please." So he came to pick me up. When I got in the car, he handed me a couple of plastic bags. "In case you need to throw up," he said. Isn't he sweet? I got home and crawled into bed because I felt like I needed to throw up except when I was lying down. So I spent the next 18 hours in bed or in the bathroom. Hubby has never seen me sleep that much. He said he came into the bedroom a few times to make sure I was still alive. LOL!

He cannot walk on it for long amounts of time, but he can wear it and stand on it. He starts PT to learn how to walk with it today. But he wore it on Saturday, 12/20, when we had our get-together at his mom's. He walked into her house on his own two feet. He spent most of the day sitting and used his walker to get around when he did. He probably only spent about 30 minutes total walking on it, so not too much.

The get-together was nice. Our kids and two grandkids were there. Jacob, our middle grandson, was not there. Chance gave some mumbled excuse. I think maybe he just didn't feel like going to pick Jacob up. Oh well, we just sent his gifts home with Chance. I took some pics but no group shots. Got some of those on MIL's camera, so hopefully she will send us some. Here is a typical pic of Hubby and our kids. Christmas Day was nice and relaxing. We had way too many gifts to open, but they were all fun. Hubby thinks I need lots of presents to open. Don't tell him, but I love it. Oh, don't worry — I am cooking Thanksgiving dinner for Hubby and me. I will not deny us my awesome cooking. LOL! But we are not having anyone over for Thanksgiving. Hubby and I both figured that our kids would do as they had done in previous years and attend the Thanksgiving get-together that Hubby's sister hosts — the sister Hubby has not spoken to in four years.