Thank you Jack, much appreciated for the prayers.

Evie that was a good summary of events. Thank you for writing it for us my dear.

Uncle Jim.

Yeah!!! For Retirement!!! :claps: KEEPING THE PEACE

Yes very nice Evie. Thank you. And thank you all for your support and good wishes, it has been so very helpful to us.

Now that i am posting again........I am so sorry for your loss but it is nice to see that you are all there for each other.
My father passed away 21 years ago and it ripped our family apart literally. it is nice to see other families that support each other so much and I think you guys.Jim, Kathy and Evie are an amazing family. Truly, i know you have suffered many tragedies and losses but you are lucky to have each other. I can only dream of having such a loving and supportive family.
Take Care

Pandora, thank you ever so much for those kind words. I believe it is worth mentioning here that the family closeness we enjoy is not due to accident or good luck. Jim and I both were raised in families that were not so supportive, not abusive by any means, but definitely not close either. When we met we were both hurting from that lack of support, and early on in our relationship decided we did not want that for our children and other members of our extended family. We worked very dilligently to transform our family into what we wanted it to be, to the point where currently our children, nephews, niece and grandchildren all pretty much take that closeness for granted. We even forget ourselves, that we created this to begin with! We are truly seeing the results, as the younger generation is now treating each other with so much care and closeness, and passing it on to their own children, no doubt. We are truly blessed for how well our work has paid off.

Perhaps Pandora, you are not able to have that closeness with your own parents, and truly Jim and I both understand the pain of that. However, you do have the power to pass it on to your own children, current or future. It really is up to you. If you are willing to work at it hard enough you can create your own wonderful family, just as we have.

Quite correct. We all create our own happiness or unhappiness. It is a choice, not by accident or luck.

Jim.

:claps::claps::claps::claps::claps:

Thank you both for your kind words too. I have chosen exactly that for my son and he is raised totally different than i was and i have to have a lot of patience as he has autism but we are doing quite well. I have a lot of friends support and they have become my family, so yes i realize we have to choose our happiness. it just sucks when it is not family sometimes, i guess I have just been wishing for a lot of years. i have created my own family, so to speak. I read about your family and I think we can all learn from you, in a healthy way. I guess i see you relating to batgirl and sometimes wish i had family that is supportive and could help me with my PTSD. I guess that is why i am here.
Take care.
Pandora

Ah autism. That is difficult pandora. One of our grandsons has Aspergers. Doing well currently, he is a lovely child, but much work. Well done creating your own family. Definitely not for the faint of heart.

Jim.

Thanx Jim, He actually has high functioning autism or aspergers syndrome as well as tourettes but we are actually doing quite well. He is a laugh and comes out with the funniest expressioons. He is really like a little professor.
I have been told I have the patience of a saint and then I had to really think.......I really do. We both would not survive if I did not. How old is your grandson? Does your family get support? I have gone to parent support groups, very beneficial as well as very challenging having PTSD too, but as always I seem to make it through.
Take Care
Pandora