Leaving for Daytona Beach

Hi all,
Mom, Jalal, Quinn, and I are leaving tomorrow for Daytona Beach. We pick up my dad's ashes at 10 a.m. and then get on the road. My sister went home this morning. Wade came up yesterday afternoon, and Mom, Trish, and I spent the day planning the funeral and talking about what Mom is going to do about things. We put together a eulogy, and the plan is that I'm going to read it. I think if I try not to focus on the words too much I may be able to handle it. We've had so much support from our family and friends through this. The house is covered in flowers. I hope no more arrive while we're gone. We'll leave to come home next Sunday. I'm really not looking forward to this week, for the obvious reasons as well as the fact that we have to make some progress on the house. I don't know what we're going to encounter with that. The roof was leaking before they even came up here, and three visits from Tropical Storm Fay ought to have done a number on it. Plus there is so much to do with the financial aspect of Dad's passing, like finding his life insurance policy and seeing if his pension and SS benefits pass to Mom. Trish and I are trying to help teach her how to be independent, but it's going to be a long process. I guess we'll figure it out. Well, I better go. Long day ahead of us. (By the way, on a happier note, Quinn passed the 20 pound mark at his 1-year appointment, so he gets to sit facing forward in his car seat now. You couldn't imagine a happier kid.)
Love, Us.

In Memory of My Father

Hello friends,
My father, Red Langston, passed away Thursday night at 9:15 at the age of 66. We had moved him from Greenville Memorial Hospital to a hospice house at about 4:00 in the afternoon. It was a beautiful place (it looked like a lodge in the woods), and the nurses were so caring. Trish, Mom, and I were all by his bed, holding him, when he very peacefully just left the earth. In the background we had a CD playing, and the song that played as he passed was "Go Rest High on That Mountain." It was just as it should have been, and he is in no more pain. His body has been restored. There was a definite sense of peace in the room. Thank you all who offered prayers and wonderful words of inspiration, peace, and hope.

Robert Everette “Red” Langston—Born April 18, 1942, in Henderson, NC, Red passed away August 21 in Greenville, SC. A Daytona resident since 1969 and a retired Marine and water treatment plant operator, Red spent his life pursuing his first love, bluegrass music. He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Judy, daughters Trish Langston and Barbie Halaby, sister Linda Mallick and grandson Quinn Halaby. A memorial service will be held Saturday, August 30 at 11 a.m. at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Daytona Beach. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Open Arms Hospice/McCall Hospice House, 1836 W. Georgia Rd., Simpsonville, SC 29680.

Love, Us.

And the Hits Just Keep on Coming

So my parents are still in town. Dad's in the hospital here in ICU. His sodium levels were low, his potassium was dangerously high, and he was so weak he couldn't walk, even with his walker for support. Uncle Marcus, Jalal, and I literally carried him/pushed him in his walker from the hotel to my house (well, from the hotel to the car and the car to the house) Saturday night, where he slept sitting up on the couch for more than 12 hours. We knew we couldn't get him out of there again, so we had to call an ambulance and get him checked into Greenville Memorial. They saw some abnormalities on his EKG, so we're waiting to see if that is anything. He has a UTI, which they say could explain some of the confusion. He is very out of it, barely able to speak, confused about where he is (he thinks he's in Florida), and on IV fluids. I hate to say this because things could always be worse, but really this isn't fair. It was just two weeks ago that Louella passed away, only a week since her funeral, and now Quinn's first birthday party will always have this memory hanging over it. Can we please have just a little break? Maybe nothing could happen in September? Pray for that. A quiet, boring, uneventful September. Love, Us.

A Long Day Ahead

Hello all! My parents have been here since Saturday, so it has been a long week. I can't STRESS that enough. ; ) To finish off about our California trip, we had a nice reception at Marla's parents' house after the funeral, during which Quinn impressed people with his awe-inspiring eating habits and ran across the living room over and over again. He dutifully charmed everyone. The following day, Sunday, Jamel's boss gave him another day off so we decided to spend it as a family doing something fun. We'd had enough sadness. Even though everyone didn't get moving until almost noon (not everyone has an early-bird baby in their room, I guess), we ended up going to Disneyland. I know, kind of weird after a funeral, but we all agreed that's what Louella would have wanted. She loved to see everybody spending time together and getting along, which we (mostly) did. It was so cool to see Quinn experience the Disney thing for the first time. We have such cool pictures of us on Dumbo. (I know I'm WAY behind on posting pics. Our camera hasn't been able to connect to the computer. We fixed it today and will catch up soon.) It was really great for all the cousins to spend so much time together. Quinn fell in love with Hayley, and she couldn't get enough of him.
We had a bit of trouble getting home. Jalal managed to get us seats together on the flight, but he had a hard time sleeping for the first couple hours. We got a fair number of dirty looks and rolling eyes even though he was comparitively an angel. I can't stand it when people can't be a little understanding of how hard it is for babies and toddlers to fly for four and a half hours straight without getting to walk around. Come on! Our flight from Atlanta was postponed an hour and 15 minutes, and then our luggage got left behind. So we got home at almost 2 in the morning minus our suitcases. They didn't get delivered until 4:30 the next afternoon. Whew. It's all over though for a while. We've discussed setting a rule that we don't travel again if it can't be done on a road trip, at least not for a year or so.
Then we had just a few days to unpack, recover, and sleep before my parents got here. That has been tough, as my dad isn't very mobile and won't eat enough to keep his strength up. At least they seem to be enjoying Quinn and his antics. Right now, Trish and Wade are on their way here. They should be here in another hour or so. I'm so excited. And my bridesmaid dress got here just today!! Can you believe that luck? So we'll both go get fitted tomorrow, but first is Quinn's first birthday party!! I'm so excited! My Aunt Jacquie and Uncle Marcus are coming from Tennessee, too, and they haven't even met Quinn yet. Barry, Vicky, Aundrea, and Erika are coming up for the day as well. That's so cool. So I'll be sure and post some pictures and stories about the day in the upcoming week. I better go finish cleaning up and I still have some work to do on an edit. By the way, I need a job. If anyone knows of anyone who needs freelance copyediting or proofreading that I can do from home, send them my way. Arcadia is stopping their freelance work, and my job search so far has been less than fruitful. So help me stay a WAHM if you can. Thanks! Love, Us.