Update & Caitlin’s # 1 Pet Peeve

If I had to name my # 1 pet peeve it would be people that illegally park in disabled parking spots. This is an issue that I deal with face far too often. As most of you know, I work in Boston. If I am not running late for work, I try hard to get a parking spot on the street. Otherwise, it costs $19 a day to park in the closest parking garage. Luckily in Boston you can park in any spot with a meter for free if you have a disabled placard or plate. Disabled parking spots in Boston are few and far between.

I work pretty close to Spaulding Rehab which is right across the street from the County Jail which currently houses the Craig’s list killer and Clark Rockefeller. There are 4 disabled parking spots that I try to snag whenever possible. Watch this video and then I’ll explain:
http://wbztv.com/video/?id=81359@wbz.dayport.com

Clearly staff that work at the jail are abusing disabled parking spots. Kyle and I have suspected this for years. When we used to commute together, we would often see people parking in these spots that we suspected worked at the jail. I think we may have even seen them with their uniforms on. In the past, I’ve called people out that don’t “look disabled” and was wrong and felt like a real jerk so I stopped doing that. Anyway, I’m glad that WBZ’s sting operation worked. I just wish these jerks were penalized more strictly for this horrific behavior.

I know I haven’t been posting much. I got off the IV a week ago and am thrilled to be free from the wires and the dependency that came with the IV. I must say that my husband is an absolute saint. He took such good care of me and I am so blessed to have such a caring husband.
For those of you that are not on Facebook, my step-mother of 22 years died last week. She battled breast cancer for 12 years. We knew the day would ultimately come but it was still really tough to take the news. We had no idea she had gone downhill so fast. I received a call from my step-sister that she was in ICU and had hours to live. Remarkably she lived a few more days longer than predicted. She died at peace and is with my father again, which brings me comfort.

This Wednesday, My two oldest sisters went to NH to finally go through my father’s personal effects. My step mother wasn’t ready and we did not want to push her on the issue. It was really hard for them to go through his stuff. They were able to keep some mementos for us and the grandkids. Death is so final and I still can’t believe that my father is gone.

I recently read an amazing book called Cost by Roxana Robinson. It was one of the best books I’ve ever read. It is about a women who is dealing with her aging parents and her son who is a heroin addict. Ultimately her son died of an overdose and there is a quote in the book that really stuck with me and reminded me so much of my father. My father was cremated. He was a large man @ 6’4” and close to 300 pounds. I remember after he was cremated, my step-mother said something like,” it is so hard to fathom that this 6’4” man is now reduced to a small box. I came across this quote in Cost that I kept reading over and over. As I mentioned earlier, the main character’s son dies. They decide to disperse his ashes in the ocean in Maine. Before they start releasing the ashes into the water the author writes, “ The ashes inside were grayish crumbly and grainy, mixed with mineralish bits. It was Him. His whole life was here. Everything he had ever done had been reduced to this boxful of granular ash. This was all there would ever be of him.” Not sure why I felt the need to share that but it just really left a lasting impression on me. I know I will always have memories of my father but the fact that we won't meet again in this lifetime is still very hard for me to accept.