april 2006-january 2010

well...the time is finally here to say good-bye.



it has been quite a journey over these past 5+ years. for many of those years this blog has been my dear friend. it was a way for me to keep everyone near and far up-to-date on what was going on with the dewalts during our most challenging years. it was a place that i could come and cry and a place that i could come and laugh and a place that i could find a multitude of people praying for us.



but now i feel that it is time to put this blog to rest...a part of me is sad but it has become a real struggle for me to keep this updated. so before i leave i will give a quick update on the girls.



megan-heading back today (after the farm show of course) to PSU for her spring semester of her sophomore year. she will once again be involved in THON this year. FTK. she was able to land a "paid" internship this summer in camp hill so she will be around. then hopefully she will be heading for a "study abroad" semester. her destination is still not confirmed but she has narrowed it down to three (italy, australia or ireland).



kelsey-my sports nut. ski club every tuesday night (she is a snow boarder) and indoor soccer on the weekends. school soccer practice twice a week and off to the gym inbetween. she has finished up her college applications and we are waiting to hear back from a few yet then she will decide where she will be spending her next four years.



ashley-has seemed to find her niche in cadet teaching. she spends part of everyday at the elementary school helping in the first grade learning support class...she LOVES it and has decided to hopefully make a career out of it. awesome. she also is waiting to hear back from some colleges but will probably be a lady lion in altoona.



YES...in less that 9 months i will have THREE kids in college at the same time. keep praying for me.



ok...about today!!! today is the second anniversary of tim's passing. i thought it would be a good day to send off my final farewell blog. for the last month or so i was wondering what i would write and last night one of the kids said something profound and so i am going to borrow it.



when we were talking about the fact that today was going to be the anniversary day she looked at me and said "i just don't get it". i don't understand why that day would be any worse than any other day. so we chatted a bit and she was so right...i missed him on christmas this year terribly. she said she misses him every time she watches the little league world series. watching the dolphins and the mets and LSU baseball is a struggle. others see a church league or fast pitch softball game and miss him. others see a pepsi truck going down the highway and miss him. for some it is a golf match. for some it is childrens church. others it is the first day of buck season or the berwick marathon. this list could go on and on and on.



so...yes today is the day that we engraved on the head stone but each morning i wake up and he is not laying in bed next to me is the real day that i miss him the most.



thank you all so much for taking this journey will us. this blog has certainly served it's purpose and will be missed but it is time to move on. if anyone wishes to comment of this post i will certainly still be receiving the comments but i will not be adding anymore entries after today. you can also contact me via e-mail if you would prefer: tammydewalt@comcast.net



from me and the girls...



thanks for checking in...

october 27th

as hard as i tryed to stop this blog and write my farewell entry i just couldn't bring myself to do it before the "dreaded" birthday blog. as many of you know i am a huge fan of the fall and the winter seasons...many of you thought it was just because i LOVE the cold weather but just between you and me i think it all stemmed from the fact that as of OCTOBER 27th each year i was NO LONGER OLDER than tim...he would always catch up to me each fall and i could enjoy a few months of not having to hear about me being a year older than him.

today WE would both be 48 years old...

for him...way too young to be gone
for me...way too young to be a widow

i never was a huge fan of birthdays but tim just loved them!!! he loved his birthday and my birthday and the kids birthdays...he was such a "big kid" when it came to gifts and cakes and candles and all the fun stuff associated with birthdays.

i have to admit i am still not a huge fan of birthdays...and today was kinda a downer day. not that i don't think of him and miss him every single day of my existence but today i found that it was extremely hard to stay upbeat.

ashley has been struggling today also...and after work a very good friend stopped by and had a nice visit with her...thanks EB for listening to that tug on your heart and stopping by the house today. i can't begin to tell you how much it meant to her to see you today. we all deal with our grief differently and for her...a visit from you on her dad's birthday meant the world.

for me the birthday is only the first hurtle...the wedding anniversary is right around the corner.

thanks for checking in

sorry i don't blog as often...this full time working single mom is exhausted.

tammy

ps...only appropriate that the first game of the world series would start today.

hello

yes...i am still alive

megan called to remind me that tonight is the LAST TIME that i can say that i am the parent of 3 teenagers...as of FRIDAY, OCT 15th she will no longer be a teenager...hard to believe that she will be 20 years old.

*****************HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEG*********************
we have been a bit sporadic on the blog lately...i am getting really close to putting out my farewell blog entry. it is harder and harder for me to make the time to say what i want to say...

i could go on and on and on about this parent that had a heart cath or that parent that had a heart cath or that daughter that got yet her third concussion and is back at the clinic or my success's and failures at having a virtual trainer or the college search for TWO high school seniors or how excited i am that the one in college applied for an international study abroad semester...

i sit down to post an entry and my head just spins...so for now i just say HI and thanks for checking in. i will give some more thought to the future of this site and i will get back to you all soon.

enjoy this fall weather and have a great weekend.

tammy

new age...

did you know that one can hire someone to be a "virtual trainer"?

i was inquiring about getting a personal trainer to get me back on the exercise track...and i came upon this new concept (made for the busy people of this decade i guess)

after the initial in-person fitness assessment (more on that a bit later) and the first one hour workout i correspond with ROB via e-mail for six weeks and then i go back in for another fitness assessment.

bizarre i know

the primary goal is to make sure that your second fitness test scores higher than your first...which in my case should not be very hard to do.

does the phrase "well below average" tell you anything??? i told a co-worker that i was going to get a t-shirt that says that. YES...every single part of the test that involved me doing anything CARDIO came back with the same response..."well below average".

i couldn't just be average or below average...i had to be well below average...and NO they do not have a lower rating than that except maybe "comatose" or "dead". now the results did not all come back so negative...infact...bad as i did in the cardio...i did fantastic in all the strength tests that i had. (but how many 40-something year old women do you know that are happy to be told they can leg press 325 pounds without breaking a sweat?)

in summary i am extremely strong and can lift an enormous amount of weight but i can't run up a flight of stairs.

so...back to the treadmill and elliptical we go. goody.

i now get daily assignments via e-mail and the kids are to make sure that i am taking them serious and so far so good. although i was kinda surprised of the intensity and frequency of the assignments. i thought that we kinda talked about 3 times a week and i am getting assignments 6 days a week...he lets me have sunday off. each daily assignment lasts about one hour and it is taking me some time to figure out when i have a spare hour in my day but i will work it out somehow. i need to get serious again and start working on that CARDIO issue. the diet will soon follow...didn't want to set myself up for failure by starting BEFORE the bloomsburg fair.

wish me luck.

thanks for checking in

tammy

14 days...

or was it 17 days?

someone recently told me that there is a magic number of days that the kids are in school and BAM the sickness starts up.

i am not sure exactly what day we are on but we have been hit with the "back-to-school" germ spread. it seems like everyday either i have one going in late or coming home early and now kelsey is down for the count.

achy

fever of 102

sore throat

stuffy everything

yesterday she told me even her veins hurt...took her to the doctor today and they are treating her for a strep infection. she is sad because this is a big week for field hockey...she missed a game today and there is no way she can even lift her stick let along swing at a ball. tomorrow they play palmyra and friday they play hershey...she is sad. (coach is less than thrilled too)

oh well....what can you do.

you have to rest up and get better.

ashley has been a little under the weather also and has missed school...i honestly can not wait for these kids to be done with high school. the one day they told ashley she had to go home because she looked sick. (and had a fever of 99?) really?

in addition to my kids being sick my clothes dryer apparently picked up a bug of some sort also...so i wash here and dry at the laundromat down the street.

and my car needs an alternator...whatever that is

better days are coming

thanks for checking in

tammy

it's that time again...

yes...the time has finally arrived when we get to cheer on our lady indians.

i think by far this is kelsey's favorite time of the year:

the weather is changing

the leaves are turning

the boys are playing soccer

the boys are playing football

the boys are running cross-country

the girls are playing field hockey

what a wonderful time to be an athlete (and it doesn't hurt to be a senior and a captain too)

we won our first "regular" season game tonight. it was fun to be back in the stands cheering on the girls.

ashley is driving home tonight from long island, NY (kids were off school today)

she was helping a friend's mom who does floral arrangements and she got to attend her first "jewish" wedding...sounds like it was an amazing event.

meg is feeling a bit better.

thanks for checking in

tammy

go lions...

we just got home from state college...we were able to get some tickets for the first game and i happened to be off work this weekend so off we went. (me and the girls and a couple of their friends)

it was a great day. the temperature stayed PERFECT for me...it was a nice and windy 65 degrees and i was thrilled. (kids were a little chilled but oh well...) PSU secured their first win of the season and i ACTUALLY GOT TO SEE THE BLUE BAND PLAY ON THE FIELD. i have been to many many games but this is the first time that i wasn't sitting in a rain poncho or throwing snow balls. it was GREAT.

after the game we stopped by megan's apartment for a visit. she is fighting a cold so if you have a minute say a little prayer for her but other than that all is good in happy valley.

hope you are all enjoying your labor day weekend.

take care and thanks for checking in

tammy