December 2011 (it's nearly 2012; Happy New Year!!)~

Dear Journal~

Milton Eddleston here.  It's been a very long while since I last wrote in here; thought an update was in order ... here goes nothing ...

Hope you are recovering from Christmas.  We certainly are, but later today, Pa, Ma, and myself, will be taking down the Christmas tree and all the decorations.  Doing this always makes me a little sad.  I mean, you get used to seeing the pretty lights and stuff, and by the time you do, it's time to take everything down.  It's a pain!

I wish Christmas could last all year long!!

We still have our pig farm.  Things are going extremely well, even in light of the sluggish economy.  We've sold several of our bigger pigs and I was the runner-up to the "Best In Show" prize at the Iowa State Fair   Close, but no cigar.  I was a little disappointed.  I wanted my pig to take the title, but no go. 

Oh, well ... there's always next year!

We have had a lot of snow and bitter cold up here.  In fact, now, as I write this, it's snowing to beat the band, a real blizzard, and it's in the teens, with wind chills registering in the sub-zero category.  Whenever we have to go out to tend to the pigs, we have to bundle up, cover as much skin as possible, or else we could get frostbitten.

I certainly hope it's a lot warmer where you are at ...

Last year, Grandma Orie died.  She had a stroke.  It hit all of us hard, but especially me.  I was very close to her.  I miss her so much ... she was well into her middle eighties and still drove by herself, tended to her home, and enjoyed good health.  Then one night she had a stroke and she died in her sleep.  She went peacefully; she's now with Jesus, up on Heaven.  Grandpa Ocie is so lost without her; it kills me to see him being so sad and depressed ...

Grandpa Ocie lives with us.  It was either that or put him in a nursing home, and Ma, she didn't want to do this, so this is why Grandpa came to live with us instead.

My little cousin Travis Whitenauer is doing a little better, but not really.  He will never be able to walk, talk, or do anything on his own.  He is in a wheelchair, is tube-fed, and has to be dressed, bathed, and diapered, like a baby.  He was born seemingly okay, but then he started having problems with his development; by the time he was six to nine months old they found out that Travis  had something called Canavan disease.  It is a rare, genetic disease that is fatal: doctors don't expect him to see his teen years.  It's a really tragic condition.

His daddy is Jewish.  And his mom (my aunt) was found to have the gene when she got pregnant with Travis and she passed it on to him.  They don't have any other children.  (I guess that's a good thing, because there's a chance that another child could also have the disorder.)

I got two new cousins: my aunt Trinity had two boys a month ago; they are the cutest little stinkers! I first saw them at Christmas and they are the spitting image of each other!  Identical twins!  Their names are Brandt and Bryson and they turned a month on Christmas Day.

Ma was in the hospital this past July; she got sick with an infection and she kept getting worse: turns out tthat Ma had MRSA.  She nearly died, she was so sick, but she eventually recovered, but she had to quit doing some of the more strenuous farm chores, so now her second sister, Doris, comes over to help out every day.  Ma is still pretty weak and is trying to get on SSDI.  Her mind and her body just isn't the same.

It was a very scary time, but thank God she came through it!!  It was an answer to our prayers!

I am enjoying my time off from school.  The kids no longer bother me so much about being a farmer's kid or smelling like pigs.  That's a good thing; I can actually get through a whole day without being singled out or making to feel like a worthless loser!  I am in the eleventh grade; next year will be my last year in high school!  Time sure flies!!

Well, I have to go help Aunt Doris with getting the table ready for lunch and then get Ma and Grandpa Ocie, so I will run along.  Until later, this is Milton Eddleston saying so long!  May God bless you and may each and every one of you have a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!

~Milton.  :):

~To be continued; next entry will be entitled "Milton's Story (Part Ten)".