Grandma

On Nov 9, 2010 Lois Fanning Barry Schwartz joined her beloved husband, William Robert Schwartz whom had passed away on Oct. 6, 2007. They are survived by 7 children, Robert Barry, Colleen Johnson (Paul), Linda Gilkey (Gary), Cheryl Lane (Mark), Kurtis Barry (Donna), Mark Schwartz (Susan) Jeanell Delon, 12 grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren & Lois’ brother, Richard.

Lois was born on Dec 27th of 1930 to Richard & Irene Fanning in Denver CO. She grew up in a loving home at Lincoln & Elsworth with her parents, a brother, her paternal Grandmother and a Cousin. She went to Sherman Elementary, Byers Jr. High, and graduated from South High in 1949. She then went to Barnes Business School where she met her first husband, Robert Barry. They were married in Feb. of 1951. In Dec of 1951 they had a son, Robert and she became a stay at home mom. In Feb of 1954 they had a daughter, Colleen and then they added another daughter, Linda in May of 1955. By this time the one bedroom attic apartment was overflowing and they bought a home in a new area of town call Athmar. In 1959 they made a move to Midland TX with Bobs’ company. The family moved back to the house in Athmar in Denver, which they had rented out while in TX, in 1960. In June of 1963 another son, Kurtis, was added to the family. Soon after this Lois & Bob were divorced and her children became her life. She had to go back to work and was working for a Temp Agency when in 1966 she was asked to go to a job at Cahners Publishing.

Even though both Bill & Lois had gone to the same Jr. High and High schools Lois was 7 years older then Bill so they had never met. After Bills’ divorce in 1972 while working at Cahners they would see each other in the halls and started working on different projects together. There was an attraction there but Bill had done nothing about it. So after a while Lois decided in 1978 to take the bull by the horns and ask Bill out. Right away he said yes. Lois asked him later why he had not asked her out and he said that he thought she was married and would never get in a situation like that. In June of 1979 they were married in a home they had purchased in Cherry Creek Vista with 6 of their 7 children present along with 2 grandchildren. Bill & Lois worked, traveled, hiked and loved their home together. They were the best of friends. They celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with a garden party at their home with about 80 of their family & friends in June of 2004. In 2005 the first signs of cancer showed up in Bill. After a long battle he passed away in 2007. Bill was cremated and was waiting for Lois to join him.

In May of 2008 Lois sold the house in Cherry Creek Vista and moved to her new condo at Aspen Terrace in the Windcrest Retirement Community. Her condo was on the top floor with a balcony where she had a view of the beautiful mountains that she loved. The friends that she made there were invaluable to her. She loved to laugh & talk with her new old friends as she called them. They made her life a joy.

56 Days

That's how long there was between the day my grandma was diagnosed with cancer to her passing. 56 days... That's less than 2 months. Can I just say, CANCER SUCKS!!!!!!

How?

How do you want to find out your grandmother has died? I was asked this tonight. How do you answer a question like that? It was a valid question, one that I need to figure out the answer to. Cause it will happen and for me it is going to happen soon. My grandmother, my mother's mother, is dying. I have only had 6 weeks to wrap my head around it. She was diagnosed with advanced cancer 7 1/2 weeks ago. She decided not to fight it. Honestly, with as fast as it has gone, even if she did fight it, I don't believe it would have made any difference. I saw her 2 weeks ago at my cousins wedding reception, and while she was in a wheelchair, she still looked good, all things considered. It's hard to believe how quicly things have gone downhill. Yesterday afternoon, the family was told maybe a week, later last night, it was a few days. I cringe when the phone rings. Afraid that it is going to be the call. My mom asked me tonight what I wanted them to do if it happens while I am at work. I don't know what to say. I know what I want to say... "It's not going to happen so why ask." But I have to face reality, it is going to happen. Do I want a phone call? Do I want someone to come get me? There are many things in life we don't want to think about. This is one of them. And I better go figure it out. The situation is going to come sooner than later.

Teal Toes - Raising Ovarian Cancer Awareness

In preparation for my beach vacation, I went and got a pedicure today. I went out of my normal comfort zone and decided to paint my toes teal. I didn't really have any specific reason for it just that I wanted to do something a little different.

Well when I was checking the blogs I regularly read I came across a post about Teal Toes. September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Ovarian cancer is sometimes called the whispering killer. Too many women with ovarian cancer do not get diagnosed until their cancer has spread. Their survival rate is 45%. Survival rate improves greatly - to 93% - if the cancer is diagnosed at an early stage before it has spread. Only 19% of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed at this local stage. Make sure you know what the symptoms are. There is so much attention placed on Breast Cancer awareness (don't get me wrong that is very important as well) but I thought that I would take the opportunity to help get the word out since I painted my toes teal...

Where does the time go?

Wow... it's been 6 months since I posted. In a way I feel like I have been really busy but at the same time, I feel like I have done nothing. Let's see... since I last posted in December I have done the Christmas thing, went on a trip to Mexico, turned 31, greived the fact that we didn't get to celebrate a special someone's first birthday, tragically lost a friend, flew my best friend out here to have a girls weekend, decided that my next really big trip will be next year to London/Paris, celebrated my cousins college graduation, and took a trip to Florida that was very much needed... not too much but some of those events were pretty significant. My trip to Mexico was amazing. My favorite part was my birthday. We went whale watching and got to see a mating group of three humpback whales and boy did they put on a show for us. An experience I will NEVER forget. January 16th would have been Caitie's 1st birthday. It still sometimes feels like it was just yesterday that I was visiting her in the hospital when she was born. The precious angel will be deeply missed and every January 16, will mark the special day that we were blessed with her. At times I feel cheated but then I remember how blessed we were to have known her for 7 1/2 months, and I thank God for every last day we did have with her. On March 17th, I received news that my roommate from my freshman year, had passed. She was pregnant with her 4th child and suffered a stroke. They were able to save the baby but they were unable to save Kylee. She had such an impact on so many lives. That was evident by the fact that there were nearly 1000 people at the celebration of her life and nearly 400 more viewing online. Not to mention the 1600+ who are on the facebook page celebrating the impact she had on so many. Kylee will be missed by many. I flew Dawn out here the end of March and we had a good time. We don't usually get the opportunity to visit just the two of us. The only times we have had the opportunity it was just moments in the evenings when I was visiting or when the kids were really little. I love the kids but there are times when it is nice to just spend some time with your friend. We got 2 whole days this time around. She flew in late on a Friday night and we spent Saturday up at Red Rocks in the snow. Then on Sunday we went and saw Mary Poppins which was here in Denver. It was so much fun and I look forward to being able to do that more often. One day we will hopefully be able to meet up somewhere fun like NYC or something. I finally decided that my next big trip will be a sojourn to London/Paris. And if things work out right, I will be joined by a friend. Planning on about 10 days, split between the two cities and doing it on a tight budget. If things work out right, I am hoping that between airfare and lodging it won't be much more than $1500. That is some serious budgeting when you think that the two cities are some of the most expensive cities to visit. I will post more details as they are worked out. The trip is more than a year away but I am so excited about it already. My cousin graduated college! He is the first of us and he is the youngest (unless you count the cousins who came along nearly 20 years after him). I am so proud of him and to tell you the truth he has inspired me a bit and I am considering going back to school and at least finishing up an associates degree. We will see how that works out. :0) The last significant event was my trip to Florida that I just went on last week. It was truly a week of relaxation. I spent a lot of time in the sun and in the water. It was so desperately needed as I was about to lose my mind with the day to day drama that I deal with anymore. Just wish the trip was a bit longer. Now to figure out when I get to go back...