Daily Grind....family thoughts

It seems appropriate that on a Monday I would write something about "the daily grind". The first day back to the office is always something to be scowled at, but today was just a day full of changes that I think my entire family scowled at a little bit. Today Abby stayed home with Grandy (my mom), and I went to work without either of them. Abby has been refusing a bottle for about 6.5 weeks now, but had a breakthrough on Saturday while I was out of the house and took one. Given that she can smell me from ~30 feet away (at least that's what I'm told...but I think it's more like 30 yards), it would make sense that I would need to be nowhere around for her to consider a "replacement". This is the longest I have been away from her...ever...I did go home mid day to nurse her because she was again refusing a bottle and my "mommy guilt" just will not let me "torture" her like that just yet. I know she will not let herself starve...but she's so ridiculously pitiful that it breaks my heart.
So Grandy is doing us a favor by breaking her into the routine of me back at work, and the almost as fabulous perk of setting up a crock pot meal for when we get home. I love love LOVE the crock pot...how could I have had TWO in my house still in boxes from when we got married a year and a half ago and never broken them free?!!?!?
On a totally different note, today I am constantly thinking of the daily grind everyone around me has, more particularly my brother (even though he is not directly around me). We live about an hour away from my brother, sister-in-law, and two nephews, and yet we never see them as much as we do. My brother is the owner of Rick Ware Racing and owns/manages Nationwide, Camping World Truck, Arenacross, and several other racing teams. Needless to say....he's VERY busy. I got to see the family this past Saturday at a funeral, and then again (with Abby and Kyle) for dinner at the Chop House.
The funeral was for Rick Ware Racing's Marketing Director whom we lost suddenly due to a heart attack. The amount of work that he put into the organization and his sudden loss was a harsh reality check for me about the fragile state of business and family. How can we ever protect ourselves from something like this being anything besides utterly devastating on all levels. I can offer to help in any manner I can, but I can never replace...no one can. I watched my brother during dinner and saw him talk to our dad about the next racing season (dad still races at 69...crazy....but he LOVES it)...and I saw the spark in his eyes. I have always admired the tenacity, dedication, and above all faith that my brother has in his business and family life. It it that much more apparent to me now that I have my own business and my own family, and every day I remind myself to "stick with it".
RWR had a HUGE accomplishment this year in winning the Rookie of The Year title for the Nationwide series with the youngest driver in NASCAR history to ever do so. I feel like I am on my own hunt for the Rookie of The Year for my own industry, but I have much of a less public setting in which to do so. I wish I had more time...or rather that life had more time...so I could sit down with my brother and not only tell him how much I admired him, but also ask him WHERE he finds the strength to keep going when you feel like you're moving away from the light at the end of the tunnel. How do you find the perfect combination of dedication, faith, tenacity...and above all hope for a brighter tomorrow?

I'll have a Chic Moment tomorrow I promise...just trying to sort through them all....

Until Next Time....

Dabble