Happy Birthday Karen

Today would have been Karen's 37th birthday. At times I'm still stunned she's gone. So instead of focusing on how sad I am she's not here, I want to focus on the time I am grateful I had with her. And to celebrate, I am giving blood. I couldn't get an appointment today - although I will call after 9 to see if someone cancels. I give blood regularly (it's all about the nutter butters and oreos) and keep asking if I am a candidate for platelet donation. Karen needed a lot of platelets and I aim to replace them. The blood bank doesn't really want me to to that because of my rolling veins. At some point I'll wear them down.

The main thing I miss is Karen's laugh. She laughed often, which made me laugh too. Karen could also laugh at herself. She made sure she enjoyed her life. I miss Karen bragging about how little trash she created. It would crack me up when she would report how much trash her neighbors put out every week. She recycled everything. And she figured out how to reuse as much as possible. She was really frugal, too. She could stretch a dollar and only buy things she absolutely needed. I didn't fully appreciate this until after she was gone. Now I find myself being frugal and it's finally making sense. I find myself smiling when I pick up a new frugal skill. Karen would be so proud. I miss talking to Karen on the phone. It would always be a long conversation, interrupted by yelling at the dog, cats, and children.

Happy birthday Karen. My life will never be the same.