Nikki MurrayNikki Murray | Tag Archive | aunt http://buttershug.com Words and photographs from a Buttershug Sat, 07 Apr 2012 13:23:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Enough already http://buttershug.com/photoblog/great-aunt/ http://buttershug.com/photoblog/great-aunt/#comments Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:29:30 +0000 Nikki Murray http://buttershug.com/?p=2114 The photo above is Emma, curled up on my Aunt’s lap in my father’s reclining armchair, taken in February of 2007. She’d come over with my Aunt Liz to stay with me and the girls to see how we were doing with all the stress and sadness of Dad’s illness. None of us knew at the time that Dad was only a couple of weeks from the end. It was simply a great comfort to see them and have them stay with us that evening.

In September, I met up with her at an uncle’s funeral. The last time I’d seen her was at my father’s funeral. “We have to stop meeting like this,” she said as she threw her arms around me. I wholeheartedly agreed. Our family has been through a lot of pain in the last few years with more unexpected losses and disappointments than any family should have to bear in such a short span of time. If that wasn’t enough, I found out last week that she has been diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.

I’ve already been dealing in an inordinate amount of anger since my uncle’s death two months ago. Some of that anger is leftover from my father’s illness. Compounded with this recent news, I’ve probably had enough anger over the last week to power a locomotive from coast to coast. Slowly, I’m letting go of it but it’s not easy. I just want her to get well, and I want my family to stop suffering.

So here’s to hope in successful treatments, a full recovery and the idea that some good news is coming our way soon. We could use some good news. Man, could we really use some of that.

]]> http://buttershug.com/photoblog/great-aunt/feed/ 8 Independence Day http://buttershug.com/photoblog/independence-day/ http://buttershug.com/photoblog/independence-day/#comments Sun, 04 Jul 2010 18:44:20 +0000 Nikki Murray http://buttershug.com/?p=614 We woke up to an appropriately HOT 4th of July. It was already warm enough outside to sweat at 8:30 in the morning. The sun was brutal and the sporadic rain showers made it muggy but it was a perfect kind of day. I was surrounded by family, memories, and a beautiful view. I really couldn’t have asked for anything more.

hot enough to set my legs on fire at 9AM mr. Fritz, sayin' good morning kids dipping their feet in the wading pool the screened-in porch was the ultimate protection against the army of mosquitos this can was sweating about 5 seconds after I brought it outside the neighbors invited the kids for a dip even my aunt got in cousin, Sean, lighting a sparkler in his mouth. Marines are tough, but are they smart? Illinois has a restriction on all the big fireworks, so this was our stash of sparklers and poppers my aunt Sue and uncle Michael an absolutely beautiful Independence day, even with the heat Lex double-sparkling it my sparkler love the cool lighting effect from the iPhone4 camera Indiana toll booths are the suck each car took approx 2 minutes at the booth because it was unmanned and the change dispenser took forEVER Em, riding home with the blanket over her head ]]> http://buttershug.com/photoblog/independence-day/feed/ 0 The yearly pilgrimage http://buttershug.com/photoblog/the-yearly-pilgrimage/ http://buttershug.com/photoblog/the-yearly-pilgrimage/#comments Sat, 03 Jul 2010 02:39:09 +0000 Nikki Murray http://buttershug.com/?p=558 Every year I drive up to Chicago to see the family and visit the cemetery. The visit started began with a dinner, a trip to the cemetery and some walking around downtown. Family, food, friends and fun… always a good beginning. (Incidentally, I forgot my camera gear, so all these photos were taken with an iPhone4.)

relaxing after a long drive through Chicago traffic chillin' on Em's sofabed at a crappy hotel at least we had the dinner with my step-mom to look forward to sleeping beauty isn't really a morning person always working went to breakfast at Baker's Square, as is tradition this photo was taken before my kids both found hairs in their slice of pie grandpa and grams murray setting lilies on my grams' grave flowers for her grandpa love you, dad we stayed downtown that night and had this view from the hall (the room view was less glamorous) panoramic at Giordano's waiting for the pizza pie that's Chicago-style, baby a very blue sky photo trickery-fun cloned waiting patiently for me to stop goofing around so we could go at last, dessert without hair in it! (at Hershey's) Moe showing us a photo of us being geeky the river my peanut em & me mr. eaton vertigo ]]> http://buttershug.com/photoblog/the-yearly-pilgrimage/feed/ 2