There's good news and then there's bad news. Since I was recently offered a new job that I couldn't really refuse accepting as the pay is good and the opportunity is more in line with my skillset and career goals. The bad news is that I won't be able to take any time off until March at the earliest as there's the whole 90 day waiting period.

Now I must let the family know that it's not a possibility. Fortunately phone calls are fairly inexpensive.

The next task will then be shopping for gifts to be delivered in time for the day. This isn't going to be too hard but it's not that easy either.

Fortunately mum is doing great physically. It's coming to terms with the loss of her husband that is the hard part to deal with. Having her daughter and grandsons in the same house is helping though, as she can talk when she wants to and not talk when she doesn't and there will be somone around to keep her compant.