I had no idea that it wasn't a common little superstition that I mentioned the other day. My Mom started me on it as a little girl, just as she was taught as well. The theory is, at least in my family, that if you say 'White Rabbits!' three times as the first words you speak on the morning of the first of the month, the month will be full of good luck. It sounds easy, but it's not. Most times, I find myself talking to the dog before I remember what day it is.

This month though, I decided it was worth really trying to remember as October is a month of bad luck I'd rather not repeat.

I did a little research and there's a longer explanation of the superstition here.

My Dad is slowly improving, but the most difficult part is the emotion of it all. It is hard for him to accept the changes he's facing and he is often frustrated and angry. We just try to support him as best possible and like I said to him last night, we need to focus on improvements on a weekly basis rather than a daily basis.

My Mom fell on Sunday and hurt her ankle bad enough that she's needing a cane to get around. I tried to talk her into going to the hospital to have it x-rayed but she has refused so far. She doesn't want to leave Dad long enough to do that, and I think too, she's afraid of having to go to the hospital in general. She's managing slowly, and that's good, I guess.

I heard a terrible thing on the weekend that has made me feel very down. A girl I went to highschool with lost her daughter to brain cancer on Halloween. Her little girl was just 5! I read her blog over the weekend, and while I won't link it here out of respect for her privacy, it made me deeply sad to hear how much hope they had been holding out for her right until the end. On the day before her passing, they spoke of taking her to a neighbouring town on a holiday as soon as she got a little stronger. Once she started to slip though, she went very quickly. I can't fathom what it must have been for them to go through. Her mother was always such a warm and friendly person, and while I haven't kept in contact with her and haven't even seen her in a decade, my heart breaks for them. I have been asked to go to the services on Friday but have yet to make up my mind there. As I haven't kept in touch, I don't know that I have a place there and don't want to intrude. I will, however, be sending a card and a letter.

Other than that, it's been busy again with planning for the high school reunion, and general duties I'd been neglecting for the past few weeks. Things do feel, however, that they're looking up. I don't know exactly why, but they do and I'm going to go with that.