Feeling a little frustrated!

I just wrote a really nice blog about my parents retirement, and it said it posted, but it has never shown up. Up to this point I've never had any such problems, so I'm feeling a bit on the irritated and confused side. Why ever in the world would the system make my words totally disappear? I'd even added a nice picture of my parents that I took of them on Sunday, and which appeared with an article about them in the Newspaper yesterday. The article was mostly written by me, but I don't mind letting the lady with an actual job at the paper take credit. But I'd like to try again and get in the note about my parents, although I know this time it will feel redundant and cliche'd because it isn't the original!
According to the little box at the bottom of this page, every word is being autosaved. So what happened to the last round? Honestly, I'm not sure if I can even come up with what I said before. So obnoxious.
Anyhow, my parents are retiring the end of this month after 42 years of service wtih Village Missions. My siblings and I are working to throw a party for them next Saturday, but living all over the country it's rather difficult to conference call and have it all come together nicely. Since I'm the only one on location, I've been trying to work on party assignements in the midst of preparing for my rapidly approaching departure.
I'm looking forward to spending the next week with my family. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and we'll be able to have a good time "relaxing" before the main event. It's been 4 years since we were all together, and last time it was for my brother-in-laws funeral, so I'm sure things will be more uplifting this time around. Mom, Dad, and I have been working frantically to clean up the basement so there will be room for people to sleep, but it'll still be a bit of a trick to get everyone in and situated nicely.
Right now, my main hope for the party is that it will be a time when Mom and Dad will be able to see a small reflection of what they have poured into the lives of the people they have ministerd to. I feel so blessed to have them as my parents, and to have grown up in a family where I never doubted their committment to God, each other and to their children. It seems there are few people who have that opportunity these days.
On that note, I'd best be off to see what more I can get done before people start arriving. HOpefully it will post this time!!!