Life Got In the Way!

Look! All my ducks are in a row!

Wow! It's been forever since I sat down to write. This year has been crazy busy and full of unforeseen events. If you had told me what had been in store for us, I would have laughed at you and said you were nuts! 

January brought a serious back problem for my husband. He was hospitalized for 10 days, home health care and therapy for a few weeks then physical therapy for a few months. In fact, he just wrapped up his physical therapy a couple of weeks ago. He was off work for a couple of months, started working part-time from home, then just got the OK to go back to work at the University when the Covid-19 shutdown happened. He has not been physically to work since

January 17th! He's been telecommuting every since and he loves it! 

I've had a bunch of adjusting to do. Not only is hubby working from home, but so is our son. Our son was looking for an apartment when this all hit. That came to a halt when the shutdown happened and now, with working from home with his job from the University, he's putting more time in than he'd be doing physically at work, which seriously limits his time to look for any housing - besides the issues with social distancing and the instability of the future. 

My daughter lives on the other coast and was supposed to fly out and stay out here for 2 weeks. I was hearing rumors of a shutdown and quarantine for those that travel, so gave her a heads up. We were watching things closely, and just before she was scheduled to leave, shutdown happened. She had to cancel so many things that was planned for here, including her wedding. She was coming out here to finishing arranging things for the wedding that was to take place this year, when everything went haywire. She and her fiance decided it was best to cancel and wait this mess all out and then do a wedding out there, close to home. 

Another heartbreaking thing happened was my best friend, Val, died. She was one of the most amazing people I had ever encountered in life. She always made me laugh and was there for me when I needed someone. She would drag me around to places that I would have never have know about. She introduced me to so many things and added so much to my life. She was not only my friend, but a friend of the family and was like another family member - especially to my son. Val didn't have children, so she "adopted" him. She died during lockdown, so there was no public funeral for her. I never got to say goodbye. Goodbye, Val. I miss you so much...

It's been a huge adjustment for all of us. With a wedding cancelled and a best friend gone, lockdown with freedom taken away and having to get used to having two very independent males underfoot all the time, it has been an emotional challenge. Mostly emotional because there was no one to grieve with. There were a few days I just shut down, but I guess I needed to.

However, even after all that,  I can honestly say I'm enjoying the forced proximal closeness of family. I hear all the negatives about the shutdown/lockdown and not really any positives. For me, there are a few negatives, but overall I'm enjoying home life.  I'm shopping more because most is being done online. I have large, heavy things like kitty litter delivered now, but I started that in January when hubby had his back issue. It is so nice not having to put a 35 pound bucket of litter in my cart, take it out and put it in the car, then take it out of the car and lug it in. Now, I just have to lug it in, and that's really wonderful for an older woman like me! LOL Yes, I still have to get fresh, frozen and refrigerated items at a physical store, but that's about it. I have some physical issues with wearing a mask, so I limit my time out in one.

I've also found our family has grown closer. There aren't really any arguments - maybe an occasional tiff, but even they aren't really happening. In fact, I can't tell you when the last time was that we had a disagreement of any sort. Hmmmm....  And out house is small - only a tiny bit over 1000 square feet, so it's not like we can really run away from each other! 

We've all been looking into hobbies - my son has started concentrating on woodworking more. Hubby putters around more but is still physically limited and not able to do what he used to. He's had to refocus and give up some things. His has been more of a mental challenge - having to give up things he loves to do and finding new things.

Me - well, I'm always learning and trying new things. This year, I've been wanting to make my own things. I've been focusing on handmade items to see how many things I can make or repurpose and not have to depend on trying to find the "right" fit of clothes, style, etc. I've taken a few online classes, made my first cardigan, designed my first crocheted top, dehydrating new foods, experimenting with growning unusual (to me) plants, solar cooking and making my own jewelry. I'm sure there's more that I'm not mentioning.

So that's 2020 up to July in a nutshell for me. Life is different - and I'm enjoying it. I'll be sad to see the guys go back to work when this is all over. I'll miss them.

Goodbye 2019

I can't believe it's really the last day of 2019. Where did the year go? I had so many plans and ideas, but because of weather or other circumstances, they didn't all get done. There's always next year and I am really looking forward to it!

Although many things weren't done, there were accomplishments and new things tried. We dehydrated more, canned new things and explored new places. I cannot complain, even with all that we didn't do. Every year is a time to try to better one's self and every year that seems to be accomplished, maybe not to what I'd originally set out for, but still there's improvement.

Tonight will be quiet for us. We will settle down with a good book or movie and probably go to bed before midnight. Us old folks here don't stay up late like the young'uns do. We will just enjoy the day and evening and reflect on the last year and think about all the things we would like to do next year.

Now on to a new and clean slate!

Have a safe and happy New Years Eve!!!

An Imperfection Can Hold the Greatest Beauty

December is my time to reflect on what has happened throughout the year. I go over my accomplishments, "failures" that hold lessons learned, and things I didn't have time for. It is also the time that causes me to remember so many things about family and friends.

As I was sorting through some boxes in the basement, I came across a box that held a ceramic bird tree.  My mother made this tree for me many years ago. She was taking ceramic classes at the time and decided to make a snow covered bird tree for me for Christmas. She had glazed it and put the snow on it and perfected it to make it look exactly how she wanted it to be. The tree was put in the kiln to fire, and that evening, the electricity went out, so the owner of the shop couldn't fire it right away. I can't remember how long the power was out, but it was long enough to allow the snow to slide down a bit. The owner didn't let Mom know what happened and just fired it. When Mom went to pick it up, she was very unhappy with it and was going to throw it out! It wasn't the perfect tree that she wanted and felt it wasn't gift worthy.

I absolutely loved it. It looked so much more realistic to me. I begged her to finish it by adding the lights and to let me have it and not toss it. She did finish it for me, but was terribly reluctant to give me the tree. She was so disappointed in it. My mother was a perfectionist and , believe me, she would never gift something that she felt was not up to her standards. However, by her doing this, I'm sure there were things people missed out on, because something she made for them was not "perfect" and she wouldn't gift it, but go out and buy a gift from the store instead.

I will admit, her needing things to be perfect had rubbed off on me some. It has taken me a long time to get over the need for perfection. Pulling out the tree brought back so many memories and how much I learned from it. Believe me, I see the tree and realize that an imperfection can hold the greatest beauty. I think the tree is much more beautiful that if it had turned out perfect.

December - My Time for Reflection and Planning Ahead

I cannot believe it is already December! The year has gone by so quickly - where has it gone?! I swear it was just yesterday that I was waiting for the rains to stop so I could plant my garden (which didn't happen!) Now I'm waiting for seed catalogs to plan for the coming year!

For most, December is a time of rushing and getting ready for Christmas, yet for me, it is a time to reflect and think about how things can be improved for next year. My last week will be looking at my list of goals that I made last year, seeing what I accomplished and planning a list for next year.

I like the relaxing atmosphere of not having to worry about Christmas. There was a time I was hugely upset that we no longer celebrated it, but I've come to a realization that it's nothing more than a consumer nightmare. Yes, I still give gifts to those that celebrate, but I no longer feel pressured. That is just what I need at this age.

Speaking of age - I've finally come to the realization that my body and mind are no longer the same age. My mind thinks it's much younger than my body knows it is. Getting hurt 2 almost 2 years ago made me realize I need to slow down. (And believe me - it took almost those 2 years of healing to come to terms with that!) Things don't get done as quickly, and that's OK. I don't need to be Superwoman any more!  The funny part of that is, I do a little each day and it seems I'm getting more done. Then again, maybe not.