This has been quite the year....
...and since it's still not quite over, I don't doubt that there are still a few surprises waiting around the corner.
I must admit, when we came into this year, all I was really expecting was my new baby granddaughter who was due in March, right around her sister's first birthday. Soooo, little Cutie Patootie made us wait an entire week for her arrival, which pretty much means that we have been suckered into being at her whim probably for the rest of our lives. All she has to do is bat those baby browns, turn up the side of her mouth ever so slightly and I'm giving away the farm. Sis has that ability, too, but she doesn't have it quite down pat as the Little One. I'm doomed to be a pauper.
Of course, the first statement is just a bit misleading, because as some of you may know, we were also fostering a soldier's dog until we could get her home to Korea. With a lot of help from friends and United Airlines, Angel got home to her family in February. That was a very special and also very bittersweet for this family. We had gotten attached to Angel after losing Draco just the prior November, so letting her go on the plane for however many hours it was without us was just shy of painful. Our hearts broke, but we were humbled and pleased that we could make this one small sacrifice for a young man who was sacrificing every day for us....all of US.
This year also brought me to a point in my life that I never in my wildest dreams or nightmares thought that I would be...unable to work at a regular pace. I mean, I can work, don't get me wrong, but with the fibromyalgia a lot of my days are hit and miss and to be gainfully employed according to the Department of Social Security, I have to have the consistency without the interruptions of pain, fatigue or absences, none of which I could control at any given time. I was blessed to be able to get before a judge who deemed that it would not be beneficial to employer nor employee, so he granted the disability. Personally, one day doing more than I should and I feel every nerve on fire, everything hurts including my hair and toenails, which most days aren't on speaking terms with me anyway. In August, I lost feeling in my ring finger and pinkie finger on my left hand for the most part. The ring finger comes and goes, the pinkie all I feel is pressure. Makes for a lot of corrections on that side of the keyboard.
I have also been able to travel outside of the country for the first time in my life. Travelling to Okinawa has been a blessing for me, and an adventure from time to time. I love the culture, the people are for the most part friendly, but never, never call them Japanese...they are Ryukyuns and they will speak quite loudly about that one. There are some fairly rude folks there, the ones that believe that the US presence there is unneeded, that they have over-stayed their welcome, but when it boils down to the nuts and bolts of the economy, the US presence provides a good 75% of their income. Can't beat that with a stick.
2012 has also brought sorrow. May 26 brought an end to a life of a man who served this country proudly and brought into this world the love of my life. My father in law, Howard Brown passed from this life to the next after a long battle with dementia. After having a stroke earlier in the month, the battle was nearing the end and then he was....gone. He will truly be missed.
May also brought some joy and more sorrow in the form of a beautiful little lab puppy we named Kona. She was sweet, smart and parvo-positive, even though we did not know it at the time. Still I second guess myself on my course of action, but in the end I know in my heart that no matter what my actions would have been that day, May 29th, that we would have lost her to that horrible virus. Soon, we will be trying to have the puppy presence in our home again, but she will not be forgotten.
May also brought the Beast into our lives. I must say that I have not been this fond of a bucket of bolts since my 67 Camaro when I was in high school. It doesn't like to be awakened and it does take some coaxing to get it started (I need to replace the choke), but when it starts, it's a champ. Several people have offered to buy it from me and each and every one of them has been turned down. Not only does a monthly car payment not appeal to me, but neither does increased insurance payments, the ridiculous on-board computers of the newer cars or the sky-high cost of repairs. A good portion of repairs, well, at least the simple ones since my upper body strength is kaput, as I found out trying to change out the spark plugs this week, are fairly simple, although it took me a full two days to change eight plugs, any other time in the past, an hour, tops (I say that because two of them were seized in). All in all, the rust bucket stays and I'm enjoying its freedoms.
November brought us back to family. This is the first Thanksgiving that we did not have our PopPop (my father in law), so we felt very compelled to spend it with Nana and the rest of Chris' family. The obvious absences of PopPop, Lisa (Chris' sister) and Bill (his older brother) who had passed on in the years before were noticeable, but the absence of my Punky and her family weighed heavy on me as well. Praise God for Skype, we were able to connect with her and everyone who was at Nana's house for dinner was able to wish her and her family a happy Thanksgiving way out in Okinawa. Technology can be a wonderful thing.
That brings us to now, December. It's been interesting so far and it's only the seventh. Houston is an interesting place. You can have rain on the west side of the street, but the east side is bone dry. Only in Houston can you have near ninety degrees in December with Christmas lights shining up and down both sides of the block. The beauty of the Christmas lights sometimes gets dampened by the 87% humidity of the night and the mosquitoes that fight for the landing strip that is called your arm. It also brings us to last night when I received a phone call from my Dad telling me that Mom may have had a minor stroke. My heart sank, Mouse went nuclear and all I could think of is I didn't know how Dad would be able to withstand losing Mom if it was bad. Immediately I started silently praying that God would spare her and allow her to at least meet her youngest Great Granddaughter in person when they returned to the States in 2014...that the ER doctors were wrong and in the case that they weren't that they would have the wisdom and knowledge to treat her properly to avoid any permanent damage. Needless to say, sleep was elusive for most of us and the ones that did sleep here slept fitfully. As for Mom and Dad and Aunt Donna who was with them, sleep kept its distance as it often does when one is in an hospital bed. Today, after prayer chains going up all over the world, God has been gracious and merciful and we still have Mom around...zero indication of a stroke. The doctors are puzzled but it is good to know that the stroke was not to have her at this particular time or place. If God wills it, we will have her around for a good long time.
So, yes, it has been quite a year. I know, there are still the next eighteen days that are forecast to be the last that this world will see...Personally, I am still betting on the Bible's version...so far all of its prophecies have come to pass....no need to bet on something that is fallible at best, I mean, the Mayans don't even exist anymore, what can that possibly say about their prediction of the end of the world on the 21st? Sorry, but I've finished my Christmas shopping and by golly, we're opening them on Christmas Day!
Well, folks the time is nearing that I'm starting to fall asleep on my keyboard so I'm shutting down for the night. Have a wonderful and blessed weekend!
Oh, lest I forget....on the 22nd, be sure to be on the lookout for the stray zombie or two! LOL!
I must admit, when we came into this year, all I was really expecting was my new baby granddaughter who was due in March, right around her sister's first birthday. Soooo, little Cutie Patootie made us wait an entire week for her arrival, which pretty much means that we have been suckered into being at her whim probably for the rest of our lives. All she has to do is bat those baby browns, turn up the side of her mouth ever so slightly and I'm giving away the farm. Sis has that ability, too, but she doesn't have it quite down pat as the Little One. I'm doomed to be a pauper.
Of course, the first statement is just a bit misleading, because as some of you may know, we were also fostering a soldier's dog until we could get her home to Korea. With a lot of help from friends and United Airlines, Angel got home to her family in February. That was a very special and also very bittersweet for this family. We had gotten attached to Angel after losing Draco just the prior November, so letting her go on the plane for however many hours it was without us was just shy of painful. Our hearts broke, but we were humbled and pleased that we could make this one small sacrifice for a young man who was sacrificing every day for us....all of US.
This year also brought me to a point in my life that I never in my wildest dreams or nightmares thought that I would be...unable to work at a regular pace. I mean, I can work, don't get me wrong, but with the fibromyalgia a lot of my days are hit and miss and to be gainfully employed according to the Department of Social Security, I have to have the consistency without the interruptions of pain, fatigue or absences, none of which I could control at any given time. I was blessed to be able to get before a judge who deemed that it would not be beneficial to employer nor employee, so he granted the disability. Personally, one day doing more than I should and I feel every nerve on fire, everything hurts including my hair and toenails, which most days aren't on speaking terms with me anyway. In August, I lost feeling in my ring finger and pinkie finger on my left hand for the most part. The ring finger comes and goes, the pinkie all I feel is pressure. Makes for a lot of corrections on that side of the keyboard.
I have also been able to travel outside of the country for the first time in my life. Travelling to Okinawa has been a blessing for me, and an adventure from time to time. I love the culture, the people are for the most part friendly, but never, never call them Japanese...they are Ryukyuns and they will speak quite loudly about that one. There are some fairly rude folks there, the ones that believe that the US presence there is unneeded, that they have over-stayed their welcome, but when it boils down to the nuts and bolts of the economy, the US presence provides a good 75% of their income. Can't beat that with a stick.
2012 has also brought sorrow. May 26 brought an end to a life of a man who served this country proudly and brought into this world the love of my life. My father in law, Howard Brown passed from this life to the next after a long battle with dementia. After having a stroke earlier in the month, the battle was nearing the end and then he was....gone. He will truly be missed.
May also brought some joy and more sorrow in the form of a beautiful little lab puppy we named Kona. She was sweet, smart and parvo-positive, even though we did not know it at the time. Still I second guess myself on my course of action, but in the end I know in my heart that no matter what my actions would have been that day, May 29th, that we would have lost her to that horrible virus. Soon, we will be trying to have the puppy presence in our home again, but she will not be forgotten.
May also brought the Beast into our lives. I must say that I have not been this fond of a bucket of bolts since my 67 Camaro when I was in high school. It doesn't like to be awakened and it does take some coaxing to get it started (I need to replace the choke), but when it starts, it's a champ. Several people have offered to buy it from me and each and every one of them has been turned down. Not only does a monthly car payment not appeal to me, but neither does increased insurance payments, the ridiculous on-board computers of the newer cars or the sky-high cost of repairs. A good portion of repairs, well, at least the simple ones since my upper body strength is kaput, as I found out trying to change out the spark plugs this week, are fairly simple, although it took me a full two days to change eight plugs, any other time in the past, an hour, tops (I say that because two of them were seized in). All in all, the rust bucket stays and I'm enjoying its freedoms.
November brought us back to family. This is the first Thanksgiving that we did not have our PopPop (my father in law), so we felt very compelled to spend it with Nana and the rest of Chris' family. The obvious absences of PopPop, Lisa (Chris' sister) and Bill (his older brother) who had passed on in the years before were noticeable, but the absence of my Punky and her family weighed heavy on me as well. Praise God for Skype, we were able to connect with her and everyone who was at Nana's house for dinner was able to wish her and her family a happy Thanksgiving way out in Okinawa. Technology can be a wonderful thing.
That brings us to now, December. It's been interesting so far and it's only the seventh. Houston is an interesting place. You can have rain on the west side of the street, but the east side is bone dry. Only in Houston can you have near ninety degrees in December with Christmas lights shining up and down both sides of the block. The beauty of the Christmas lights sometimes gets dampened by the 87% humidity of the night and the mosquitoes that fight for the landing strip that is called your arm. It also brings us to last night when I received a phone call from my Dad telling me that Mom may have had a minor stroke. My heart sank, Mouse went nuclear and all I could think of is I didn't know how Dad would be able to withstand losing Mom if it was bad. Immediately I started silently praying that God would spare her and allow her to at least meet her youngest Great Granddaughter in person when they returned to the States in 2014...that the ER doctors were wrong and in the case that they weren't that they would have the wisdom and knowledge to treat her properly to avoid any permanent damage. Needless to say, sleep was elusive for most of us and the ones that did sleep here slept fitfully. As for Mom and Dad and Aunt Donna who was with them, sleep kept its distance as it often does when one is in an hospital bed. Today, after prayer chains going up all over the world, God has been gracious and merciful and we still have Mom around...zero indication of a stroke. The doctors are puzzled but it is good to know that the stroke was not to have her at this particular time or place. If God wills it, we will have her around for a good long time.
So, yes, it has been quite a year. I know, there are still the next eighteen days that are forecast to be the last that this world will see...Personally, I am still betting on the Bible's version...so far all of its prophecies have come to pass....no need to bet on something that is fallible at best, I mean, the Mayans don't even exist anymore, what can that possibly say about their prediction of the end of the world on the 21st? Sorry, but I've finished my Christmas shopping and by golly, we're opening them on Christmas Day!
Well, folks the time is nearing that I'm starting to fall asleep on my keyboard so I'm shutting down for the night. Have a wonderful and blessed weekend!
Oh, lest I forget....on the 22nd, be sure to be on the lookout for the stray zombie or two! LOL!
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