End of Year

 This year went by so freaking fast.  It almost seemed unreal. There were 8,500 blog views this year.  "RIP Uncle Wayne" topped for views.  Maybe because it was the last post this year until now.  So every view without searching got the last page and the last post.  

I've spent the last year fighting tendonitis in my knee.  That is so much fun.  Lots of ibuprofen and Tylenol.  Some days I think it is healing a bit and some days I do not.  I didn't let it stop me though.  I still made a trip to Las Vegas, and I took a grandchild to Chicago. I did a road trip to Indiana and flew there twice.  I worked all year even though I strongly feel it is the job that causes the tendonitis.  And the tendonitis aggravated the arthritis.  So much fun being stiff almost all the time.  

In August, I decided it was time to start making plans to do something different.  I think the knee will heal if I'm not doing this job. I'm hoping the arthritis will also calm down.  I had a conversation with my oldest grandson who informed me he needed to see more of me. Like a month at a time.  And so, the plan became retirement.  Next month I will quit my job and spend more time in Indiana with my grandkids.  Knowing this pushed me to pay off my car and set aside money for when I no longer have the paycheck.  I started letting the residents where I work know that I was leaving and more of them as the time got closer.  They have been a part of my community for over two years, and I didn't want to just shock them by quitting. I told them I will continue to visit with them.  

And so, 2024 winds down and ends.  Welcome 2025.  Looking forward with hope and excitement.

RIP Uncle Wayne

 

The last brother of my father died yesterday.  I keep getting closer to the oldest generation.

Wayne had liver cancer.  Medical advances gave him years longer to live but could not cure it. It gave us time.  Every trip I made to the midwest by car included a trip to Poplar Grove to see him.  And most of the time that worked out right.  I feel blessed that it all worked out that way.

Wayne loved the outdoors.  He hunted, fished, played with his dogs.  He also loved Sugar and Charlie, the cats that call him and Helga pets.  He had some of the best stories and shared them in these later years.  He loved roller skating as a kid and spent many a weekend night at the rink in town. He looked up to my dad and had lots of stories about him also, but probably not shareable on a blog.  After he retired from Chrysler he started mowing yards.  He kept his own impeccable.  He was always the fun uncle.  

Wayne was born in May, 1945.  Just turned 79 this last spring.  He leaves behind Helga, his three children, Russ, Patti and Frank, numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  It is always a hard transition for those left behind. But for him, there is no more pain and no more memory issues. I'm sure he was greeted with great warmth and love by those who went before him.  

RIP Uncle Wayne. Light and love on your continuing journey.  Give my dad a hug for me.  

Open Conversations

 Turns out Tanya died of an overdose.  Now this really came out of left field.  My understanding is they are still waiting on a toxicology report to see if it was accidental or intentional.  

I relayed the small bit of information to Mike.  His initial reaction is she didn't do drugs.  I explained that you can still overdose and not "do drugs".  We don't know what she overdosed on.  Could be over the counter stuff.  It could be she had an injury at some point and got pain pills legally.  She could have sleeping pills legally or the pills she takes for migraines.  Many many possibilities. 

In our world overdoses come from illegal drugs.  I'm pretty sure Mike has overdosed.  I have posted about the kid who overdosed on my driveway.  I remember back in the day that Cassie spent a couple different times in the ER because of it. 

Mike commented that he hoped she hadn't found a way to get fentanyl. The next thing was his usage in a sitting would kill her five times over.  That is sad, but realistic.  Mike and I don't often have open conversations about this stuff.  

Mike then told me about the last conversation he had with Tanya, and it wasn't pretty.  I've been on the other side of some of those conversations, so I can imagine.  I just looked at him and said "now you feel bad" and he agreed.  I left it there because anything I could say would just negate his feelings. Saying it the way I did showed him that I understood and did not judge.  He does feel bad and can now never fix that.  I'm sure wherever she is she knows that now.  

Tomorrow is never promised.  Life's curveballs can give us a door to open conversations.  Ten years ago, Mike and I would not have had the conversation we had.  But lately it has changed.  And this gave us an opening to connect a bit more on an honest level without hindrances.  

Thoughts From the Road

The trip started out really quiet.  Like almost no traffic until the midwest.  I saw lots of cows, horses and sheep.  I saw one goat and one antelope.  

Heading east I had my grandson with me.  He is the best travelling companion.  Every gas station that boy got out and washed the windshield.  He takes his time and does a fabulous job.  Me, on the way back, just did enough to get most of the bug guts off the window. I missed him on the way back.

Outside of the PNW the price of gas was much lower.  I never paid more than $3.45 a gallon.  Even paid under $3 in South Dakota.  Best gas was Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota.  I don't know how my car knows when it is bad gas before we drive but it sure knows upon start up.  At home a fill gives me just over 300 miles for the tank.  Good gas in the midwest gave me over 350 and bad gas gave 260.  

I took the youngest granddaughter to Chicago for her trip.  She said the best part was the zoo.  Lincoln Zoo and it is free.  We spent three hours there.  We also went up the Willis Tower.  She liked it but the ledge kind of scared her.  She is afraid of heights, but she still got in it and looked out. I'm not sure she looked down, but I did. We also attended the color factory and ate one night at the Navy Pier.  Tried to find a fountain to play in without success.  The one I knew about was shut off for the day due to an event in that park.  Oy.  We walked a lot and had a good time.

All of my grandchildren are maturing and becoming more self-sufficient.  I was mostly amazed at what they asked for.  The oldest wanted socks, toothbrush, toothpaste and a new brush.  The second wanted body wash, deodorant and socks.  The third didn't ask for anything specific, but she got to go to Chicago and got socks.  The youngest wanted shirts and got socks.  And of course, they all wanted snacks.  

On the drive back I stopped at the aunt and uncles.  They are doing okay.  Sugar came right over to me and stood up and put his front paws on the table.  He is such a big boy, and he seems to remember me from previous trips. Spent the first night in Minnesota with my cousin.  Day two showed me a whole bunch of buffalo in North Dakota.  I look for them every time I drive by and have only caught a glimpse of a few.  Saw a whole bunch this time.  

There was more traffic going home.  Maybe school was getting out in more places so more people were finally travelling.  It was a nice trip and now back to my regularly scheduled life.  

RIP Tanya

 It has taken me three days to think about this.  Life has this funny way of changing the trajectory of how things go.  Tanya and I were family for over 30 years.  But then it just drifted away.  Sometimes that is just how it is.  But over the years I have wondered about her and go looking for information.  Hoping all is well.  And it has been off and on.

Last week I had this sense that I needed to check and I found out that she had died.  Much too young.  She was 46 years-old.  She left behind her husband, mother, brothers and five children.  

Tanya had lost her first husband at a young age and raised two girls by herself.  She had many complicated relationships.  Had another baby as a caboose baby.  Got married again.  Ups and downs.  Life.  

I hope that she found joy and peace.  I applauded her successes and lamented the losses.  I always wished the best for her, but it took till my later years to process that sometimes someone's best is not what I think it is.  I hope that she also found that.  

I know, or have learned, that I can be judgmental.  Life has a way of teaching and those things that I would have judgment on would circle back around so I experienced things and have epiphanies.  I never told her that on things that I thought she did wrong.  She just did things differently.  

And so it is.  Love and light always sweet girl.  Give your dad a hug for me.   

Little Thoughts

 The changes at work just keep coming.  Our new Executive Chef left.  She made it all of about five months.  We had such high hopes for her.  But it was not meant to be.  Hopefully on to better things for her and us.  

I have this goal this year of a trip a month.  Not a big trip, just doing something different every month.  January took me to Vegas.  February got me to the beach.  Realizing that March is zooming by already. I think I need to actually plan the trips, not be too spontaneous.  

Reading a lot of non-fictions.  The latest book is about cadaver dogs.  So, I mentioned it to one of the residents where I work, and we got into a conversation about it.  He has actually worked somewhere where he got to witness a lot of training.  How cool would that be?

Been hanging out with Susan.  It is kind of nice to have a friend to hang out with again.  We watch movies and British crime shows.  And we eat.  So nice. Also, my schedule changed, and it opened up doing stuff with Marti again.  

My boy has been giving his mom fits.  Just normal boy stuff.  She is at her wits end and I'm like this is nothing.  Here is hoping he stays just in the normal testing boundaries and doesn't move on to move involved problems.  My girl got her lip pierced.  I was just so shocked.  This is the girl who wants her ears pierced without having to get them pierced.  Now she says she might get her ears done.  

Kudos American Airline

 My friend, Thorne, from my work community is a World War II survivor.  According to the World War II Museum there are less than 120,000 survivors left out of the 16.1 million people who served during that time.  

This week Thorne got notification from American Airlines that he has an invitation to the 80th Anniversary of D Day in France.  I believe he had a call or two prior, but you just never know with stuff like this.  Well, it is true.  And American Airline is paying for the trip for Thorne and a guest to France. 

Kudos American Airline and I'm so happy for Thorne.  It is an honor. 

Welcome 2024

 2023 was a quiet year for me.  Not a lot of blogging.  It's not that I didn't have things to write about, I just didn't have the motivation.  Looking back I had over 7000 views though. Which I still find to be amazing. 

Along with working full time I managed to go to Kokomo four times which included one drive there.  Took the eldest boy on a cruise.  Brought the eldest girl here for two weeks.  Went to Seattle for a long weekend and one quick trip to the beach.  I read a dozen books.  I tried new food.  And the household increased by one kitten and one puppy.  

The first half of the year went by so slow. The second half made up for it by just blazing by. And now on to 2024.

More trips to Kokomo and a trip with the youngest girl.  The youngest boy turns 6 tomorrow.  So exciting watching them become who they are.  I have a trip to Vegas at the end of the month.  I have a new stack of books to read. Life is good.