The Year in Retrospect

I'm listening to Christmas music on Pandora and I suppose feeling a bit maudlin. Girl stuff. Go figure. It's chilly outside, a bit cloudy, folks are down the hall talking about nonsensical stuff having nothing to do with the office, we're a week away from Christmas, I'm not really feeling it and I'm reminiscing.

This year has had some good stuff and it's had a lot of "crap" in it too....

February was fun, but felt a bit foreboding. I don't know why. I remember Brandon and I going out the last weekend in February on a Friday to pick up a camera from Best Buy. I was excited about it but felt "off" about buying it. It wasn't that it was terribly expensive, I just had a feeling we'd need the money soon. That night, we went camping with Jason and Ryan up at Magnolia Branch. Mowglie had found my phone that fell out of my pocket prior to our departure in our Casita and had a great ole' time killing it. When we arrived to the camp, the gate was locked and no one was around to let us in. We talked to some of the guys who worked there and got in with no problems and set up.

It froze that night. While we were setting up and eating, we literally watched frost form on the tables/chairs and our rigs. Jason and Brandon built a huge fire and we had a good meal, sat around and shot the shit, then went to bed. We had a big adventure ahead of us with a row down the river. That was a good day.

March. I don't remember everything about that day, Monday the 2nd, but it devastated me. A huge part of me lost trust in so much. Hubs feels the same I'm sure. It also put a huge strain on us. Financially. I went about my day and came home the next day to start making dinner when the phone rang.

My mom was on the other line asking me if I had a moment to talk...then added, Uninterrupted. I was like oh shit, wtf is this about? I wasn't ready to talk about the day before and figured she'd found out somehow. She opened by saying, your father had some tests. I remember distinctly literally moaning, oh mom, no.....

He'd had open heart surgery the day before. He'd not been feeling well and his doctor ran some tests and said he required immediate surgery to correct a faulty valve. I felt so devastated no one had said anything. Reading back on this I had to cover my face and take a moment for a few deep breaths. I said to her well, while we're sharing shitty news, listen to this...and told her about our blow from the day before and lamented on how we were going to live, to survive what was supposed to be 2-4 months which has actually turned into 9 freaking months of struggle. Yes I've done it with a grin (or grimace) and we've done okay and not been broken from it, but the wondering what the next day will bring as it's not exactly been a cake walk or what I'd like to think of as easy/steady has been the worst. I have so much gray hair now it's insane. There have been days I've felt like taking a ride to anywhere but here....The next day, we found out his Grandmother had to have surgery on her stomach to remove a cancerous portion. Days after that, I scheduled an overdue first mammogram.

HAH! Trepidatiously I went to that appointment, filled out necessary paperwork complete with family history and had the actual exam. Not as bad as I thought it would be. The next day was our 10 year anniversary, which was uneventful, but that was okay. Couple days later, I get a call from the hospital saying that I'd need another set of films made as they'd found a "spot" that looked suspicious. What they called microcalcifiations. GREAT. Turn on the waterworks. Will this shit end?? They didn't have an opening for a couple weeks, so I had to wait.

I go to THAT appointment and had to wait about an hour to be seen. I talked to a lady who was there for an upper GI and we traded war stories. Lots of folks out there with worse situations than me. I was finally called back and had an explanation with further detail as to why I was back there.

I said it's my left breast, right? She said yes, you have some microcalcifiations in the ducts that are more than likely benign, but we do want a second look. Oh and I also find out I have fibrocystic changes in both breasts. She said with a humorous look, at least your boobs are firm and not fat and saggy like mine. Hmmm...there is a silver lining in every cloud I suppose...I think of that every now and then when I catch a glimpse of my naked torso in the mirror and smile, oddly :)

The tech told me they'd let me know before I left whether or not the changes were cancerous or not. So I disrobed, had my stuff checked out and sat back to wait. She came out and said the doctor felt the spots were benign but that he wanted to see me again in 6 months as this was a first time exam and they had nothing to go on and compare it with. Relief! She recommended Vitamin E and Evening Primrose for pain.

My sister Amelia called and we talked in depth about Dad, us and informed me she was expecting. Good news amidst so much bad. Finally :)

So I shopped wiser, made lists, did inventories of stuff prior to grocery shopping, used the outdoors to dry clothes, made enough for leftovers for lunches/other dinners, stopped buying my "fancy" coffee, quit buying my favorite creamer I loved, changed my phone plan, tried to consolidate buying trips into ONE trip instead of several, quit eating lunch out, drank powdered drinks instead of cokes, etc. Hubby even quit smoking! That is fantastic!!!!!

Dad got better and went back to work.

I got a phone call from a friend about a band we both adore who were coming close to her. HAH I couldn't afford that and explained to her why. Somehow I wound up buying a ticket to Texas and she forked out half the cash for the ticket. Holy crap I'm going to Texas :) and I did. I had what felt like someone else living my life for a few days experience. At the airport, my friend called me prior to my boarding and said did you read your email???? We're getting passes to meet the band. holy crap was all I could think. I had a mission now! :) I boarded my plane from Montgomery and flew to Dallas Fort Worth, experienced the sky rail for the first time, had a burger then had time to sit for a second before boarding an airplane to Austin.

Another 45 minutes and I was in Austin and preparing to meet a friend I'd only met online and spoken to on the phone for the last few years :) Very exciting! We were to go see Whitesnake the next two days, then a day of doing nothing then my trip home.

The show was GREAT, we had not only backstage passes, but also two seats closer than what she'd been able to purchase. Douglas was quite generous. I was ecstatic to say the least. I called Hubby after we picked those up at the will call to tell him the fantastic news. A bright light in a darkened year :) We went backstage after the show and met with Douglas and Uriah and floated home on clouds of music and memories of the great show and meeting/hanging out with friends. We drove down to Corpus Christi the next day and repeated the whole thing minus meeting with the band afterwards. I was able to see the memorial to Selena as well...Great great trip.

The return home not so great. I found out my aging Grandfather was moved into a hospital for COPD then into hospice that Wednesday - the day I went back to work after my Texas trip. He passed away the next day. He was 97. I've blogged on this so I won't repeat it. I will say I do miss him. He was my one remaining Grand-parent. That was my July.

Not too much happened the next month. September rolled around as did my birthday. The day before that event, I went back to the radiology department for my next mammogram - 6 mo check up. More tests for which I brought my husband along for for support. No changes! Hurrah! I go back again in March and we'll go from there.

October rolled in and my folks called me as I was pulling out of my driveway. They told me that my sister had gone into the hospital the night before to give birth to her son. She'd not delivered yet, so I re-routed and went there instead of work. Luckily I'd brought my bag of clothes with me :) The little man came at 11:02 that night. Gorgeous little happy baby boy who's about to have his first Christmas. I hope he likes Dr. Seuss as he grows up. :) I'm very proud of Amelia and Eric.

November brought Grady home to us. A 6.5 year old Newfie boy who was surrendered by his former owners. He has been a great addition to the house. He's also been blogged about - from beginning to pretty much present day...

Now we're in December and the year is almost over...we're doing things sort of slowly. We're sort of not "feeling it". I have two weeks off starting Tuesday of next week and am looking forward to it. My plans are to re-arrange the bird room, finish up going through clothes to get rid of...those are immediate goals, not sure about what else I want to accomplish as of yet....