As 2021 comes to a close, it becomes time to reflect on the past year. While I was showering the other morning, the theme “A Series of Fortunate Events” came to mind.
Truth is, I’ve had a very fortunate year.
It could have been a whole heck of a lot worse.
We started last year with a whole bunch of worries, especially about the ongoing Covid crisis. Vaccines were just becoming available, but we were still stuck at home, wearing masks, and looking askance at those who would rather not, despite the risks involved. Carol was among the first to have a “Fauci Ouchie,” because of her occupation. Well, that and the fact that her employer made sure that the deed was done.
I drove her up to Sherman – about an hour each way for both of her shots. No ill effects other than whatever digestive problems might arise with a Whataburger we had on the way back. When she got her booster, she got it at a CVS in McKinney. The one right next door to a Whataburger. A new tradition, what do you think?
My first two doses came a couple of months later at a recreation center in Plano. I had a great time. A really great time, chatting up the nurses before heading home with no aftereffects, even after having the booster about a month ago!
I had quite a bit of exposure to nurses and doctors over this past year. My family doctor got on my case about my weight and the fact that I was 67 and had not had a colonoscopy. I put off his first request back in October 2020. He insisted that I go after a visit early this year. I wasn’t very happy about doing the procedure – and was extremely unhappy with what I had to do to prep the night before. The procedure itself was a piece of cake. That from my point of view until I got a call a few days later telling me that there was something removed which didn’t belong and that I had to see a surgeon about having some other work done.
It was not going to be put off. There was an exam with a surgeon, followed with a few weeks of physical therapy as a foretaste of what could possibly happen to me, followed with an appointment in an operating room with a robot nicknamed “Karen.” The foretaste had me worried that I would be spending a year of surgeries, including a Christmas spent with a colostomy bag, and all the joys of chemo and radiation to boot. The call from the surgeon a few days later was so good that I offered to bear the doctor’s children!
I’ve been back to see the woman a couple of times, with another visit scheduled before the end of the year.
Since it was cancer, I now see a cancer specialist. My little surprise was rated as a Stage 1 cancer. Apparently, the problem was localized and had not been wandering around my body. A fortunate event, indeed! At the same time, I will be monitored very closely for the next five years.
In other news, we survived the deep freeze in February. No power for three days, but we were able to tough it out with both grills working, sometimes at the same time. Beats having cold meals on a cold day.
Before the deep freeze, we contracted to have solar panels installed on the back of the house. A crew showed up at the end of February to install the panels and hook them into our electrical supply. After a round or two with our electric supplier, we started to see negative electric bills for a few months before seeing actual (and significantly lower) bills over the summer. It was a good move – one which will be even better with the tax credit we will be getting when we file next year.
The dog Filbrix had a good year, despite being spayed in October. She is back and better than ever after the operation and maybe a little bit cozier.
Not everything was peachy keen for us. In September, daughter Jaclyn’s boyfriend was hospitalized with what was thought to be a brain tumor. It ended up being part of an esophageal cancer which killed him in early October. It was devastating to Jaclyn. Neither Carol nor I were happy about the turn of events, either. Peter was a decent fellow who treated Jaclyn like a queen. The only bright spot about the mess was that Mary and Kenny came down from Illinois with Aiden – the youngest grandson. It was our first introduction to the lad and both of us were enchanted.
As for the rest of the clan: Warren continues to work at Fifth Street Pizza in Allen. He appears to be doing well and enjoys living on his own with a cat he adopted. James and his crew are still in Arkansas. Virginia came of age and left home to live with some cousins, while Melanie and Brandon are in school and appear to be thriving. Sarah is still in Savannah, working for a man who uses her talents between either two or three restaurants he owns. Stuart has been to visit a couple of times this year, once to dog-sit the dog Filbrix and the cat while Carol and I went to San Antonio to visit Bill and June.
Then there’s the cat, Morticia, High Priestess of the Underworld. Morticia wandered out the front door a week or two before Halloween and hasn’t been seen since. She was elderly (17 years by Carol’s count) and likely succumbed to a combination of local predators and/or the rain and the cold. We were sorry to see her go.
That’s really about it. Carol continues to work as a personal nurse for a patient in McKinney. She ended a course of study and has been accepted into the Order of Saint Luke – a ministry of healing. I have been writing on a couple of projects between doctor visits. I have two novels complete and almost ready to publish and have directed a fair portion of my energies to honing whatever skills I have as a photographer.
We are looking forward to traveling in the coming year. One visit for sure will be to Ohio for my 50th anniversary of my high school graduation. (I am fortunate to be healthy enough to be able to plan such a trip.) Trips to San Antonio and to Illinois are also in the cards – and we’re getting the itch to travel “Out West” again.
We hope you, the reader of this missive, are doing well. Here’s to a Happy Christmas, a Merry New Year, and a prosperous (and healthy) year to come.
Be Seeing You!
bdharrellauthor 