The Year in Summary

This has been a most challenging year, with many ups and downs. Sickness, health, birth & death - we've done it all. Plus quite a bit of travel.

We've all been sick at one time or another -- Thanks, Covid! -- and struggled to recover without long-term after-effects. Sometimes it's hard to tell where the lingering effects of one episode start and another begins. And sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference between a mild case of covid and an old-fashioned cold/flu. But now we've been trained to isolate and mask up regardless. So we have masks and covid tests as part of our regular pharmacy list.

The hardest part of this year was losing friends and relatives, especially when it was unexpected. Even though we believe that we will see them again someday, there's always a void in our hearts where that person used to live. It's like the constant ache of knowing that something has been lost and will not be found again, at least in this life.

The best part of the year was the birth of our first grandchild. There's no feeling in the world like seeing and holding onto a grandchild. It's the fulfillment of dreams, as though we've gone full-circle and are now seeing Life from a completely different angle than ever before. There is so much hope and expectation (and anxiety) associated with this new phase, and so much blessing. We are glad to be living so close to our descendants. And have many plans to spoil them rotten!

So, for the monthly summary:

In January, a former college roommate of Mary’s came to live with us while starting post-graduate studies. Cheryl helped her to make some important life decisions and she, in turn, helped Adam to find a job, which was a blessing beyond measure.

In February, we drove down to Indiana to see Rob’s uncle Joe Downs in hospice before he died.  A week later, Rob drove down by himself for the funeral (everyone else was at work). He enjoyed seeing family and celebrating the long and faithful life of his uncle. 

In March Rob had a minor ischemic stroke. And kidney stones. What fun! Cheryl nursed him back to health.

In April Deb and Mason were ‘showered’ with gifts for their forthcoming child. And Adam started his new job!

In May, our Deb and Mason became the exhausted parents of Emelia Marie, our first grandchild, who is a lovely little girl full of smiles and laughter (and way too much energy). They immediately redoubled their efforts to find a house of their own. Adam, Mary and Rob joined a gaming group. Rob had more kidney stones. And Mary’s car needed expensive repairs. 

In June, thanks to Cheryl’s amazing financial wizardry, we had a new roof put on our 20-year old house. Rob turned 60 years old. In Washington state, Rob’s beloved uncle Ron – who was not really old yet – suffered a severe stroke and went into the hospital.

In July, Rob flew out to Washington state to help his aunt with Ron’s care; his uncle died while he was there, so he helped with the funeral arrangements but could not stay for the actual service as he was needed to help drive us “out west” to the Green family reunion in Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Our route westward took us through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, past the Mississippi river headwaters, and through DeSmet, SD (one-time home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, one of Cheryl’s favorite authors). In the park, besides relatives, we saw bison and prairie dogs and pronghorn antelope. And caverns. Deep, cold caverns. (Not recommended if you got rained on just prior!)

Deb and Mason found a house and move in. James and Tabea came over for a visit from Germany, stopping first in Seattle to visit grandparents before continuing on to Grand Rapids to meet their new niece. And spend time with parents and siblings, too, of course.

In August, we had a family photo shoot with James and Tabea before they had to leave for home. Then Mary and Cheryl traveled to Texas to visit and cooked up some freezer meals for Roy and Virginia while Rob stayed home and tried to catch up on house maintenance. And when they returned, we celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary!

In September, Mary moved back in to save on rent. Rob accompanied his dad to Bakersfield Union High School’s 70th class reunion. On the way back, they stopped in to visit his sister Jeanne (and brother-in-law Brendon and niece Breanna) in Tucson. Then, after dropping Dad off in Tuscola, Rob stopped in Nashville to visit his aunt Judy and uncle Clyde and their grandson Mark Allen.

In October one of Cheryl’s nieces and her husband brought into the world their own darling daughter so that Emelia will have a playmate at the reunions! So we are now officially Grand Uncle and Aunt as well as Grandma and Grandpa!

In November, our friends, Tim and Deb Thomas, surprised us with a (short) visit all the way from Georgia. Rob tried to wrap up all his work assignments as his contract ended on the 30th. And we had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family.

In December, Mary flew down to Florida with her boyfriend, Dylan, to meet his father’s side of the family and found, upon her return, that her car had inexplicably – and very expensively – died while sitting in our driveway. We found a temporary replacement (it needs work!).  And Rob started looking for work again.