2021

2021 is almost over and I can’t wait. It’s not been an awesome year in many respects. On the other hand, it’s been a fantastic year. Professionally, I excelled an am a top producer on my team. More importantly I love my job. I look forward to what 2022 will bring me from a professional standpoint.

2021 saw us move our son out of his first apartment. This was quite the milestone for all of us. Fortunately, we had a great deal of support from our family both emotionally and literally. My folks travelled to Utah to help us get Jake packed. We wanted to take as much work of his shoulders as we could. Thankfully, we did a great job getting him situated while maximizing his free time.

This fall has brought a number of challenges, not all of which will be shared here, that seemed insurmountable. First, I broke my little toe. How something so little can hurt so much is a mystery to me. Also, I learned to avoid MD Now at all costs. Then the Hubby nearly sawed the tips of his fingers off. Again this experience reiterated why we should continue to avoid MD Now. Next a goon kicked the Mayor in the thigh with his skate resulting in a large gash. Fortunately, MedExpress was able to treat him .

Of course one of the biggest challenge of the early fall was saying goodbye to Maya. She has been such an important part of our life for the last twelve years. I miss being greeted by her deep bark when I come home. We miss here dearly and so do Anakin and Athena. They’re adjusting well, but Athena was depressed for a couple of months after Amaya passed.

This year I did a great job of running and doing BBG regularly. I’ll definitely look to continue this trend in 2022. Although to be honest, I’ve taken off the last week and a half due to a cold. I finally started running again Tuesday and my lungs felt like they were going to explode. My run today and yesterday went much better and my lungs feel good. Tomorrow we’ll ring in the New Year with a 4 on 4 tournament at Skatezone. Should be fun.

What Goes Up

What goes up, must come down. Or so goes the saying. In this case, it’s mighty true. While the arrival of my airman caused elation, his departure caused sadness. I guess I had hoped that the goodbyes would get easier as time goes by, but this has turned out to be false. True, I have more peace of mind now that he’s comfortably in his role, yet it doesn’t change the fact that I miss having him home. The myriad of emotions that the military parent goes through is like the tallest roller coaster at Universal. It’s one hell of an exhilarating ride. The goodbye is so tough, but we couldn’t be more proud of what he’s accomplished.

His visit, unlike most Mondays, went by in the flash of an eye. Like seriously, I’m pretty sure he just landed yesterday. At any rate, it was so good to have the house full again. Our sweet Anakin, albeit shy at first, took quite a liking to Jake. Athena and Maya were stoked to have him back home again. Unbelievably, Athena seems to know when he was leaving. As we prepared to go and took the last few pictures in front of the tree, she sat on the couch looking downcast and depressed. She’s quite the perceptive puppy. When saying goodbye, I try my best to be stoic. He’s the kind of kid that would feel guilty and that’s the last thing I’d want. Admittedly, this time I failed in my attempt to be stoic.

Truly, the best gift was seeing my three boys together. Since Jake’s left for the service, his relationships with his brothers have shifted dramatically. After he left, the first question I asked Jake was if he missed his Siamese twin. Throughout his visit home, the Mayor had attached himself to Jake’s hip. If we went anywhere or did anything, he had to sit next to Jake or ride home with Jake. Previously, he would have balked at the suggestion. Meanwhile, Goalielocks and Jake also spent quality time together. Perhaps my favorite memory from his visit home was his brothers fighting over who got to ride home with him from Uncle Jon’s.

And now, here we are the first Monday in 2021. The boys are back in school and I’m working late. There’s been no grandiose shift since the new year has started. I’m still working my way through BBG, which is amazing. In the midst of Jake’s visit, I didn’t get all the workouts down last week, so I’m repeating week 33. Fortunately, I really enjoyed the leg workout from work 33, so I’m looking forward to the repeat. I had hoped to run this morning before work, but the weather and my stomach were not so accommodating. Oh well, I shall try again tomorrow.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read The Red and The Black, by Stendhal

*It’s day 1 of BBG 3.0 week 9, which means it is leg day.

*Still trying to get the Mayor a rapid COVID test. This whole thing sucks.

*Today I thought about running two miles and that’s as far as it got. Somes days it’s just not meant to be.

*What goes up, must come down. Unless of course, you’re talking about my, post thyroid disease, weight, which only stays up.

*Today’s word of the day is galavant. I cannot wait to go galavanting through Europe once this pandemic is over.

*I love the footprints the puppies leave on the patio when coming back in every morning. I’m a bit sick of them tracking in the mud on the freshly vacuumed white tiles. It has been so humid here in the mornings that they’re getting a bit muddy in the backyard.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk. Today Anakin is wearing his Christmas bow tie. He looks mighty dapper if I say so myself. Naturally, I bought all three dogs Christmas outfits. I can’t wait to share the pictures with you. You’ll love them.

Today’s song of the day is Here Comes the Sun, by the Beatles.

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