2024 Revisited

 It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone. For some reason this year seemed to slip by much quicker than usual. 

As with all years there have been some good and bad. In February I ended up with a UTI which took several months, three rounds of antibiotics, and five trips to the doctor to get it cleared up. I thought I was doing well until December when I got another infection.  Luckily this one seems to be clearing up quickly with both an antibiotic shot, and a round of oral antibiotics.

Sadly my Aunt Claire passed away, but I did get to visit with three of my cousins and see my aunt one more time before she passed. She was the last of my mother’s siblings to die. The priest who said her funeral mass was a boy we grew up with at St. Elizabeth’s, our childhood church. 

In May Chuck and I traveled to Destin to spend time at Jean and Dan’s beach condo. We were joined by our nephew Jacob, and enjoyed relaxing several days in the Florida sun. Our favorite part of the trip was the beach side Sunday service. Worshiping while listening to the crash of the waves, and wiggling your toes in the sand was heavenly. 

On the trip home we stopped in Louisiana to visit Chuck’s great-grandfather, Alexander Michwich’s grave. We met a caretaker there whose aunt had at one time been married to Chuck’s great uncle. 

While at the beach I completely broke out in some sort of itchy rash.  I never knew for sure, but suspected it might have had to do with stress. I took some time to reflect on my people pleasing nature, and the impossible burden it puts on my body. I took some proactive steps, and ended the year in a much better state of mind. 

A week later we traveled to Oklahoma to attend the wedding of Collin and Logan, Dean and Debbie’s son and new daughter-in-law. We were able to see Ted, Loree and Chimene who we had not seen for several years. 

This summer the boys spent the night, and we hosted a summer Olympics at the ranch. A fun time was had by all. 

We also enjoyed sitting out on our back porch during the summer watching our hummingbirds dive bomb each other as we drank our coffee. The summer was so pleasant this year, and we only had a few weeks of typical Texas heat. We enjoyed every minute of the milder summer. 

Chuck had a garden again this summer, and did well with zuchinni and summer squash, but did not have much luck with tomatoes again. His jalapeño peppers were quite prolific in the fall. Once again I have mixed feelings about the whole garden thing, but Chuck seems to really like it. 

We raised another flock of chickens in the library this year, and ended up with two roosters which we were able to give away. One of our girls died unexpectedly, so we are down to five, with one not being an egg producer anymore. However, between the other four they keep us in eggs, with some to spare. 

In August we attended a Blue Phrog Reunion. This was the church singing group that I was a part of after graduating from high school. It had been twelve years since our last reunion, and although not everyone was there, it sure was fun. 

Another big reunion happened in October when my high school graduating class celebrated fifty years since graduation. I enjoyed myself, but was a little sad at the loss of my dear high school friend Kathy, and my other friend Jane not being able to attend due to helping out with the hurricane victims on the east coast. 

In November we all celebrated when Donald Trump was re-elected as our 47th president. As he has been announcing his cabinet I’ve told Chuck it’s like Christmas every day! LOL!

In November Chuck and I were able to travel to California to see both the Regan and Nixon Presidential Libraries. We enjoyed our time there, and I did get to dip my toes in the Pacific. 

We also enjoyed watching Casen play baseball, football, and showing his pigs for the first time. Hayes was able to participate in Tribe Ballers with his brother, and we got to watch them perform at the high school basketball game. 

I continued to watch Levi three days a week, and I must say that boy keeps me laughing. Chuck and I did a good job of attending the gym two nights a week throughout the year. That is until I broke my toe on Cooper’s dog stairs, and was out of commission for about six weeks. I could really tell the difference when it came to my ability to lift Levi. I’m looking forward to getting back in the new year. 

I was able to continue my 31 Day Writing Challenge in October, and chose the topic of Wabi Sabi to explore. I generally was able to read about two fiction books a month, and squeezed in a few nonfiction books as well. 

I attended my retired teachers meetings each month, participated in my Bible Study, and tried to get together with the Yee Haws as often as I could. In this season of my life that is only possible a few times a year, but I do enjoy spending time with them. 

This year we had some home improvements done on the house and could not be any more pleased. We had the cabinet in the kitchen fixed and added trim around the microwave. We had a wall in the master bedroom ship lapped to cover up a crack. We had a linen cabinet built in the bathroom to hold our towels, and a custom coat rack built and hung on the wall next to our carport door. 

Chuck also had a loafing shed and tack room built in anticipation of someday raising sheep. It matches the barn and looks just great. We had our automatic gate fixed and have really enjoyed not having to get out of the car to open and close the gate.

I’d say overall 2024 turned out to be  a great year!