Starting right around Thanksgiving every year we start
getting the first Christmas cards from some of our family and friends. That’s a
signal to me that it’s time to start writing our annual Christmas letter. The
last three years I done so between the 12th and 14th of
December, so I’m right on schedule this year (it’s the 12th as I’m
writing this).
Family
Chris came home on schedule from Kuwait at the beginning of
the year. But we still had our annual family vacation at Pinebrook without him
as he volunteered to serve at the Boy Scout World Jamboree in West Virginia
this past summer. Since the World Jamboree is only held every four years and
moves to a new country each time, this was only the second time it was held in
the US, the last one being in 1967. So being able to participate is literally a
once-in-a-lifetime event. In 2020 we finally hope to have the whole family
together again.
We also had a repeat of last year with having one of our grandchildren
from Florida stay with us for a month. This time it was Tiernan who spent the
month of May here in PA. Donna flew down to FL at the beginning of the end of
April for a few days, then accompanied him on the flight here. I flew back to
FL with him at the end of the month.
Before Chris left for Kuwait his employer had changed to a
9-hour day work schedule with every other Friday off. Chris liked that
arrangement and so upon his return asked to move to only a 32-hour week with
every Friday off. His pay is reduced accordingly, but his benefits, being all
through the military, are not impacted. Family is more important to him than
the higher income, so he has his priorities in the right order.
On the PA front, our youngest grandson, Asher, turned five
this summer and so is now in Kindergarten. This means that he takes the bus
with his older brothers and Donna and I have our days “free” for the first time.
When the both of us “retired” from our paying jobs, we first got involved in
elder care as she was in Michigan taking care of her mother, then after she
passed away we almost immediately got involved in childcare. While we still
have to get the boys off to school in the morning and pick them up at the bus
stop in the afternoon, we can now go to things like our monthly Thursday
Fellowship (seniors group) at church.
But life still hasn’t slowed down!
Health Update
We’ve avoided any further medical emergencies this year. But
the aches and pains of getting older continue. Donna got hearing aids for both
ears a few years ago, but even with them she has trouble hearing – especially in
crowds. And when she doesn’t “have her ears in”, like first thing in the
morning or when one of the batteries dies, I have to talk clearly and
distinctly as especially the initial sounds of words are the most difficult to
distinguish.
Earlier this year I decided to volunteer for an Alzheimer’s
study. I’ve written about that just a few weeks ago, so you can read about it
here - https://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2019/12/giving-back-medical-studies.html
Pets
In August, our long-time cat, Cookie, apparently fell off
the roof when chasing a bat and ruptured her bladder. After an x-ray and other
diagnostics, we had to have her put to sleep. This was the first loss of a pet
that affected me – most of our prior pets were really Donna’s, but Cookie had
been my companion during the long months when I spent my days with my foot up
as it was healing last year. We were able to hold her while the vet
administered the drug to end her life.
After a few weeks of grieving, Donna convinced me to get a
replacement for Cookie. I was reluctant at first, but we ended up adopting a
cat who the animal sanctuary did not think was going to adjust to a new home. For
the first 24 hours after we let Penguin out of the carrier we thought about
using the name Phantom instead as she holed up behind the sofa. But with love
and attention, she is now well adjusted and often sleeps on the bed with us at
night.
Meanwhile, we also added a young kitten to Kim’s household –
Sweet Pea. She is a great companion for Mocha and the two of them often tussle
on the floor or chase each other around the house.
Future Planning
We’ve realized for a while that eventually our housing
situation will need to change. Taking care of this large house is too much work
for two aging individuals like ourselves. One possibility is for us to do a
garage conversion in Kim’s house across the lane and convert it into an
apartment. But there is very little storage in that small house which has to
hold four growing boys. So we just added a large shed outside that we can use
for storage – a picture of it is below, they just completed it today. It’s 24’x32’
with a 2nd floor and gambrel roof. Part of the upstairs will be a
play area for the boys and part of the downstairs will be for bicycles and yard
equipment which is currently in an old small shed that is in need of
replacement. So, as we begin to empty out our current house, we can put the
things that we want to keep in the new shed – alas more work for me in putting
up shelving and carrying things! But I still have the strength to do that type
of thing as long as I don’t spend too much time on my feet and re-aggravate my
foot again.
Life goes on and we get older. But God never changes. So, in
this Christmas season we hope that you may have a relationship with Him like we
have. Then we can all be together for eternity!
Love,
Alan & Donna
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