Year-end Lists 2021: Personal

As a lot of people have said, the only good thing about 2021 was that it was better than 2020. I'll be forever grateful for the vaccines that protected me, and even more so my mother. But she's not doing well. One day in May, she could no longer stand or walk. We were able to have someone with her all the time up until then, but it takes more than one to lift her adequately, and we just don't have that many family members. She went to a nursing home. Lately, my brother and I have been concerned about the many medical interventions she was subjected to, mainly to correct problems for which the underlying cause will not improve. So she is now under palliative care, meaning we are just trying to make her life as normal and comfortable as possible. It was a wrenching decision, but we were guided by her advance directive, which everyone should have.

Princess moved to St. Louis for grad school, and she likes it. She was looking forward to coming home for Thanksgiving, but came down with COVID. She was vaccinated, but was about eight months out from the second dose, and wasn't yet eligible for a booster. They lowered the age of eligibility while she was recovering. She was pretty sick, but not dangerously so. The end of her quarantine came too late for a trip home, and her plane ticket was non-refundable. But she's here now for the New Year.

Gothgrrl had an exciting summer, traveling to Florida, Costa Rica, and a couple other places I can't recall. She also adopted a couple of rats, which she brings home with her on visits because her roommates won't feed them. We have a cage for them here, otherwise the cats would have a field day with them. Gothgrrl is in her second year of veterinary school. She comes home from Alabama about once a month. But the day before she was to come home for Christmas, another car rammed into her. No one was hurt, but her car was totaled. She rented a car to come home. While here, she got a settlement from the other driver's insurance that was more than she paid for the car. Then she found a good deal on a slightly newer one and still has money left over.  

I didn't even plan to have a garden this summer, because I was spending a lot of time with Mom. But Princess wanted to grow her favorite vegetables, so that's what we did. Then she moved away in July, leaving me to harvest vegetables I didn't even like. But I expanded the flower gardens. Next year, the vegetable garden will go fallow, because it wasn't producing well in recent years, and the tiller doesn't work anyway. I can concentrate more on flowers!

My stepdaughter had her third child in May. That makes six grandchildren so far!

In the fall, I tackled my neglected home. I wrote about that in a previous post. Got a lot done so far, but there's still a long way to go. I am also trying to do something about the bats. An exterminator found some entry points, which just highlights how much my house is falling apart. I have a carpenter who comes on days he's not driving a truck and the weather is good, which means I see him two or three days a month. We'll be lucky to get the job done before bat mating season in the spring.

I have four cats again, as Princess adopted a "problem cat" when she was living in Lexington, and cannot have one at her place in St. Louis. Gatita does not get along well with others. Apollo hates her, and Tommy avoids her. Tommy spends a lot of time outside or at another house down the street, but comes home to sleep with me. Marshmallow is the only one that gets along with Gatita because Marsh is deaf and can't hear her whining. Marsh had some serious dental problems this year and had six teeth removed, but she's getting along fine without them.

I don't know what 2022 will bring, but we're going into it hoping for the best. I wish all of you a good year to come, and may God bless us all.