There are two days
left of 2015 and I will be happy to put this year behind me. Behind us.
It’s been a tough one. I know
that is true for many of you, as well.
Let’s raise a glass of icy cold, mountain-borne, pure Oregon
Here are some updates
from my world.
Health: The cancer saga continues, but is on a better
plane now. T has had surgery and now has
a fantastically flat chest. She kind of
likes it, I definitely like it. Her
physical recovery from surgery is going well.
Her incisions are healing nicely.
Most of her upper body mobility is back.
She is back at work. She will
continue to get ‘chemo lite’ through the end of May, and then get the port
removed. She is taking a beta blocker to
protect her heart from the cancer killing drugs, and when she is done with
chemo she can stop that. She is also
taking an estrogen killer and will continue with that for the next 5
years. It’s not tamoxifen, but something
like it. I have noticed that her body
temperature regulation has altered dramatically. She used to run hot, and have frequent hot
flashes, and now she is chilly a lot.
Believe me, the furnace is cranking at our house!
Holidays:
Survived. Actually, now that my
sister-in-law has divorced her asshole husband, things are much calmer at the
family get togethers. I never realized
what an instigator he was before. He
worked quietly but the effect was loud and contentious. Really, a rude man. I’m glad that he’s not around anymore. I met two of T’s aunts at
Thanksgiving. Her late father’s two
sisters. One is an unbearable snob. She married a rich doctor and now lords it
over the rest of the family. No
thanks! The other one is funny and
loving and seems really kind. Lucky for
us the nicer one lives near Seattle Los Angeles
Family: Speaking of
my daughter, she was down for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yay!
Bonus holiday time! She came by
herself for Thanksgiving since her husband was away on a business trip. They both came down for the December
holiday. He isn’t my favorite person in
the world, but it could be so very much worse and for some reason my daughter
loves him… so, I tolerate him. He has
improved over the years, maybe he feels more comfortable with us, and I am
working at seeing the good side. It
doesn’t help me that my partner can’t stand him and is always judging and
criticizing.
The other family: T
and her sister had a falling out and hadn’t spoken to each other for a year or
so. That rift is now healed and they are
enjoying each other’s company.
Interestingly, since the sister is now single and an empty nester, they
are doing things that they haven’t been able to do since they were young. In fact, I think they are having more fun
than when they were young. They are
going to Las
Vegas Las
Vegas Hawaii
Employment: I’m still
here. Whoopee! At the first of the year, I will have one and
a half years to go until I retire.
Halle-fucking-lujah! There have
been some real rough patches at work over the last year and it has been
extremely trying. Plus, I’m being kicked
out of my office in a space shuffle and I have yet to be assigned a new
spot. It’s made for some extra tension
at the work place, that’s for sure. But,
knowing that my days are counting down, I’m taking the ‘roll with it’
attitude. There’s nothing I can do to
change it, so I’ll just finish out my time with a smile and move the hell
on. If I still had a decade to go, I
would be worried over where they were going to put me, but I can see the end
from here so there’s no use fussing about it.
After I retire, I’ll
still need to work but my plan is to find something that is interesting,
satisfying and does some good in the world – ideally with health benefits. I won’t be eligible for Medicare for a few
years, so I’ll need something. Of
course, there’s always Obamacare (thank you, Mr President!)
Another health topic:
My best friend of over 40 years has been in a bad health spiral. She was diagnosed with adult onset diabetes
last year and was working hard at keeping it under control. Unfortunately, her doctor put her on a drug
to control the blood sugar and it resulted in kidney disease. Full blown, low functioning kidney
disease. She has begun dialysis. She needs a kidney. I’ll be tested for donating one in the
spring. Just a little something to look
forward to.
I think that’s about
it for today. I’ll keep the topics
suggested by seasonal affective disorder to myself, ok?
Happy New Year!
