Ethan’s Journey

 Happy Birthday Paul! When Paul was in the 7 th grade, he was NOT a ladies man. Poor dude! I wonder if his 7 th grade self ever dreamed how his life would be at the ripe age of 51.  He had a relaxing day. He puttered. He did some things around the house. He spent time enjoying the dogs. He rough housed with Moe, snuggled and played with Penny and allowed Jiminy to curle up with him and share a nap. Avery was away and Ethan worked. I did make a special dinner for him.  We had grilled chicken and make your own salad.  We are still “full” from the holidays. We filled up on salad and bypassed the birthday dessert for today. We will get there but I think our systems are just decompressing. Ethan has tomorrow off from work. He is excited about that. I have been reflecting on things professionally and personally. The point is always to try to improve right? What can I do to improve or make more of a difference? Where are my short comings and what can I do to help improve ...

 It was so warm today. It felt like 65 degrees. We did have a fire going to keep the chilly damp air at bay. Today was a work day. I needed to get the house back in order. Cleaning, decluttering and the dogs were overdue for their baths. Paul went to his work and made some repairs and improvements to my van. He was gone about 10 hours.  Avery was off visiting with friends. She is spending the night at a friend’s house. Ethan worked on his car today. He was enjoying being out in the garage without freezing his butt off. The day was uneventful. That is exactly what I needed. I accomplished so much but didn’t have to think a whole lot. I decompressed and gained some energy back. My day I long tomorrow. I have back to back meetings and phone interviews with candidates. It starts promptly at 7:00 am. I had a pretty relaxed week last week, so it’s ok. I feel like I had a good work/life balance last week. I can’t say that for all the jobs I have worked in the past. I opened the windo...

 I started my day off with bloodwork. What an awful time of year to have my blood drawn. My diet has been high in fats and not indicative of my normal diet. What a rookie move to schedule my annual wellness exam right after Christmas. We spent the day at our in-laws visiting with family. We went to the Pittsford Dairy and got some of their delicious ice cream! Jiminy came too. He was the only dog that traveled with us. Don’t tell the other dogs.  We got to visit with the neighborhood which is an extended version of family. The game was on in one room. Conversations were being had.  At one point I just stopped and listened to the different conversations going on. This group was discussing sports. That group was discussing food. The 5 year old was busy walking around doing 5 year old things. Everything he did was cute. The group I was in, was sharing embarrassing diarrhea stories of Paul and his brother. (The group I was in was laughing A LOT). This type of familiarity is s...

 I woke up this morning a little bit sore from the fall, but not as bad as I expected. I popped some acetaminophen and moved on. After work, we went to my in-laws to visit with Paul’s brother and his family. They are in from out of town to visit. Paul’s sister arrived for dinner.  Ethan had to work today and chose not to go. He said that he was going to be tired after work. We respected that. He fell asleep on Christmas Day. With his GFR in the 40’s, he may very well feel tired more often than not. He did choose to go tomorrow and spend the day. Avery myself and Aunt Julie went to a few stores. We gabbed and chatted the afternoon away. I set up Nana and Papa’s digital picture frame. I had pictures I loaded. It was fun to watch the slide show. We had a wonderful dinner. There was so much food. Papa decided to tell a story about his hammer toe. Paul’s brother, Darren, is a foot doctor. He and his father have discussed the Diiulio hereditary foot issues. Papa shared that his hamm...

 Paul and I had a “difference of opinion” on Christmas Day. I told him our porch was slippery. I was quickly dismissed to which he responded “it is not slippery.” After 25 years of marriage these are the things that can cause a stupid and meaningless argument. Fast forward to today. As I am trying to chip away at the “not slippery” ice. I ended up slipping on the “not slippery” ice, causing me to crash and burn for all the neighborhood to see. It felt like a slow motion fall. I hit on my left shoulder and left wrist. Luckily I did NOT hit my head. I said about $2.50 worth of swears, that I owed my swear jar afterward. Penny was outside with me. She ran to my side to see if I was ok. Some random noise escaped my mouth that sounded like what I would imagine a wounded hippopotamus would sound like. I bellowed out some strange noise that Avery described as “I thought you were yelling at the dogs”. It echoed across the land. Not that I am keeping score (BIG FAT LIE) but it turns out the...

 Today is Christmas. Our family was together. There are many families that aren’t together. We have been that family (for 3 years in a row) in the past. I feel like every year I age, the meaning of Christmas means something a little different to me. I have had several friends in the past few years lose a close family member. It changes holidays. I remember the pain after my dad died. It was such an adjustment. I feel for them. I am thankful that we got to see our family at Christmas. Every year something memorable happens.  Paul got us the best “matching” towels. I look forward to using them up at camp. We aren’t always a politically correct couple (I know…you are shocked). But this is a gift that keeps n giving with the laughter, giggles and contagious nature of the lack of maturity and total silliness that follows. We had a quiet and pleasant afternoon with my Mom and Gene. We had pizza and brownies. It was a low stress day. Penny’s Christmas gift was that she got to come up...

 Jiminy’s waiting for Santa! Avery and I met up with my high school friend Melissa. It was good to catch up. She was talking about taking a trip together and we are aiming for 2026. It is to Europe and I am a bit terrified to go there. But I am not doing the planning for that trip, so I will show up and be surprised.  Our tradition on Christmas Eve is to go to Nana and Papa’s. They decorate all fancy and prepare home made lasagna complete with home made noodles. It is always delicious. We had Nana and Papa, Mema and Beba, Auntie and our family of four (and Jiminy). We ate all the yummy food, had the merry drink and exchanged gifts. What I like best about these holidays is that it brings everyone together. It stops time for just a moment as the day goes by. It is a familiarity with one another that is comfortable and understood. It radiates tradition and I appreciate it so much.  We arrived home and had some very hungry dogs. I was tired from the day and bee lined right to...

 Avery’s friend spent the night. It is fun listening to them talk and giggle. It also helps keep the house exciting and busy. Ethan only worked a half day today. He is excited that his job gives him Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off. I wish my company also followed that model.  I was glad because I had to call the social security office on his behalf. Ethan has deemed me an advocate for his account. He had to give verbal authorization for this. The SSI office had us on hold for about a half hour. Turns out they do not have a smile on his face. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve! I plan to visit with my friend since the 6 th grade, Melissa. Avery is going to visit too.  We have our fancy Italian Christmas Eve Tradition. We always look forward to Christmas Eve. Paul’s brother is coming to town after Christmas, so we will have a few busy days. We enjoy seeing them and my nephew, Marcus. Tonight, as the snow was falling, I was admiring how pretty it was out. I think we will have a w...

 Today we did a little cleaning up after the party. I was tired this morning. I was visiting with my nephew and then my brother for a little bit.  It got to be noonish, and I got ready to go to the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra to see Sarah’s daughter sing in the choir.  I am not fancy enough to even be in this ornate building with the penny tile flooring. Every square in is decorated. Even the ceiling was fancy.   The orchestra was set up in the front and the kids were standing on bleachers in the back.  My favorite song was Sleigh Ride with the trumpets make  horse whinny noises.  The string instruments are just so calm and soothing and the brass instruments were strong. I remembered playing some of the songs when I was in band. There is so much the goes into making the song sound good. The kids were fantastic. They were utterly perfect. They seemed to really want to be there.  I did not take this picture as there were strict rules about no p...

 People that own animals accept a level of disgust in their house. Cats, they poop in a box and we clean it up. Dogs, they poop all over the yard. The vomit, have accidents, it’s like a drunk toddler in the house. Animals shed all over, respect almost nothing, don’t hesitate to clean their genitalia in front of guests…they are gross. Today, I noticed Jiminy scooting his butt (we dubbed it the “boot scoot”) on the wood floor. Gross! Also, ouch! We were calling him names like “skidz” (it is less demeaning if you spell it with a Z) “the phantom skidder” and he just lovingly stared at us with his one big cute eye. 👁️  Can you imagine having an itchy butt with no arms? Little dude was sliding his anus across the hard wooden floor. I scooped him up and expressed his anal glands. He is still for me. To my vet friends, it was an external expression, cause I know you were wondering. It was that moment I thought about the level of gross we tolerate. I then thought about how integrated ...

 Yay! It’s Friday. I talked to some good people today! I watched the snowflakes drift down and blanket the grass. It was so pretty. The dogs went outside a few times leaving their little paw prints in the snow. At one point Moe was running so fast he smacked right into the wheel barrow and almost knocked it over. I don’t like being cold. The fire kept me warm all day.  At one point I went outside to get the mail. It was dark. It was snowing enough that it muffled the noise. I paused just to listen to the silence. It was amazing. Sometimes I wish the inside of my brain sounded like that. Normally I have a running dialogue with a song or two playing.  Avery called me today. She was so worried about her grades. She took some pretty hard classes. She finished the semester off with a 3.98. Of course I am going to pretend to kick her out of the family for the 0.02%. I kept telling her that no matter what her grade was, I would still love her and think she is amazing. Even if sh...

My morning started off with me on the floor doing my stretches. Penny came over to “help”. As she walked by, she vomited in her mouth right in my ear. NOT ladylike.  A little while later I was moving my portable desk. I bumped my coffee off and it spilled everywhere. It was in one of my prized coffee mugs. I was so thankful that it didn’t break. As I cleaned up that mess, I thought about how it sucked that I committed coffee abuse, but thought about how sad I would have been if the mug had broke. I think I would be devastated. So my morning was actually pretty good. I will think about my luck tomorrow when I am drinking out of my mug.   My work schedule was crazy today. Lots of meetings.  We met our counter part with the new company, the-new recruiting team. At some point we will be merged together as one big team. We were told about some leadership changes and had to introduce ourselves. I was thrilled that our team is still intact. We had to talk about ourselves. ?...

 I took today off to prepare for the family party we are hosting. Avery and I walked through all the planned Christmas games. Everyone pays $10 in lieu of a gift exchange. We come up with different games with prizes, which are lottery tickets. It’s fun. We pig out on yummy snacks and cookies. Avery had a doctor’s appointment. She asked me to come so we could spend time together. She got her flu shot and she chose to get a covid vaccine. It was her annual wellness. She and Ethan have the same primary doctor. This lady is helping us navigate our nephrologist situation.  We did some light grocery shopping. We went to Wegmans. We walked in and immediately some lady stopped in the middle of the aisle to send a text message. Rage! Ugh! Why? Why do people do that? Pull off to the side. Grocery pick up is much less frustrating. We were leaving the parking lot and people were just being stupid. In the words of my uncle “we have bred the brains out of our society.” It was time to go hom...

 It dawned on me today that Christmas is next week. Man, that came fast. I went to my physical therapy appointment today and felt so much better when I left. I am continuing my exercises at home and even incorporate some weights. I can sit for longer periods of time now. Yay! Ethan had a follow up appointment with his psychiatrist. The ADHD medication seems to be working so they are going to keep him on it for now.  Next month is busy with appointments for Ethan. I was looking at the schedule today.  Avery went to the college campus for help from one of her professors, to decided what research projects she wants to apply for over the summer.  She put the finishing touches on her CV/resume. She also introduced us to a show that is kind of like Star Wars, but far less nerdy (no offense meant by that) and far more humorous. It’s called Orville. After work she asked if she could put it on. She even invited Ethan to come watch it. He did!  Ethan and Jiminy cuddled on...

 It was the Monday-ist Monday today. Ugh! My phone screens started at 7:00am and went until 5:30. I did have a half hour of sleep”free time” to eat. It was crazy today.  I ended up waking up about 1:00 am. I realized I had not prepared for any of my Monday meetings. I trudged my way down stairs and created my presentation for my 3 meetings I was presenting at.  After an hour or two I went back to bed. I was able to fall back asleep until the alarm went off. It was nice having Avery home. She picked up a pizza for us for lunch. She won the free pizza at a trivia night. Her afternoon was spent filling out FAFSA and apartment hunting for the fall. Avery turned on Golden Girls and we watched a few hours worth of that show. It made me laugh out loud several times. Even Ethan joined us. Always a classic. I took the dogs for a walk. Those are getting few and far between. I don’t want them to get dirty running through the field. I like to do it when the ground is frozen but I don...

 I am a member of a local group on Facebook that people give away things for free. We have given away a few items over the past several items.  Today, I went and picked up some folding chairs. Avery came with me. It was a huge score. The person giving them away had them all set outside and labelled.  We then went to the pharmacy. The customer service was a bit lacking today. We have two pharmacies in our town. One is the local pharmacy which is cute and looks like it was plucked from a Hallmark movie. Then the other one, which is where we had to go.  We can’t use our favorite local pharmacy anymore as insurance dictates we can’t. Ethan is the only one that can use the cute and wonderful pharmacy. The cashier acted like we were bothering her by picking up a prescription. She rushed through and didn’t allow Avery to ask questions. Avery was pissed. She actually has an appointment with her doctor so she will inquire about it in a few days at her appointment. Avery spent...

Avery and her friend went shopping today. I cleaned up the spare bedroom in the basement.  I finished up some chores, visited with my mom and step dad (he had a nice cold Diet Pepsi waiting when I arrived) and even made more cookies. I didn’t bake them yet. They are going to chill overnight. I have a knot in my back that is bit sore. I laid on my massage pad for almost 30 minutes trying to work out the knots. I did my stretching, exercises and even iced the area. It takes so much time. Ethan and I went to the lab this morning. I was going to get my blood drawn but I was at the wrong lab. Ethan got his bloodwork drawn and submitted his urine sample. His kidney values have gotten a smidgeon worse. Grrrr. Tomorrow I have plans to finish preparing for our family Christmas party next week. We play games and win lottery tickets as prizes. I am excited for the food and thought of winning lottery tickets. Avery is looking for apartments in Brockport for next fall (2025). She and her friend...

 I finally got Ethan signed up for an insurance plan today. Phew! I took the day off. I have been feeling a bit burned out by work. It is nice to have a few days where I can recharge.  We went to dinner at Bill Gray’s. I couldn’t believe how busy it was. There was a Christmas party going on it their private room.  We watched these two little kids, probably like 9 and 8 years old. They found a dart (plastic tip) and they were taking turns throwing it at the dart board. I was cheering them on. It reminded me of when Ethan and Avery were younger. They would play like this when the adults were talking about boring adult things. They were nice kids. We left Bill Gray’s and went to the Kodak Theatre to watch Circa Musica. This is what it would look like if cirque de sole and Christmas had a baby. There was a little man that was the host.  He was pretty entertaining.   Paul smelled the hot roasted almonds and needed to get some. We passed “Paul’s nuts” around. Paul kep...

 I utilized my day off today. I think I did too much. All the Christmas wrapping is done. I picked up groceries, did dishes, several loads of laundry and more. It was freezing out this morning and I was thankful for the wood burning stove. I had to bundle Penny up in her J-Lo outfit to stay warm outside. Ferguson is tougher. He is speedy fast to get his business done. I kept the fire stoked all day. It was delightful in the house. By the time I stepped outside, I did what every other New Yorker does in the winter.  It had warmed up to 26 degrees. I wasn’t wearing a coat. I had the thought “it’s not that cold out.” Every year as I get conditioned to winter weather, come spring I can tolerate much colder weather without the proper outer wear. Avery called me and said she struggled with her physics final. She was really bummed about it. She is worried it could affect her scholarships and chances for externship. I told her that it was going to work out the way it was supposed to. ...

 A new thing I noticed Moe doing…wagging his tail in his sleep. I would like to think that he is having happy dreams and that is why he is wagging. He has not really done this before. It does make me happy. Avery has two days left of finals. Then we will have her home for a few weeks.  Paul and I got into a riveting discussion about septic systems.  Our evening consisted of staying up, having a drink and discussing leach fields, tank sizes and cost. I never pictured “growing old” with someone would include such boring conversation. Ha! They caught the guy that allegedly killed the CEO of the health insurance company. While I have struggled with MANY insurance claim issues, I would never target one person for all of those issues. This was a senseless and cowardly murder. The guy didn’t even see it coming.  Yes we have an insurance issue in this country. People are raked over the coals on a daily basis. But it doesn’t warrant taking someone’s life. He took away someone...

 Ethan dodged Jury Duty again today. He started asking me questions about how the court system works. I finally had to tell him “Social studies was one of my least favorite classes and I didn’t really pay attention on that chapter. I don’t know.” Every word was true. I could have looked it up, but I was so disinterested that I didn’t. Some people find the process interesting. I don’t. I accept it is my civic duty to serve but don’t really want to take up brain real estate with that knowledge. I am ok being a dummy on that stuff. My back was less sore today. Still sore but not like yesterday.  I was able to trim all the dogs toe nails and dremel them. I tried to dremel Moe’s but we only got one paw done. He didn’t care for it. I worked on desensitization to the dremel.  I cut his nails with minimal effort! Yay! NASA issued a statement that this Friday. 12/13/24, there will be a meteor shower. You can see - 120 meteors in a hour. wow. I know!  Work was busy today. Lots...

 I had physical therapy first thing. I was so sore afterward. I ended up coming home and laying on the massage pad while I worked. I think that made it worse.  It isn’t a terrible sore, it is more like achey sore/stiff. The kind that I make an interesting noise when I have to twist or bend. It is finals week for Avery. She always thinks if she does bad we will hate her. Anxiety at its finest. I keep telling her that people that pass get degrees. It doesn’t matter the grade you get. Your work ethic is going to determine your success. Your drive to grow, learn and try will lead to opportunity. But I still like to tease her. I texted her to see how her test was. “Did you do well? Aka…do we still love you?” Ethan seemed to have a good day today. He got sucked into the show that I am watching. He watched it for a bit, went upstairs, then came back down and watched the rest. It’s about spies. There is guns, action, stuff blows up and I cheer for the good side. I did a little bit mor...

 Sarah and I had a lazy morning with going to breakfast and laying in bed watching tv in the hotel room. We had to say goodbye when the maid started knocking on the door to get in to clean our room. At home, I unpacked the car, and started to do my weekend chores. Paul had the laundry done which was helpful. Moe needed a bath. He was getting a bit gamey. He is doing so good with baths. I can wash his head and face with no issue. I am so proud of him. I leave him in the shower to dry. He chewed through the leash that I had in there. He started scratching at the door. He did not appreciate being left in there. We then went to the parade of lights in Brockport. We had  a drink at one of the restaurants. Then the parade started. It was festive with all the lights, music and even some dancing. We invited the kids but Ethan chose to stay home and Avery has finals this week that she needs to study for. We went back to the restaurant and had dinner. I had a mistletoe margarita. It was...

 Sarah and I completed our Christmas shopping. We wrapped gifts and are in much better shape for Christmas.  I picked up some items for the Christmas party we are having in a few weeks. I have some games planned. Instead of a gift exchange, we have lottery tickets for prizes to the games. Everyone throws in $10.00 and it makes it a nice night of fun. Sarah and I planned to shop in the morning. We figured we would be annoyed with people by the afternoon. Got the most part, I was happy that the other people out, were polite enough to hold the door. It’s a simple gesture, but it goes a long way. There were behaviors noticed that were not as pleasant. One lady insisted on plowing through an aisle (that Sarah was in) with her cart. Instead of saying “excuse me” as she maneuvered her cart around Sarah’s, she announced to Sarah “coming through!”. She then proceeded to plow past Sarah with little time for Sarah to move her cart. I tried my best to be thoughtful as a driver, hold doors...

 Today I was following the story of the CEO of United Healthcare that was murdered.  It has been suspected that this senseless murder could be due to denial of needed treatments of procedures they likely needed, which our family has seen our fair share of. I can understand the frustration, mental toll it takes and the negative feelings that spiral around it like a tornado. I don’t believe this man needed to be murdered! Lack of insurance coverage is not one person’s fault. I do, however, feel this will bring more attention to this out of control insurance situation.  This is the time of year (December) that is especially difficult to lose someone. I like to take a moment each year to consider those that are in the different stages of grief over someone they loved. I worked a half day and spent the other half with Sarah. My Sarah! We shared many laughs. It’s funny how different this December trip has become over the years.  We would comb every detail of our purchases,...

 Sarah and I had a good chat this morning before she headed off to work. We had our coffee’s her’s cold, mine warm. My day was full and busy. The weather was confused today. One minute it was calm, the next snowing, then stopped snowing and was blowing. Then it was almost white out conditions. Make up your mind Mother Nature! I had to time the dog potty breaks so the littles would not get blown away or buried in the snow. ⛄️  After work, I did grocery pick up at two stores. I also had to prepare for a meeting tomorrow, put groceries away and bring in some wood. 🪵  Ethan came home from work. He has been borrowing my van. When I went to leave, I noticed that he had filled it with gas. That was thoughtful.

 Today was a quiet day for me. I was able to get things many work things accomplished. I made some progress on our insurance situation. I did however find that many of Ethan’s specialists did not accept the Medicaid managed care plans that were offered which has cause a delay in signing up for coverage. I learned about exemptions, about other ways to get his needed care and have to research those. I am in a holding pattern with it until I hear back from all the specialists. He has a lot. Avery popped by today for a quick visit with one of her room mates. It was nice to see them.  Tonight was a Sarah night which was always fun.  I had the crackling fire and Christmas music playing on our tv. I enjoy the ambiance of the instrumental songs. They are all done on the piano. It is called the “Yule log” on Roku. Tomorrow will be a busy day. I have back to back meetings with the exception of a half hour for “lunch”. Not a bad day.

The company I work for is going through a significant merger this week. I was asked recently how I was feeling about it. Obviously there is always concern when a merger takes place.  I thought about it and told them my plan was to take each day for what it was and deal with the situation in real time. I am glad I don’t feel too anxious about it. I do feel like this company is trying to do good things for the veterinary industry. We are introduced to the team members from the company we are merging with. I joked with my manager that I was going to show up in a prom dress so they would not forget my name.  Sadly, the prom dress is at the cleaners…maybe next time? I bought myself an adjustable, movable desk. It is small but big enough. I can move it easily as it is on wheels. I can use it as a standing desk or sitting desk. Since I don’t really sit much, it is perfect for standing.  I moved it close to my bird feeders. I had 8 mourning doves mingling about. They seem like if...

 Why is December going so fast?!?!? I know…I know…it is only the second day…but still! We woke up to a light blanket of snow. I actually woke up because I heard thunder! I was so excited we were having a thunder snow situation, I ran to the window and saw the damn plow. No thunder snow situation. Boo! 😒  I listened to some Christmas tunes. I like the vintage songs more. The Andrew’s sisters, Irving Berlin, Brenda Lee and even Englebert Humperdinck which is fun to say. I have favorites throughout all the decades. I had my Christmas lights on while I worked and the fire was cranking. Not a bad situation at all. I never finished the story about the ATM card yesterday. I fell asleep.  So this lady found my ATM card and did quite a bit of research before she was able to connect with me. Apparently I have myself pretty well hidden on Facebook. She contacted her friend’s friend that has a similar name as we do. That friend just so happens to know Ethan. He reached out to Ethan ...

 I woke up early today. I used my time doing “work” stuff to prepare for my day tomorrow. Boo!  I was glad I chose to do it first thing so I didn’t have to dread it all day long. I started wrapping presents, shampooed the couch and puttered around.  Avery went back to school. She was a pleasure to have home. She and Ethan were keeping Paul and I entertained with their banter. Then they would egg each other on to say things they knew would set Paul off, and then laugh at his reaction. I have no idea where they learned this ha ha. We put up our tree and decorated it.we had the wood burning stove on to keep us warm. We went to a friend’s house. We brought diner. We gathered with our good friends and laughed and joked for the evening. We had football on (but I do t play too close attention to the score. We always have fun with this group.  I had Paul stop by the ATM machine so I could make a deposit. I couldn’t see the screen from where I was sitting so Paul did all of t...