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...