I’m pretty happy with it. I quit drinking soda, started exercising, started eating mostly plant-based, read a gazillion books, got a promotion, saw my kid start daycare (and begin to thrive.) Great progress in therapy. Started physical therapy. Decluttered a ton of shit and took steps to get my discretionary spending under control. Started appreciating what I have. Learning to slow down. I’m practicing gratitude, I’m journaling. I’m making my life more what I want it to be.
It hasn’t been without its stressors. Work has been crazy. We’ve been sick a lot. I’ve had some medication issues. I developed cough variant asthma which I guess means every time I get sick, I get a racking cough and breathing issues that don’t resolve for weeks. I’m not a fan of that.
But I’m trying to focus on what I can control. And right now, in my life, there’s a lot I can control.
Good, but not in the way we had planned or expected. We live in NYC, but have spent most of the last three years 1500 miles away, helping to care for my in-laws. Man, do I miss home sometimes!
When driving my in-laws to various doctor appointments, I met some people who volunteer to drive seniors and disabled people to appointments. Now I’m driving people around three or four days a week. Met a lot of great people and have had a great fear of having to live on Medicare instilled in me.
Made it thru another year without anyone I know getting Covid. Knocking on wood.
This one tops everything else. At age 60, my wife and I, childless by choice, find ourselves in custody of two young girls, 11 and 13. Looks like they’ll be with us for awhile at this point. It’s going really well so far, I think they like having a little bit of order in their life. I’m sure they will soon turn into obnoxious brats and kill us both in our bed, but for now we are having a good time.
All in all, it’s been a really good year for us both.
The good: My wife and I made it through another year. Got a new pacemaker installed in January. [Got a doctor assigned in June after being waitlisted for 19 months]*. Got visits from all three kids and visited all three, the last two over the Thanksgiving holiday. They are their kids all doing well and loving us, each other, and their respective spouses.
The bad: two good friends died. One from brain cancer who had been my PhD student then became a close friend. The other a colleague whose office had been next to mine, of cancer somewhere in the digestive tract; I never quite understood where. My BIL died. Although he had separated from sis, it still upset her.
*edited to add. Then six months later, she announced she was “leaving the public service”. Back on the waiting list. But the worst part is that she had arranged for a colonoscopy after a test showed blood in the stool. When I no longer had a family doctor, they canceled the colonoscopy. Ostensibly because I had no one to ask how long in advance I should stop the blood thinner. This is abusive, IMHO.
2022 was pretty much like 2021 - I’m retired, my wife and son work at home, and we pretty much just mark the days.
However, in November my only brother and last member of my original nuclear family died. I lost my Mom a few years ago. My Dad, who I never really knew well, died about 35 years ago, and I had two twin sisters who died in infancy. It feels strange and sad to be the last one left at only 59. Luckily my own family is doing ok.
Here’s hoping for a better 2023 - but I don’t believe it.
My year got better, as my ability to walk got easier. It was in April of 2021, just after Easter, when I broke my hip. Living on a second floor was a pain. My sister and friends went above and beyond taking care of me, to therapy and medical appointment, doing laundry, and such. Then in the fall of that year I sold my house, and moved to where I am now. Again I had a lot of help. By the end of 2021 I was living on my own but still had to use a walker.
So, for 2022 I gradually improved my walking, graduating to a cane, and now I walk without the cane again. I count that as a good thing.
Oh, and speaking of help, one of the DeathPool people, phungi, took over handling the game. I will always be grateful for that. I wanted to do it myself but still couldn’t push myself, as I had a bit of depression… But that’s all over now.
I can’t say it was awesome. Just another year of trying to keep my head above water while working in an industry that has been circling the drain for so long I can scarcely remember otherwise. And my father died in July, which was a real punch to the gut. But I don’t feel nearly as downtrodden as I kind of think I should feel. Maybe it’s the irrational optimism that comes when a new year starts. I am at least inclined to get up off the mat and battle back, even if I wind up getting clobbered once again.
The good: Two new grandchildren, healthy and happy. Other children doing well. Successful year at work, good shape financially. Large “remodel” project completed at home. My wife and I count our blessings every day.
The bad: My mother died in October. She had been declining cognitively for years, and especially last 6 months. After a lifetime of unbridled optimism, she was, for the first time, miserable. Hard to watch. A few other challenges during the year, but within normal limits and we dealt with them.