We are three weeks into the new year and it has been full all ready. We had relatives from my side of the family over for Christmas. The weekend before we had celebrated Christmas with Pat, Myla and the foster grandkids. Having all of them over was a great afternoon of pizza, conversation, and everyone having a good time. Pat, Myla, and the foster grandkids were able to make it so we had a house full of people.Then the next day it was to the hospital to begin the procedures to have Ter’s kidney stones smashed which was a two day thing. It was two different
procedures on consecutive days. The stories along with that are for another time, suffice it to say there was little sleep and a lot of stress for three days.
The day of the second procedure Pat came to sit with me. I was really thankful as the first day had been a lot more than we had anticipated. The first thing when we met up was he told me we were leaving the building. I was a little hesitant as usually they want someone right there at all times while someone is in surgery. We did leave and he took me to the Nashville Farmers Market. It happens to be open year round and has a second building housing a very interesting food court. We stopped at one stand and ordered lunch. Pat ordered a large bowl of gumbo while I ordered a shrimp po’boy. The po’boy is a southern tradition being a sandwich made with plenty of filling. The best part was we had a wonderful time of conversation. I was really struck with the fact of how our son has matured in his twenty seven years. I am so proud of him and his wife for all they do in the community.
It has also been a time of reflecting on how life can be. Two family members were lost at the end of the year. First Ter’s sister’s father in law, Kelly Rewa, was lost in a horrendous fire the week before Christmas. Kelly was a very simple man who had great influence on those around him along with his wife, Bonnie. It was a great shock to all of us when he died. Then Ter’s Aunt Julie went into the hospital having trouble after a chemotherapy treatment. She went into a tailspin and died a few days later. She was a great woman of God and we will miss her greatly. We are still having a time wrapping our heads around the fact they are gone.
In all of this we are thankful we have our new church family around us. They are great support to us. We did officially join First Baptist Church of Fairview in early December. It is a good church home and we most likely will become more involved as time goes on. It was different for me to be sitting out in the congregation listening to the Christmas program rather than being involved after all these years.
The past year was full of many things and changes in our lives. Our move to Tennessee, and some revelations about my health. All of a sudden I was diagnosed with glaucoma, a huge surprise, and found my diabetes had progressed to where it needed treatment rather than just diet and exercise. There have been other health surprises, but all in all things are pretty good. We are getting active in Scouts again and have found some new friends in that area. The biggest change was selling the last part of the family farm and ending 120 years of family ownership of the property. There are mixed feelings about that and leaving friends and family back in the Great Lakes State. We will keep in contact, of course, and look forward to what God has for us in 2012.