A Roller Coaster Ride

In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens described the setting: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. This last month or so has been a roller coaster ride with a lot of ups and downs. Here are a few of the highlights of the ups and downs.

Something Good:

Joshua graduated from high school. Since March 2020, school has been a struggle as students first had to take classes online on their own, and then there classes were online via Zoom and Google Meets. Next came a hybrid approach where some days were online while others were in person, and finally most of their classes were in person, but it was with masks and other protective precautions. Even with all this opposition, Josh was able to scrape up enough credits to graduate from high school. I'm so proud of him!

The Bad:

My parents were able to come visit with us for a few days around the time of the graduation. (This isn't the bad part! I really enjoyed the time that they spent with us!!!)  At first they weren't planning to attend the graduation itself - they would arrive in the evening after the graduation, and were just going to watch it online. But then the ceremony was rescheduled because of rain, and Josh's siblings chose not to go, so my parents were in the car with us as we traveled to the stadium where the graduation was held. We had climbed out of the car and were almost out of the parking lot when my Mom's foot slipped into a crack between the cement sidewalk and the pavement, and she fell. School district officials and an EMT were soon at the sight offering their help, but in the end, rather than attending the graduation, my parents went to the urgent care where they discovered the ankle had a hairline fracture and Mom returned home wearing a not-so-stylish boot.

Something Bad:

The summer started out with a lot of rain. At one point I noticed that there was a growing wet spot on the ceiling of our dining room. Luckily (The Good) we live in a condo, so I was able to report the leak to the HOA and a maintenance person was sent out to take a look at it. It has taken several visits from at least three maintenance people to have everything taken care of: the leaky vent pipe was repaired. The place where the pipe goes through the roof was repaired. The ceiling where the wet spot was located was repaired. The place where one of the maintenance people cracked another spot in the ceiling was repaired. The repaired places were retextured and painted. The spots were repainted because the paint didn't match. The spots were painted again because it still didn't match. They should be back tomorrow to paint again because last time, while the paint did actually match, the type of paint wasn't the same texture as the paint around it (eggshell instead of matte)… hopefully this will be the end.

Something Good:

I got my second COVID shot so I am now completely immunized and don't have to wear masks in stores and stuff any more. While my arm was sore for a couple days (the bad) I didn't feel sick at all and was able to go about my normal activities.

Something Bad:

I hurt my back, straining some muscle and spent the next few days hobbling around like a 90 year old, experiencing frequent painful spasms. I used ice and heat, stretched it, massaged it, and took ibuprofen, but the pain didn't subside. We planned a campout for that weekend, and I feared I would be miserable, but as we were loading up the car, Steven was talking to a neighbor and mentioned what I was experiencing. She gave him some pills to pass on to me that her doctor had recommended when she had experienced something similar herself. Within a surprisingly short period of time, the (generic) Midol Complete relaxed the muscle so the spasms stopped and I was able to enjoy the campout with the family with relatively minor pain (the good).

Something Good:

I did really enjoy the campout with my family. We stayed at the Dry Creek campground, near Gunnison, CO, across the street from the Bay of Chickens on Blue Mesa Reservoir. The kids took turns preparing the breakfasts and dinners while Steven and I managed the lunches. We found a place where we could do some bouldering and the kids really enjoyed that. (The bad: I walked a little farther than I probably should have and so my back hurt more than it had, but it was still manageable.) We also visited a cool park in Gunnison, went on a scenic drive, and waded in the Bay of Chickens. 

Something Bad:

I couple months ago, I had an ultrasound on my carotid artery to see if it was getting clogged up by cholesterol. In the process, the technician noticed that I had nodules on my thyroid. I had another ultrasound specifically of my thyroid and discovered that there were several nodules of varying shapes, sizes and types. Finally I went in for a biopsy to discover what exactly these nodules are. On Tuesday last week, the verdict has come back that I have thyroid cancer. I will probably have to undergo surgery to remove the nodules, but blessedly, this type of cancer is common and completely curable (the good).

Something Bad:

My nephew, Joshua Kerby, passed away at age 16. He was born with aortic stenosis, and in the course of just a week or so he got sick, had a stroke, had surgery on his brain to remove a blood clot, had surgery on his heart, and finally had another major stroke and bleeding on his brain from which he was unable to recover. A great blessing through this time has been our understanding of God's Plan of Salvation and knowing that Josh's spirit lives on and is in a better place (the good).

Something Good: 

 I was able to travel to Utah to be with my sister Lindy and support her through this time. A few of my other sisters (Kristy, Heather and Heidi) were able to come as well, and I really enjoyed their company as we attended the viewings, funeral and burial, as well as spending time playing games, talking and laughing. I was able to see my parents and other siblings and family who live in Utah. There was a tender spirit as we mourned together (the bad), but we also rejoiced in the life Josh led and the person that he was.

Something Bad:

The day I arrived in Utah (Thursday) Steven was let go from his job. Although he has only worked there for a little over five months, he wasn't happy there, and apparently his manager wasn't happy with him either so they decided to end it. I can only trust that he will find something better - something that will use the skills that he has worked so hard to develop and that will allow him opportunities to learn and grow and be happy (the good?).