From 19 Into 20

As years go, 2019 wasn’t a bad one. I mean, compared to 2017, the year in which I was diagnosed with cancer and was told that my job was being eliminated all within a two-week time frame…yeah, 2019 wasn’t bad at all.

Alyssa turned 16, she failed her first attempt at getting her driver’s license, much to everyone’s surprise (No sarcasm there, we truly were surprised she failed.) She did pass on her second attempt and was rewarded her license to drive. She drove away from us alone for the first time. It was only a four mile trip to the dollar store but still…these days, she drives herself twenty miles to Bryan for voice lessons, to school every day, to work a few days a week, to hang with friends, etc. She’s so independent and it makes me proud and sad all at the same time.

I worked. I ‘celebrated’ my one year anniversary at my ‘new’ job. I’d have celebrated 19 years at my old job if it those at corporate hadn’t decided they could make more money by sending production to England. Sigh.

Oh hey, I ‘earned’ three whole days of vacation for all of 2019. They were parsed out sixteen weeks apart. Yeah, that was fun.

Shall we remember how many paid days off I had at my old job? Why not? Let’s wallow a bit longer, shall we? At 19 years of service, I’d have received 4 weeks (that’s 20 days) of paid vacation and one week of paid sick/personal time. I also received 11 holidays, two of those were ‘floating’ holidays, to be taken at will, as needed, the same way vacation days worked.

Enough wallowing, let’s look in the bright side. As of today, January 1, I will have a WHOLE WEEK of paid vacation. That’s FIVE WHOLE DAYS. Yes, those words are dripping with sarcasm. I’m not so much looking on the bright side, am I?

Wait, I take it back. 2019 was actually kind of sucky. I almost forgot about Tom and his ‘year of injuries.’

He spend the last half of 2019 broken.

It all started in June, when he tripped and fell into a wall, hitting the corner with such force that it broke his clavicle. That put him out of commission for almost eight weeks. It was awful.

Then…THEN, he was back on his feet for two whole weeks when he fell from a ladder he was using to trim my mom and step-dad’s tree and…he broke his right foot. That was back in late August. He’s still in pain. It makes me sad.

Speaking of being sad, Olivia is in sixth grade and I think this has been our hardest year yet. She’s being left behind by her peers. I knew this was coming. I thought I was ready. But it just makes me sad.

She brings home homework that she simply isn’t able to do. She doesn’t think like a typical sixth grader. She can’t read a passage about Mesopotamia and take key points out of that text and then answer questions about the agriculture or geography of that area.

She’s so smart in her own way. She’s got so much going for her but school work on the typical level isn’t one of those strengths. And it makes me crazy when I sit there for forty minutes doing her homework myself because she isn’t getting anything out of that, even when she’s sitting right there with me.

I wish I could rewire her brain, replace that missing part of her chromosome, ‘fix’ her while retaining the things that keep her so very Livie.

Alas…

A few other tidbits on 2019: My auntie Nell had a stroke and spent a couple of months in the hospital, only to be moved to a nursing home for rehab. She’s STILL there but is making a little progress. I pray for her each night. This auntie is Amy’s mom so her illness is big blow to her immediate family.

My dad’s sister, my Aunt Esther died in October. She was 94. She lived a good, long life. She left behind a legacy of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was my dad’s last living sibling. Now he’s the last of his parent’s children to be alive. I am sad for him even as we celebrate the life she lived.

Anyway, let’s raise a glass to 2019, while it wasn’t as bad at 2017, it can still go screw itself.