October 24, 2023
2022 and 2023 (so far)
2022 was a year filled with a lot of change in my life. Some was truly wonderful, and some was truly horrible.
The year started with the death of my brother. He got sick with covid, and then while he was in the hospital I learned he didn't have a vaccine. I texted and talked briefly and often with him on the phone for 2 weeks until his lungs were so damaged he had to go on a ventilator. Then as we prayed for a miracle we slowly faced the harsh reality that he would not recover, and we had to let him go. The last time we spoke I said I was looking forward to when were together again, and I still am.
My brother was so excited, possibly the most in my family, when I first told him about meeting my future wife. So his presence was very much felt a few months after he passed on what turned out to be one of the most beautiful days of my life. It was this day that I married the love of my life, and together we started building a new life together.
Things were starting to settle down...And then a few months later we had an unexpected opportunity to buy a fixer-upper home. It was a lot of work! Some of it we did ourselves. Some of it was done by professionals. It was several months of hard work: drywall repairs, painting walls and the ceiling, refinishing the floors. We remodeled/expanded the bathroom (demoed a closet and unused fireplace/new tile floor and shower walls, new toilet and vanity). None of this would have been possible without the generous help of some amazing friends!
2022 really felt like a roller coaster!
As 2023 started we kept working hard to get our new house ready to live in. Within a few weeks we were (mostly) ready to move. Ever since the move it's been a seemingly endless punch list of finishing touches, unpacking, and surprise things to fix. Not to mention a lot of effort battling out of control azaleas and poison ivy. Ah, the joys of home ownership.
2023 has also been the year my brother's youngest daughter got married, and I got to stand before her and her fine young husband to celebrate that wonderful new beginning.
