an american in belgië

27 January 2021

A Year to Remember . . . and to Forget

A year like no other is now ended. So far, we as a family, have made it. Unscathed and healthy. I was much of a recluse before the pandemic struck and like my friend Barry said . . . he was social distancing before it was required. Me too.

I do miss the family times we most definitely took for granted. We took the "stay at home" recommendation seriously. We stayed home. We took the "social distancing" recommendation seriously. We social distanced. We took the "wear a mask" recommendation seriously. We wore a mask. And we're still doing every one of those today.

A vaccine is here and in record time for vaccines. Thank goodness and Moderna and Pfizer. While we won't be at the top of any list to receive it, we will receive it. And until we do, we will continue to do all those things listed above. No amount of risk is worth it.

In addition to Covid-19, another sad event left a void in our family. JimA, Josh's Dad, passed away on November 4. We've known he and DebB for 20 years now and shared so many good times. We will miss him very much. He was a good man. So talented too. Our get-togethers just won't be the same.

About that same time we had a presidential election and much to our relief we have a new one. Despite not winning a second term, the old one has done more damage to our society than even I thought possible. I, and several million others, predicted he'd do just what he did. I look back at my blog post on the sad day four years ago and it's almost prophetic.

But there have been many good things this year including all of us remaining in good health. I could not be more grateful.

And speaking of grateful . . . not too long ago was my birthday. I turned 60 and while I often feel very much age 60, I could be in much worse shape!

Ross sent this beautiful bouquet and I enjoyed it all week!

Then we chatted with the kids in celebration :)

This amazing set of books is a concerted effort with Randi handling the bulk of it.

And no doubt it was quite a job!

It's a printed version of my blog! Absolutely amazing. I've already read through 2009 and 2010 and most of 2011. I can hardly believe it's all about us. Thank you, all of you, for a wonderful birthday!

As much as I love Christmas, I decided to forego the usual decorations and put up just a little tinsel tree. It's festive enough for now and perhaps all my old decorations may feel like new again next year.

We celebrated the holiday with gumbo on the patio with Ross and a chat with Randi and family to unwrap gifts. The weather was actually quite nice!

Randi. So clever.

03 September 2020

The Lost Year(s)

Months ago Jim appropriately called the time of the pandemic . . . the lost years. It's been six months now since we cancelled our annual March birthday get together - as a precaution. At this point, there's really no end in sight.

Nearly everyone in the family has celebrated a birthday. Mother's Day and Father's Day and a couple of birthdays were virtual lunches nicely arranged by the kids. What will Thanksgiving and Christmas be like in 2020?

Jim was very prophetic when he said it is the lost years.

Thankfully we're all healthy and no one has contracted the virus. Not by chance, but by design. We're all doing everything we can to stay safe. Masks, gloves, staying at home as much as possible. And we're also all on the same page when it comes to our approach to this whole thing which is certainly not true of many we know and much of the general public.

Here are just a few photos taken in the last six months . . .

The sky in our backyard. Never has it been so blue as when there were no planes in the air.

Jim turns 60!

Ross's new dog - Ruston!

Randi and family's new dog - Butter!

Father's Day

Mother's Day

Stay safe and stay home!

01 April 2020

Lake House Update

We found a lake house . . . sort of . . . the one thing missing is the house. There is a lake and the possibility of a house, but for now it's mostly just a lot on a lake.

We did look for several months for the perfect house. We seriously considered this house. It pretty much met all our criteria.

Love the wood walls.

And it really did have lots of character, but ultimately we passed on it.

Then this one came along. It had been out of our designated price range until it got reduced in price. Great architecture and all those windows!

This porch is amazing too.

Inside was just as nice and pristine. The owners only visit occasionally.

Well, it turned out by the time we inquired about it, it was under contract. So, disappointed, we moved on and decided the "perfect" lake house would be the one we built ourselves.

So we found this lot. And we bought it.

Literally a day later the realtor calls and the house above with the big porch and all those windows was no longer under contract. Whether that was good or bad, we had already bought the lot. Even so, Jim made a low offer and they declined.

So here we are with a lot minus the lake house. For now.

We built a fire pit and it's been fun going out and picking up limbs and dreaming of what might be.

The trees are beginning to green up and it's really beautiful.

The lot is very sloping so building a house and a driveway to it are quite a challenge, but we are not yet deterred.

And if we never do anything more than this, it's all worth it :)

Stay at Home!

Yesterday was Ross's 31st birthday. Happy birthday, Ross!!! We "celebrated" with a video chat - us, Randi, the kids, and Ross. We weren't able to get together for dinner or cake, but we'll make up for all that soon, I hope!

Reason being . . . Covid-19. Hopefully this declared pandemic will barely make the history books, but at this moment, it's looking like it could be one for the record books.

Beginning at the end of January, this previously unknown virus entered the US from China and despite it already having wreaked havoc on Asia and starting to infect Europe, we completely ignored it. And by "we", I mean those in charge who might have done something about it. Sure, it's complicated and no doubt the economy will suffer greatly.

But hindsight is 20/20. Always. We could have and should have done more. We had the head start China only wished they'd had and we ignored it. And by "we" . . . refer to statement above.

So, we're 2 months in and, as predicted, it's spreading like wild fire as wild fires are known to do. Why the general public is surprised is a mystery to me. Oh, wait, it's the general public who are always a mystery to me.

We've done as much as we can do as individuals and hopefully it won't be too little too late. We, too, had that head start and didn't do nearly enough to take advantage of it. Right up until about 2 weeks ago, we were in some state of denial. For 6 weeks we, and by "we", this time I mean "me" could have prepared to be hunkered down for months, but we didn't.

Even when we, who were ahead of the curve, were beginning to isolate, most people were going about life as normal. Traveling, shopping, dining out - and I'm talking about our own family members! Yeah, they're on board now, but what does it take for people to snap to attention? As Jim said, it won't mean anything until it hits home - you actually know someone with the virus or you have it yourself. I guess I just answered my own question.

We did do something pretty stupid like tearing our fiberglass shower out thinking we'd be able to get it all back together before the proverbial $#!+ hit the fan. Needless to say that did not happen. Luckily we've got other bathrooms so it's just a minor inconvenience.

Even as we're supposedly on total lock down in Texas with the exception of essential travel (define "essential"), Jim is still going to work as usual. I'm worried and trying to understand the logistics of health vs. business. It's complicated, I know, but . . . it's only a matter of time (and possibly our health). It's simply not sustainable to continue as "normal".

My appreciation for people in healthcare has always been enormous, especially after working in a hospital for so many years. If you've ever sat and looked around a doctor's office waiting room or paid attention to goings on while on the floor of a hospital unit, you know, without reservation, these heroes are not in it for the money. I've said it before and I believe it more than ever . . . they are the most important people on earth. If you don't have your health, there IS nothing else.

Maybe now, finally, we'll snap to attention, so those caregivers can concentrate on caring for the sick and not the careless.