Final Post of 2017

Written on 12-27-17.

     I’m in our bedroom, reclining on our bed.  Pikachu is stretched out next to me, and, yes, she is still alive.  Recently, we took her to the vet, after nearly a decade.  We would not have gone, probably, but she had been attacked by a ‘dark as nighttime’ black, bully cat from the neighborhood.  Pika had a small wound on her back, right leg.  It cost us over $400.00 to repair the injury and get her caught up on all of her immunizations, but that high price alleviated much, if not all, of our guilt.  I had to bring her back for a leukemia booster shot three weeks later, and that cost us another $32.00, so my guilt is fully expunged.  The truth, however, is that I love that cat, and I am impressed with her survival skills. 

     It’s the day before my father’s 82nd birthday, and here at the end of December, we are also getting closer and closer to James leaving us to go back to Wellington.  It’s been a great visit, of course, but it will be January 2nd soon, and he will be heading home before we know it.  Belinda spontaneously invited the Moores and the Goldens over tonight for salad to see him and visit with all of us, but only the Moores can make it.  She invited Michelle, too, but she has to take care of her mother.  It will be wonderful to have the Moores to ourselves, though.

     I’ve seen The Last Jedi three times now, twice up in Lakewood and once more in Farmington.  We had to go that third time to take Craig and Kyle, of course.  James and Danielle came again, also.  On this third viewing, I really got it.  I understood it much better, and I enjoyed it more than ever.  Empire will remain my favorite, but this one really climbed the charts, in my mind, after this third viewing.  

     While exchanging some gifts in Farmington today, I saw many people I knew, but one really stood out to me, and that was Kendra (not her real name).  She was at Target with her daughter, and I was quickly reminded how people are still really hurting after our town’s shooting, and they will continue to hurt for a long time.  I offered our love, support, and prayers, and she was grateful.  She talked about her experience, and I gave her a second hug, but I could feel the pain and the dread pouring out of her.  Pain from the emotional fall-out of it all, and the dread of returning.  This has greatly affected her in ways she can’t even explain.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Written on 12-24-17.

     Merry Christmas Eve!  It’s been nearly a month since I last wrote in here, but we’ve been amazingly, atypically, and incredibly busy this month.  I had work, of course, but things really picked up when James arrived for his vacation here in the states.  He goes back to Wellington on January 2nd, and that date is fast approaching.  Sigh.  It’s been wonderful, though, of course.  He was able to surprise Kyle at his graduation, but it didn’t turn out the way we had hoped.  He was going to come into Becca’s living room, tag Kyle, and say, “Tag, you’re it.”

     Instead, Kyle burst in and caught James and Danielle horsing around, so James immediately ran back to Becca’s bedroom where he told me that Kyle had just looked right into his eyes.  How could he not recognize that it was James?  When I walked out to greet Kyle, he asked me if Justin had just run back there.  I said I had no idea, so Kyle went back to see who it was.  I failed at stopping him, so he charged into Becca’s bedroom to find his cousin.  After that, there was much rejoicing.

     We also went up to Lakewood to have our Swope Family Christmas, our Joe Christmas, and our Star Wars reunion at a showing of The Last Jedi.  That was super fun!  We had our yummy Christmas and birthday celebration at the White Fence Farm again, and there was more rejoicing.  This celebration was marked by Belinda’s 50th birthday, and it was a bit sad to not have Theresa with us this time.  Bev was so thoughtful, however, to include gum with each of her gifts to Dad, Belinda, and ShyShay.

     On another entirely sad and devastating note, our little town of Aztec was rocked with a school shooting earlier this month.  I would like to write about that, too, but I won’t have time tonight.  It’s getting close to dinnertime, and Belinda and I would like to go through all of the papers and mail that have been accumulating on our kitchen counter this past month.  Once again, though, Merry Christmas Eve!

Until next time…

Writing in a Construction Zone-Conclusion of the Reverse Handicap Game

Written on 11-28-17.

     Our house is a construction zone right now.  All of our tile has been shaved, scraped, destroyed, and removed.  It’s quite a sight to see, and it reminds me of when we first moved in here.  B is on her way home from work, and I just finished scanning in all of the pictures that she “stole” from the Edgertons for a surprise slideshow for A’s and B’s 50th birthday.

Back to the match…

Hole #10-We all tied with bogeys, but I really thought Bruce and C.J. would get pars.  C.J. was on the top of the green, and Bruce was just off on the left side, but pretty close to the hole.  I was way off on the left side, but my second chip got my ball close enough to salvage a bogey.  The next hole was now worth a bunch of points.

Hole #11-I drove my ball out to the bailout area, and I managed to pitch onto the green from there, but it kicked left off the hill that’s on the right side, so I had a longer putt for my birdie.  C.J. and Bruce got bogeys, but C.J. should have had a par.  I had a ton of...

A Second Crack at the Reverse Handicap Game

Also written on 11-27-17.

On to golf…

     The last time we played was the 16th, and it was our usual threesome again.  I already wrote about the outcome, but here’s how it happened.  

     The weather has been uncharacteristically warm for November.  Today, it got up to 70 degrees, and C.J. asked if I could go play, but I turned him down due to the new flooring.  Bummer.  I should have gone, but we got a lot done, and it was good for Belinda and I to show a united front to the installers.  We also found more things that needed to be done before it all got started, like covering cupboards, moving little things out of rooms like chairs and end tables, and packing to go to A’s and E’s house for the next few nights.

     They asked me what I wanted to play that day, and I chose the Reverse Handicap Game again, because it was so fun and fair the last time.  Who would win this time?  It was close again, so here’s the hole by hole breakdown…

Hole #1-We all tied with pars.  C.J. really got a bogey, but he gets a pop on this long, difficult par four now.

Hole #2-I was the only one to get a par, so I avoided the skunk right away, earning the first 28 points.  I got a G.I.R. to earn the par, so that made it easier.

Hole #3-Bruce and C.J. tied with pars, but I was all over the place.  I couldn’t get off the tee box really well, I got stuck behind a tree, and I ended up with a double bogey.  Before we teed off on this hole, I reminded them that we need to come up with a Steal the Tee Box Game for next time.

Hole #4-C.J. and I tied with pars this time, so the points were pushed a second time.

Hole #5-Bruce almost pitched in for an eagle from the front of this green, so he earned a bunch of points with his birdie.  He avoided a skunk, also, and it was just before the “dead skunk bogey” hole from the last time we played this game.  Good timing, Bruce.  He earned 28 points, too, so we were tied.

Hole #6-I was given a gift from Bruce when he missed a short putt for par.  I got my par, though, by getting another G.I.R., so I won 10 more points.

Hole #7-Bruce backed up his first birdie with another one on this hole.  Due to its difficulty, it should have been worth more points, but it was only worth four.

Hole #8-Bruce won this hole, also, but with a par this time.  I triple-putted for a bogey, so he got two more points.  

Hole #9-Just like we had started, we all got pars, and C.J. earned his with a bogey and a pop.  We pushed the 18 points from this hole to the back nine.  

     I am going to get ready to go to TRX and the Edgerton’s now, so I will write about the back nine later.  At the conclusion of the front nine, though, the score was Pat: 38, Bruce: 34, and C.J.: 0.  Would C.J. get skunked, or would he get hot and win it all on the back?  Could I maintain my lead for the rest of the round, or would Bruce display his typical amazing play.  I’ll conclude this tonight or tomorrow.  

Until next time…