Goodbye 2007
Here it is....the end of 2007 already. I know I said that I was going to take a break from blogging and I did. There was quite a bit of stuff that I had to figure out in my head before I could come back to this blog and honestly write. I didn't want this to turn into a blog of grief even though the grief did play a part in my arthritis acting up a lot this past year. So with this year ending and a new one on the way, I am hopeful that I can begin posting once again. I do admit that I have missed my daily blogging. Not only did it give me a sense of purpose but I was able to think through things as I typed my problems out. Though it may take me a long time to finish a post, in the end it was always worth it. Therefore, I will begin today posting so that I can get in the groove, so to speak. How about a quick year in review.
Getting through the first part of the year was hard. I won't lie about that at all because it'll do me no good. There was a lot of things that I wish I didn't have to deal with during the first part of the year and yet I know that if I didn't have them, that I wouldn't be the person I am today. I think part of me was just going through the motions of being alive until about May of this year. I tried to reclaim what I was before my brother passed away but I have come to realize that I'll never be the same person again. There's a part of me that will always want to go back. I can't though. I need to move forward. So after I came to the realization, things started to return to some sort of routine around here. Days came and went. Some days I could move better than others but overall it wasn't so bad that I was bedridden as I had been in 2006. Now that doesn't mean I didn't have days where I couldn't even get dressed by myself. There were just more days where I could move than couldn't. My right hand has been bothering me the most. Unfortunately that's the hand I write with so there's been limited amount of writing for me. Typing's also been a challenge. It's little bit easier on the laptop but not by much.
Not much really happened until about the end of June/early July. My hubby and I noticed that Dudley wasn't acting right so we got him into a vet as soon as possible. Turned out that the poor little guy had a bunch of things wrong with him. We had made the decison long ago that if he was really bad off, we wouldn't allow him to suffer. After he was gone, we took him to the country and let him rest in peace and quiet. It seemed like the next day, my hubby started to have really bad migraines to the point where he couldn't move or anything. He went to the family doctor who placed him on a variety of medications that worked at first but didn't seem to stay working long after. He was then sent to a neurologist who quickly ran some tests to rule out cancer and other problems. Finally, we found out that he had a headache that hadn't let go in the first place as well as severe sleep apnea which made his blood oxygen drop very low during the night. The neurologist put in a nerve block in his neck to release the headache and Chris began sleeping with a CPAP machine. So far, he's not had as many migraines. They also don't seem to be a severe as they once were, so I know that the things he's doing now are working thankfully.
The end of the year has definitely brought with it some challenges. Jobs have been taken away and others been put in their place. We're pretty much living on the edge of the poor line right now. We're able to make our mortgage payments although they have been late a time or two. I do hope that the new year brings a bit of steadiness, whether it's a full time job or just regular amounts of money coming into the house so that we can get these bills paid off. I'm so thankful that some of the creditors are actually willing to work with us on getting the bills paid, even if it's at a much lower rate than what they initially wanted. I'm putting it as a priority to get us back on track. If I'm not able to go out and work any longer, then I'm going to do my best to make sure that the money Chris is able to bring home will be put to good use.
My family and I did put on a memorial/fundraiser on the anniversary of Billy's death. My youngest brother, Andy, got most of it together since he knew a lot of wrestlers. We picked wrestling because it was something that was something Billy liked to support Andy in by going to the shows and just being there. One of the very last things that Billy did was go to a show that Andy was wrestling in our hometown. There were quite a lot of bumps along the way but we did a lot of learning as we put the whole thing together. Not only did we get over 120 people there, but it was a great show that really entertained those that came. Yeah, I wish that we could have sold a lot more tickets, bracelets and stuff to make a large donation to the Lupus Foundation. Yet we were able to give a small one after everything and everyone was paid. From all indications, it looks as though we are going to be able to have a larger show next year. There are few extra fundraisers that I'd like to put on to raise more money for the show in November so I have to get working on those after the new year.
I was able to get a few projects completed this past year. I still have a number of cross-stitch and crochet projects that I've started that need finishing. Yes, those are on my to-do list for the next year. I'm also going to try again to reach my book reading goal of 100 books by the end of the year. This year I was able to get 62 books read, even though there were a lot of things going on that kept me from reading. My hubby read over 70 books which is huge for him because he's not normally a big reader. That just gives me more incentive to read more next year. I will beat him if it's the last thing I do! Hehehe.
Getting through the first part of the year was hard. I won't lie about that at all because it'll do me no good. There was a lot of things that I wish I didn't have to deal with during the first part of the year and yet I know that if I didn't have them, that I wouldn't be the person I am today. I think part of me was just going through the motions of being alive until about May of this year. I tried to reclaim what I was before my brother passed away but I have come to realize that I'll never be the same person again. There's a part of me that will always want to go back. I can't though. I need to move forward. So after I came to the realization, things started to return to some sort of routine around here. Days came and went. Some days I could move better than others but overall it wasn't so bad that I was bedridden as I had been in 2006. Now that doesn't mean I didn't have days where I couldn't even get dressed by myself. There were just more days where I could move than couldn't. My right hand has been bothering me the most. Unfortunately that's the hand I write with so there's been limited amount of writing for me. Typing's also been a challenge. It's little bit easier on the laptop but not by much.
Not much really happened until about the end of June/early July. My hubby and I noticed that Dudley wasn't acting right so we got him into a vet as soon as possible. Turned out that the poor little guy had a bunch of things wrong with him. We had made the decison long ago that if he was really bad off, we wouldn't allow him to suffer. After he was gone, we took him to the country and let him rest in peace and quiet. It seemed like the next day, my hubby started to have really bad migraines to the point where he couldn't move or anything. He went to the family doctor who placed him on a variety of medications that worked at first but didn't seem to stay working long after. He was then sent to a neurologist who quickly ran some tests to rule out cancer and other problems. Finally, we found out that he had a headache that hadn't let go in the first place as well as severe sleep apnea which made his blood oxygen drop very low during the night. The neurologist put in a nerve block in his neck to release the headache and Chris began sleeping with a CPAP machine. So far, he's not had as many migraines. They also don't seem to be a severe as they once were, so I know that the things he's doing now are working thankfully.
The end of the year has definitely brought with it some challenges. Jobs have been taken away and others been put in their place. We're pretty much living on the edge of the poor line right now. We're able to make our mortgage payments although they have been late a time or two. I do hope that the new year brings a bit of steadiness, whether it's a full time job or just regular amounts of money coming into the house so that we can get these bills paid off. I'm so thankful that some of the creditors are actually willing to work with us on getting the bills paid, even if it's at a much lower rate than what they initially wanted. I'm putting it as a priority to get us back on track. If I'm not able to go out and work any longer, then I'm going to do my best to make sure that the money Chris is able to bring home will be put to good use.
My family and I did put on a memorial/fundraiser on the anniversary of Billy's death. My youngest brother, Andy, got most of it together since he knew a lot of wrestlers. We picked wrestling because it was something that was something Billy liked to support Andy in by going to the shows and just being there. One of the very last things that Billy did was go to a show that Andy was wrestling in our hometown. There were quite a lot of bumps along the way but we did a lot of learning as we put the whole thing together. Not only did we get over 120 people there, but it was a great show that really entertained those that came. Yeah, I wish that we could have sold a lot more tickets, bracelets and stuff to make a large donation to the Lupus Foundation. Yet we were able to give a small one after everything and everyone was paid. From all indications, it looks as though we are going to be able to have a larger show next year. There are few extra fundraisers that I'd like to put on to raise more money for the show in November so I have to get working on those after the new year.
I was able to get a few projects completed this past year. I still have a number of cross-stitch and crochet projects that I've started that need finishing. Yes, those are on my to-do list for the next year. I'm also going to try again to reach my book reading goal of 100 books by the end of the year. This year I was able to get 62 books read, even though there were a lot of things going on that kept me from reading. My hubby read over 70 books which is huge for him because he's not normally a big reader. That just gives me more incentive to read more next year. I will beat him if it's the last thing I do! Hehehe.
Well, that's about it. My year was very much on the boring side at times. At other times, I wished that it was boring. All in all, 2007 had a bit more downs than ups but I'm hoping that the new year will be the opposite. I know we could use more good times than bad ones. Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, I hope you have a safe and fun new year. May it bring what you need!
Love and blessings,
Kim
posted by Kim @ 2:27 PM
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