Catching Up

Grabbing 2019 by the horns

Eight months is a long time to neglect a blog, especially during a year where your family is tossed from one situation to the next. How do you pick up the narrative? Do you bother?

We went into 2019 knowing this would be a challenging spring. We had a full calendar and were planning months ahead. Life decided that we were meant to be professional jugglers. Events not on our calendars kept spontaneously presenting themselves and we had to take the detour.

Toby and I each started counseling. I helped a friend post-hysterectomy for a week. Toe turned eleven and Grandpa Boat came to visit from Texas. We caught Flu A (Toe was diagnosed in the emergency room) and in the same week, had to put Sasha down.

Sasha's health declined rapidly in January

I started working part-time again. We spent a lovely Saturday with Jason's cousin whom we have not seen in 19 years. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. We went camping for the second time in Toe's life.

I spent a week in Cancun with a friend - my first trip out of the country in 15 years. 

J worked diligently on his next album and managed to go to two comic conventions. We all three performed in a reader's theater production of Snow White.

I'm the bunny

Toe won the school spelling bee and came in second in his class at the county competition. Jason had some pretty severe bumps and and changes at work (he's still in the process). Toe finished 5th grade (and moves on to middle school in the fall). My sister and her family visited and we left them to go to Texas to see J's folks and his brother.

Meanwhile...

Our CF Ambassador, post first speech

Toe served as the Oregon Ambassador for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Great Strides campaign. Working with the ambassador for SW Washington and the CFF Oregon team, we made multiple videos each month, encouraging fundraising teams, and providing information. Toe and his grandmother designed team shirts which we wore at not one, but FOUR Great Strides walks in the region in May and June. J's parents came from Texas, bearing shirts, to walk with us in two of the four walks and spend the intervening week with us on the coast. Toe spoke at three of the four walks we attended.

By the time we reached July, I was DONE. I think we all were. We have limped through July, focusing on health and rest.

Miraculously, Toe's health has remained pretty even. We went into the May/June cycle (our busiest months) expecting we would have to take unanticipated breaks due to illness. It's part of the CF life. We did cancel a couple of events due to fatigue, but I think my health suffered more than Toe's did. We are incredibly grateful for his healthy lungs.

We are also grateful for all of the support we have received this year - friends joining us to walk at the CF walks, donors to the CF Foundation, friends and family who have kept us sane, brought us meals, listened to our adventures and woes.

In three weeks, Toe enters middle school. I am addressing a variety of issues relating to my health, trying to get better control of my chronic pain. J is scrambling to finish his album and meet new work challenges...

That's the skinny. We've been so busy living life, I haven't had the energy to write about it. I'm hoping that we can start again now and unpack some of our adventures as well as reflect on new ones.