Wow. It has been a while, hasn't it? I'm not even sure where to begin in discussing the misadventures of the past few years that have kept me from this blog. I rather feel like King Harold in this meme - it seemed like every time I turned around, it was something else!
I know everyone has a tale of woe from 2020, but I like to say our 2020 actually started in 2019. Early spring to be precise, then by fall it was a full-blown cluster. It started off well enough, with a new job at a local community college, and I got to attend FlintCon. But let's say it started at spring break with a car breakdown - in Florida. We sold it for parts and left it there. And more ominously, my wife just did not feel well...
That trend continued throughout the summer, with multiple tests and one biopsy with suspicion of cancer. We didn't do a lot over the summer, only managed one long weekend getaway up north. At least I got to go to Indy, which was another "unknown last one" for a while.
Anyhoo, by fall things really went bad. September 11 to be precise. What is it with that day? Wife had her biopsy that led to a conclusive cancer diagnosis. Person who held my job previously to me died, so they no longer had to hold the position open for her on medical leave, so it became open to anyone, and they decided to hire someone else. And I turned 50, with that inherent midlife crisis. Not. A. Good. Day.
I continued working until the end of October, but overall the fall was rough, with chemo treatments and watching that ravage her. By the holidays it was clear she would no longer be able to work, so, and this was one of the small blessings, I took over her job. Yes, I went in in January to teach 8th grade English as her long-term sub. It actually went well, all things considered. There was that week between Christmas and New Year's when she was in the hospital, which was rough, and then the three-week stay in the UM hospital in Ann Arbor in February for the bone marrow transplant, but we managed. Of course, that put both of my annual treks to game cons - SpartaCon in January and FlintCon in February, off the table.
Which brings us up to Friday the 13th in March, the day everything came to a screeching halt. Covid. Ugh. We all know about that, so I won't say much. But suffice to say, I was out of a job. Again! Fortunately I was able to go on unemployment, which lasted through the summer. By fall, we had figured out how to more or less do in-person school safely, so I went back in as my wife's sub while she taught remotely through Google Meet. Kids are amazingly adaptable!
But I am actually getting ahead of myself. Let's back up to the April/May timeframe. I'm home, not working. She's trying to throw together some kind of virtual school. And she finds out the transplant did not work. The cancer is back. Oh, and then the area gets hit with an epic 500-year flood when a dam breaks after a storm. Fortunately we stayed mostly dry, barely. The water rose within a couple hundred feet of our house, and houses one street over were badly damaged. She evacuated that night with the kids while I stayed to man the pumps. I don't think many people in the county slept much that night!
Oh, and about the same time, my dad got diagnosed with colon and liver cancer. 2020 sucked.
So that brings us to summer, and a new chemo treatment. This one is not billed as a cure, but it is working to keep it under control, at least for now. Who knows for how long. And it is not as rough - her hair is growing back (curly) and she mostly feels OK after, if a little tired. Not like before, which would knock her down for days.
Ultimately, the doctor gave her clearance to return to work a few weeks ago. We both have had our covid vaccines, so that helped. (Did I mention she was severely immuno compromised after the bone marrow transplant? Her immune system was wiped clean. Basically she was a newborn again and has to get all of her vaccines again.) So she went back teaching in front of kids for the first time in 14 months. And in a fortuitous stroke of good timing, I started working in the communications department of a local university the same day. I've gone in some, but a lot of it right now is from home, which is fine.
So, hopefully, things are looking up and we're getting back to "normal." But we realize how quickly things can change. I'm healthy. Kids are healthy. And we're just doing the best we can.
All of this doesn't mean things have been completely quiet on the hobby front. It has been a looong time since I played a miniatures game, but I have been able to get some painting in, and have taken up with some solitaire board games I rather enjoy. And I have gotten more into the model rocketry, and even some balsa aircraft! More on those to come, I hope.
If you bothered to read all that, thanks. It was beneficial to spew it all out. I hope I can get back to blogging about more fun things!
