2021

 2021 was the year of death/ Seven people I knew or had known died. None of them are from covid. Two relatives died on my sister's dad's side. They were not old. It felt so unfair. My only aunt on my dad's side passed away from a stroke at the end of the year. She lived in Washington state and we were not close but from going through her house she lived a full and happy life. She was a psych nurse for a long time. From her pictures she traveled a lot, She even went to Italy. I would have wanted to go. I wish she had lived closer to me. We would have gotten along so much. It seemed like we had a lot in common. Art, books, and cats. 

My mom's ex from years ago died. If it wasn't for drinking he would have been my stepdad. I felt an electric shock when I heard he passed away. I don't know how he died but I'm sure it was from years of drinking. 

At the beginning of the year, my grandma and her live-in love as I put it got covid together. They even shared a hospital room together. Both survived but I was scared this was it. Covid is known as a boomer remover though she is a pre-boomer. At the end of the year, she turned 80. Unfortunately, we didn't get to give her a big party like when she turned 70. I never thought my grandma would live this long because of her years of smoking and having COPD. I'm grateful she is here. 

Beware of the Ides of March

Last March was a cluster fuck. I feel like I am lightly putting it. My mom got covid. My sister Holly had her gallbladder removed. Came home started throwing up nasty stuff and ended up back in the hospital. As I said in a previous post my nephew's girlfriend was pregnant and the baby had anencephaly. Gianna was born and died on March 15th. The same day I was having shoulder surgery. I didn't get to see her or get to hold her but those who were there did. I can't imagine the pain of giving birth to a baby that was meant to die. Carry that pain with you for the rest of your life. 

My surgery was successful in my opinion. It put me out of my misery. There was so much wrong with my shoulder. Mild arthritis my ass. It was severe. They had to work on my bicep, and rotator cuff and clean out some of my arthritis. The next surgery will probably be a shoulder replacement unless it's minor work. Recovery was a long road. I went to rehab. That was hell. The food was awful. Luke warm to cold most days and uneditable to me. I'm a picky eater and this was a nightmare. I lost 10lbs. Some of the CNAs were nice and some need to find a different profession. Their people skills were terrible. Getting home was hard because I had to wheel my wheelchair with one arm. I did two rounds of physical therapy before the pain finally went away. Waking up without being in pain is a new normal for now. Not being in pain all of the time allows my brain to focus on other things like creativity. It's been a long road. 

My best friend of 14 years died on Aug 30th, I didn't know until a week and a half later. She will get her own post. 

In the year of death, there was a piece of light. Sierra gave birth to a junior whopper baby boy. Seriously almost 10pounds. He is our sunshine. Cute and chubby baby. We love him to pieces. 

2020

 I've had this written down for a while and the piece of paper is getting worn so I thought I get this all out finally. I wrote out reasons why 2020 was a bad year. 

My oldest nephew on my Mom's side was arrested twice. He almost died from pills shortly after Thanksgiving.. I hate addiction. His girlfriend was pregnant and a week after he was sent to jail for the second time we found out she was having a girl. The following week we found out the baby had a birth defect anencephaly. It's a birth defect where the brain and skull does not develop properly. The babies usually do not live. If we lived in a state where late-term abortion is allowed usually the pregnancy would be terminated. Her original date was on April of 2021 but Gianna came on March 15. She came out took a breath and died. 

My second to the oldest nephew got my mom's house raided. Someone told the GC police he was doing drugs on Snapchat. I had seen pictures on Instagram of him smoking weed in my mom's garage. My mom told him several times not to smoke week in the house. The GC police broke my mom's door and the dog didn't even react to it. Just sat on the couch. Guard dogs my ass. Needless to say, mom kicked him out and he got arrested. My mom was fined for weed found in the garage. Probably was his. I don't think my nephew or my sister paid my mom back for it.  Stupid criminal. 

Teenagers of yesterday did all they could to hide their bad behavior now they have no shame and show it on social media. Leaving all the evidence for their parents to see. They must love being grounded. 

My oldest niece on my mom's side graduated from high school. Unfortunately, there was no ceremony or party. We all looked forward to it. 

One of my uncles has been MIA for years still haven't heard from him. One of my aunts left on the fly to move up north. It was a WTF moment. She came back in 2021 when my cousin got pregnant. 

Several family members got Covid in the fall. Some lost their sense of taste and smell. One of my sisters said that things don't taste the same. 

As for me, 2020 was physically and emotionally hard. It was the height of my shoulder and neck pain. I finally went and saw an orthopedic instead of pain management. I couldn't take the pain anymore. I had five injections, four MRIs an EKG, and physical therapy. I swear if I heard one more time that I only have mild arthritis I was going to scream. It turned out my arthritis was more severe. The ortho agreed to surgery that I had in March of 2021. This was also the year when my bicep was torn and my neck froze a few days before Thanksgiving. 

I tried my best to stay away from people. I wish grocery pick up or delivery was more available before the pandemic. 

It was a rough year but 2021 said hold my beer.