Wow. I haven't posted in quite a while (for me). It's been a bit of a rollercoaster, but given how often I say that, I guess it's just been life.
Christmas was absolutely lovely. The boys sleep late now but they insisted Ernie wake us all at six as they firmly believe you have to open presents in the dark. They seemed to love their presents and Ernie and I were completely blown away by their gifts. They got me the most gorgeous little grey Le Creuset pot you've ever seen in your life and are getting Ernie another subscription to his favorite Mojo magazine. Generous as well as thoughtful. I could not love them more. Dennis also gave us all wonderful gifts (we're having him for dinner tomorrow night as a Celebrate Dennis kind of occasion. I'm not sure what I'm going to make. I made a truly lousy dinner last night. We shall see).
The day after Christmas Ernie got some test results that were rather disappointing, although not entirely unexpected. We responded by leaving town and wandering as we are wont to do. The weather was lousy, not the best for pictures, but I told him I didn't care. I realize it's not really about the pictures for me, but more about the process. It's rather meditative. We drive and wander and look and look and look. We usually don't even listen to music…we just are in the moment, in the place. If I'm not looking around then I'm on my phone looking at maps or figuring out a place for dinner. The great John Margolies famously only photographed buildings and signs on sunny cloudless days. I guess that's just one of the many, many reasons my photos will never be as good as his. When I thought about that however was when I realized that for me it's the process. It's the drive.
We stayed overnight in Monroe, Wisconsin, which was quite delightful. Details to follow. The second night we were in Beloit which I quite enjoyed too. We drove back Monday morning and got back about an hour before his oncologist appointment. May I say once again, that I adore Dr. Vasireddy? We're waiting for insurance to approve a scan so we can see exactly what's what and a new treatment plan can be made. Might be radiation, might be chemo, might be a number of things. We shall see. He's had some bad pain in the last few days…hard to know if it's the cancer or just spending hours driving in the car lol.
Last night we stayed home and I obsessively watched the end of the year donations come in for the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting come in. Whew! We made our match. Heartfelt thanks to all that donated or shared. I was really touched. I have wonderful, wonderful friends.
So, onward to 2020, not quite in the manner I would have wished. However, as always, it all puts things in perspective. So when my 17-year-old stayed out til 5:30 in the morning I didn't kill him. I tiredly told him he needed to let me know, etc., etc. and made him snuggle with me.
And on a brighter note, I'm working on the cheesy little montage of photos from the year and that makes me incredibly happy.
Happy new year.
Onward.