What A Quick 8 Months Can Teach Us.
When I look at the past, back to the beginning of January, I felt like a kid in a candy store where all the candy is free.
I had high hopes for 2021, especially since we were coming out of a year marked with quarantine due to COVID-19, mask-wearing, isolation from our families and friends, short supplies of necessity items — you name it!
Besides being able to step away from the drama that seemed to be playing out on national TV between antagonists of mask-wearing pitted against the protagonist, Dr. Fauci, there was much to look forward to on the 1st day of January.
After a tumultuous election cycle and an abbreviated Christmas season, our whole nation was looking to get back to some sense of normalcy! There had been enough upheaval in our routines, as well as our thoughts. Everyone seemed to be happy that 2020 was finally in the rearview mirror.
It only took six days to change all that!
Like a chameleon in a forest of deadly predators, our nation had to watch a debacle play out in Washington, D.C. that was truly unfathomable by all conventional human standards.
With the expected confirmation of a new President ready to be finalized, rioters and demonstrators pulled the extension cord from the wall, stopping the entire process for a considerable period. Americans (yes, Americans) had launched an all-out assault on our nation’s Capitol.
Thankfully, words became the weapons of preference. Words such as anarchy, insurrection, sedition, and traitors were launched at one another. Debased epithets, racial slurs, and slanderous accusations were tossed among these wicked ne’er-do-wells, inciting more violence.
All of this, and we were only six days into 2021! Whatever infinitely small chance we had for normalcy disappeared in the blink of an eye! America had been slapped squarely in the face by political fanatics, who met little resistance from any significant show of force to deter them, who then dared to break and enter their way into the halls of the Capitol as if they were looters at an electronics store.
I’m not going to devote more time to January 6th, because I don’t have the facts needed to make an informed decision. That’s not to say I’m trying to whitewash the events of that day, either. It’s just a given. I don’t think criticizing anyone, or name-calling, or any other negative actions, are going to be the healing bandages we need to apply to our country. That is useless!
Moving on, figuratively!
Trying to distract ourselves from the non-stop analysis of the insurrection on TV, my wife and I decided to look for a new house plan. Currently, our daughter and son have houses within 50 feet of ours on each side of us.
(I am saving that story for a different article, but note that when we built these 3 houses together, it was with the intent that we would never move again.)
That was the thought, anyway. What went haywire with that plan was the fact their families kept growing. Each of them is trying to fit 7 people into their respective homes, but they lack the space to achieve a happy result without adding a second floor to each of their homes. That’s how and why we began looking at house plans again.
Valentine’s Day was non-existent this year because all the school children were having virtual learning classes and all the adults were still being advised to wear masks if we hadn’t been vaccinated. My wife and I are both in our 70s, so we took the shots as soon as they become available.
On March 1st we signed a contract to buy two plots of ground in a new subdivision being developed on the outskirts of the city. Our daughter still wanted to be next door to us, so that prompted the buying of two lots.
My son was offered a lot to move on the other side of us, but his needs were far different now. He had three huge dogs, a golden doodle, and two German Shepherds that needed plenty of room to stretch their legs. The lots in our new subdivision were less than 3/10ths of an acre, so they weren’t big enough to accommodate his needs. He found a 1.5 acre lot only ten minutes away, so he’s still close enough for visits to see our grandkids.
We interrupt this year’s changes to bring you — you guessed it, more changes.
Have you ever noticed how life sometimes gets in the way of your plans? Isn’t it ironic how it always seems to interrupt us just when we least expect it? That’s what happened to me.
On March 17th, I began having persistent chest pains. They were short bursts of severe pain on the left side of my chest. Realizing significant pains on the left side could result in a deadly heart attack (the “widowmaker”) I drove myself to the emergency room.
An EKG was performed and revealed I had a 90% blockage in my left artery. Needless to say, I had to have angioplasty right away, so it was scheduled for the next day.
During the EKG, they found that an artery on the right rear of my heart was 100% occluded. The cardiologist assured me that, once he re-opened the left side, he would then try to unblock the right side, and, armed with new tools and techniques, he felt he would be successful on both of these. He was very patient and explained the whole process to me, along with why he felt it needed to be done.
Once I had his assurances, I felt more comfortable and authorized him to do the angioplasty. I reminded him that I already have six stents in my heart from six prior angioplasties, then told him I’d like to not have a zipper in my chest. He agreed and said he thought we could both dodge that bullet if all goes well.
The angioplasty he performed the next morning lasted three hours and was nothing short of a miracle! He was able to completely re-open both arteries but had to install three new stents to accomplish the task. Counting my previously-placed stents, I now have a total of nine stents in my heart — but still no zipper in my chest. The modern miracles of science are amazing!
It would take 12 weeks of rehabilitation to build up my strength again. I went to two sessions each week and could feel myself making steady progress. Each time I showed up I was reminded to go slow, not get overheated, and that pace makes the race. I wanted what they wanted: consistency and strength.
As this was going on, we still had to meet with the draftsmen and the interior designer to finalize the exterior appearance of our new home, plus pick out all the paints, doorknobs, hinges, flooring, etc.
If there was any part that goes into our house anywhere, we saw it and selected it.
In the middle of May, they started building on our house by excavating our basement. We didn’t get excited until the middle of July when they completed framing our house. Now we had something visual to look at and compare against our house plan. All of the interior rooms had been meticulously laid out down to 1/8th of an inch.
My wife started making weekly treks to the new house, armed with pen and paper and a trust tape measure, making sure I tagged along for safety and support. She has now envisioned where every piece of our furnishings will go and is still deciding on the proper curtains for our windows.
Me? Well, let’s just say I know what my strengths are, and home decor is not one of the things on that list. However, I am happy that she is so energetic in that area. I could be more helpful if my stamina would last longer. I’m still not back to full strength yet. Pace makes the race.
The Olympics in Tokyo has just concluded with the United States winning the overall competition and medal race. But, it was not a moment of jubilation for our world. Yes, most of the world showed up. Yes, new world records were made by some terrific, gifted athletes. Yet, the crowds were muted by mandatory masks, which dealt a blow to the excitement generated for the games.
The Jan. 6th Commission is still hearing testimony from some rather critical areas of the government. Who knows how that will unfold? It seems every time our nation extends a hand to try to pull us together, something goes wrong, stopping us in our tracks.
That brings me to now, 10 days into August, with less than 5 months remaining in the year. You and I have no idea what these next months will bring. COVID-19 cases are on the rise again; the rioters and protesters are in court daily to hear their sentences for trying to overthrow the government. Who knows how or where that will end up?
Ever-present in the back of my mind, I realize 2021 has been a dramatic year of constant change for me and my wife. What was acceptable yesterday is forbidden today, depending on where you find yourself throughout America. Some areas of the country are much stricter than others.
It feels like America is on the middle of a train track, waiting on the train of change to arrive. When the train is slowing to pick us up, some of us hop onto one side, while others hop onto the other side. Cohesion is missing and we are still divided. We’re all on the same train, but we sit in different cars, expecting to get to our destinations together. That’s strange!
Thanks for reading this!
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Previously Published on medium
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