Doesn’t sound like much to younger people, but to all of us who are past a certain age and have seen most major milestones in the rear view mirror, this past year has been a mix of relief and pain.
I would not expect any of you to remember, but going back – we had a major party for George (2018 – turned 70). In 2019, we spent the summer, which included his birthday with him recovering from his stem cell transplant with the increasing knowledge that it had failed. Mostly that summer was spent with him isolated from just about everyone and everything. Outside people and food really weren’t an option. After all, you don’t go through all of that to take chances on picking up something from unknown sources.
The second transplant in fall of 2019 worked. And that meant a minimum of another 100 days lockdown AFTER his 30 days in the hospital. Which takes us to 2020 – and we all know how we have spent the last 18 months.
So here we are, 2021, and sensibly still celebrated with a home cooked meal (mostly Noah with me contributing) and ending with fresh cobblers baked by Shana. At some point, I am hoping the world will open up again and we will have the opportunity to travel.
It would be even better if he made it some more years. Travel does not look likely right now – we can’t even cross state borders