I've typed this a million times in my head; I was pretty certain I typed a 2020 Newsletter type post. Still, I come here and only see the title and no words as my draft, So this will serve as a hodgepodge of what has been a pretty busy household since our Pyrenees adventures.
The GR 10 (five days) and GR 11 (about 14) were wonderful and a true challenge. I notice I have no images of it as we had no WIFI for the duration with tiny exceptions. We met amazing friends, people we will not only still keep up with up, but a friend, Maria, in Pamapona who has become like a sister to me. While she lives in Pamplona, her home is Saville, where she always tells me, "you have a home in Seville".
2020 in the age of Covid was a mixed gig, there is no doubt. I worked in the Emergency Room when we had what we assumed was our first Covid positive case. It was pretty surreal, "the first," the anxiety of it, etc... weeks later, I would find myself working the Covid unit often, many times actually volunteering for it over my peers as it got to the point where it didn't really bother me. I ordered myself a special mask with gel where it touches your skin, and even the huge headgear became tolerable; the hardest part to me was the ability not to drink water easily all day. We lost two of our dogs in the first two months of Covid. I couldn't go to the vet with them while they were there; at the University Emergency Vet, I sat in the parking lot for hours while my healthy (the day before) dog was given a death sentence of days, weeks. Such an experience always made me empathetic to a parking lot of loved ones waiting to hear about their family at the hospital while we treated them. Barnacle died pretty much of old age; three days later, we took the boat out and brought our newest pup, a pit bull named River, and she started salivating really badly. Three days later, we had her at the vet, where thousands of dollars later, we were told she had four huge masses in our body and wouldn't live much longer. We drove her to Clemson to get a Chest Tube, hoping to buy time, and she died three weeks after Barnacle, both at home in the arms of the family at close to midnight. Months later, our friend who introduced Steve and me would lose his life with no notice, and I was just willing to wrap up 2020 that also gave us so much. Karsh started the year off with the acceptance into Engineering as a Freshman at the number 21 ranked school for the study in the country. He looked at only Duke and State and was thoughtful to consider the finances and chose State. Both schools actually compete in ranking for their Engineering department and in some years tie throughout the country in number. We closed out the year with a cancer diagnosis of Steve's brother, Junior; I ended up being one of the first 1,000 American citizens in the country vaccinated (if the news is to be believed), only due to proximity living on the East Coast. It was kind of wild; the girls and I were up in DC shopping for Doc Martens when a snowstorm rolled in, and the news was saying it might affect the delivery of the first vaccines; two or three days later, I was getting my first vaccine, I cried with happiness, the same tears as when I voted in 2020, an emotional year! We were really ready to send 2020 packing, as we welcomed 2021.
2021 would be started with all the kids getting Covid (sigh) and with Steve being the best match to donate Stem Cell and Bone Marrow to his brother. I've been in the Be the Match register since I was in college. A reminder to all that being in such a register doesn't just buy time. It actually allows you to give someone back their life entirely. Unfortunately, Junior took a turn for the worse weeks before Steve could donate. We lived life "on-call" with the full support of family, job, and life. I had planned in great detail a Roto Vicentina hike with about 14 good friends, negotiated all places to stay, and planned in massive detail. Covid travel rules prevented that from happening (now I have punted the trip to 2022). Still, it is a good thing it was canceled as Junior lost his very short battle on a date we would have been out of the country. Instead, we were at his house the day before his death where Steve had gotten him one last time in a wheelchair in his beautiful garden where he looked good, was being kissed on by his sweet and gorgeous wife, and was in full conversations with those around him. About 18 hours later, he'd take his last breath, at home surrounded by those who loved him. Karsh will be a Residential Advisor in the engineering dorm, which will save us about $13,000 this year, right in time for Tristan to be going off to college. It looks like he might follow in Karsh's footsteps, though we've spent the week looking at different colleges in the State and making the most of it. Several trips to Europe have been canceled in the past year and a half, but it has allowed getting our new camper out and about. In late 2019 we brought Jordi out to our home for six weeks. Jordi has become a dear friend we met on the Camino and is like a brother to me. We had an amazing six weeks with him here! While he was here, we had taken the camper up to the DC area, and while Steve was driving home with it collided with a nonmoving object and was totaled...thus a new and improved camper that we have enjoyed; more due to Covid than we probably would have...
And now... Brownyn and I are eight days out from returning to France to hike Le Puy to Santiago (Finistere and Muxia), while the news of the Delta Variant and "red zones," etc... are making me not totally celebrate that just yet... The entire family is vaccinated x2 with Phizer, which now allows us into France, but we realize that can change quickly. Steve will join us in Barcelona at the end, if not somewhere in the middle.
