A brief synopsis of our 2019, as told through our Spotify Playlist (Our 2019 in Song).
I had cataract surgery on both eyes in March and April 2019, so I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW! It was the first time in my life I had an IV (age 50!), which was the freakiest part for me. Otherwise it was uneventful and successful!
Chris started a job search in earnest in 2019 and was hired in August for a regular 9 TO 5 job at the factory that makes Vanicream… it was nice to have him on a Monday-Friday schedule, but it was less than stimulating, so he kept looking. ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER and in mid-October he took a job at a truck sales and service company in Rochester and is working 4-midnight as a service advisor! He loves it and feels that all his life experience has led him here, so how cool is that?
I still work at Mayo Clinic in the Emergency Department – it will be 8 years of WORKIN’ DAY AND NIGHT in January! I lead a supervision group for social workers working on their clinical licensure and enjoy that immensely. I also love my colleagues and this year a few of us on our team applied for Individual Achievement Awards through the Department of Nursing, acknowledging our involvement and expertise, and we were awarded with a beautiful night at the Mayowood Mansion with social work and nursing leadership. It was a great and memorable night.
Our trips this year were mostly of the ROAD TRIPPIN’ variety. In June we travelled Up North from MINNESOTA, WI via a lot of backroads on the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail. We drove the 4Runner on ATV trails, stayed on Lake Superior in Ashland, WI and visited MADELINE ISLAND and Bayfield. The end of July, Chris’s dad and his friend Carol flew to Minnesota and we explored a bit of Minnesota with them! We didn’t see THE BIGGEST BALL OF TWINE IN MINNESOTA, but many other sites – including the Eagle Center, the SPAM Museum, Lark Toys, French Lake and a paddleboat on the Mississippi! Labor Day weekend we flew to Colorado for a wedding and we rented a fancy car and drove many roads in the ROCKY MOUNTAIN WAY. The weather was great and we had a wonderful time! In August we bought a new Jeep Wrangler for my winter travels – it is pretty luxurious! THINGS IN MY JEEP include heated steering wheel and seats and SXM radio! For our 5th Birthdayversary, we drove the Jeep Up North in Minnesota and stayed at Bluefin Resort on Lake Superior a few nights and explored the backroads with and without tour guides. We saw moose in our travels in Minnesota and Colorado this year (THE PLURAL OF MOOSE IS MOOSE)!
I continue to be involved in BOOK CLUB and read more books in 2019 than I have in a long time. I may have joined a second book club at the end of the year and continue to promote book club type reading at work! The Cosmo Girls are celebrating 10 years of monthly meetings this year and we celebrated in a big way with a trip to Las Vegas in October (VIVA LAS VEGAS!). We had an amazing time together and I cherish the friendships I’ve made with these wonderful women! We enjoyed the warm sunshine poolside, spent hours laughing and dancing and singing (TRUTH HURTS – but what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!).
We no longer get DEAR LANDLORD letters, as we sold the townhome last summer! Thankfully being a LANDLORD was relatively painless, but it was still a relief to have one less mortgage in our name. Consequently, we were able to make our CASTLE ON THE HILL a little more cozy and inviting for guests. We would love to have you come visit us in our HOME!
Our KIDS and grandkids continue to bring us joy. We always enjoy family time – gotta KEEP THE FAMILY CLOSE, you know! Marissa, Adam, August (4) and Juniper (1) live in St. Louis Park and are busy busy busy! It’s hard to keep up with them – I wish you could bottle their energy! Sierra, Kaydee (8) and Emma (4) now spend most of their time in Austin with Sierra’s significant other, Zach, but still attend school in Rochester so we see them when we can. Sierra is expecting a new bundle of joy in February so we can’t wait to meet her! Kevin (21) loves to travel and do work on computers and Tyler and his wife are expecting their first any minute! For August’s birthday we went to CIRCUS Absynnia at the Children’s Theatre and for Kaydee’s birthday we saw CINDERELLA. What a treat to bring the kids to these events!
THE SEASON’S UPON US when we gather with our families and revel in the season. The attached photos show the joy that we get from being with each other, from being with our family and friends, and from our travels. We hope that this letter finds you well, that you were SATISFIED with 2019, and that 2020 brings us all continued joy and happiness!
Walkie Talkie Book Club 