Hi folks, I’m so sorry, but my last post was on April 30, 2020! It’s not that I haven’t been doing anything, I’ve been doing a lot, just not blogging.
Let’s see, in April 2020, I was living in an apartment but renovating a 1967 multi-level house. We moved into it in September 2020. Of course, the whole purpose of buying this house was to be close to my husband’s work and our place of worship (a four-minute drive). We hoped to entertain each week. Little did I know that it would take three years to do it.
The year 2023 fulfilled two bucket list goals, one being to get an Architecture AAS degree, which I did in May. It started in 2021 this way: My husband says I have a talent for finding houses that need love, renovating them, and eventually selling them for a pretty penny, so he suggested I get a realtor’s license. We drove to the community college, and in the parking lot, I stamped my foot and said, “I don’t want to be a realtor! I want to practice architecture!” Being the easy-going guy he is, we eventually ended up in the building that housed the dean of architecture. We met one of the professors, and he suggested that I dip my toes back in by taking an AutoCAD class; hey, he could even wave the requirements and have me take the beginner and intermediate classes at the same time! So, I started the fall semester with these two classes. It was a challenge, having to slog through five weeks of the beginning class to do the work in the intermediate class, but I did it.
What happened was that it reignited my love of architecture and drawing. It was my passion! I should have pursued this degree 40 years ago! Even though several of my classes transferred, there were so many new technology classes (MicroStation, SketchUp, and Revit) that it took me two years to complete the degree. I did enjoy my time at school and I learned a lot. I even graduated summa cum laude.
The second goal was to go on an Alaska cruise, which I did in June. That has been my dream since 2009. We went to Juneau, Hubbard’s Glacier, Sitka, and Ketchikan. Our favorite time was seeing the glacier calving. My goal was to stand on a glacier, but that got canceled because of the lack of tour guides. Another highlight was seeing a lone humpback whale do bubble fishing. Seeing his huge mouth come out of the water was awesome!
Now, I have big news to finish out 2023, and that is that my 96-year-old father and 89-year-old mother are moving in with us tomorrow! Given their age, my husband and I have decided to have them move in with us so that we can provide the care and support they need. We have a mother-in-law apartment (700 square feet) on the ground floor of our house, complete with a bedroom, walk-in closet, full bath, kitchenette, living room, and another small room we will use for dining and ministry.
I’m having mixed emotions about this move. On a positive note, I applaud them for downsizing from a 1,200-square-foot house to the point where they are just coming with three suitcases and two carry-ons. On a more somber note, I feel like the older I get, the more introverted I get. Fortunately, each of us has our level so we will have our privacy.
This will be a big challenge, but also a privilege to care for them. Even though I know I will be busy caring for them, I have renewed my efforts to keep this blog. So please do me a big favor and encourage me to continue. Thanks so much!