2023 Sunday — The Goodbye

This soon to end year feels long, but it also feels brief; a dichotomy. The saying comes to mind “the days are long and the years are short.” Mostly, a lot of days feel short. "Evaporating” is another term I consider, but because I have written every day this entire year I think a more appropriate term would be “preserved.” I've preserved the days. Three hundred and sixty-five days all stacked together equal a year that’s now at the Finish Line.

The past 12 months the two of us haven’t earned any trophies, rewards, or certificates; we exit this old year valuing good health. Mr. Fun spent the majority of the past twelve months with health issues that we attributed to the side-effects of radiation and hormone therapy received to fight prostate cancer. He won the cancer fight and paid with other health issues -- serious fluid retention -- that landed him in the hospital for 7 nights and 8 full days the middle of October. The verdict is heart and kidney damage; so, sodium is now an enemy to be avoided. No more than 650 mg of sodium per meal. That ends dining away from home. The encouraging reality is that he has eliminated 40+ pounds since October 16th.

I married him when he was 19; I was 15. He's always been fun; not so much this year. He was miserable, and often ugly to live with, but we didn't know why. The elimination of all that fluid has allowed his crazy weird fun personality to returned. While he was hospitalized, I lost my appetite and 10 pounds. We now both belong to the baggy pants club.

Tonight we celebrate that 55 years ago we gave birth to a daughter. She's officially a senior citizen.

We are on California's Central Coast with 15 minutes of 2023 remaining. Grateful to be here.

Happy New Year!
Rosie (& Mr. Fun), aka Carol
and Chloe & Mitzi too