2024 began with a favorite activity – travel – a fun-filled family vacation in Puerto Rico, followed by a peaceful two weeks in Mexico, just my husband Steve and me. Immersed in a foreign culture, I spent a lot of time devouring delightful repasts I did not prepare.
Back home I cocooned in New Jersey. The warmth of friends and family countered cold, grey days. Nothing interesting occurred.
Spring has become surgery season in my family, and this year Steve accommodated. He broke his arm and elbow and required surgery. I attended a family event in Vermont while he remained home recuperating. I played with the grandkids, gossiped with the grown-ups, and danced one night away.
My piece of the planet blossomed in summer. My garden produced lots of colorful flowers, even more weeds, and vegetables rabbits chomped. I sat on my porch, greeted neighbors, and watched a parade of dog walkers. The animals find my yard an irresistible depository for their pee and poop.
The kids visited! We played, we ate, we talked, they left and I collapsed, exhausted but happy.
I bought a new used bike on Labor Day, perfect for a 10-year-old and ideal for an old lady like me. Baby blue with pink tires, a bell and a basket, with no gears. I replaced my boy’s bike because it became more and more difficult to hoist my old, wrinkled yet functional legs over the bar.
Steve and I ventured to western New York, consumed high-calorie foods I did not cook, and enjoyed walks in the rain – the sun broke through our final day. We drove home through pristine green mountains, missing autumn colors by a couple of weeks. The landscape sported so many Trump signs I felt I was in foreign territory. I guess I was.
Fall concluded with another surgery – mine. But first I enjoyed a couple of days imbibing yucky-tasting liquids and relaxing in my boudoir, followed by a senior rite of passage – a colonoscopy.
Surgery followed. I was privileged to spend one night luxuriating in hospital accommodations. I relished a liquid diet as a stream of doctors, nurses, and technicians tended to my every need, my body poked and prodded while I lay in bed mindless on pain meds. A once-in-a-lifetime experience!
My 2024 in summary:
I lost five pounds and hope never to find them.
I exercised enthusiastically and vigorously, but intermittently.
My kids and grandkids were happy, healthy, and too busy to spend much time with me.
I walked, but not enough.
I rode my bike, but not often enough.
I ate sumptuous unhealthy foods too often.
I wasted too much time solving online puzzles.
I felt guilty, briefly, for cleaning my house only occasionally.
As a new year approaches I look forward to a year of improvement, but not too much. With age comes wisdom, so resolutions will be moderate and attainable, assuming my procrastination gene does not cancel out my willpower DNA.
I wish family and friends a happy, healthy year filled with new and interesting adventures.
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