… which Debi wrote, in her voice (with my kibitzing and edits), for both of us.
The past year at our house has been … eventful.
Pete was diagnosed with bladder cancer in October of 2022 and I had a heart attack just before Christmas of last year. So we’ve spent much of 2023 juggling doctor appointments and making some major lifestyle changes. Whoever said aging is not for the faint-of-heart wasn’t kidding.
I’ve been blown away by Pete’s extraordinary strength and courage as he has plowed through chemotherapy, major surgery, hospitalizations due to infections and other complications, and finally, immunotherapy treatments. The good news: The oncologist assures us the cancer remains treatable, and so far (knock wood!) the side effects from the immunotherapy have been minimal. A major milestone was Pete “ringing the bell” when he finished chemo.
Meanwhile, I’ve spent the past year doing cardiac rehab therapy, trying to fit more exercise into my schedule and working at eating healthier food. The heart attack was definitely a wake-up call – I’ve decided my dietary habits and sedentary lifestyle need some serious revision.
We are both beyond grateful for the mountain of get-well wishes and prayers, the delicious meals sent to our house when we didn’t feel like cooking, the cat photos and baby goat videos and bad puns posted to our Facebook pages to cheer us up, and the many other things our wonderful family members and friends have done to help us feel supported and loved. The steady stream of prayers, cards and visits have helped us more than people know. Everyone’s continued prayers are especially appreciated!!
And we love this sign, which we make a point of driving by when we’re on our way to appointments.
One of our goals has been to keep our health issues from completely taking over and dominating our lives, and we’ve been at least moderately successful in this regard.
We continue to be involved with our church. Because of the immunosuppression caused by Pete’s cancer treatment, we’ve been “attending” Sunday services online and participating in committee meetings via Zoom. (Pete’s been joking that his immune system is a welcome mat for every contagion that comes along.) We miss being there in person! But we’re finding other ways to contribute our time and talents to our congregation.
Our church built its own micro food pantry a couple of years ago. About the size of a large kitchen cabinet, it sits in a well-lit area next to the sidewalk leading up to one of our front entrances. People can safely access it 24 hours a day, seven days a week, no questions asked. We love the idea, so we’ve committed to help keep it filled with food we either buy ourselves or pick up from food drives conducted by various civic groups around the community.
We’re about to begin our third year of leading Sundays@6, an adult faith formation class which meets on Zoom. So far, we’ve covered subjects ranging from the 10 Commandments to evangelism to how our faith should impact the way we address current issues. The group has about a dozen regulars who “attend” each week, and the discussions are quite lively. We absolutely love this group, and it has played a vital role in keeping those of us who are homebound connected to our congregation.
For the past year, we’ve been involved in an anti-racism task force created by our community’s Dominican Sisters Associates program. The group, which meets on Zoom every other month, brings together people of different races to discuss how to recognize and address racism both in ourselves and in our society’s institutions. Participating in this group has been an amazing learning experience and we’ve been honored to be part of it.
We also continue to do spiritual direction with one of the Dominican Sisters. Spiritual direction – for those unfamiliar with the concept – is a partnership in which one Christian helps another grow in a personal relationship with God. Monthly one-on-one meetings have involved examining our relationship with God, our prayer life, our personal values and various lifestyle choices. Another amazing learning experience for both of us!
For several years now, we’ve been working to make our yard an urban sanctuary for wildlife and turn our flower beds into a welcome center for hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. We try to add a few native perennials each year, as well as planting an abundance of annuals and avoiding lawn chemicals. We’ve found gardening to be therapeutic, and the yard is looking beautiful! We like to think of this project as “God’s work, our hands.”
Our lovable, ornery, beautiful Champie has been such a sweet little buddy to us as we’ve survived this roller-coaster of a year. We often refer to him as our furry little comforter. He was a “rescue kitty” we adopted from a shelter 16 years ago, but there could be a definite debate about who’s rescued whom. We love him so much, and he has us utterly wrapped around his paw! How much cuteness can a camera possibly capture?
On a sad note, we had to say goodbye this year to some very lovely people. Chuck, who was part of our dulcimer group for a dozen years, could be delightfully cantankerous when it came to politics and always brought his famous adobo chicken when he came to our house. Sister Kathleen was our spiritual director through some very trying times. My “Bonus Aunt” Marian was a lifelong friend of my mother’s and a fixture in my life since childhood. Evie was one of the first people to befriend me when I joined our church 20 years ago.
We definitely consider these amazing people to be among our personal “cloud of witnesses” and thank God for their presence in our lives.
Here’s hoping everyone has a merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year full of grace and peace!
Ordinary Time 
Love you!
LikeLike