[readytofixmyselffirst]

Hello,

I ended my thread that was about 2020 as, that it was BC (before covid) and I felt it was time for a shift, a new chapter in my life. I wanted the saga of my life to be a beacon and point for those that continue on after the trauma of bomb drop and divorce and all the fallout.

On a professional front, I have finished the toughest year as a principal. So many things that I assumed would resume as if nothing happened didn't. There is still a lot of anxiety about everything. With all of that, I finished the year on a high note and now I have three weeks to prepare myself for the new year. I am very excited about that now that I know where we are and what we need to do to move forward.

So professionally, I have recovered from the loss of one position and I am committed to making a positive change for the scholars in my care.

On the social front, my wife and I are doing very well. We have a big trip to Vietnam that we are planning in December and we are both looking forward to it.  It is our way of doing the things we wanted to do before covid and my job loss and we both feel we are moving forward with our plans and life again. My wife has been extremely supportive and I really enjoy being with her each and every day.

On the health front, I need to drop some pounds. I am doing well on my exercising, but not so well on my sweet tooth. So between now and my winter vacation, I want to drop ten pounds. Get me back to strength again. I also want to focus on having knee replacement next summer so I need to be at a good weight when that happens.

In the Spring, we moved my parents to Texas to be closer to my oldest brother. They were way out in the desert and 50 miles from their hospital and most of their primary physicians. When my dad had a mild stroke, taking my mom back and forth to the hospital was hard as they are 120 miles from where I live. We leased their house and I was tasked to repair their electric gate opener. After several weekends of figuring things out, I have finished one side and that gate opens great. Now I need to do the other gate so both sides can open. So I will be back out in the heat again for the next few weekends until the job is done. My wife has come out almost every weekend and stayed in my Dad's shop while I worked. She's been a true trooper to give up her weekend to come out to the heat and support me.

On the sad side, my mom fainted again in Texas and hit the back of her head at the library. She had a brain bleed and it was serious. Fortunately the shrinkage of her brain allowed the blood to spread evenly in her skull and not put pressure on her brain. However, she had a lot of memory loss and confusion afterwards and is slowly coming out of it.

We visited my parents and my brother over the Fourth and it was a great trip. We grilled steaks and watched Top Gun Maverick with them. The sad part was seeing both of my parents now truly vulnerable is so hard. This is a difficult stage of life to enter and acceptance is an even bigger struggle.

I guess we live forward and understand backwards. Appreciate and love what you have and maintain a mindset of getting better.

Have an amazing day,

((((Ready))))


Previous thread: https://mlcforum.theherosspouse.com/index.php?topic=11320.0

[beyondblessed]

Ready, I love reading your updates and semi-following your escapades via FB.  To say that you and I have several parallels (from moving forward professionally, new marriages, similar fitness goals and aging parent concerns) would be an understatement.  It feels good to read how a fellow LBS has made the absolute best of an overall horrible situation.

I'm glad things continue to come together in all areas of your life, and I know it's by no coincidence, either.  It truly takes putting in the work and making the the tough choices and best decisions, rather than just sheer luck to make it all vibe and gel.

I'm sorry to hear about your mom.  I do hope she has a speedy and full recovery.   I can see the decline in own parent's health, and I'd be lying if I said it doesn't both sadden me and scare me at thought that one day they won't be here.  Until then though, I am so blessed to have Popeye as my partner because he is my Rock.  He has already lost both his parents and knows how vitally important it is for us to spend as much time doing things with and for my parents.  The key, as you said, is to love and cherish those in your life while you can.

I'm so happy that you've been blessed with a supportive and encouraging wife.  There really is no greater gift than that, after what we've survived.  I wish you both much continued love.

[UrsaMajor]

Attaching....

I hear you about the parents thing. Mine are near Las Vegas and I am in Germany so it isn't like I can just pop over and visit and they too are getting older. We are trying to arrange a time to get together either over Christmas or possibly next summer. with the current cost of air travel and everything, it is a challenge.

UM

[FaithWalker]

Ready,
Good to read an update and welcome to your new thread.  I'm always impressed with those that can fix things.  That is not my forte!  Bravo on the gate!

I'm sorry to hear about your mom's fall and brain bleed.  I hope she can recover and bounce back.  My M still struggles with her memory, but she does seem to be doing better being here with me and knowing that she can fall back on me to help with the holes in her short term memory. 

Working in HR for the School District, we love our Principal's and we have hired a few new ones this Summer too.  We have been hiring over 300 people this Summer so I've been quite busy as we try and fill all the positions needed.

Your trip sounds fun and I totally hear you on the weight loss!  I need to get my rear in gear and lose some weight too.  I would like to do some family photos with S17's Senior photos as we have not had one in quite some time and I have not had a professional one done of just the kids and I.  This is my family now and I need to celebrate the family I have, even though it does not look like I thought it would be.

I still need to see Top Gun Maverick.  It's on my list of things to do ASAP before it leaves the theaters.

[MadLuv]

I guess we live forward and understand backwards. Appreciate and love what you have and maintain a mindset of getting better

Wise words!!

[PJ Ames]

Following along. Thanks for the update.

I guess we live forward and understand backwards

Wise words. Of course, sometimes I don't understand at all!

[5hilmerton]

Hi Ready,
nice to read your updates.  I am so sorry to hear about your Mom, very glad she has her family.  Gotta say the weather her in Texas is tough.

Following along,
5hil

[readytofixmyselffirst]

Hello,

Happy early Thanksgiving to all. I should be typing up teacher evaluations right now but it 48 degrees outside and my notebook is out in the car. So, I am spending this morning reading and trying to catch up on a few threads. Was planning to drop a reply on Beyond Blessed but UM has thrown out the "Start a new Thread"  barricade so I guess I will have to wait.

So on to my saga. Overall, everything is going well with a few snags. Got my lab results and now I am on Lipitor. I know a lot of this is heredity and I was the last of my brothers to be put on it, but here I am. In June, I am scheduled for knee replacement surgery. I knew that day was coming as I can't run 20 feet without my knees letting me know. Hopefully after the surgery and recovery, I will be able to walk without pain. So, I guess Ready is getting old. Maybe it's time for my own MLC. LOL

On the home front, I will be getting stuff for our Saturday Thanksgiving. My SIL will be down then and we want to make this a family event. On Thursday, we will be visiting the relatives house and having a dinner in the evening. On Saturday, I have to smoke the turkey, have apple pie and ice cream, three cheese scalloped garlic potatoes, and peanut brittle. It will be a busy morning.  For Christmas, my wife and I are preparing to fly to Vietnam for two weeks this Christmas. It will be strange being away from home during the holidays, but we are both excited and this is the best time of the year to visit. We are going to visit Hanoi, Da Nang, and Saigon during our trip. I really look forward to the trip.

Mom and dad are okay. I talk to my mom and she seems fine, but my brother says that she doesn't do much. My dad is stressing as his eyesight is getting worse. He is doing everything he can to help my mom and his poor vision only adds trouble to what he is doing. My bother and his wife are trying their best to help them, but they have their own lives and it is a lot of work. I was hoping to get them in assisted care, but they make like 100.00 a month too much to qualify for assistance and they can't afford the full cost of assisted care. You would think there would be a sliding scale and they would pay their part and the government assist, but no such luck. My wife and I will fly out in March to see them and hopefully by then, I will have a plan to get them more help and care and alleviate a lot of stress for my brother and SIL.

So even in the best of times, there will be issues. It is part of life, but those issues also allow you to embrace and remember the good moments. I know many of us are really struggling right now with the loss of their partner and seeing their family and entire world coming apart . I just hope you take the next few days to embrace what you still have. Create those moments of bliss and enjoy being you.

Well, time to get going. Those evaluations are not going to write themselves and I have some shopping to do.

Be good to yourself,

((((Ready))))

[UrsaMajor]

Hello,

Happy early Thanksgiving to all. I should be typing up teacher evaluations right now but it 48 degrees outside and my notebook is out in the car. So, I am spending this morning reading and trying to catch up on a few threads. Was planning to drop a reply on Beyond Blessed but UM has thrown out the "Start a new Thread"  barricade so I guess I will have to wait.

Yeah yeah... Blame it all on me..... 

Look at how many people post even after the cop GIF shows up.... and her thread isn't locked so... and even if it was, thread owners and mentors are still allowed to post so

[MomOfSteel]

I'm sorry about your parents.  It is hard to watch those we love age and what comes with that, especially from afar.  Hopefully with the new year the criteria might change enough that they will qualify for help getting into assisted living.  It sounds like it would really be a good thing for them to have the extra help.  It really does feel like a sliding scale should be used but that would of course make way too much sense. 

The trip sounds amazing!  Hopefully you let us live vicariously for a minute when you have time.  I really appreciate the vets who have moved on posting the success of a new life.  I think it is such a good reminder that someday I might find that as well.  I also appreciate all of your thoughtful responses.