We think often of family and friends and wish we were closer or traveled farther from home. For now, we are sending wishes for the Merriest Christmas and a Happy, Happy New Year.
THE GERBER GAZETTE
2018
It is time again to look back over the year and share with you the comings and goings of the Gerber clan. January and February started out fairly calm. There were the ever scheduled doctor and dentist appointments. Skylar managed to man several Girl Scout cookie booths. Our winter was fairly mild so we managed to move about easily.
Sadly, at the end of February, we lost our male, American mastiff, Kieren. One night he just went to bed and was gone by morning. Kier was never sick a day in his life so his leaving us was a bit of a shock. He did make it to almost 8 years of age. That is pretty good for a giant breed dog. We rehomed Jessie as a playmate for Kier. Now, she is our only Mastiff. At 6, she is happy to just sit around with the family.
In March, the girls and I decided to "pay it forward" and act as a foster family for bottle fed baby kittens. Many fosters aren't able to do the every 4 hour feedings. Since we are almost always here, we volunteered. We took the fostering workshop and added our names to the list. By April, we had three 19 day old kittens to feed, train, and socialize. In May, it was time to take the kittens back to the Humane Society to have them neutered and readied for adoption. The girls knew we would keep one kitten, but they really insisted that one by himself would be soooo lonely after being with his brothers since he was born. They talked Grandma into having two kittens. Then came the problem of which one to leave at the shelter. AND, that is how we came to adopt all three kittens!
During this time, Amielia took the driver training course and driving sessions. She now has her drivers' license. This has been a great help to me since I do not have to sit in the passenger's seat everytime she needed to go somewhere. She also ferries the girls to appointments, runs errands, and can get to where she needs to be on her own.
May, June, and July were my surgery months. May was a lymph node extraction and biopsy. All is well. June was cataract surgery. Wow! It is amazing to see so well with my right eye. I am so ready to have the left one done now. July turned out to be the biggie. I had two disks replaced in my neck, then all neck vertebrae fused. All went well for four weeks. Then infections set in necessitating another hospital stay, a PICC line inserted, and a month of IV antibiotic infusions. Over this time, two sutures pulled loose and I now have two holes at the back of my neck. They are slowly healing, but have been cause for concern from time to time.
I must give loads of credit to all three grandgirls. They took over the house, cooking, and home nursing of me for the better part of two months. Ron was happy that someone was making supper. He would have been in a world of hurt if he had to do it all himself!
Ron is still Ron. His primary care physician sends him off to about 7 other "specialists" for evaluations. One "specialist" is his podiatrist, who clips his nails, charges a fee, and sets up another appointment for next month! Oh boy, were we in the wrong profession! Ron is off and running to each of these people every month or so. Of course, he never just goes to the doctor's. Ron has an affinity for dollar stores, so his adventures usually take most of the morning or afternoon!
September brought the beginning of school year 2018-2019. For the first time in a very long time, both Abi and Sky are catching the same bus to and from school. It is hard to believe that Abi is a senior and Sky has started her freshman year. It has worked out pretty well. They both set alarms to get up on time, but there have been a few days when Ron has had to drive the "missed the bus" girls to school. The girls even have the same lunch time so they get to spend a little time together then. Abi is planning to attend the local community college in the fall to study graphic arts. She is now entered in the duel enrollment program, earning credit for an advanced math class she is now taking which will also fill the first year math requirement. Sky is doing really well in all her classes and has joined the chorus. She will be singing in a couple Christmas programs in December.
Then there is Zanaya. She is our greatest source of entertainment. This little gal is a real pip! She has us laughing all the time. She is finally starting to say words, but her words are mayonaise or pistachio, not yes or color words! But, there is no problem when Zanaya wants to make herself understood. She is so expressive and makes her needs and wants obvious!
We think often of family and friends and wish we were closer or traveled farther from home. For now, we are sending wishes for the Merriest Christmas and a Happy, Happy New Year.