Long October 2021

Favorite Month

October is one of my favorite months. Don and I often travel during October and end up missing some of the great weather. No travel this year.

I got some of the old decorations out, on the first of the month. I knew we were going to be spending a lot of time at home.

Early Celebration

We had a long Zoom with the kids on October 3, two days before Don's birthday.

That was a highlight of the month for sure. Baby Charlie joined in for way over an hour. She even clapped when we sang Happy Birthday!

I made Don spaghetti and meatballs and a funny looking cake, for later that evening. 

Happy Birthday Surgery

Don's 67th birthday won't go down as one of his favorites. He had open heart surgery that day.

A couple days later, Don got out of ICU and was able to have flowers and a better view.

Visitors
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Luckily the Covid restrictions had recently eased a bit at the hospital. Don was able to have more than one visitor per day.

Scott flew in from California. With the help of a couple Covid tests, he felt safe helping out with his dad. It was a treat for me too!  We didn't get to be in the building at the same time, but took turns cheering Don on.

Home!

After 5 nights in the hospital, Don came home. Scott cut his dad free. No more hospital bracelets!

There were cards and goodies to open and late birthday gifts. 

Support

Things were quiet and not as festive as our usual reunions, but it was wonderful having Scott's support.

I was glad that Scott made use of the pool a few times. I miss having him home!

Good-bye

I made sure to put the camera timer on, so we could have a photo before I took Scott to the airport. No selfies for me.

So happy to have had this guy home for a week!

42nd Anniversary

Don and I have had a lot of anniversaries. We knew this would be a quiet one.

It was 2 weeks after surgery, so we toasted with sparkling juice and got DoorDash delivery for dinner. This wasn't the best of all anniversaries, but maybe the most meaningful. I'm grateful that Don had this surgery. Because of that, we'll be having lots more!
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Walks

The one thing we did a lot of this month, was walking. Don started with 5 minute walks in the hospital. His first days at home he walked 4 times a day, inside the house.

The weather got nicer and 10 days after surgery we started 2 walks a day outside. By the end of the month, we were enjoying the scenery and talking. Sometimes 50 minutes at a time. Gradually getting there!

Cheers to Home

Just like those pandemic quarantine months, we spent a lot of time at home. With a couple cool fronts, the plants started perking up! We were home to enjoy the changes in the yard!

And towards the end of the month we had a tiny toast with some tiny martinis. Very yummy, after almost a month of juice and sparkling water!

Halloween

The last day of the month gave us the prettiest weather. I carved the pumpkin as I do every year. Don came out and watched.

We had only a few trick-or-treaters, but I enjoyed my candy duty more than most years. So happy to see faces and not wear cloth masks this year. So glad to for the balmy air. So glad for the end of the month! Cheers to 27 days of recovery!
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