#29 -Don't Like Missing Celebrations

Chilly Morning

It's been 3 weeks since Don came home from the hospital. And today is Halloween. I like celebrations, so I was determined to enjoy both. At least, in a tiny way.

We actually had perfect Halloween weather today. It was chilly enough for a fire in the early morning. And our mid morning walk was lovely.

Zoom Time

Late morning, Don and I ended up on a Zoom call. This is the first time we've Zoomed since we Zoomed with kids, 2 days before surgery.

Not sure why I was inclined to snap a photo during Zoom. But this image says a lot. Don and I look pretty relaxed here! Exactly 4 weeks ago, Don was in decent spirits when we Zoomed with kids. But on that day, his surgery was lurking and we both felt anxious. This silly sneak photo today, looks like the old us.

Looking Back to 2016 & 2020

​I know it's healthier to look forward, when you're dealing with recovery of any kind. But I can't help myself. I like to look back and compare. I remember this day in 2016. Halloween was a little treat, in my sluggish days following my last chemo. 

Looking back just one year, I'm reminded that I swapped out a head scarf for a face mask, when answering the door. Both Halloweens, were altered by cancer and covid. This year, I was happy again for a nice distraction.

Looking Back Further

I can never resist thinking back to when the kids were super small. Halloween was so simple and fun.

Especially before the kids had demands about what costumes they wanted to wear and how much candy they wanted to eat!

In the Present, Near and Far

The best part of today, came in the early evening, after we returned from our second walk. I lit our jack-o-lantern before it got dark and Don and I settled down with popcorn and 2 small glasses of wine.

Suddenly my siblings started texting from Oregon, Louisiana and Idaho. Then my sister in law in NY and her  son's fam in CA, started texting. And there we sat in our TX home, feeling connected with far away family, sharing photos and tidbits of news, about our little Halloween celebrations.

Our Kids, in the Present

But the very best "in the moment time" came when our kids in CA and OR, began texting photos and updates about the happenings in their neighborhoods. I'm so glad they both moved into good neighborhoods during the 2020 pandemic. It was fun peeking into their worlds.

Our kids are grown and married, but today we shared a little Halloween time, in real time!

Trick or Treaters & Chili

Don and I settled into the evening. I answered the door only 3 times, but I loved visiting with those kiddos. I've always loved door duty. I wish we'd had more.

Then we ate the chili, that I made yesterday. (Not as good as Don's) And we even watched Hitchcock's Psycho. Today, our 42rd Halloween together, was so much more fun than our 42nd anniversary, 2 weeks after surgery.

​Future

We chuckled through a lot of Psycho and I let my cell phone happily break in during the thriller. We fit in a quick FaceTime with this little Halloween Girl. It's so hard being thousands of miles away, but I'm eager about the future... as in Christmas!  Charlie will be 10 months old when we see her!

I'm also eager about the far off future! Will this little girl be an astronaut someday? Who knows? But at least, Don and I have done everything possible from surgeries to vaccines, to make sure we're around a long time, to see our grandkids grow up!
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