2021 was a year of ups and downs, sometimes downers and uppers happening all at once. In the large picture, the Covid pandemic and political turmoil were definitely major downers.
Even at the local level, there were many tough moments. Our beloved feral adoptee cat, Fizzy/ Fuzzy/ Princess (she adopted us more than ten years ago) died, the last of a long line of nineteen cats that shared our house with us over the past fifty-five years. Dorothy took a couple of bad falls in August that left her depending, until recently, on a cane or walker to remain upright. Gerry also had two falls face down in grass that left him stunned and headed for the ER, where he was tested for a possible cardiac event: EKG, CT scan, x-rays, and blood tests came out okay, so what started as a downer, ended on a positive note. Then, early in December, we learned that our septic tank is failing.
With all that, 2021 wasn't a bad year in our little three-person Triastery, as we call it. Willie tripped and broke her right wrist, but all the x-rays showed that she has strong bones, and her recovery was amazingly fast and successful for an eighty-eight-year-old. Dorothy's recovery is progressing well, especially in recent weeks. Gerry's effort to downsize his possessions progressed: a huge stamp collection gone, some vintage photos of Arizona in the 1890s have found a home, and he's located neighbors who want to give their grandkids a dozen or so each of Gerry's gems and minerals. The kids seem to be about the age Gerry was when he started his collection in the late 1940s, which produces a warm feeling.
More positives could be mentioned, but let's end on a humorous point. One morning (3 AM!) Willie was awakened by the sound of the garage door that's below her apartment going up and down. She called me to check it out. Sure enough, the automatic door motor had gone bezerk. Gerry unplugged the system, noting that the plug was a bit loose in the socket. The next day, he plugged it in firmly, and it seemed to work fine. But the next morning (4 AM this time!) the door was off and running again. Threats: "You can be replaced!" didn't work, so now we've had a new system installed. Another happy ending!