2020 Christmas Letter Activies

 Merry Christmas,

My year started with Cataract Surgery on my right eye on Jan 8, followed by a bridge on a tooth on Jan 21. 

I had three abscesses and three root canals in December, causing me to have a bridge replaced.

On March 10, I had a total knee replacement (on my left knee) just before our country was shut down with no elective surgeries. 

I stayed overnight and went home to do some of my therapy at home. I went to Peak Performance for physical therapy.

My knee did not respond to therapy as it should, causing the orthopedic doctor to have to manipulate it. 

I spent March, April, and part of May getting physical Therapy.

During this time, hubby was staying at home with me and still getting paid. 

He went back to work full-time in September. (He works for a contractor of the government with full pay)

June, our Granddaughter Hannah gave birth to our fourth great-grandson, “Atlas,” just a few days after our great-grandson River celebrated his second birthday in June.

We could not go much of anywhere, so I spent much of my time working or attending to my flowers. Most of which are in pots, which I only had to water and fertilize. We got a lot of rain this year, which helped with my plants.

We didn’t see much of the grandkids or great-grandkids all summer. 

When school started back, we helped with our great-granddaughter, Ava. 

She would go to school for a couple of days, and we would keep her for a couple of days. 

Because of the pandemic, we were limited to activities. We did go to some of the parks where she could play by herself and parks with fish, turtles, and waterfowl. 

We took her to places where she would see Halloween displays, and we took her to a trunk-n-treat. (Lowes, Home Depot, Party City) 

We took her to see the Tinsel Trail in Huntsville and the Enchanted Forest in Decatur.

We have tried to keep her entertained. 

On the first of November, Dad fell and broke his hip; his health had been going down for some time. He had lost 30 pounds in the last few months. My sister took him to the doctor, and he had recommended calling Hospice. 

He lived a few days after he fell. We buried him on November 8; he was 93 years old. 

He had a graveside service, and all the family was there. 

We celebrated our great-grandson Hayne’s first birthday on Sunday, December 13, at the Strickland Hotel. 

Hayne will have Christmas two times this year because he got more presents than most kids get all year for his birthday. 

On December 22, Tuesday, Hubby and I took Ava, our five-year-old great-granddaughter, to Franklin, Tennessee. We rode north along Natchez Trace through Leipers Fork to Franklin, Tennessee. We ate dinner at Mellow Mushroom, and we saw Santa riding on a Harley through the window at Mellow Mushroom, but he was gone by the time we finished our meal.

Ava wanted to see the 100 or more-foot Christmas tree in the town square. We took a few pictures in the square and headed back to the car when, once again, we heard Santa on his Harley. Santa stopped, and I took a couple of pictures with Ava with him. She had to give Santa a real hug, not a hand bump. She was overjoyed about seeing the Real Santa Clause. (That’s what she said) and was singing Christmas carols for most of the ride home.

We celebrated Christmas on Sunday, December 20, at Jack and Lindsey’s new home. Loved seeing the four great-grandkids, Ava, River, Hayne, and Atlas, opening their Christmas presents. Their favorite toy was a barking dog for the boys, and Ave got a cat mewing cat. All the great-grandkids love animals.

On December 25, Friday, my four sisters and I celebrated Christmas with a nice meal of chili, cheese dip, and a variety of sweets. Afterward, we played several games of UNO and Dirty Santa until 9:30 PM. 

Dec 29, My four sisters and I met at Los Trojas Cantina to celebrate my sister's (Teresa) birthday. 

Tomorrow, Dec 31, I am going to keep my great-grandson River, who is 24 months old. I have not kept him all year for health reasons, so we will see how that goes. Right now, we live in a 40-foot RV and not much room for running and playing. Two-year-olds need a lot of space. 

Friday, Dec 31, from 6-9, hubby and I will attend the gender reveal of our fifth great-grandchild that will be due sometime next year in July. 

Well, I guess that about wraps it up for 2020. 

This was a very different year; we lost my dad, and we celebrated the birth of our fourth great-grandson but could only see him virtually.

We attended Hayne’s first birthday party.

Our son, daughter-in-law, granddaughter-in-law, great-grandson, hubby, and I all had the Coronavirus.  

I had a few health issues, but all in all, it has been a good year.

2009 ~ May 10-12 Eye Repair in Atlanta Ga & Motor Sports Hall of Fame Talladega, AL

Day 1: Monday, May 10,  2009, today is Mother's Day. 

We spent the day on the road to Atlanta. It was a trip in the rain...but at least we made it safely. We checked into the RMD House in Atlanta at about 7 p.m. (EST) and settled in for the night. 

After surgery at Emory Hospital

Day 2: Tuesday, May 11, 2009

Lora dropped Meadow and me off in front of Emory Hospital and we walked next door to Children’s Emory Hospital and took the flower elevator to the third floor, where I registered Meadow.

Lora parked the van and met us on the third floor.

We waited until about 11 A.M. when they called Meadow back to get her vitals and put her in a room that overlooked the Hospital Park. 

It was a beautiful park with a pond, statues, and lots of blooming flowers, trees, and shrubs.  

Meadow's retina surgery was scheduled at 9 A.M. (that is what time she had to be in day surgery). Dr. Swinn & Dr. Hubbard talked with us before they took her back.

They returned from surgery quickly. 

They did not perform the surgery to re-attach the retina. Dr. Hubbard explained that in her case, the optic nerve is enlarged in her right eye. There was not a tear or hole in the retina. He said this was good & bad news. He said that with this type of anomaly, sometimes the retina will flatten itself back out and re-attach. Then again, it might not. He said it would not be worth it to place a hole or tear in the retina to re-attach it because this could cause more problems for a child her age. Therefore, he did not repair the detached retina. He told us that she probably has minimal vision in that eye. She may only see light & shadows. He was not concerned with the gray discoloration in her right cornea (the white part of her eye around the iris). 

Dr. Hubbard did a very detailed exam under anesthesia. Meadow had an allergic reaction to one of the eye drops that they used to dilate her eyes. The nurse said it happened immediately following the drops. It gave her a rash. They had to give her Benadryl through an IV. 

He said her left eye looked good, other than the optic nerve hypoplasia. Meadow will need to return for a follow-up in three months and to keep a watch on the right eye. We can only hope for the best that the retina will flatten out and re-attach on its own. The longer it is detached, the poorer the prognosis.

Meadow was dismissed from the hospital after drinking some water. We walked around the hospital park and took pictures.

We rode back to the Ronald McDonald House to eat.

We rode to the Carter building parked the car and walked around.

Next, we rode downtown Atlanta to a park.

We did not stay long because we could not find anywhere to park free. Marcus called Lora, he wanted her to call Ron to see if he could pick up Madison.

Lora went up a one-way street while she was on the phone.

She made a U-turn and we went back to the Ronald McDonald House.

In the lobby after surgery at Emory Hospital

Park at Emory Hospital 

Park at Emory Hospital 

Park at Emory Hospital 

Walking around at the Carter Center in Atlanta 

International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum

Talladega Speedway 

Day 3: Wednesday, May 12, 2009

I vacuumed, cleaned the room, made the beds, and carried the dirty linen to the parking deck.

We ate breakfast, of oats, eggs, raisin bread, and tea. 

We washed clothes before we left which was about 10 A.M.

We stopped at the Talladega Super Speedway in Talladega where we toured the museum and took the bus to the racetrack.

Talladega Superspeedway is the biggest, fastest, and most competitive motorsports facility in the world. Records for both speed and competition have been established at Talladega.

Talladega Superspeedway can accommodate more than 143,000 seated guests and thousands more in the 212-acre infield. The track offers van tours to visitors daily during working hours except on weeks around events. 

Adjacent to the track is the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum, which opened in April 1983 and is dedicated to the preservation of the history of motorsports

Admission to the museum is $10 for adults, $5 for kids aged 7 to 17, and free for kids aged 6 and younger.

There were three buildings of race memorable, cars, trophies, photos, etc.

The bus tour took about 45 minutes. The guide told many antidotes about racing.

We met an elderly woman in the library of the museum, she personally knew Richard Petty. She said that she rented a home from the Pettys.

She said what do you want to know about the Pettys.

Only Dale Earnhardt, Davey Allison, Bobby Labonte, and Martin have won in three or more racing series at Talladega. In addition, as the only driver to win in four different racing series at NASCAR’s Most Competitive Track, Martin is in a league of his own.

We ate supper at Cracker Barrel and traveled home.