Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each New Year find you a better person.
~Benjamin Franklin
This past year has been a tumultuous year of ups and downs. But I’ll admit, it was mostly downs. I’m ready to see what 2012 brings and am really looking forward to the year! Here’s a recap of the year for the Wuzzy Household:
No, I'm not that short, he's just super tall. I'm 5'5".
January saw the return of Huzzy on New Year’s Day and my first dependent’s cruise. At this point, we had been married for nearly two years but only spent 14 weeks together… and not all of it at once! In fact, we’d only spent seven weeks together at one time.
February was the month we were supposed to move into our new house, but delays with our banks started and were really frustrating us.
March gave us just a hint of what was to come… our nearly 12 year old Greyhound, Chase, had to be sent to the Rainbow Bridge after what we can only guess was cancer of some sort… most likely throat. But it was the traumatizing injury that happened while he was at the vet’s that took him sooner than expected.
April was the worst month in the Wuzzy household. The second week of the month, Huzzy’s dad had a massive heart attack and never regained consciousness. Huzzy was able to fly cross country in time to make it to the hospital in order to be there with his brother while they made the heartbreaking decision to take their dad off life support. He was gone for the rest of the month. The same day we got the call about his dad, we moved into our first home purchased together. That bright point was hard to see at the time but we recognize it now and cherish our home. Because of his loss, Huzzy was unable to go on his boat’s spring/summer deployment (though he was supposed to pick it up part way through but due to the boat’s change in schedule, that never happened). My cat our family got in 7th grade died (at my mom’s house). It was his time, but it was still sad.
Chase just six months before he died.
May was spent pretty much alone as Huzzy was gone for all but a few days of it taking care of his dad’s estate. We realized our former landlords were not going to give us our deposit money back nor even acknowledge that we existed. I also learned I was probably going to need surgery on my shoulder. It was this month that I also was promoted to LTjg and we started fostering kittens for the local humane society.
June started and ended crappy but the middle was a pretty good because my mom came to visit and Huzzy was here for my birthday for the first time in our marriage. Of course, he made it with only 10 minutes to spare, but technically, he made it. Before either of them got here, one of our first foster kittens ended up biting me down to the bone in my finger (it was a feral kitten I was taming) and I had to go to the ER. Good news? That kitten is now a fantastically friendly kitten who apparently got a great home! Right after that, my mom had to put our childhood dog down. She had cancer. And the end of June saw yet more death… my cat, Sadie, that my mom was keeping at her house and that I was going to bring home in 2012 died.
July was probably one of the best months of the year, even though it started off with the death of someone who was like a grandfather to me. I finally, after 16 months, got a job. I also spent my two weeks AT on the USS Nimitz, which, even though it was in drydock, was fantastic. Huzzy and I spent Independence Day together, which was only our second holiday together as a married couple.
Kissy and Skully, mid-fight, leaning against Lulu on our bed.
August started out with court mediation with our former landlords. That didn’t bring any resolution so a court date in front of a judge was set but the earliest one was five months away. The month also brought news that I was definitely having shoulder surgery and ended with bringing our third set of foster kittens home… these ones just 10 days old (with momma). We ended up keeping two of them and naming them Kissy and Skully.
September was fun because my brother came out to visit. I hadn’t seen him in nearly two years and he had never been west of the Mississippi.
October saw me transferred to a new Navy Reserve unit… one that I’m really excited about working with for the next three years. It also was the month I had my shoulder surgery. Huzzy also left to go on a short patrol (not with his crew) to get some qualifications done.
November was the month I met my new unit… but two days before that, I was laid off from my job. Huzzy also came back juuust in time for us to spend our first Thanksgiving together in one place since we were married. We spent it with friends and some Single Sailors from his command.
December also brought two more deaths… someone that was like a grandmother to me (yes, the wife of man who died in July) and my great-aunt, whom I had met only once. But it bought us yet another holiday together… Christmas. It was nice to spend it together and not be alone. However, he has 24hr duty from 8 a.m. New Year’s Eve through 8 a.m. New Year’s Day, so we’ll have to wait until our fourth NYE married before we have a chance of ringing in the New Year together… if he doesn’t have duty then! We also found out our landlords filed for bankruptcy, so the court has canceled our court date and we will probably never get our money back. A$$hats.
So while we’ve had some great times this year… it has been overshadowed by way too much death. I’m so ready for 2012 and hope it brings happiness, healing (both physical and emotional) and LIFE.
