A year filled with planes, trains, and automobiles, but most of all, connectedness…
• 12 – hours on Amtrak round trip to Chicago in March, which set the tone for all our conference travel. While Denise was in sessions, I scouted the city for restaurants and points of interest, like Chinatown and the Magnificent Mile. Denise enjoyed the curated tours, culminating on the last day with an architectural boat tour and catching an improv show at Second City.
• 11th day of September when we confirmed the bat was negative for rabies. Wait, wha-? After returning from a birthday Chicago trip, I tried to relax with an episode of “Wednesday” which has CGI bats. Our cats were going crazy when I realized something flew by my head - and it was not a bird. I contained the bat in an old shoebox until the county sent out an officer the next day. After hiring a wildlife solutions company who successfully and humanely mitigated the bat colony in our attic, we’ll soon start a second phase of attic hazmat remediation removal, which might lead to new house projects.
• 10 – # of consecutive days of Sherman helping host back-to-back conferences in January. Retired only from corporate life, Sherman’s volunteer work surely has a corporate pace. Right after the Crossings conference in north STL County, he drove home to unload A/V gear, swapped baggage (pre-packed), and arrived in Louisville for the Extravaganza (youth ministers conference). A fantastic time with different groups of people, it was good to have some recharge time before the next trip.
• 9 – as in the newest addition of 9 lives, Sushi Cat, a completely black kitten adopted in June as “hench-cat” for Poké Cat. Denise had a lead on kitties from a stray. I picked up the kitten when the shelter opened, spent the day bonding with her & introduced the cats to each other. That evening Amy got to our house early to drop off the grandsons for a sleepover, while Denise and I were still at a dinner party. She texted: “Excuse me did you know there’s an extra cat here?” The boys and cats were very excited! And fortunately, they tuckered each other out and all slept uncharacteristically deeply that night.
• 8 – of us - Amy’s family of four, plus Cass and Evan went with Denise and me to SoCal in April. The main goal was to visit extended family. Another goal was visiting Disneyland, which has been a family tradition since Amy and Cass were kids. So much excitement, so much fun, and going on the Haunted Mansion ride. And as part of my grandfatherly duty, I have now read the Golden Book “Haunted Mansion” and seen the corresponding movie more times than I can count!
