New Year’s Eve this year will be spent quietly, peacefully in avoidance of any sort of driving or partying outside of the home.
And that seems more than fitting, because 2011 is the year that we got our house back. It’s been a good year, a year of dressed wounds and repair and recovery, a year of sideshow dramas and long overdue catching up. And so in the usual R&K spirit of spilling the story before the calendar resets tonight, we present 2011 in review. Click through for more.
Another year, another round of Black Friday Walmart shoppers pepper spraying each other for awesome deals. What is it about Xboxes that drive people mad? You just don’t hear about Playstations leading to bloodshed.
(Oh yeah. Except for that Philly thing. I guess there is that. Point taken.)
Anyway.
So this year we went through this whole three week phase, jockeying around the penultimate question that defines the embarkment onto federally mandated holiday joviality: what the hell do you want, anyway?
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Once upon a time, we had a clog in our bathroom sink. We named him Eugene. Then we met Bernard, the clog in our bathtub. There were a few smaller plumbing issues we were able to flush out. But this isn’t a story about that Eugene or the first Bernard or Elmer and Ernest. This is about my ear.
Seven (!!) weeks ago, I came down with an ear infection. Pain and loss of hearing meant I quickly went to the doctor and was given antibiotics to treat it. After 6 days, the pain was searing and I still felt awful. We went back to the doctor and I sat in the waiting room with Rob and just cried. Quiet, wracking sobs, pushed out by anxiety and fear that no one would believe the amount of pain I was in. The doctor, of course, believed me and I was given a prescription for both antibiotic drops and pain medication. The pain subsided.
But my hearing did not return.
We tried a variety of things to clear out my ear and with a wax removal flush, I managed to dislodge a large mucus plug from my ear. My hearing returned but only for a day or two. After several weeks of this vicious cycle, Rob had had enough. I’d had enough and so on Monday, I went back to the doctor.
The doctor couldn’t see my ear drum because of a blockage. He had his nurse flush out my ear and another large plug washed out. It was relieving to be able to hear but again, 3 days later, I couldn’t hear again and my ear was clogged.
This morning, I went back to the doctor for more evaluation. He quickly referred me to Head/Neck surgery for further testing. More waiting and late this morning I was seen by an ENT. She vacuumed out my ear and found a fungal infection which explained why the antibiotics were ineffective. I will probably need more cleanings after finishing a course of anti-fungals and antibiotics as this kind of infection is difficult to treat.
All of this is just in time for singing Bach’s Magnificat on Tuesday. It’s one of the most difficult pieces I’ve ever done, compounded by not being able to hear myself or most of my section.
But, right now, I’m just glad to be hearing again.
It’s definitely autumn out there today. Gusty winds, occasional rain showers, leaves falling and covering the front lawn. Best thing so far today though is Brother Chris arriving this evening! We haven’t seen him since last Thanksgiving and this year he’s going to stay the whole week. We’ve got a few day trips planned (Carmel and SF) and family gatherings on Wednesday and Thursday. I’m looking forward to making some Peppermint Bark with him too… and maybe a bit of Dead Nation co-op.
I bought the first bits of Christmas yesterday, a few new tree ornaments at Target and 2 rolls of gift wrap. The planning of our annual holiday party continues and we’re excited to share the holidays with friends and family again. Each year, I’m reminded of how blessed we are. We have great friends, a loving family, a wildly successful business, plans for the future.
“Even though we can’t have all we want, we ought to be thankful we don’t get what we deserve.” Amen.
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