That was the year that was

 January 6 was my last brother Jim's funeral at St Judes in Dewitt. On the 25 the furnace went out and we used electric heaters until 12:45 on the 29th as Vredevoogd had to order the motor but that still was a day sooner than Hager Fox could come to look at it. February 2 I slid into a car at the fork of T L Parkway and damaged the front bumper due to fresh snow. Ken Morrison finally came to fix the floors and put in the room dividers that they did not do when installed. On the 12th we attended the Anniversary dinner at St. Gerards's as it snowed 6" that day. We sat with John and Karen Philipich who also were having their 50th. On Valentines Day I had carpel tunnel surgery on my left wrist at the MSU Clinic by Dr. Clarkson. They began cutting down the trees on Dottie's property the middle of February and finished the beginning of March. On March 26 I had the right wrist surgery done at the Clinic office and again it took about a half hour. Jon and family arrived the 28th to celebrate our birthdays but his car broke down and had to be towed to Feldman's. He had to take our car to get home and rented us a car at the airport to use until his got fixed. April 1 we got his car back and visited Marilyn at Stoneleigh Hospice before returning the rental car. My sister-in-law Marilyn died the 8th so I was glad we could visit with Pat and Cheri when we saw her in Hospice. We had his car until we went to Kouts on the 18th to watch the boys Easter program. On the 13th we saw Chicago at the Wharton Center with tickets John got us for our birthdays. May 2 we went to Andersen's graduation at the Breslin Center. On the 10th we went to Jim Hauser's funeral at St Mary's and talked to Richard and Pat Garlitz. On the 17th we bought Jane's planter at TSC and got her flowers planted the19th by the garage. On the 26th we took down the front fences and planted flowers by the driveway space. The 30th and 31st all the family was in town for Jane's birthday. June 14 we celebrated Peg's 88th birthday at Lori's. Jane began getting x-rays and had her mammogram to find the cause of her persistent cough and I began my Teledoc appointments which ended in October. Eli Christian was born the 28th. We did not get down to see him until the first of August to give them time to get used to him as he was only 6 pounds. July 12 was the Alvarado Reunion and on the 24th and 25th they tore down Dottie's house. Jane had her follow-up ultrasound to look at her kidney this time. August 9-15 we had our vacation in Grand Haven at the Blue Yonder. Jimmerson's did the porch roof the 25th and after 3 attempts to file a civil suit against Tom Mullins I decided to blame myself for not checking him out first as he told my son Phil he wasn't even a licensed builder and was bankrupt. September 4 we had a 50th anniversary mass at St. Gerard's and had Father Jon B. give us and the Philipich's a blessing after mass. The 6th our anniversary party was held at Cadgewith Farms Clubhouse from 1-4 with 60 guests invited. We had a taco bar catered by Alicia's and a 2 layer cake made by Ann Marie from St Johns with marble and carrot cake. On the 19th-21st we were in Newark for Eli's baptism. Jane had a c-scan the 17th which confirmed she had kidney stones that would be surgically removed October30th. But would have to go back November 14th to remove the stent and any remaining stones. Willow was closed October 6-30th for the drain removal and new drain put in, meaning we could only go east on Willow to get anywhere. This work would continue through our backyard for weeks. We had Thanksgiving at Phil's and were there the 26-29th and Eli is now 20 pounds at 5 months. I put new tires on the Equinox before we left for Newark as I wanted better traction than I had last winter. December 3-7th we were in Kouts to help with the boys as Sharon went to a conference in Las Vegas and we could be at their church's Christmas program. We went to Eric Pederson's funeral the 11th at St. Gerards. On the 16th we went to the Mannheim Steamroller concert at the Wharton Center thanks to John. We had Christmas on the 26th at our house but Phil and Stef couldn't come. Jon got me a new computer making it possible for this post as my old one quit 4 weeks ago. A busy year with doctors and TDS mostly of his own making. I hope I continue on my road to becoming a more thoughtful, considerate and caring Christian and human being.

2025 Will Change Come?

 I went to the 2 day mission at St. Gerard October 14-15 and resolved to improve my relationship and marriage with Jane. On the 19th we met Simon's new girl Jen who he had been seeing all summer long but not coming out officially until now. Jane got her crown at Dr. Rashid's on November 4 after waiting over a year to have it done. Donald Trump winning the election was our surprise to wake up to on the 6th and now we wait and see how bad it might be! Jane got her colonoscopy November 19th at Sparrow Health after she was cleared by TCI for her heart being fine. We left for Valpo the next day for 4 days with the boys while Sharon was at a conference. We returned December 3-7 as Sharon had another conference and had a great time. For Thanksgiving we all were at Phil and Stef's for turkey and family togetherness. December went quickly and Simon is moving into his and Jen's house at 1901 Hillsdale. His house is 2 blocks from where I grew up at 1529 W. St. Joseph and I had friends who lived near his house. On the 22 Luke helped move the furniture that Simon got from Eddie next door as they are moving to South Lyons. Jon and family were here for Christmas and Jane was busy preparing ziti, blackened chicken, shredded beef, coney hot dogs and cookies. On the 27th we visited Jim at Gunisonville as Betty had called and told us he had fallen again and the Hospice nurse had put on morphine. He died the following night and will be buried this Saturday. I now am the elder of the Pratt clan and will try to do my best for the family. The New Year came in last night and it started with at least 10 killed by a terrorist driving a truck mowing down innocents and adding to the uncertainty of life's value in this world. Change is coming for better or worse we must endure and stay on guard.

10 months of Neglect in Hard Times 10/11/24

   Getting old sometimes means not having time for things you used to do so that's my excuse for neglecting this blog. January was uneventful and February 2-12 was spent dog sitting in Newark Ohio. We went into downtown  Columbus to see the musical Come From Away about 9/11 flights being diverted to Newfoundland as Phil left us their tickets. At the end of March we spent Easter in Valpo and celebrated the 3 birthdays. April 7 we saw Moulin Rouge at the Wharton Center thanks to Jon and family for my and Jane's birthday present. Jane had appointments to prepare for her right hip surgery in May. Luke ran the Izzo Run at MSU on April 20th and Girls on the Run June 19th. May 4th we had a baby shower for Evelyn Jane at Cadgewith Farms clubhouse with most of the family attending. On Monday the 6th Jane had her hip surgery and spent the night at McClaren Hospital. She did 6 weeks of rehab twice a week at Arch through June and had no problems. June 18th I went to my 55th class  reunion at Tony M's and had a good time with about 30 friends. My brother Jim turned 86 and they had a party for him at The Ridge where he was staying as his dementia became too much to be at home. He later moved to Gunnisonville Meadows Assisted Living in September. On June 6th Phil called just after midnight saying Stef had went to the Hospital and he was driving home from Findley. He called back an hour later with the tragic news that Evelyn was stillborn. Her funereal was Saturday the 8th at St. Francis DeSales in the private Chapel behind the altar. She was buried at St. Joseph Cemetary there in Newark. She is our guardian angel now and was so beautiful.  July 6-12 we were in Grand Haven for our family vacation at Blue Yonder again. Jon left the boys with us for the rest of the week and they went to the Alvarado Reunion on the 13th with Simon meeting Jon to pick them up afterwards. Jane went for her colonoscopy on the 23rd only to be told they thought she's had one or two heart attacks and so no procedure after enduring all that stressful prep! She saw Dr. Brown at TCI Sparrow and he said he saw no evidence of her having a heart attack but she had to do the heart halter and an echocardiogram which will be evaluated in a week from now when she goes for her recheck. All this stress making us older only because we are getting older. Jon bought a new house in South Kouts and we all went down to help move them August 16-18. They got everything moved with help from the Gerst family and his church. It was the first time we had interacted with the Gerst's since the wedding and we were able to get along amicably. Peg moved back in her house for now as she had been living with Lori and Todd but didn't want to go in a Nursing home so is trying out living at home with numerous people coming in helping her as she cannot walk on her own. We went back to Ohio September 12-17 as Phil and Stef had a wedding in Panama to attend. We saw MJ at the Ohio Theater this time and we went to Old Bag of Nails after mass and visiting Evelyn's grave on Sunday. We are still going to the Y and I took our absentee ballots to the township office this morning proudly voting for Harris for president! Trump is an old angry man with the maturity of a 12 year old and only opinions not facts that will only cause division not any solutions! I pray for our country and my family as we deal with life and the future.