2000: 3rd granddaughter, Pilgrimage, job change, condo living, 9th grandson
I left from Chicago on February 2nd in an effort to get to the birth of daughter Mary's third child but Carmel Rose Johnson would not wait on me to arrive at the birth center. :) I got there shortly thereafter on the 3rd and did manage to give her, her first bath (family tradition for this grandmom to have the privilege of doing).
Pilgrimage was absolutely awesome and I was thrilled that I had been able to go for the third time. This time Wayne and I went with our son, Tag and his wife Cris, daughter Sofia (who was only 4) and one child in the hangar, so to speak, was Alex who had a few more months before coming into our physical world. The upper Terraces were open and part of the lower ones and I was physically able to walk some of them to the Shrine of the Bab.
I changed from being a public health supervisor at the City of Evanston Health Department to an epidemiology program administrator for the state of Illinois (HIV-AIDS surveillance). The new job proved to be very rewarding but a great challenge none the less. My office was located in the Loop of downtown Chicago. I rode the "L" to work and back daily, M-F.
We made the trip to Florida to welcome our 9th grandson, Alexander Sage Eury who was born at home in a tub of water. Though he was 2 weeks old before we were able to go, I was told that he had not had a full "grandmom" bath so I got busy and "cleaned" him up. :)
2001: 9-11
Will never forget this day. I was at work in downtown Chicago only three blocks from the Sears Tower when the twin towers were toppled. We had a TV on the floor of our work site and we all watched as the second tower was it and fell. The entire Loop was evacuated and I rode home on the most crowded train I had ever experienced.
2002-3 Trips, anniversary flowers/fruit, NSA apology, Land Rover
This year Wayne sent me beautiful flowers to my office for our anniversary. I sent him a big basket of fruit to his office. Fun thing to do. In June we traded our Eldorado for our first 4x4 (in a long time) in preparation for moving to the mountains of NC in 2005.
On May 23rd Wayne received a much needed apology from the Secretary -General of the NSA for having been erroneously accused of a misdeed almost 6 years earlier. We felt blessed to finally have closure.
Trips to Florida and NC to see family were the most important events I remember. We also made a trip to Oregon to see brother Bill and wife Marziah. Then we flew on over to Idaho and visited Wayne's brother Doug who was still recovering from cancer surgery and chemo.
2004: Property purchase, 4th granddaughter, trip to Arizona
On January 2nd we purchased 2.5 acres of mountain land where we hoped to build a cave home after retirement. Wonderful view.
On June 7th our fourth granddaughter, Isabella Rain Eury, was born at home in Florida. Yes, she was also born in a tub of water and, yes, we made the trip and I got to give her that traditional bath.
Moved to the Loop in November to an apartment right on the train line. This was so that we could fix up the condo and get it sold, hopefully before we move next October. We lived on the 15th floor and thoroughly enjoyed really getting to see and know Chicago downtown.
2005: Retirement, move to Asheville, purchase of additional land, Buddy died
We lucked up and were able to purchase an additional 2.47 acres of adjoining land that enabled us to move our house site to a better view. Gave up on the cave home due to not being able to get bank financing.
In October we retired and moved to River Ridge Apartments in Asheville hoping to start our new home soon thereafter. We were reunited with our most lovable Golden Retriever, Buddy who we had gotten when he was only 6 weeks old back in 1994. He had been with us some in Evanston then stayed with our daughter Lynn and her family in Asheville when we moved into the condo in 1999. Now nearly 12 years old, buddy developed cancer and we had to have him put down in November just before his birthday. He was buried on our property.
2006: Last nursing job, Critical illness, birth of 1st great grandchild, foundation laid, trip to Arizona,
I got my first job as a nursing instructor at AB-Tech Community College over the summer and my last job as a nurse. I was all lined up to work more hours in Fall semester but was hospitalized with pulmonary emboli (blood clots in the lungs) late August. Critically ill at the start and three months later was well on the way to recovery with many physical changes needing to be made due to being so deconditioned.
While I was in the hospital Lola Arrowood, our first great grandchild was born on September 28(?) to our oldest grandson, Andy and his wife Jessica. What a thrill to be a great grandmom. Also while I was in the hospital, the foundation of our new home was laid and the basement walls were raised.
In December Wayne and I drove to Arizona to visit Tag and family. I was not allowed to fly because of not being able to move around enough on the plane. We drove in our Prius and stopped frequently for me to get out of the car and walk around for 10 minutes or so. It was great to see the family. We adopted Tag's adopted dog Cade (because the dog was too rough with Alex). They were going to give him back to the shelter where they got him so we just brought him home with us. Surprise, surprise! We fell so in love with him. He filled some of the void left by the loss of Buddy.
2007: lost pet, new puppy, new home, another trip to AZ
In March, Cade met his demise when he tried to attack a truck on our road at the new home site. We were devastated. In May we drove to SC and bought an adorable Old English Sheepdog puppy. She was just 3 months old and we named her Cadie after our dog Cade. She helped to fill the void left by the loss of Cade.
On August 31st we moved into our new home though there was still much work to be done to finish it. We were so excited to be in it and away from apartment living. Cadie loved her new playground.
In December we drove our Tundra (had traded the Land Rove for a 4x4 truck previously) hauling a motorcycle for Tag all the way to Phoenix. Stopped by Doug and Lynn's on the way.
2008: Sub teachers, Trip to AZ, Disaster struck, 2 great grandchildren born, Abandoned beagle, Diabetes Diagnosed
In January, Wayne and I both became official substitute teachers for the Haywood county school system. I did not get called much but Wayne did get in quite a few hours. Great for our finances.
In April I flew alone to Phoenix and spent 2 weeks with the Eurys. Helped babysit the children while Cris had some training classes. Had a great time. Then on the day before I was to fly home, I fell on the stairs and broke two bones of my ankle. Had surgery on the fractures after getting back to Asheville. So much for sub teaching.
On July 18, Staton Arrowood was born and now Lola has a brother.
In September, Madison Arrowood was born to our grandson, Josh and his wife Felicia. Now we have 3 great grandchildren. They are all so precious.
In December we found a little abandoned beagle on our road in 20 degree weather. She was sick, full of mites and worms so we took her in and adopted her. We named her Windee but later renamed her Peewee for her inability to house train well. She is an older dog and is very dear to us.
Wayne and I both were diagnosed with type II diabetes this year. What a jolt. Learning to live with it.
2009: Cataract surgery, Tax preparer? Yes!
In July and August I had cataract surgeries so now I have 20/20 vision but just need glasses to read.
Then one day our tax preparer called me and told me she would like for me to consider taking the training to become a tax professional as she had noted that I had our taxes practically done by the time we brought our paperwork in for her to do our taxes. I took her up on this and am now employed by H & R Block and ready for the new tax season to start.
2010: Ready for a new year of wonderful happenings!!
