2007
The year 2007 started with us going to Russell and Mimi Longwear’s house on the afternoon of January the 1st. They had become good friends because we had met them in some of the classes we were taking at the club. The classes were given by the French lady Paulette. We would end up going there on January the first for several more years.
Connie and Chris had lunch at the clubhouse on the 5th of January and Connie saw the dentist on 11th January. I made sure she kept a regular dentist appointment. I kept telling her I didn’t wanna be married to a lady with no teeth.
Connie and I ended up having dinner at the clubhouse on the 11th, and the 25th. I am not sure if we took anybody with us those two nights, but we probably did. We attended a party at Wayne and Mary Lou Youngs on the 20th of the month they were neighbors who lived just down the street and still do. Peaches was still getting her adequin shots for her knee.
This was the year that Connie began playing bunco. Eventually, Connie and I would join a couples bunco group, and we continue to play until she couldn’t play anymore. we always thoroughly enjoyed it.
February begins with a party at our house. since we had moved into the house in 2004, we had several the parties of 12 15 people. Connie enjoyed giving the parties and they were always so much fun. This one was no exception.
Now it was my turn to go to the dentist and Connie turned it around on me as she said if you don’t want a toothless woman, I definitely don’t want a toothless man. So, we were very diligent about going to the dentist and we enjoyed the dentist that we had been seeing since 1985.
Connie was also enjoying spending time with her new friend Chris as they went shopping twice this month on the 12th, and the 19th, I’m not sure it was a good deal for me, but she enjoyed it.
There was a lady’s coffee group starting up. Connie attended the first one in our neighborhood, Sue Ellen was the first to host it. That coffee group would continue once a month for many years and Connie always enjoyed attending. Also, Connie played bunco once again this month. Connie started playing regularly every month with a bunch of ladies in the neighborhood.
I am not sure what was going on with Connie as she started on an antibiotic at the end of February,
March started with us having dinner with Doug and Flo at the clubhouse on the 1st. On the 7th for some reason Connie started a cranberry routine I don’t remember much about it, but she does have it on the calendar. On the 8th we went back to the clubhouse for dinner with three other couples.
The neighborhood coffee get-together this month was at Mary Lou’s on the 13th, and she played bunco on the 14th. She had breakfast with Chris on the 15th, and then we celebrated Paulette’s birthday on the 21st. We attended a play presented by residents of Heritage Ranch on the 22nd, at the clubhouse and we also had dinner there before the play began.
April seemed to be a slow month Connie had bunco on the 11th and we attended a party for Paulette on the 14th. Jay came out on the 18th, to do some work around the house. We ended the month by going to the clubhouse on the 25th, for dinner.
Jay came back on May the 1st, to finish the work he had started. only the 5th. We attended a Kentucky Derby party at Gene and Jackie’s. they were both from Kentucky and through a party, on the day of the Derby every year. It was always a lot of fun to see people dressed up and place bets on the horses. it is something we enjoyed every year. The monthly coffee and bunco in May were on the 8th, and 9th, of the month. Connie saw Dr. Kellum on the 22nd, but I’m not sure what it was for.
During the month of June, we were socially busy. Connie had coffee on the 12th, and bunco on the 13th. On the 21st, we had dinner with Gary and Carol and on the 22nd, we had dinner with Fred and Donna.
But this month was memorable for the sad event that occurred. At 8:00 AM mass, every Sunday Ruben Alice and their 21-year-old daughter (Cindy) sat in front of us. on the 14th of June Cindy was involved in a motorcycle accident and passed away early on the 15th. It was so sad as we looked forward to seeing them every Sunday. It was also devastating to them, as Ruben could not move out of the house because of the memories and Alice could not stay there because of the memories they both struggled as parents with the loss of their youngest child. This was the first time Connie and I thought about death seriously. as we were leaving the funeral Connie and talked to each other before I headed back to work. I remember us saying we’re going to come home this evening have dinner enjoy some TV with those two Rubin and Alice are going to come home devastated and life is never going to be the same for them, their heartbreak will go on forever. It left an impression on us.
Also, on Sunday the 17th, Connie and I were involved in a car accident. we were headed home when an elderly man in his 80s pulled out of a Walmart he crossed three lanes and then hit the passenger side of the car. He hit the back door rather than where Connie was sitting. We were both shaken up but did not go to the hospital, but my shoulder hurt me for a few days after that. They did give the elderly gentleman a ticket. I felt sorry for him because he got nervous as everybody was honking at him in the parking lot to move on out and that’s what he did.
In July, a colonoscopy was done on Monday the 9th, I just did not remember if it was me or Connie. Connie had her monthly coffee get-together on the 10th, she played bunco. on the 11th. I think the neighborhood coffee get-together was on the second Tuesday and bunco was on the second Wednesday of each month. We did have dinner at the clubhouse that month.
Carol and Gary came over for dinner on the 19th, and on the21st, we had Lizzie, Dave, Matt, and Lolli over. Matt and Lolli, Lolli is Lizzie’s is the younger sister and Matt is her brother in law testing from New Mexico. we took the golf carts out and drove around the golf course to show them what it was like.
August was a quiet month, Connie had coffee at Bonnie’s house and bunco at Jackie’s house this month the only other thing was Connie had a mammogram later in the month.
September w3as a quiet month. The main thing that happened this month was that Connie had to remove all the bunnies she had in our yard. The HOA only allowed 4 items per yard and as you can see. we had many more. We had them in the yard for almost 3 years until we had to remove most of them. Connie had her bunco and coffee, as usual, this month, and Lizzie came over on the 12 to bring me a birthday present.
Connie started the month of October by having breakfast with Barbara on the second and then we had Gary and Carol out for dinner on the 6th. Connie had her neighborhood coffee on the 9th, and then she had bunco on the 10th. We had dinner with Charles and Sue Ellen on the 18th and finished out the month by having lunch at the clubhouse on the 27th.
We started the month of November by attending a dinner party at Gary and Carol on the 3rd. Connie had her neighborhood coffee on the 6th, and bunco on the 11th. We attended a party on the 17th and had lunch at the clubhouse on the 29th.
The first week of December started with a lot of get-togethers. Connie and I had dinner with Chris and Jerry on the 4th, and with Dave and Lizzie on the 7th, We attended a Christmas party on the 8th. The neighborhood coffee was on the 11th, and bunco was on the 12th. We got together with Lizzie and Dave on the 16th, at her house for a Christmas get-together before they took off to Albuquerque. We also had a Christmas bunco get-together on the 18th.
We did not go to see Connie’s mother this year. she had fallen in the bathtub and was there for several hours before someone found her. She was put in a hospital-like place and was considering moving to assisted living. but once Connie’s brother and sister-in-law saw the conditions there, they took her to live with them. So, we did not make the trip this year but would early in 2008.
2008
The year 2008 started just like 2007 with us going to Russell and Mimi Longwear’s house on the afternoon of January the 1st. This had become a tradition and would continue for a few more years. One of the main things, I noticed this year was our charity donations were up quite a bit. It could have been because HP bought our company and paid us for our stock so that was a big windfall. In fact our charity donations had doubled in the last 4 years.
We started using Netflix this month and I still use it to this day. At first, we would get DVD in the mail and Connie had a long list of things she wanted to see. I am grateful that we both like a lot of the same things, so her movie selection were pretty good except for one thing. She liked horror movies, and I did not. Thank goodness she did not like those that were violent like Halloween, Freddy Kruger, etc, but she enjoyed scary movies.
I believe this January was the year Connie started doing Meals On Wheels with her good friend Lizzie. Lizzie and another good friend of our Terri had been doing MOW but Terri had started back to teaching school so Connie took her place. They would do that on the first Tuesday of the month until the end of 2015. I would fil in most of 2015 because Connie was sick. They always went to lunch afterward and after I retired, I would join them, most of the time. They would just call me when they were close to finishing their route to let me know where they were going.
She had the neighborhood coffee on the 8th and bunco on the 9th. It seemed the coffee was always on the 2nd Tuesday and Bunco was on the second Wednesday. Connie hosted the coffee and ladies bunco once a year and we hosted couples bunco twice a year.
Connie took Peaches to Dog Day Care at Doggy Zen Den on the 11th, 23rd, and 30th. As we were planning on going to see Connie’s mother in April. Connie wanted to try this new place and make sure Peaches was comfortable with being there. Connie treated Peaches very well better than some people treat people. Peaches started on her antibiotics on the 20th.
We Had lunch with Charlotte and Dennis on the 24th. They lived just around the corner from us. Charlotte was from Tennessee so we got along great. Dennis had been laid off from his previous job but eventually took a project manager’s job with Homeland Security. He traveled for about a year for that job.
On the 29th, Connie started Paulette class at the clubhouse, it was about France. She also had lunch with Barbara that day.
February started with Peaches going to Doggie Daycare. In fact we took her twice that month. She seem to be enjoying it and Connie liked the people that ran it. Connie was only able to make Pilates twice this month on the 7th, and the 24th.
We had lunch with Tom and Paulette on the 8th, followed by couples bunco on the 8th. Connie had her neighborhood coffee on the 12th and her bunco on the 13th. She then had lunch with Barbara on the 27th.
During March Connie, continued her pilates and went every Tuesday and Thursday during the month. We had couples bunco on the 9th, Connie had her neighborhood coffee on the 11th, and bunco on the 12th. On the 14th, we attended a party at Russ and Mimi.
Peaches continue to go to Doggy Daycare as Connie took her three-time this month. There was a birthday party for Paulette on the 21st and I notice we had major car repairs that day as I wrote a check for $1066 for car repairs . I also bought plane tickets to Conniecuoit to see her mother; we were going the first part of April. Jay also did some work around the house as we paid him $555 that month.
April was a month of unexpected changes. I had been working at home for two or three days a week for the last few months in anticipation of retiring soon. On Friday, April the 4th, Connie and I went to McDonald’s for a quick little bite to eat in the morning. As we were coming home I saw a call come in from work. When I got home I called into the office and they told me to come in and to bring my laptop. I knew what was going to happen but I had not seen it coming. They were going to do layoffs and I would be one of them. I told Connie that I was probably going to be laid off and she was OK with it as she would want me to retire anyway. When I got to the office I found out I was correct as they had already laid off three other people from our group of about 15 so I would be the 4th. I was fine with it and I stayed around the rest of the day packing up my desk. I also went to lunch with everybody and took the rest day just cleaning things out making sure I had everything they need before I left. I remember some of the people saying how can you go to lunch and not be mad about all this I said these layoffs have been happening since at least 1995. I understood why they laid me off as I was elderly and was getting ready to retire so it was not a big deal. the only problem was I do not see it coming.
One of the bad parts of the way layoff was that he had scheduled a week off for the following week as we were going to leave for a visit to Connie’s mother on the 7th, to visit her now that she had moved in with her son Connie’s brother. so I lost that week of paid vacation.
On Monday we left for the airport and flew into Hartford CT as her mother was in Danbury CT. We normally flew into LaGuardia and this was a much easier trip from the Hartford airport to her brothers than flying into LaGuardia. We were disappointed in some of the arrangements for Connie’s mother but her brother and sister-in-law were doing the best they could to take care of her. They had a two-story house and all the bedrooms were on the second floor. She fell once after she got there so she would not go downstairs. The only way that she would go was if somebody would carry her which did not happen too often. but other than that they were taking good care of her giving her good hot meals spending time with her. We talked about was she better off at a place where there were adults around her age, but we knew she was safe here and that accounted for a lot.
I remember us getting there late on Monday afternoon and by the time we got to the hotel, it was dark. We went to eat at Friendly’s a popular place in the northeast and then went to Walmart where I bought an electric razor.
For the next three days, we went to visit her mother and had pizza ordered in so she could enjoy it too. It was a fun visit. Her mother used to write a lot but had quit writing over the last few months so we encouraged her to write more.
We had stayed at the Hampton Inns while in CT and I remember renting the car from National as I had a special deal with them from when I use to travel a lot.
After coming back from the visit to Connie’s mother, I filed for unemployment. I told Connie that if I could get a job as a contractor for a few more months that would be great. In fact, I worked another 5 months as a contractor and made almost as much as I did when I worked for a company for a year, but more about that in May. To get unemployment, I had t keep records to show I was actively looking for employment.
Early in the month, Connie had gone into Krogers, while I waited in the car. I saw one of our priests so I got out of the car to talk t him. Another parishioner came up to talk to us her name was Terri. Connie and I both knew her very well and liked her a lot. All of a sudden Connie came out very upset as when she went to pay for the items she had lost a $20 bill I had given her. I gave he my credit card to pay as she did not have her purse with her. Connie was upset about losing the money but I will always remember what Terri said, she said “Let’s hope that someone who really needed it found it.
Except for the Tuesday that we were gone Connie made all of her PIlates this month and her bunco and we made couples bunco.
I took over $4000 out of our brokerage account on the 25th and I am not sure why. Was it because I was not working and we needed the money. I just do not remember.
Connie and I kicked off May by attending the Kentucky Derby party at Gene and Jackie’s. We had dinner with Mimi and Riss at Napollu on the 8th. Connie made all her pilates this month along with her neighborhood coffee and bunco. I also got my unemployment which was placed on a debit card. I got $1690 for about 7 weeks.
During April and May, I was applying for jobs and Connie was hoping I would not find one as she was ready for me to retire. One came available that I was extremely qualified for at JC Penny’s Insurance. At first, the company that was looking for people told me that they were not going to interview me. I knew several people there and worked with a lot of them in the past. I called one of them up and asked her if she knew why I was not granted an interview. She said she would find out. The very next day I got a call from the company stating that they would like to interview me after all. I ended up doing a 6-month contract job with them. The pay was exceptionally good.
Peaches went to the vets several times during June and was on antibiotics most of the month. Connie only made it to Pilates three times this month but she made it to her monthly coffee and bunco. We also made the couples bunco this month. Connie had jury duty on the 11th but was not selected. It seemed she got called to jury duty 3 times more than I did. I remember her being called almost every three years.
One of the ladies at Doggie Ze Den where Peaches stayed, when we went to her mother used to be an airline stewardess. Connie and she hit it off so she took her out to lunch for taking such good care of Peaches. We had lunch with Gary and Carol on the 14th. Connie had lunch with Carolyn on the 17th, and with Lizzie on the 25th. We had two parties to attend the last two Saturdays of June, one was at friends from church Mike and Cheryl, and the other one was an 80th birthday party for one of our neighbors Joan and it was held at the Texas Land and Cattle restaurant.
This month we also solve a major problem that we had been having with our spa ever since we purchased it in April of 2004. If we got major rain, the spa would not work for a few days. We finally had an electrician come out and look at it and he found the problem. It was that the electrician that worked on the installation did not seal the breaker box, so when a big rain it would get in the breaker box and I would n0t work until it dried out. Just sealed the breaker box so no water could get in.
In July, Connie did not miss any of her Tuesday and Thursday Pilates classes. We also attended a couples bunch on the 13th. Peaches finally got off her antibiotic on the 16th. Connie had lunch with Lizzie on the 17th. We had dinner with Mardy and Lee on the 18th. Paulette who taught the french classes and was from France had a few of us over for a traditional French dinner on the 22nd. I do not remember much about it but there were several courses and a lot of different kinds of cheese and wines. Jay came on yr 28th and we spent $300 getting repairs done around the house. Connie’s nephew Larry ad his wife and child drove from Tennessee to Connecticut to see Connie’s mother his grandmother.
But the main event that happened in July was that I started drawing my pension from EDS so I could get insurance coverage that they offer to retirees. It was very expensive as I was paying almost $1400 for Connie and i.
Not sure why Connie missed the first week of pilates in August but she made all the rest for the month. Connie had lunch with Lizzie on the 5th, and Connie and I attended the Heritage Ranch Travel club on the 7th. E ended up only taking one trip with them but they offered some great trips over the years. We had dinner with Bob and Gayle on the 13th at El-Fenix. What I remember about that was that Bob had a new Cadillac and it was the first time I saw someone with a fob so as he approached the car the door would unlock and then no key just a push button to start it.
But the big news for August is that HP bought EDS and all of our stock, so while I ended up with a nice amount of money the tax bill for that year was pretty high. It was about a third of the money I would have gotten if I had listened to Connie and sold it in the year 2000. But it was still a good amount, that was going to greatly help in retirement.
September was a quiet month yes we had dinner with Gary and Carol on the 17th, and 24th and Bob and Gale only 25th. I’m not sure why Connie only made it to pilates the first two weeks of the month. Connie did have lunch with the pilate ladies during this month.
Connie made pilates every Tuesday and Thursday in October and had lunch with the pilate ladies on the 8th. We had couples bunco on the 12th. And Connie had coffee with Lizzie on the 16th. Connie missed her Prilosec on the 20th. Connie and I both had dental appointments on the 27th, with one of us having a 9 AM appointment and the other one at 2 pm. We finished the month by having dinner with Mimi, Russ, Paulette, and Tom.
On the 1st of November, we attended a mystery dinner theater. There was a coup[le at our church that arrange events every month for the retired people. It was going to a museum. the concert, botinacial gardens, just so many different events. Most of them were during the day but this one was at night. It was in the next town over “Frisco” at a place called “The Abbey”. The Abbey was originally a church that was built in 1902. Some of us from work would go there for lunch. It was a little expensive but a nice change of pace. On Saturday night it was at a dinner theater. We had a nice dinner and participated in solving a mystery. We went with our good friends Brett and Valerie. On the group outing, someone always drove the church bus and we all contribute $5 a piece to pay the driver. The funny [art of this was people keep commenting on a pink shirt I had on. I am color blind and did not know it was pink as I hated wearing pink, I guess it was a macho thing. Connie would do that to me every now and then, The people and Connie got a good laugh about it. I said Connie why did you do this, and she would just giggle and so would everyone else. These people; would tease me for years and when they would see me, they would say I love the pink shirt you have on even those It made have been blue. So since I was color blind they had some fun with it.
Connie made all of her pilate classes during November and had lunch with the ladies from pilates on the 4th. Connie took Peaches for a dog massage during this month, But the big event was that my contracting job was over on the 26th, of the month and I was officially retired. The good thing was that I had worked a lot of overtime the last two weeks and had a tremendous check coming to me. We celebrated by going to one of our favorite Mexican food places that evening and the next day we really enjoyed Thanksgiving with Lizzie, Dave and their family.
During December Connie attended all of the pilate classes. On the 2nd of December we started meeting regularly with our financial planner, In hindsight, I guess we always had regular meetings since the early 90s, but they now took on special significance and I paid a lot more attention to them now that I was retired. Connie attended the church Christmas party on the 8th. We had the normal activities for the month, bunco, Paulette classes, etc. There was a flea-type market in McKinney the town just north of us. Connie and Lizzie went there on the 12th. It was called Trading Days and if I remember correctly it was held once a month. I remember taking Connie to Dr. Jaffee office on the 22nd. Dr. Jaffe was her OBY/GN. I think I went with her to almost all of her medical appointments after I retired.
2009
One of the things, I forgot to mention in 2008 the day after Christmas Connie and I went to Walmart to see if we could find any special deals. She did. I remember because we got there around 8 in the morning. This particular Walmart had a McDonald’s inside it so I had breakfast and must have sat there for an hour and a half while Connie looked for all the deals.
I started drawing money from my investment to go along with my pension as it was needed since I would not be able to draw Social Security for about 3 years. I knew our health insurance was going to be expensive, but I did not realize how expensive. It was going to cost us over $18.000 a year just for health insurance until I qualified for Medicare which also was 3 years away.
Again, we started the New Year off by going to Russell and Mimi Longwear’s house on the afternoon of January the 1st. For some reason, Connie only made it to pilates on the 6th and 8th of the month. Connie was doing her Meals on Wheels with Lizzie on the first Tuesday of the month and I was joining them for lunch afterward. Pasta night at the club was on the 7th and it was our favorite theme night so we had dinner at the club that night. We took Peaches in for her exam and blood work on the 12th and got a glowing report that she was in great health. Since we had to spend so much money at the club we also attended Mexican night on the 14th, and steak night on the 12th.
I do remember that at a couples’ bunco I and another gentleman got into an argument but I can not remember what it was about. Connie was so upset with me because she did not like confrontation. In a couple of days, it had blown over, as we met and talked about it.
I also remember on a Tuesday or Wednesday taking Peaches for a walk as it was a nice day and it was in the ’60s. I remember it because Connie had gone shopping with Lizzie and I was still trying to adjust to retirement and being home most of the day.
Connie was unhappy with the way the grout was looking in the house so on the 19th, we had a company out called the grout doctor to clean it and redo some of it.
Peaches did not seem to be feeling good during the third week of January. We notice she was very listless on Wednesday the 21st and even more so on Thursday the 22nd. We took her for a ride and then to the dog park but she just was not herself. Connie and I discussed taking her to the 24-hour animal hospital but decided to wait until the next day and take her to the vet.
Connie woke me up about 5:30 am on the 23rd and told me Peaches had tried to go out but she had passed away on the way to the door. We were in shock, we knew she was not feeling well but after getting such a glowing report from the vet earlier in the month we were not prepared for it. We took her body to the vet for cremation as soon as he open that Friday morning the 23rd. I then had to take Connie for a bone density scan at 9.
When we got home that morning we were so devasted and could not quit crying. For Valentine’s day, I had ordered a crystal necklace with a sheltie in it. It had arrived a few days before and I had hidden it. I decided to give it to her that afternoon. She wore it so often, in fact, on most days she had it on. I cannot find it now and I would give anything to find it.
.We made it through the rest of the month but I am not sure how. We attended a homestyle night at the club on the 28th. For January we attend every one of their specialty night.
February was nothing special as Connie made it to all her pilates classes that month. We had couples bunco on the 8th and she had her bunco on the 11th. It just now dawned on me why the 2nd Tuesday neighborhood coffee disappear from the calendar. It was because she was now doing pilates during that time. March was about the same as February except Connie missed her pilates on the 5th, and we had dinner with Gene and Jackie on the 4th. Connie did have her mammogram on March 18th. It was during March that I switched our mobile phone plans from Sprint to AT&T. We had been with Sprint ever since we had our first mobile phones mainly because we got a good discount from them. Since HP had bought the company that I had worked for and now as a retiree of HP were we got a discount at AT&T. The discount was not the main reason I switched but it was because we got better service in the area where I was living. The service with Sprint could be spotty but it was excellent with AT&T. Jay came at the end of the month to do some repairs.
In April Connie made all of her pilate classes. I took $20,000 from our investments as I had to pay a big tax bill because HP bought all of EDS stock in 2008 when they bought the company. I really hated having to pay the government all that money but I did owe it and it is not like I did not make a lot on the amount HP paid us for our stock. I had owned most of the stock since the 80s and early 90s.
Connie had her regular bunco on the 8th and we had couples bunco on the 19th. I bought us airline tickets to go visit her mother in May. Connie had lunch with Mimi on the 15th and with Carol on the 22nd.
Connie made all of her pilates in May. We also visited her mother around mid-May. I am not sure if this was the year or it might have been 2010 when I messed up or flights to Connecticut. We arrive at the airport at around 6 AM for our flight. It was not posted on the board anywhere so at about 7, I went to the counter to check on it and my tickets were for an 8 PM flight, not an 8 AM flight. Lucky for us there was another flight leaving a little after 9 and we went stand-by on it and were able to get on. Connie made her bunco on the 13th but for some reason, the couple bunco was on the 3rd which was unusual since it was normally the 2nd Sunday of the month. Connie had a dental appointment on the 27th and I had one on the 28th.
The biggest event that month was a graduation party for Dave and Lizzie’s oldest child Matthew, as he graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas, after just 3 years. There was a graduation party on the 16th, and Connie and I enjoyed it so much. What an accomplishment. Matthew went on to earn a PhD. and an MD. He specialized in Neurology.
The first day of June was busy as we went to see Dr. Flieschmann my RA doctor and then we visited with Todd our financial advisor. Most of the normal things happen during the month with Connie attending all her pilate classes, along with her bunco and our couples bunco.
The county had implemented a new system for jury duty. You could call on Friday to see if you had to show up on Monday. On the 12th Connie called and got the bad news that she had to attend the jury pool for Monday the 15th. I cannot believe how many times she had jury duty but she did not get selected this time. We had dinner with Mardy and Lee on the 17th, Tom and Paulette on the 19th, and with Mike and Brenda on the 30th.
July was another typical month with Connie attending all her pilate classes and her bunco. We also made couples bunco. Connie had lunch with Lizzie on the 9th and filled in for Lizzie at her adoration time on the 16th. I do not know if this is the first time Connie filled in for Lizzie or not but over the rest of her life she would fill in for Lizzie if needed. I went with her most of the time.
We had some pictures made for a book of the resident of Heritage Ranch back in May or June. I am not sure when but we ordered a couple of pictures from the photographer this month. This is not a good replica of what the picure looks like but I did not want to take if off the wall and remove it from the frame. But I made do that at a latter time. The better one is with Connie sitting down and me standing up but there was too much glare on that picture.
In August I wrote a check to H&R Block for $149 to take their tax course. I am not sure if the course started in August or September but it ran until November. It was a 10-week course if I remember correctly. It was from 9-12 on Mondays and Thursdays. The normal routines of Connie’s pilates, bunco, and our couples bunco were still going on. Connie was really dedicated to doing her pilates as she hardly ever missed and this was another month that she did not miss one of her classes.
There must have been some problem when HP bought EDS and paid us cash for all of our stock as I received a payment labeled EDS stock Refund for about $750. We attended something at the church on the 6th. Dinner with Bob and Gayle on the 26th and then we had tickets for a play and dinner on the 27th at the club.
In September we started a program called “Lightweight” at the church. It was a program to help in losing weight both Connie and I lost weight. I do not remember how long the program went on but I do know we were still attending the Thursday night meeting in early 2010.
The other big event this month besides the normal pilates, bunco, etc. was Connie through a surprise birthday party for Valerie. Valerie and Brett had been friends of ours for 5 or 6 years, as we met with them at McDonald’s almost every Sunday after mass. What I remember most about this was telling Connie we should wait till next year or the year after when she turned 55. Connie was incessant on doing this year. I am so glad Connie did not listen to me because Valerie became sick in Sept pf 2010 and passed away after a couple of months in the hospital. I thank God many times that she did not listen to me.
She had a mammogram on the 16th and I am not sure why as she had just had one in March.
October was a pretty normal month, the only thing different was that we had dinner with Pauleyye and Tom on the 20th.
November was another routine month for us with Connie making all of her pilates classes and attending bunco and couples bunco. The first annual trivia game was held at the church on November 14th. Our good friend Brenda got it organized and it has continued every year since. It was moved from November to January after a year or so and the only other year it was not held was the year of the pandemic. Connie and I made all of them while she was still here. Each table had 10 players and we always played with the same 4 couples every year. One of the fun things was that there was a prize given to the table with the best theme. The one I like the most was the table that came dressed like Downton Abbey. But there were always some clever themes that tables took. I miss those days.
We had dinner with Tom, Paulette, Riss, and Mimi on the 17th at Cheddars. I remember that night so well as Tom and Paulette were about15 years older than Connie and me. I sat next to Tom who kept whispering inappropriate remarks about the waitress to me. I just ignore them. It was not long after that that we found out Tom had Alzheimer’s.
When I think of December 2009, the first thing that comes to my mind is Christmas. I think that is the worst Christmas Connie ever had. I have never seen her so down but more about that later.
This month was filled with a lot of parties. Connie attended the breakfast club on the 2nd as it had been moved from Tuesday to Wednesday that month so it did not interfere with her pilates which she made all of those classes this month. We also attended a party at Mimi and Russ that night. There was a party at Jeannie’s on the 3ed and Sue Ellens on the 5th. Jackie had a party on the 15th, Charlotte had a party on the 19th, and Mary Lou and Wayne on the 26th. So it was a month of parties. Connie attended her bunco on the 9th and we did the couples bunco on the 13th.
For the last few years, we went out with Dave and Lizzie a few days before they left for Christmas in Albuquerque. I think this year we went to Red Robin for burgers. The previous year I think we went to Texas Land and Cattle and then one year we went to Salt Grass Steak House. We would exchange presents and just always had a good time with them. This year it was on the 21st.
One of us had a colonoscopy on the 23rd, and I am not sure if it was me or Connie.
What was this Christmas so bad for Connie. We had always given her nephew and niece Christmas gifts but this year we got nothing in return. This really upset Connie as she always tried to stay close to them remembering their birthdays, etc. We even gave both of them a car when they were old enough to drive. But the past year and a half had been hard on the family. Connie’s mother was now living with her brother. Connie’s brother did not want to put her in a nursing home but have her live with them. Connie’s sister thought she should be in a nursing home around people her age. It was very hard for the family. I know that played a part in the way things were going.
It really upset her, not so much about not getting a gift but losing touch with them. I have never seen her so down.
We went to Gary and Carol’s for Christmas dinner and it was ok. We left early and Connie and I just took a ride and talked because that was what she needed but it would be something she would never get over. Losing touch with them was hard on her. I thought many a time about calling her nephew even into the next year and asking him to call her but I knew that was not what she wanted. She wanted him to call her because he wanted to not because I asked him to.
Connie would look every day at the mail and the porch for a package, as I could tell it really hurt her. It is something she never got over.