Lots of snow, cold, Christmas lights and cards coming in the mail are finally moving me to get my Christmas letter written and my own cards in the mail. I always look forward to hearing from dear friends far and near about your activities and life events over the past year.
I don’t have much to report this year. Basically, its just been a normal year, whatever “normal” might mean.
After thoroughly enjoying Christmas last year, some problems again arose with Bill, and in Jan. I “hit a brick wall.” The stress of the last 2 years dealing with Bill and getting him ensconced in his “new” W. Va. home caught up with me. Within 2 weeks I knew I was in depression and immediately got myself to my psychiatrist and therapist for a regimen of prosac and talk that soon brought me back to normal.
I have not done anything very spectacular this year: no travels, no longer Pres. of Phi Beta, no photography. And after 10 years of teaching with the Univ of Cin. Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR), I got special recognition, a 10 year certificate — and decided that was a nice round number on which to retire from that volunteer job.
Besides, it was conflicting with my paying job as a standardized patient (SP) at the UC Med School. That is not only increasing in number of hours, but their mantra seems to be “Thank you for being flexible.” Scheduled work hours can be very erratic. On May 12, they instituted a new program (SPI) and on May 26, I started a 10 week training program during the summer to become a Standardized Patient Instructor. Fresh. & Soph. Med students take a class which trains them in Techniques of Physical Examination of Patients. SPI’s are replacing practicing doctors (preceptors) in the small group training labs; then just a few teaching doctors monitor about 4 rooms each to help SPI’s answer advanced medical questions,
etc. when necessary. We are both the ‘body’/patient to be examined as well as the Instructor to guide and facilitate their learning proper exam techniques. I also continue to do the medical interview and Alzheimer’s projects which I described in last year’s letter.
This is a really fascinating job and I have learned so much!!! I have also caught 3 health problems to take to my own doctor and nip in the bud. I truly feel lucky and very blessed to be involved in this wonderful program and really love the work. The back and sciatica problems which I had 2 years ago are now healed, but I do have to treat the back with great care. I am happy to report that, after a 2 year hiatus, I am doing some choral singing again. Sang with the October Festival Choir (Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms a Verdi opera chorus, etc on program) and with a production of Messiah on Dec. 5. In Sept., my Sheltie, Brandy, went blind and Cookie (toy poodle) went deaf. I marvel at how well Brandy has learned to cope, but Cookie is sometimes a handful since she can no longer respond to voice commands.
In this blessed season I give thanks for all my dear friends. As that bugaboo “age” creeps up on us, insidiously making it more difficult to do certain physical and mental tasks, so many dear friends have quietly and with good grace stepped in to fill those gaps. Especially Annette,
Leesa, Paul, Glenn, Pat, Liz for starters; and the list goes on with other most deserving but unnamed friends.
Hope all is well with you and yours. A very Merry Christmas and wishing you a truly Happy and Healthy New Year.
December 28, 2005
And SUDDENLY IT WAS CHRISTMAS!!!!!! It seems that time goes by so much faster, and I move much more slowly!! Much less gets done each day than it used to. This Christmas I concentrated on my outside lights, making them simple, but very pretty and especially easy to put up and take down. I ended up doing that at the expense of my usual mantle display and even getting lights on my inside tree. In the next few weeks, I will take my time putting on strands of lights on my little 4 ft. artificial tree – permanently, so it will be all ready for next year’s Xmas.
Christmas eve, I had dinner for Annette Roth and her two children (Caroline 19, and Jack, 21) and Glenn Coven. We have much fun, and then Glenn and I were able this year to go to the 9:00 Xmas Eve service at Hyde Park Meth Church. Since Glenn usually works til 5 on Dec 24, it has been
hard for us to have the dinner and get to the church service. This year, hurrah, he only had to work til 2, and we had a wonderful relaxed evening of dinner, gifts and church. (We did not make it last year because we had 14 inches of snow on Christmas eve, the service was cancelled and we had our Christmas Eve dinner on Sunday eve, Dec. 26!!!!)
After preparing for all that, on Christmas Day I was wiped out; but had dinner at Pam and Ruf Smith’s in the evening. This is my usual Xmas ritual. The last 2 days I had to “do the bills” for Giles and me; so now I can concentrate on the cards and letters. Sorry they are late, but certainly
the thought is there. I just do what I can, when I can, and just do not get stressed out about it.