Oh my goodness, we've lost yet another year!! This time, instead of international moving and working keeping me from updating here, it was a year rife with lock down, stress, and death. We haven't lost anyone close to covid, but loss is loss. This past year saw the loss of my job, Toby being attacked by an off-leash dog, helping Jonathan be creative with how to work from home as a musician, and having the huge honor and responsibility of caring for a loved one dying at home. All I can say is that hospice is an incredible resource, and those workers are saints!
My last post, which was early April of last year, we still were ignorant to the severity of what was happening around the globe. We knew it was getting bad, that it was going to get worse, but no one could have fathomed at the start of the year how everything played out. We stayed locked in, only leaving to go to the grocery store, from the end of March through summer. In late May, we had our first death. Our little rat, Joseph passed away from a horrible flesh-eating disease. Despite 2 surgeries, infection consumed his body. A couple of months before this happened, we had a diagnosis on our dog, Trauma. I mentioned in a previous post that he was having issues with his leg, and that the vet feared cancer. It turned out to be a very bad, aggressive cancer. He passed away a week after Joseph, on June 6th. We were utterly crushed. We buried him in Kentucky, which was also our first time venturing outside of our city in 3 months.
July would prove no better. A week after returning back from Kentucky after burying Trauma, Connie, my mother-in-law who had been living with us, broke her back. She didn't fall or have an accident, her cancer had just eaten her spine and vertebrae started collapsing. After becoming bedridden from that, her health spiraled downward quickly, and she passed from cancer on July 25th. So, yet again, we headed back to Kentucky for the funeral.
Life was a whirlwind upon getting back to Virginia Beach. Exactly one month after Connie, on August 25th, our other rat, Jerald dropped dead. I think he must have had a heart attack. He was fine one minute, and the next he took a few frantic steps and collapsed. At this point we were terrified of what September could hold. This streak of death was getting too much. Luckily, September spared us, and we could start nursing our wounds and grieving. The last few months have been ok. Good times, and bad. A close friend of the family passed (non covid) after the new year, and some other family members are having serious health issues. But life goes on, and you just have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best!
Our dog, Toby has healed from his attack, and is back to his old self. We have been keeping his pancreatitis in check with a special diet from his vet. We also recently found out he has high cholesterol, so he has to have fish oil every day as well. Being 12 is rough!
If you've read this far, or if you've made it this far in a pandemic without dying, good job! Enjoy this picture of Toby snuggled in his hoodie!
Not sure how popular this is in other places, but I'd never heard of Top Golf, or even the concept of this type of business, until we came to VA. I'm not a fan of golf, but this is fun! It's set up like a bowling alley, but for golf. The building is multiple stories, with a side missing. You can pay for a bay which comes with clubs and balls. It's a driving range, with the open side of the building overlooking a green range. There is also a table and chairs in the bay, and you can order food and drink, just like at a bowling alley. While you visit with your friends, you can drive golf balls out into the abyss. I enjoyed it, although I'm HORRIBLE at hitting the ball. Jonathan is great at it. I can't wait to be able to get back and play again! 
