As I’ve done in the past, I thought I’d take today to write a post reflecting on the past year. I haven’t had a lot of motivation to write blog posts over the past few years, but I think things are shifting in my life so I think I might write more this year. We shall see! Anyway, here is a breakdown by month of what happened in my life.

January

It was a slow start to the year as I settled in at my job with ODOT. I continue to learn something new and expand my experience there. I did have a little fun taking my nephew to Brickfest at the Columbus Convention Center. It was OK, but I felt like it was a lot of people and waiting in line for things that were not that fun or very little kid focused. My nephew mostly wanted to take pictures of everything with his digital camera. He was so cute looking seriously at each build.

February

It was a low key month with Casey and I going to the Denison Bluegrass Fest. The music was pretty good, but our stamina for being in public was still pretty low. I did get to catch up with a number of friends from my previous job which was a lot of fun.

March

I found out about something called a Lego User Group that meets regularly in Columbus. I went to my first meeting and thought it seemed like a great thing for me to get involved in. They do large Lego builds that are not from sets… totally unique builds created by members. I was excited to expand my Lego knowledge and make some new friends.

April

This was a rough month for me emotionally. I had gone to visit my mom and had a great time with her, but then we learned that my Uncle Bruce McDougal was getting Hospice care. He’d been battling cancer for many years and beat the odds by making it so long. Sadly, the fight ended and we were soon planning how to get to South Bend, Indiana to show our respect at his funeral. Uncle Bruce was always such a calm and kind presence in my life that it’s so strange to think of him gone. My mom and stepdad made plans to meet at a midpoint so that we could all drive together. My sister was going to drive separately.

The day of the drive I was cruising along when I got a call from mom that plans needed to change. Apparently, my step-grandpa had fallen and was being taken to the hospital. It was unknown whether he’d broken anything, but they needed to check him out since he’d been on the floor for a few hours till the home helper came in the morning. We quickly adjusted our plans and my sister drove to the hospital to be with him. My stepdad needed to go to the hospital as well, but mom and I would meet part way and exchange vehicles so we could take mom’s car up to South Bend. It was quite the scramble but it worked out. I had a good trip with my mom and we got to see many of our cousins. I was glad to be able to see my dad and my brother and his wife while I was there too. I planned for a longer trip later in the year to be able to just hang out more.

We returned to Ohio and I made it home late and so glad to sleep in my own bed surrounded by my pups. The next morning I was told that Grandpa’s kidneys were failing and he was on dialysis. Things were not looking good and that I should try to come see him. So I drove back to Dayton to see him. I spent some time with him and when Grandma came it was good to see them together and her holding his hand. A few days later, Grandpa passed on.

May

Since Grandpa was a retired Air Force Colonel he was going to be buried at the Dayton Military Cemetery which required a few more hoops and only certain days available. It wasn’t until the 19th that we were able to have the service and burial. Everything was being held in the Dayton area so I stayed with my mom. We set up the memorial and visitation with tons of photos and memorabilia. He was a pilot during the Vietnam War and then eventually came to Dayton to be one of the longest running directors of the Air Force Museum. It was quite the turnout for the visitation and I sat with Grandma as many people came up to offer her condolences. She has dementia so she really didn’t know who many people were anymore. She faked it pretty well though! I’ll probably write a separate blog post about my Grandpa where I can delve into more about his history and my memories. Otherwise this post would be SUPER long.

Later that month I went to my first Ohio Lego User Group (LUG) build at the downtown library of the Columbus Public Library. It was amazing how it all came together. I helped “build” some water for one of the sections of the display.

June

This was a pretty great month as I went to a Richard Marx concert with my mom (he’s still got it!). I got to see my nephew play baseball and was impressed at how the other kids on this team looked to him and often threw the ball to him. I had dinner with several friends this month. It was good to reconnect. We also got a new roof for our garage which was a few years overdue.

July

For my birthday gift (Dec. 2022) mom had gotten us tickets to see the opera “Madame Butterfly” and the date finally arrived. We got all dolled up and enjoyed seeing all the others at the theater in their best garb. The opera itself was very nicely done and it was a great first experience. I’d read some about the story of the opera so I didn’t have to watch the translations very much. This month also included a bit of a celebration of my one year at ODOT. Shortly after that I heard that Grandma was not doing well and it might be good to go see her. So I did. I took Neville with me, but she was pretty depressed and didn’t really want to interact much. I left feeling that she probably would not make it much longer without Grandpa to keep her getting out of bed and eating. L

August

It was a really good August. I drove up to South Bend to see my Dad and other relatives. I stayed with my cousin and we had a lovely time together. She spoiled me with breakfast every day and just was such a sweetheart. Dad and I had an adventure traveling to Chicago via train to go to the Science & Industry Museum… and it was a LONG day. The museum had several great exhibits about climate change and the impacts we have had on everything. We had fun though and my feet and back were paying for it the next day! Once back home I was happy to see the dogs and Casey. After some discussion, we started looking for a house. We’re pretty picky so it may be a while before we find what we need. Cross your fingers!

September

I had a pretty good September. I took Neville to the Ohio Corgi Picnic and he was much friendlier than he was last year. I was pretty pleased with him. He showed off his jumping abilities at the dog park and others asked me how I trained him to do that… I laughed and told them that he just does it when he’s scared or excited. He literally runs up me and into my arms. Later that month I got my Covid booster and celebrated by getting together with a lot of different friends.

October

I displayed my first Lego build at the Honda Open House for family of workers. It was my own creation (MOC) based on the Muppet Show theater. I was pretty thrilled with how it turned out and enjoyed interacting with the attendees. I even got a tour of the facility. I love factory tours!

November

This was a big Lego month for me. I got to display two things that I had created at the Columbus Museum of Art exhibit that the Ohio LUG was putting together. I had been working on my build for about two months and was thrilled to get to display in a real museum! I had created a model of the Franklin Park Conservatory building and also brought my Muppet Theater. There were amazing displays that others had built, but I felt that I did pretty good considering what a challenging building it was.

Another milestone happened in November… my stepdad hit the age of retirement from his commercial pilot career. I’m curious to see what hobbies he chooses to spend more time on. Shortly after this big day, it was decided that Grandma needed to be moved into a facility that could better care for her. My aunt helped move her into a memory care center in St. Louis. I managed to get a visit with Grandma before the move and had a really good visit this time. It was very therapeutic for me.

December

Which brings us to December! I always enjoy this month because it’s full of family and friends and good food. We celebrated Hanukkah, my 49th birthday, and Christmas. Lots of presents and I had so much fun shopping for my family. Needless to say, there were lots of Lego gifts involved. I spent a few days at my mom’s house and had time with my nephew where we built a Lego Space Roller Coaster set. It was fun!

And so I wrap up 2023 with a lot of memories. I’m excited to see what 2024 brings!