I know I’m late, but Happy New Year! 🥳 January 2020, the 1st month of the year, the 1st month of a new decade yet as 2019 came to a close and 2020 was about to begin, I realized the best & worst decade of my life was coming to an end. I’m not sure how I feel.
After a GREAT 2009 year filled with exciting adventures…from our Valentines weekend at Edson Inn in Stowe VT complete w/horse drawn sleigh ride, snowmobiling, dinners by the fire, Balloon Festival in Readington NJ, Labor Day Weekend at the Fairlawn Inn in Hunter Mountain, NY, long weekend in Newport RI complete w/swimming in the ocean to helicopter tour over the island, dinning Hudson House in Cold Spring NY, attending the Duchess County Fair in Rhinebeck NY, attending Andrea Bocelli concert in NYC, and so much more.
As we looked back at the amazing year we shared together in 2009, we were excited and eager to continuing traveling and enjoy each other into the next decade and beyond! Never could we have imaged that the next decade would end sadly and so too our hopes and dreams of #traveling and enjoying each other.
In the beginning of the last decade I was happier than I had ever been by entire life! In February 2010, my honey and I celebrated our 5th anniversary together!🥂 We began planning for what we thought would be the beginning of years and years of #vacations.
We started the decade (2010) off with another amazing adventurous year…from Valentines Brunch Bear Mt Lodge/Inn, 3 day weekend FL., touring/visiting Olana, the home of Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), one of America’s most important artists, long weekend in Long Beach Island (NJ), shopping Olde Lafayette Village (NJ) & Peddler’s Village (PA), Shad Fest in Lamberville (PA), spectacular week in the coastal town Plymouth, MA, flying high over the Hudson Valley in a 1929 New Standard D-25 biplane at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome (NY), many many enjoyable dinners together, WALKING through the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, visiting DC during the National Cherry Blossom Festival and more….ALL this in 1 year, amazing, I couldn’t have asked for more or been happier!
In the next couple years we continued our traveling adventures with a fabulous 2 weeks in Oahu, HI where we toured the island by helicopter, WALKED hand-in-hand 🧑🤝🧑 along the famous Waikiki Beach at sunset, spent a week in the beautiful St. Thomas USVI where we kissed 💏 high above the Caribiean Sea while parasailing, enjoyed a sunset cruise aboard a 53’ catamaran, Heavenly Days and swam with the turtles! We spent a week in Charleston (SC), Of course we LOVED spending long weekend get-a-ways in the Hamptons (NY), Jim Thorpe (PA), Lake Wallenpaupack (PA) and so much more.
In 2014 we decided that we LOVED spending long weekend get-a-ways withing a few hours of home, we loved living life on the water and we loved the Catskills, so, the most exciting thing we did was purchase a small place of our own (#Our_Place) in Lake Huntington, NY! Together we set out to completely remodel our new manufactured home into our dream get-a-way! This was special because it was our first place we purchased together, it was and still is, Our Place; I was even carried over the threshold!
The Beginning of the End….
Mid way through the decade (2015) was the begging of the end, end of our love of traveling, end of our life as we had come to love it!
After a successful hip replacement in 2013, I now needed the right hip replaced. We had no reason to anticipate any problems or issues since my left hip was a success just 2 years before. Unfortunately, a few months after my right hip surgery I still wasn’t walking properly. After going back to my surgeon, we were told, “it slipped” and I needed to have hip surgery again, revision.
So, being a #little_person, my hips are custom made which can and did take nearly a year to have replacement parts made. Then in 2016, that fateful day in June, when my/our love of us as we knew it, ended. 😢
Gone are the days of traveling – gone are the many events/activities we so enjoyed all because #living_this_paralyzed_life, especially as a little person, is hard. But, together, we persevere, together, we are attempting to learn and love our new life.
As always, I wish you days filled with wonder – take a minute to wonder what it is that made you smile today! Please feel free to “SHARE” this post with your family/friends! And don’t forget to leave your comments below, we love hearing from you! 😊
Life changes in a second. The last few years have been awful for both of our families. Deaths of loved ones, paralysis for you and my son. How do we cope, it’s difficult. Especially when others say well move on, or it can’t be that bad, or it’s been some time now can’t you adjust yet. Well no, you can’t. Until someone walks on your path in your shoes, they don’t know. And no one can really experience what you go through for they are not you. So people, pick up a phone, call, let us know you may just care. Stop by when you can. Share things with us. Yes we’re hurting but knowing someone out there still cares about us helps us move on. Treat us like you use to, before our surgery and accident. We are still here remember us? We’re the same people you use to care about.