Merry Christmas

Reading the first line of my last blog entry could, with minor editing and major change of sentiment, be the same for this blog post. It requires changing just one word to perfectly express the chaos that enveloped Sarah and I after our trip to Kentucky to settle the Mary Joan into her place of short hibernation. "Sometimes circumstances, events and desires perfectly align in time and place to " impede " our travels."

This is what happened to the plans we thought we had crafted so neatly. In late October we traveled with the Mary Joan to Louisville where we knew we could leave her safe from the snow and salt until our return after Thanksgiving to start the retreat from wintry New England weather. It all seemed perfect. We would travel again to Louisville and bring our daughter-in-law along with us to Chicago where nearly all of Sarah's relatives were gathering for a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday then return to Louisville and head to the Texas coast where we would join Sarah's sisters for Christmas . However, the small mare's tail wisps of an impending storm that Sarah had detected in her throat in September and had set aside, now demanded attention. An ultrasound of her neck was done on the day before we were scheduled to leave for Louisville. Being optimistic, we stuck to our plans believing that the report would be positive and we could continue on our way.

However, the report we received in Chicago was not positive and our doctor wanted more tests. Our daughter-in-law returned to Kentucky by bus while Sarah and I left the cat and TV in Chicago and flew back to Massachusetts. Two more ultrasounds, an evaluation by the endocrinologist and a fine needle aspirate of the thyroid mass revealed a benign mass that could be monitored over time. We were given the blessing to proceed on our way.

If circumstances and events allow, our desire to travel to Chicago, reclaim our feline companion and TV, and return to Louisville to resume our retreat from the New England winter will happen the day after Christmas.

Hopefully, we learned that circumstances, events and desires may or may not always perfectly align as we would wish. But, align in some fashion they always will. How we accept and deal with that is up to us. 

Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward All
Merry Christmas