year 2013 in review

I can't say that this year has been one of Alfredo's and my best. Loved ones died ; that was the hardest,and memories kick in.(Al and I miss our parents so much!)Also, two sweet former students died- way too young. The tax man cometh with a very heavy foot, and consequently, we canceled much desired trips to Michigan, Maryland, Florida and Bermuda, to avoid any further financial encumbrance as well as putting off some much needed remodeling.Not traveling is bad for my psyche, but not the end of the world so to speak. ( I did go on a free seven day cruise -I had one last year too- so that was nice karma.) Some of my closest friends and family have been seriously ill, and others dealt with some traumatic issues.Also, Al and I have been struggling with our angst ridden, troubled daughter and ensuing problems from her difficult behavior. Birthdays and holidays have come and gone in their usual annual fashion. The Orfales have been healthy in the main, and I do understand that is a true blessing. I have been retired since June 2012; that certainly has been wonderful. Sometimes I am so busy that I don't know how I managed to teach. Al is still with Chemical Solutions, his 4th year.Adam will graduate in May with a BBA in Marketing with his major in Music Entertainment Business.He got a separate certificate for that this month.This marks his second Christmas in his own home, and he'll be 23 in February. Gina, who will be 18 in January, is a senior, but it is looking more and more like she will need another year to graduate. She already took her senior pictures, so I will probably send them out anyway, with late Christmas cards( waiting on a photo of Adam). In January I made a New Year's resolution that I have actually stuck to doing( it may be the first time). I decided to make a new recipe at least once a week, and that has been a small pleasure for me,and needless to say, for the family. Adam's "night" to visit is Sunday, so new dishes and HBO/ Showtime/ Netflix are usually on the agenda. I also starting blogging on 3/17 ( St.Patrick's Day is the day Al and I met 40 years ago), and post fairly regularly. I've written about 200 posts, so if you are interested in the minutiae of my/ our life,you can read any or all posts from the outset. I've posted a couple poems and also a memoir. My New Year's resolution for 2014 is to post at least one piece of creative writing each week, such as a poem, short story, etc. I have ranted a couple times about politics, vented about world affairs,etc.,but mainly I have written about feelings and relationships. I don't have a "thematic" blog.Here is the link if interested: Http://ldsro.blogspot.com/ .I guess you can say that some days when I post I'm happy or content; some days I'm angry or sad. I try to be authentic, but without revealing all the skeletons in my proverbial closet. We still have our cat CJ; he'll be 16 in May. Although he has diabetes and we give him insulin twice a day, he's doing fairly well for an older cat. I have resumed my favorite pastime regularly, which is reading. I recently read "What Matters Most" by Krauthammer , and I am almost finished with my quest to read at least one book by each of all the Nobel Prize Winners for Literature.I must say, that was a good idea for me, because how bad could their writing be, and shouldn't every lit teacher do that? For example,I finished Kertesz and Kawabata,and I will read more by them.(I hope one year American Thomas Pynchon will win and Italian Umberto Eco.)Every time Winter arrives Alfredo and I discuss moving to a year round warm climate. We probably will in five or so years. We have loved our years in both Michigan (40) and Georgia ( 20), but I understand the snowbird urge to migrate where feathers stay warm( and aren't ruffled). On that note, the Orfale family, with love, wishes all a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and joyous year to come.