The year 2021 was filled with great expectations as we made our move from the cramped Portland apartment to our new Venice, Florida home. This would entail hiring a moving company, packing up all our belongings, and making another 3,000 mile drive. We were actually concerned that the moving company might beat us to the final destination. Instead, they were delayed by nearly seven weeks, as Covid continued to affect truck driver availability. My wife also encountered another unexpected obstacle along the way when she developed a painful kidney stone issue. It required an emergency stop in Burlington, Colorado and minor surgery in Indianapolis. 

Although we arrived in Florida after just a few days delay, our furniture came much later. We had fortunately had the foresight to have sent ahead our inflatable bed on one of our 2020 flights. After a few weeks of discomfort, we then went out and bought a bed that we needed for the guest room. We also borrowed from my son a table, some folding chairs, and an aquarium stand that was used for the TV. My wife and I were also quick to jump at an opportunity to go to Marco Island with some friends for a few days while we continued to wait for our furniture to arrive. 

Finally, in the third week of May the long lost moving truck finally arrived. After getting our home semi-organized, we went back to Portland for the U.S. Olympic Trials, another event that had been delayed by the troublesome Covid virus.  A trip to Amelia Island followed, so we could see the twin girls born to my wife’s nephew along with our very first visit to Singer Island. We returned there last week for a longer stay. In September, we also squeezed in a family excursion to Pittsburg for a ball game before our very first houseguests began to arrive. They’ve kept coming ever since between visits to the Kennedy Space Center and Disneyworld. I’m not sure how we would have worked in Spain, Tahoe, and Hawaii that were originally scheduled but cancelled. It was a busy enough year already!