This will undoubtedly be my final post of this first year of retirement, and of the year 2017. We had planned to be back in Portland by now, but those plans have changed. My poor wife has spent nearly all of her vacation in a hospital chair next to her ailing 96 year old mother. I’ve at least gotten to sleep in a comfortable bed each night, but have certainly spent my share of time wearing a surgical mask in a hospital room. In one sense, it makes you feel lucky that you’re not the patient, but there’s always the chance with such a contagious disease that you could be next. Whenever her mother coughs, I feel a tickle in my throat, hoping that I’m not a flu victim like the rest of the patients on her floor. Apparently, only about 10% of the flu vaccines were effective this year. My flu shot did not help me avoid sickness a few months ago.

The temperature here in Indianapolis has been in the range of single digits to below zero, with about three inches of snowfall yesterday. This morning’s run kicked-off my tenth year of running every day, and it was not easy to find level ground that was not slick and dangerous. I only ran about a mile and a quarter today, as opposed to a typical three-mile jaunt. I was thinking about the death of one of my favorite authors, Sue Grafton, and how she failed to get through the entire alphabet. (See Post #227). Every couple of years, she published another book to add to my collection that unfortunately ends with “Y is for Yesterday.” Her main character, Kinsey Millhone, died along with her. (See Post #219).

The Butler did it again! The Bulldogs just knocked off #1 and undefeated Villanova here in Indianapolis. I watched the end of the basketball game alongside my coughing mother-in-law, as I try to keep her entertained so my wife can catch a nap. All day long it’s a parade of nurses, janitorial staff, case workers, and therapists that keep all of us awake. There’s no time to rest when you’re in the hospital. I did go out in the freezing cold and pick up dinner, since the food was not to her liking, and it was a great excuse to get some fresh air. I can’t get the smell of hand sanitizer out of my nostrils. (See Post #378).

I had some additional hassles with Hertz today, trying to work out an extension on my rental car contract. Not only have we lost money cancelling our flights home out of Chicago, but also we had to pay for new flights out of Indianapolis. In addition, this means that we will not be able to return the rental car to Chicago, and are forced to pay a penalty fee. To make matters worse, in order to get the extension, I had to find a local Hertz office and exchange our car for one with license plates that won’t expire on New Year’s Day. It seems to me that Hertz should have probably changed those plates a few weeks ago, saving us all the frustration of finding a local outlet that had an available vehicle. I spent at least a couple  hours today trying to resolve this issue. This adds to my growing complaints of being a Hertz #1 Gold Card Member. (See Post #377). Membership did not have its privileges!

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year! We will finally fly out of here on New Year’s Day, having arranged to bring in my wife’s daughter from Washington D.C. to take over our bedside responsibilities. As a licensed P.A., she’s also giving up her vacation time to do what she does all week long – take care of patients. She’s certainly more capable than both of us, and we need a break before my wife goes back to work. The entire family has certainly made sacrifices this past holiday week. This extends to my wife’s other daughter who gave up her New Year celebration plans to help with our puppy dogs. Last year certainly didn’t end smoothly, and hopefully next year will find all of us in good health.