Starting life after ...

It’s been almost eight weeks since Joseph left. A few people asked me to keep the story going, but other than the ups and downs of coming to terms with this new life, my new life and life in the times of COVID-19, there isn’t much *happening and I’m not sure what I could write about that anybody would want to read!

The hospital bed was returned and a week or so later I spilled a milkshake all over Jen’s recliner - the one Joseph sat in so often -  so that helped the decision to take it away as well. That was some not-so-nice memories gone but there were still too many in our bedroom so I’ve moved into the tiny room down the hall that was the office. The librarian for Birds SA and Gluepot Reserve was thrilled to come and take the books Joseph donated, so that made one less bookcase in the room (there were four) and meant I could move things around to make it look less like an office and more like a bedroom. The printer has moved so it no longer drops paper onto my bed as it prints out and it no longer freaks me out at night as it hums and vibrates while it cleans itself or warms itself up or whatever it does!  It’s a nice cozy room, with my bed up against the wall, right under the window and with two mattresses on top of each other means I have views of the city lights and the hills while I lie in bed, and at night the lion sounds as though he is right outside!!  

Still in a heart beat I would change it all back to the way it was.

There's the view - the room isn't quite this dark!!

The printer is still there incase I need to pint anything in the middle of the night.

With COVID-19 Adelaide has been very lucky. (It helps to be the a state in the middle of the world’s largest island!)  People did die, and quite a few were sick but nothing like the rest of the world.  Life in our little bubble for 4.5 months wasn’t affected by the virus at all.  Now there are lots of things you are able do again, but you still can’t travel and I would love to have people come to visit, and I would love to take some of those coma-inducing flying pills and wake up somewhere else in the world!  But it’s the restriction on crowd size that has affected me the most - the one that has stopped us from having Joseph’s party - his wake - the celebration of his life - whatever you want to call it.  He spent hours deciding on the music and waking me up so I could write down things he remembered and wanted me to mention. We found the venue; we just haven’t been able to get there and that makes me sad and I don’t know why I think it will help but I just do.

So as the restrictions lift and gathering numbers increase, I’ve contacted the Rowing Club and we have pencilled in October 4th as the day. The date will be 46 years since I first met Joseph. It was at Jane and Monty Brigham’s wedding-rehearsal party Oct 4th 1974.  ( I met Jane in London the year before, she was there alone while her boyfriend Monty was in the Amazon birding with his friend Joseph Dafoe.)** … But before we get to October we have July 3rd when Joseph would be 70, and July 25th our 45th wedding anniversary. I turn 68 in June and I can do that, I’m such a “look-at-me” kind of person who makes the world stop on that day every year, so I can do that, but I don’t know how to do those other two days, to celebrate those huge events without him being here. Lucky the kiddies are here, close by, so we’ll figure it out I guess.

*Before I could post this note -  something rather interesting did happen so I’ll include it now in the hopes it makes this a little more interesting?

June 6 was Sofia (our niece) and Yony’s INTERNET wedding!  We called in from down here and it meant we (Cassia stayed over) had to get up at 4.00 a.m.!!! woah!! - I had my family for dinner so was a tad exhausted by bedtime. Around midnight I started to get heart palpitations (I often get them) that seemed to get stronger with pain and so I waited an hour and they didn't go away and I wasn't completely sure it was worth calling an ambulance so I drove myself to hospital.  My pulse was 185 so they took me straight in and hooked me up to monitors etc. and an IV in my arm, then oxygen!! and then they said they were giving me a dose of something that would be horrible ... I asked her to explain it more and she said it feels like "impending doom" ... so yes it did! I panicked a little and they said to just breathe it would just be a short time - it felt as though all of the air was sucked out of me ... and that's because for 6 secs it stops your heart and then it starts again at the normal rate! Woah - how is that!! ... and I could feel it go back to normal (well it was 90 but eventually during the night it came down to 67 (my normal resting)). So they finally let me out at 8.30 a.m (ugh - no sleep on a very uncomfortable bed - with my shoes still on and lying on my coat all that time! -  but that's OK) - and just a letter for my doctor to follow up!!!  They asked if I had a lot of coffee or alcohol (and I said no) then they asked about sleeping and I said I had been awake since 4.00 a.m. - so maybe it was just too much for one day? who knows! anyway I'm am fine now BUT it was because Pablo's mother Annukka had a heart attack after Pablo's father died that made me think I should go to hospital (she also drove herself)!! ...  i'm having blood tests and an echo_cardiogram(?sp) but i'm pretty sure it is just stress (bubbling under the surface I guess) on top of that one long day!

I’ll post this now, before anything else interesting happens  ... but also if you are one of the few people who haven’t already heard the story and/or you want to know how we came to be married less than a year after Jane & Monty’s wedding I’m writing a “bit” on that as well ...  It’s long, it’s crazy, it’s maybe hard to follow and it’s probably really boring!!  I’ll pop it up as soon as I can edit it down so it doesn’t crash the internet!!