2024 Year in Review
January
January starts out with a bang of fireworks as Melina and I travel to Big Sandy to visit the Reeds and all their assorted kin and friends. We sit around the fire pit and talk, grill food and catch up with old friends. There’s a Texas-sized charcuterie board with more cheese than I can eat in a year, but I try. Melina loves being in East Texas with my friends, and she’s a big hit with them too.
The Australian Open gets going, and my #1 guy Djokovic makes it all the way to the semi-finals before he is taken down by my#2 guy Sinner. It’s a great tournament with two weeks of amazing matches, but by the time it’s over, I am TIRED. Getting up at 2 am for two weeks is hard on an old gal.
Westie Rescue of North Texas takes in a sweet 6yo male named McDuff. He is sweet until the point where he starts attacking people, so he’s going to be a tall order to place. I am afraid we’ll have to euthanize him, but we’re able to get him into a board-and-train facility in Corsicana, where I hope he’ll improve.
On the work front, I’m asked to cover for another admin while she is on mat leave, and this will be a huge stretch for me, skills-wise, and a huge boon for my career at Capital One. I am both thrilled and scared to death. I spent much of January transitioning with her and learning the ropes.
Melina plays a lot of school soccer on a great team, so it’s fun to watch her go out on the pitch and run around, even though I don’t know what’s going on much of the time. She’s having fun, and that’s what matters.
Also, January is approximately 862 days long.
February
February is my birthday month! I’m not one to celebrate all month – or much at all – but it is the year I turn 50, so this one has my attention.
I am in the market – as it were – for a new church, so Melina and I try out Calvary Chapel McKinney. It’s a hit with me: the worship service is just a guy and his guitar, the message is straight out of scripture, and best of all, it’s a small congregation that I could see myself plugging into. However, Melina has signed up for league soccer, and her games will be on Sunday morning, so my plugging in might have to wait until her departure.
It’s been almost seven months since she arrived, and time is running out to do all the things we want to do. We make a list and plan to get after it as soon as possible, but when I look at the calendar, I just don’t know.
McDuff is doing well at his board-and-train facility, and he is adopted by his trainer, after we determine that he is not going to be adoptable. Sometimes things work out; sometimes they don’t, but they almost always do.
And finally, birthday celebrations roll around! Melina and I drive up to Gunter one weekend before the big day and celebrate with the Reeds, Justin and Heather – as well as assorted folks from Big Sandy.
March
Piper continues not to eat more than once every 18-24 hours. No matter what we do, she will not eat anything we put in front of her. It’s one of the most frustrating and scary things I’ve gone through with my dogs. Why does a dog starve itself?
Melina’s league soccer is going strong, and they are not good. But we go to practice faithfully, and I’m officially a soccer mom.
We go see Sammie Rae & the Friends down at House of Blues in Dallas, and this grey mare is too damn old for standing room only. Sammie Rae is fantastic – she has a voice like a meadowlark – but we leave early.
Mid-month, it’s time for Spring Break! We get on the plane and fly to Phoenix and proceed to have one of the best weeks of both our lives. Read more here. While I’m in Arizona, I scroll through Instagram and see Wolfie, a dog at the same rescue I got Alfie from. I am smitten, but figure A. I don’t need another dog with Winston and Piper, and B. he’ll go quickly, given how cute he is.
When we get home, I’m scrolling through Instagram again, and the same post pops up. That NEVER happens with my feed on IG, and that tears it. I call the shelter, and he’s available. Melina and I make plans to go meet him down in Plano.
We both fall in love with the scruffy, shy and sweet little feller and adopt him immediately. He fits into the household with no issue whatsoever – never even lifts his leg on the furniture.
The following week, after she doesn’t eat for five days, I let Piper go. Melina goes with me to the vet and comforts me as my little girl goes to sleep. It’s just Wolfie and Winston now.
April
April is a flurry of activity!
Melina’s American adventures continue with a trip to see the Fort Worth Stockyards & Rodeo with her exchange student group. She is less than impressed by the bull-riding and calf-roping. “They are hurting them,” she said. “They are annoying them, yes,” I said back, “but they are not hurt.” We did enjoy the barrel-racing, though.
My former boss and current friend Pat Costa comes into town for a visit, and we have brunch with her. Pat absolutely loves Melina, as everyone does, of course.
Mid-month, I travel for work to Washington DC for an admin summit, and Melina stays with her friend Kendall. I miss my girl and my dogs tremendously, but am so grateful for the support and opportunity that my organization would invest in my development as an admin at Capital One, which continues to be the best company I’ve ever worked for.
One Sunday, Melina and I trek down to the Dallas Arboretum to meet up with my friend Greg, who’s a photographer. He proceeds to take the most beautiful pictures of us, which I will treasure. That evening, we have a video call with my friend Jeff, who – guess what? – loves Melina.
May
May is the month my dear Melina leaves me. Our year together is almost at an end, and I think we’re both starting to turn the page. She’s starting to look forward to going home and seeing her family, and I’m feeling accomplished at having such an amazing experience.
But first – prom! The first weekend in May, she dons the most beautiful dress and, with her friend Tessa, we go to Adriatica for pictures. Then we come back to the house for sushi, and before long, they are off to the prom. I was chauffeur, of course, and midnight that night found me idling by the curb while they climbed back into the car. “Let’s make waffles!” Tessa suggested when they got home and into their PJ’s. My ass went to bed, but I was smiling.
The following weekend, we drove to DFW airport to pick up Sarah and Rachel, two Australian young ladies who were doing a gap year in the States and were staying with us for a few days, having been referred to us by a college friend who grew up in Australia. Australia is a bucket-list destination for Melina, and she enjoyed talking to the girls about life there. On Saturday night, we drove to downtown Dallas to Reunion Tower, an observation deck overlooking the city. While the girls all crept out to the railing, me and my fear of heights kept our back to the wall.
And just like that, she’s gone. I drive Melina to the airport a few days later, she gets on the plane for Frankfurt, Germany, and I drive home, bereft and exhausted.
June
June finds me both exhausted and exhilarated. I take a few days to come down from my adventure and then jump into action. It’s been such a good 10 months with Melina, but I haven’t accomplished anything personally. For example, I realize, that, the last time I dusted my house was the week before she got here. So I get new carpets installed, AC serviced, tires rotated, dentist, clean out the garage, etc. It keeps me pretty busy for about two weeks, and then I’ve got to figure out what to do with myself.
So I load up the dogs and head north to MO to visit my parents. Wolfie and Winston do alright in the car, but Wolfie’s not a great traveler (he’s pretty sure all car trips end up at either the vet or the groomer), and Winston sleeps the whole time. It’s a good visit, and I get home in time to see Wimbledon start. I’m shocked – SHOCKED, I tell you – when Novak makes it into the Men’s Final, but he loses to that young upstart Alcaraz.
July
July is hot, and there’s not much going on except the Olympics. I don’t watch much of them, but I do subscribe to Peacock to see the tennis.
Toward the end of the month, I rent an SUV and head out to Big Sandy to meet up with the Reeds before heading north to go camping in Arkansas. We get lost cutting through the back woods on the way to the campsite, and I’m so glad I rented the SUV, because my 12yo sedan would have never made it in the backroads of Arkansas. Camping for 4 days is cool and cloudy, which isn’t much fun for this sun lover, and we have a little rain here and there, but overall it’s a good time.
August
Much to my elation, Novak wins the Olympics gold medal, and as I watch him break down, I burst into tears myself. He doesn’t have much time left, and this one is pretty much the icing on the cake for his legendary career.
Westie Rescue plugs along. We take in and adopt out a few dogs here and there, but it’s pretty quiet overall.
On August 8, I come home from work early to find Winston passed away in the back yard. I’m shocked, but not really. He had been getting older, but he still ate like a champ. I am grateful that, that morning, we’d had a good cuddle session, but it still devastates me.
In late July, in another one of those God-winks, I get wind of a 3yo Westie named Leathan at a breeder in Arkansas who is being retired. I inquire, and in just a couple of hours, I get a response that he is available.
September
Over the Labor Day weekend, Leathan arrives, and he is perfect. I immediately change his name to Nole (Novak’s nickname) after finding out that he was a Serbian import. He’s the most beautiful Westie I’ve ever owned, and I’m like a kid with a new puppy. I’m so glad that both my dogs are young; I’d been dealing with old and dying dogs since 2015, and I’m glad that hopefully I have a few years before having to bear that again.
I’m planning to visit Melina in France next summer, so I enroll in a French I class with Collin College. It’s full of older people like me, so I definitely feel comfortable, even though it’s been over 25 years since I’ve been in a classroom.
Sadly, there are two deaths in my circle of friends in September: one of our Westie Rescue board members and my dear friend’s father. It’s been years since I’ve been to a funeral, and I’m an easy crier anyway, so it’s hard.
October
October’s quiet. I watch some tennis, watch my niece play volleyball online, watch some Chiefs football, go to an FC Dallas soccer game with my friend Nigel, and that’s about it.
We do have our annual Westie Walk in late October, and while it is a lot of work, it is also a lot of fun to see all the Westies and their owners come out to enjoy the event. I miss Melina, since she helped with the last one.
November
I put up my Christmas tree on November 2. Yes, it’s early, but with only three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I want to enjoy it as long as I can. I’m acutely aware of how less-fun it is to put up without Melina.
One weekend, I head up to Denver with Heather, Justin and Lauren to see my niece Isabelle play one of her last volleyball matches at Senior Night and to visit my college friend Becky. A big snowstorm is also in town, dropping about 12 inches in just a couple of days. I have to borrow Becky’s clothes just to get around, and I worry that we won’t be able to get around town or out of that hellhole of an airport DIA, but all goes well. Isabelle invites me to be announced as her family support when all the seniors are honored, and I’m so touched.
Later that month, I get my fence replaced, something that has been due for YEARS. I feel so proud of it; it’s been a goal of mine for a long time, and I finally did it!
Mom, Dad, Ted, Scott, Ashley, and all the kids are in town for Thanksgiving at Heather and Justin’s. Where Heather managed to put all of them is beyond me. Ted stays with me, and I enjoy the time with him and the company.
December
December is as crazy as October was quiet. My employer really knows how to celebrate year-end and the holidays, and it’s one event after another. It’s been a really good year at work; I’ve grown a lot professionally and learned a ton of new things, including how to stand my ground and speak up when necessary.
Becky, my college friend I saw in Denver, is celebrating her 50th birthday, and she flies into town to see her family. We have dinner with one of our mutual friends, Kim. Becky has on a birthday hat, and people in the restaurant keep stopping by to wish her “Happy birthday”, which throws her off until Kim and I remind her that she’s in Texas, and that’s what we do here.
Lauren comes over one December afternoon, and we make cookies. It’s a long-held tradition with my nieces, but Isabelle is in Hawaii with her boyfriend. I am glad for her, but these traditions are going to stop soon as the girls move out and move on with their lives. Tante-Niece-Time (TnT) has an expiration date, I’m afraid.
But not in 2024. On Christmas Eve, I make my famous muffaletta before heading over to Heather and Justin’s for our Christmas Eve tradition of Dagwood sandwiches. It’s the dogs’ first time going over to their house, and they do pretty well for being in an unfamiliar place. Early Christmas morning, two-thirds of the Tante/Niece trio get up to make monkey bread for everyone (Isabelle’s flying back from Phoenix with her boyfriend Garret). Before long, everyone’s up, and Garret and Isabelle are walking in the door, and Christmas is on!
After the holiday, I head out to Big Sandy for another tradition, New Year’s with the Reeds. This year we are celebrating the weekend before, since New Year’s lands in the middle of the week. There are over 20 people in Thomas and Bonne’s 1200 square foot house, and I think to myself, “They are so very fortunate to have a house packed with that much love.”
So that’s a wrap on 2024. It was overall a great year professionally; I grew and learned a lot in my career at Capital One. Personally, the first half was good, since I got to spend it with Melina. I miss her a lot, and the second half of the year reflected that as I learned to live alone again, while, at the same time gaining a couple of dogs, and losing my heart dog Winnie. But 2025 brings another exchange student! Stay tuned for that…
