2022 Happy Holidays from HKfamily5

Well this post honestly took two years to write.To say 2022 was a crazy year, is an understatement. The year was a year of returning back to normal after two years of COVID. From my volunteering, Clem going back to work full-time in the office and the kids getting a full year on campus. The year began with a big new years celebration at HK5corner with my mother in attendance one last time. It was a rocky end to 2021 with Mimi making the jump into take care of herself and her back problems that plagued her for decades. She had back surgery to help with the stenosis and unfortunately the road to recovery was a long one. For New Years Mimi was still in rehab but I sprung her out, just like Xmas. It was another magical evening and the look on her face during the dinner, I could tell she was happy for the first time in a long time. She knew the clock was ticking because she knew deep down her CHF was back and the doctors just didn’t have the guts to tell her or even us as her family.

As I drove my mother home that evening to her rehab facility, she turned to share how much she enjoyed the evening and wanted thank us for making her night. We talked about the year ahead and she said she made two wishes that night. First was to be able to celebrate her 75th Birthday and she asked me to make sure when it was time for her to pass on, to make sure she is home in her apartment and not in the hospital. Sadly Mimi struggled the rest of the year with her CHF and would go in and out of the hospital three times. She did move back home for the winter of 2022 but by April that year, she had to move into the senior community that provided her with Assisted Living care.

Paley and Mimi at her last performance in middle school.

Mimi still was able to celebrate with us many special family events and moments. From Paley’s last play in Middle School, she got see her perform as Helena in the love story of a lifetime. She was able to celebrate the twins 9th birthday and Paley’s 13th birthday. Sadly as the year progressed towards the Fall, her decline was worse and started hospice care. During this time she was able to celebrate her 75th birthday, with the whole family. Shortly after, she would go back into the hospital one last time, and her CHF progressed further. After 10 days in the hospital, my siblings and I agreed it was time to work towards getting her back home and continue hospice care. The rest of this chapter many of you know, but we would say good night to Mimi one last time on Thanksgiving Eve and then celebrate her life in December of this year.

Moving away from that long chapter, so much was going on with all five of us. With the kids in a full swing return to sports and shows. The kids truly blossomed. Margot and Lochlan would return to the stage in Elementary school thanks to a new theater program I brought into the school. Gone were the weird name shows, with repetitive songs, that poor Paley endured for 6 year straight. In it’s place the twins were performing in two plays and one musical. Paley would finish out and graduate from middle school and start off her freshman year in High School.

Mimi at the twins musical performance.

Lochlan returned to baseball and soccer during 2022. He was in it to win it. His positive support of his teammates remained and even Mimi was able to attend two baseball games that year, and one soccer game. Mimi was also able to attend one of Margot’s soccer games. All three kids were off to summer camp that summer and it was the twin first two week stint at summer camp with their big sister. Overall the three kids really started to come out of the COVID shell pretty easily. They were ready for normal and welcomed it greatly. Paley and Lochlan still flourished as the new school year began and were old pros by the end of the school year. Margot was just eager to be with friends and have fun.

Clem and I were still in the thick of dealing with the pre-construction for HK5corner. We began this project in February of 2022 but we thrown several hurdles during the planning and permitting process of the project. We would initially submit plans for permitting in early 2022, only to be sent back to the start due to some errors with the design and plans. We were able to get things figured out over a few months and resubmit before the kids went on summer vacation. I am thankful to report our second submission is still in the process phase with the permit office and we hope the new year to get some final decisions on our start date for construction. The year was also spent, deciding on a contractor and managing the financial process of doing a construction loan on the project.

As for Clem and I personally during this 2022 year. The HK5corner project certainly was a lot of stress on us individually but sitting down in 2020 and coming to agreement on limits, giving each other a break and how to deal with stress, really helped us in the end. Honestly, this year I depended a lot on Clem through the transition for my mother, and he was there for me every step of it all. There were a lot of sad and stressful moments of the year but there were four key moments that will live with me forever. From NYE and my conversation with my mother. To my mother being their for the Paley and the twins shows in the spring of that year. Next was our summer vacation up on Lake McCall with Clem’s family. (Minus the phone call I had on top of Brundage Mountain, screaming at a Social Worker who was refusing to do her job, in ensuring my mother was getting basic needs met.) And finally my mother’s services. From all the close friends who showed up to celebrate my mother at both of her services.

Finally the best and most memorable moment, was all three of my kids getting up at my mother’s rosary to say something special about their Mimi. It was not only a moment of joy but a proud moment, that my kids had the strength to get in front of a room of people to share how they felt about their grandmother. While the year seemed like it was just one long pitching session at a batting cage. All of the balls thrown at all of us, had purpose. We struggled as a family but our community of friends and family were there to life us up. Would I like to relive they year again and make some changes. Maybe! But in the end of it all, I think we did right for not only for our family but for those around us. I am hopeful 2023 will be a much quieter year but I am sure we will be able to make lemonade with all the lemons that come flying at us. For now we welcome 2023 and what is to come!