Dear Friends and Family,

What a year it has been!  Our year kicked off on a sad note with my dad diagnosed with a degenerative brainstem disease, progressive supranuclear palsy.  When he was here for the holidays, he clearly looked like shit, and was suffering a post-concussive syndrome after a fall in Germany.  When I returned to NC later that month, he was dramatically improved, much to my relief.  Fortunately, he has been able to connect with speech, physical, and occupational therapists, neurology, neurosurgery, and even “woo woo medicine” aka functional medicine.

Our first trip of the year was to Philadelphia to join Josh's brothers and uncle for an Eagles playoff game. The locals were jealous of my Colorado snow-wear as the game was freezing.  A mocha ganache covered crème brûlée tarte purchased earlier in the day at a walk-up counter was by far the best tailgating food I have ever experienced.

In February, we made a wiser, warmer choice to go down to Arizona to see my parents, aunt, uncle, canine cousin, and online art instructor.  People asked Josh what we did there.  His response, “We walked the dog.  We walked the dog a lot.”  Otto is an energetic cattle dog, and we were pretty excited for snow-free hiking trails.

In March, Mylin, Josh’s high school BFF, came out with her family for spring break.  I actually learned how to ski and escaped injury! Mylin's husband, Malik, and I are very much on the same page, quite comfortable hanging out on the greens with the kids leaving us in the dust.  There is a lot to be said for having a personal ski coach on the slopes.  

Just as Josh had recovered from his broken wrist and was embracing spring skiing, our lives were turned upside down when we learned that he had an asymptomatic ascending aortic aneurysm with aortic insufficiency and regurgitation^[1].  I don’t know that I’d ever thought of aortic valve abnormalities as a good thing, but without the accompanying murmur, Josh’s aneurysm would have likely gone undetected.  So perhaps the best part of 2023 is that Josh did not drop dead. Woohoo!!!

It turns out when they are afraid you are going to drop dead, the wheels of medicine turn very quickly.  That is really how Josh knew his condition was bad—by how quickly he was offered specialist appointments (next day!). We still don’t know what his chart said or how it was flagged, but UCHealth did not mess around.  We also got pretty lucky that one of the top aorta surgeons in the country is down in Denver.  Some of you followed my Caring Bridge blog posts from the hospital so no need to relive that here.  Post-op sucked, but Josh is more or less back to baseline with the addition of a large chest scar.  He probably won’t tell me if he is doing heavy weights at low reps, but “8 to 12 is the ideal rep range” for Josh.  Josh of course wants to see data.  He is also back to indoor and outdoor ultimate but laments feeling like an old man running with the kids out there.

Fortunately, I was able to escape pre-op to spend a few days in Omaha with my old CA horse friends to enjoy an international equestrian competition and some good food.  A trip that was planned and paid for well in advance!

Post-op we enjoyed visits from Josh’s mother and brothers.  I don’t know why Noah’s stay was the shortest.  He embraces leftovers, cooks, washes dishes, rides the pony, spots my weightlifting, mows the lawn, goes to concerts, has a great attitude, and is a good eater.  What’s not to like?!  Special shout out to Mike and Cinnamon who came out pre and post op, which was super special.  They were the only ones who wanted to see Josh before he could have possibly died.  Fun fact—their daughter was visiting when Josh received his diagnosis.  We had so much fun with so many of you this year, but I’m pretty sure Fynn, Monster, and Little Man liked Allie and Bri the best.

In May, I escaped for a few days back to the Arizona (the only thing more ridiculous than snow in May is snow in June) for more dog walking accompanied by an in-person painting workshop with my online instructor.  That was super fun, and I am super proud of my paintings (though readily acknowledge that I had professional help and they have been “Bruce-ified”).  It really helped me understand how to take my painting to the next level.  If only I had time this year to paint!  

May and June were filled with cardiac rehab and walking with Josh.  We had a rainy spring, which meant the hay went bonkers. It was so wet this summer, the hay wasn’t cut until August and September, which is apparently unheard of.  June saw more snow! 🤦‍♀️ Our friend Tanisha was excited to join us for a small town Fourth of July festival, but it was so cold and blustery and eventually stormy that we had to retreat to the car for a picnic and fireworks.  On the plus side, there was no line at the Belgian waffle truck, and it was the closest we have ever been to a fireworks launch pad.

June and July saw more snow-filled adventures to Pike’s Peak and Continental Divide.  We loved Garden of the Gods.  We managed to get tickets to Aspen Food & Wine, but we had more fun in past years at Pebble Beach.  Aspen really is Richistan.  For a fun game, go in any store, identify an item, guess an outrageous price, and then add a zero.  It’s bonkers!

July and August saw lots of visitors, and we got in some good hikes.  Josh lamented his lack of fitness while also climbing 2500 ft up to an 11,000 ft peak.  So I told people he was doing pretty well.  🤷‍♀️

In September, my parents returned (they were here in July too if anyone is wondering why I haven’t been spending more time in NC).  In lieu of a German train trip my parents had planned, we took the Rocky Mountaineer luxury train from Denver to Moab.  The ride was smooth and the scenery beautiful.  Like a dog hanging his head out a car window, Josh embraced riding in the outdoor vestibule between cars.  After exploring Arches, Canyonlands, and Dead Horse, among others, we journeyed back through Grand Junction, which I really liked, and Palisade, enjoying a birthday alpaca trek through a peach orchard and dinner at Golden Corral (spoiler alert—it is still delicious).  

Feeling exhausted, I did the math and realized I had either been away or had house guests more than half the calendar days in 2023.  But that didn’t stop us from returning to Woodside for the Day of the Horse festivities and to see old friends, walk and ride my old trails, and eat some of our favorite foods.  Josh lamented why he was not eating burritos from our local taco truck everyday when he was working from home.  The following weekend we returned to Savannah to celebrate Josh’s dad’s 80th birthday.  It happened to be our second Wag-O-Ween.  Needless to say, I love a town that encourages doggy trick-or-treating and canine costumes!  I will admit that with everything going on in the world, I have never felt so apprehensive attending a gathering at a synagogue.  I sat out the Sacks family Philly trip, where the Eagles took a beat down at the hands of the Niners.

This month we hopped back on a plane to Vegas to see U2 at the Sphere with Josh’s brother Ben and do some more eating.  I know you were worried we would waste away.  The concert was amazing, and mid-week Vegas was a revelation.  But Vegas has really gentrified.

The year is wrapping up much like it began—Josh getting a colonoscopy and me getting a basal cell carcinoma sliced off my face, but at least we’ve already hit our deductible for the year.  Boy does this card make us sound old and decrepit, and I didn’t even mention my AC joint injury!!

In spite of everything going on, we have managed to have some  fun.  Josh might be starting to embrace Nuggets games, even though he did not join me for the opening day ring ceremony, banner hanging, and Inside the NBA live broadcast with Chuck, Shaq, Kenny, and Ernie.  We were fortunate to enjoy concerts at Ball Arena and Red Rocks, a spectacular venue Josh was fit enough to climb by September.  We welcomed 3 new horses to the neighborhood, much to Killian’s delight.  I am still working on embracing winter riding, but not holding my breath.  Paddy and Tank love joining us when we bum around the yard.  Fynn even enjoyed a walk around the yard with the big animals—okay, I carried him, but he loved it!  Fynn has started Solensia injections, aka the feline fountain of youth, and miraculously regained his hops.  Sadly, my Little Man was diagnosed with GI lymphoma at only 5 years old and has started kitty chemo.  We feel very fortunate to be able to provide all our animals with the care they require, and this is also why we don’t have a dog.  Josh and I continue to embrace our own, individual workout programs.  

If all goes well, we will welcome my parents, aunt, uncle and canine cousin Otto for Christmas. Otto is awesome with the cats, which is great exposure for them. Hopefully, Little Man remembers how to establish boundaries.  After all, he is the smartest cat.  

Sorry this update was a bit of a slog; we’re not running a curated social media account over here.  We’re hoping for more humor in the year ahead.  For those who are wondering, we adopted no children or animals this year, but enjoyed adventures with our surrogate children Arabella, Sebastian, Allie, Bri, and Hannah (sorry Justin and  Lilliana, you’re fancy college kids now so I didn’t get to see you this year).  Much thanks to their real parents for raising them right and letting us spend time with them.  A special shout out to Allie and Bri for driving our SUV to Moab for the return road trip.

Happy 2024 to ALL

Suzie, Josh, Fynn, Monster, Little Man, Killian, Tank & Paddy