Leah Dudley

The beginning of a new year and I remember when I was much younger and trying to visualize my life at the turn of the century!  Here it is 2012!

We had a big Thanksgiving and Christmas with friends and family.  Everyone came to our house and it was fun with all the little ones.  Five little girls all under the age of 5 running and playing all through the house!

There were many significant changes to my life during 2011.  I lost my dad in June, just a month after putting him in a nursing home.  He was at Western Hills in Comanche for only 2 weeks and in Comanche County Medical Center for 2 weeks before he died of complications from a urinary tract infection.  My mom is experiencing dementia and I brought her home to live with me which is an ongoing experience to say the least!

My brother, Quentin, and his wife, Susan, lost Susan’s mom, Virginia, in October of this year.  Virginia was a very vibrant person who loved to travel and was very involved with her family.  She became very ill in the late spring and early summer when she was diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis.  Virginia had just returned from a trip to Italy with my niece, Ann, Quentin and Susan’s youngest daughter.  It was quite a shock for the entire family as none of us would have ever suspected that Virginia was ill with a terminal disease.  I loved having her join our entire family for any occasion.

At the first of November JR was not feeling well and I rushed him to Denton Regional Hospital as soon as I got home from Virginia’s funeral.  He had yet another abdominal aortic aneurysm and had an emergency surgery.  We had to wait a couple of days before surgery as he takes Coumadin to thin his blood.  This is his third aortic aneurysm after one AAA rupture and another thoracic aneurysm and aortic heart valve repair.  As his heart surgeon says… “You just can’t kill him!”  He’s like the Energizer Bunny…he just keeps going and going!  Of course his surgery with a new doctor,  as he had it done in Denton instead of Baylor, was a”JR moment” not soon to be forgotten…but that is a story for another time.

Then as a final blow to the year we lost Beth Renshaw in December.  Beth is Kent’s ex-wife and stepmom to my kids.  Beth was diagnosed with colon cancer about 2 ½ years ago and never got a break through several rounds of chemo and surgeries.  She and Kent have two precious kids, Lee, their son who is 19 a freshman at De Pauw University, and daughter, Loranne, who is a sophomore in the Plano ISD.  Beth was a 5^th grade teacher and was named Plano ISD Elementary School Teacher of the Year in 2009.  She was a very special person and teacher…much loved by all.

But with the  sad challenges…there are many good things that have happened during the year!

I’m going to be a grandmother, or Mimi…as my grandkids call me…again.  Amanda and Rob are expecting their second child in July.  We are excited that Rob has a new job…but it is in North Dakota.

Jason and Michele built a new home in Prosper.  It is beautiful and they are enjoying it with their girls.  For Christmas they bought me a ticket to go with Michele to a Neil Sperry Workshop in January which should be fun.

I am adding Lee and Loranne to our immediate family…well they have always been  a part of our extended family…they came with Beth to many gatherings…but I’m claiming them as my own…I just love these two kids!  We all had a fun time on Thanksgiving weekend when Beth decided to have a party with many of  her friends and family.  We went out in the country near Denison to her friend’s place for hot dogs and birthday cake to celebrate Lee’s birthday.  Then Lee and Loranne came to spend Christmas with us for our family Christmas.

Then to round out things around our house…in about 3 weeks I will be getting a new member of the family.  My precious daughter, Jenna, bought me a Basset Hound puppy for Christmas.  We had a Basset for 14 years and she was the delight of our family.  It has been a little quiet at our house the past year without Hoopty.  I’m thinking of names…Cupcake, Dumpling, or maybe Darlene…something appropriate for a female Basset Hound.

We are dog people…Jason has 2 Bassets…Noel and Samsonite (Sami) along with Michele’s dog, Becca.  Amanda has Shasta, a feisty little Pomeranian mix.  Jenna has her Doberman, Waylon, and her beagle mix, Bailey…we have Shadow, a Chow mix and Roscoe,  a Basset mix.  I will never forget the Christmas the kids brought all their dogs…if you can only imagine 7 dogs running through the house!  How times have changed…now my kids bring their kids and we  have 4 or 5 little kids running through the house laughing and screaming along with the barking dogs!

So… 2012 is off to an exciting start with many good things on the horizon!