2025 RECAP

At this point in our lives, I find myself reflecting a bit deeper than I would typically do as the year closes out.  2025 was a year full of adventure and milestones.

TRAVEL:

Scrolling through the thousands of photos on my phone helps me recall some really remarkable adventures, and is accompanied by the feeling of gratitude that we get to have these experiences:  Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico, Biking the Natchez Trace, Vegas with the kids to see the Eagles, Carmel/Paso Robles CA, Spain, France, Monaco for F1 race, Italy, 100 days at our Lake Home with lots of visitors, Western Electric Vehicle road trip where we rafted the Grand Canyon – bicycled in Glacier Park - did a bike/boat cruise through the Columbia River Valley (over 4900 miles and 38 charging stops), an epic trip to Japan, a couple of trips to Texas (wedding and BrightStar reunion), New York City, and Vegas for F1 race.  For most of these trips, you can read the individual blog stories on this site.

WORK:

In May 2025, we sold our two BrightStar Assisted Living communities and became fully retired.  There is nothing like retirement and we are enjoying every day, especially the part about sleeping until we wake up.  There was a bit of hassle going through the sale process, that Ryan and I worked through together.  Some of the diligence work was really frustrating as Jeff had done all the work getting the ALFs started – the banking, the contractors, etc.  Much of it hadn’t been scanned and might have been tossed out when we vacated our Home Care office after the sale of that in March 2023, or we just couldn’t find the documents in our shared drive.  Often, we were telling our attorney, “We don’t have it, what happens now?”  Sometimes, he was able to find legal documents, most times, we just had to tell the buyer, “This is our best guess,” or “we don’t have it!”  It was great to have Ryan as a partner to go through that with and really helped us build a nice bond that will carry us through life as his dad ages and goes into more of a cognitive decline.

In June, we hosted a party with many of our esteemed S and J Alumni (former managers that helped us with the business along the way).  It was an evening that filled us with love and joy, reflecting back on all the amazing work we did together – the families we helped and the employees who’s lives we were able to positively influence.  Also in May, we celebrated our 20^th wedding anniversary, knowing our bond was made even stronger by the 18 years we spent running the businesses together!

Besides the sleeping in part, I am so glad to be done with the “human” side of our business, the hardest part to control!  You never knew what the next phone call was going to bring, but it was rarely good news!  From Worker’s Comp nightmares, to dozens of forms for garnishments and employment verification, floods and power-outages at the building, just so glad it is all done!

HEALTH:

I think you can’t really be a “senior” without health concerns.  Jeff had more doctor visits than we’d ever thought either of us would have, and some bad news setbacks.  We’d noticed a decline in his cognitive abilities over the past few years, and it was confirmed with neurological and psychological testing as part of our participation in the UW’s Alzheimer's Research Center study.  We got a referral to the UW Geriatric Memory Care clinic (I even think of my parents as geriatric!!).  While Jeff has an amazing regular doctor that we both really trust, there wasn’t much urgency to do anything other than start a medication that’s been around for many years and may slow the progression.  Since we are both such “fix it” people who see an issue and find a solution, we aren’t satisfied with that.   In June, a newly FDA approved blood test confirmed that he has Alzheimer’s Disease, and in September, another blood test (APOE-e4) confirmed he has two copies of the Alzheimer’s gene, which for some reason means he’s not a candidate for some new infusion therapy that is showing promising results.

Even though we shouldn’t have been surprised by these results, it was still shocking to hear it from the doctor.  Jeff went through a few days of being pretty depressed about it, before bouncing back to his normal self.  We are navigating our day-to-day just fine in this early stage, even with some humor.  I find myself always keeping an eye on what he’s up to as you never know.  Things get placed in the wrong place and go missing, it’s just part of life’s mystery these days.  I’m amazed that he can’t seem to find things even when they are in plain sight.  Sometimes, he seems lost and doesn’t know what to do with himself, especially if I’m busy with something.  I find if I make a list of chores, he’ll tackle them all, even chores that used to be my responsibility!  I can tell by his eyes if he’s tracking a conversation or if he’s feeling a bit more “dull” at the moment.  It makes my heart so happy during those moments when I see those clear blue eyes, and his personality has its usual “intensity.”  I am sad when I find he’s not tracking a conversation, because he was always the most engaging person I’d ever known.  Ryan has been a wonderful son, always willing to help with projects (which is not my strong suit!).  We’ve spent a lot of time at the lake together and I just love seeing the two of them together figuring something out.

Jeff’s had some Prostate issues over the last few years, mostly managed with medication.  This summer though, his doc felt a nodule during a routine exam.  That led to blood tests (repeatedly elevated PSA), consultations with the Urologist, and a MRI.  Again, the doctors are pretty casual about Prostate issues in a 74-year-old guy, and things aren’t operating on the timeline we’re used to being in control of!  He had the MRI in November, and it showed “probable grade 5 cancer,” which the internet describes as “most aggressive.”  Yet, we need to wait until March to have a biopsy and make a plan.  The doctors also say this isn’t unheard of in older guys, and often times, nothing is done.  But again, its really hard to wait it out.

My health is doing well, and its great to have a supportive family and friend base as we move through this Alzheimer’s journey.  The stress of the business sale took a bit of a toll on my body with my stress-eating.  By the time the sale was complete, I was ten pound over my usual ten pounds too many.  I went to the nearby Loure Aesthetics to talk about getting a facial in early June, and met the two PA’s that own the clinic, and they’re fantastic.  I ended up talking to Nikki about HRT, and since June I’ve had Estrogen and Testosterone pellets placed in my hip and I take Progesterone at night.  It took a bit for my body to get used to the hormones again, as I’d been in Menopause for 10 years, but it makes me feel like I’m 40 again – I love it!  In August, I started talking to PA Amy who runs the “Drop Zone” at Loure, and did a trial of microdosing GLP-1 – another game changer.  I’m down the extra twenty pounds and have energy to work out, lift weights, and hike long distances.  Besides that, I see Caitlyn every 4-6 weeks for a facial, and I feel fantastic.

While Jeff’s health challenges get us down every now and then, we focus on him surviving a heart attack over 5 years ago, and the knowledge that every day we’ve had together since then is a gift and a blessing.  Other than that, we spend some time in our gym almost every day, we walk a lot, we have our Peloton Bike/Row, and when the weather is good we’re outside playing pickleball, biking, snowshoeing, hiking or Nordic skiing.

Our plans for 2026 include more travel and adventure, connecting with friends, keeping moving, and staying curious.  We leave for Costa Rica tomorrow!!