Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

After my re-introduction post a few days ago, I thought I would follow up with a catch-up post attempting to briefly summarize the past five years since I last posted here. I'll likely expand on at least some of these in greater depth in the weeks and months to come. I thought I would simultaneously publish two posts: one about myself and this one, about my family. You can find the one about myself here. And follow below the jump.

First, and most important, my father passed away two and a half years ago after a long illness. To be honest, it was a relief to all of us, including my mother. He suffered a great deal, and now he's at peace. I'll definitely be writing more about him, Needless to say, we had a complicated relationship, to put it mildly, but I still miss him a great deal and would not be here today without him. I love you, Dad.

***

My mother is doing as well as anyone could hope at age 83. We were of course concerned with how she would move forward after losing her partner of 59 years of marriage, but the word best describing her current live is "thriving." She recently completed a total makeover of her condominium, which is now worthy of display in House Beautiful (of course, I am slightly biased). She has a wonderful group of friends who are wonderful to her. (I'm staying with her for a few days, and she politely asked if I minded watching the Red Sox game by myself, as it was her regular get-together with her next-door neighbors J & J (husband and wife) to watch the second season of The Pitt. (Three thumbs up, in case anyone is wondering.) Again, I'll write more about her in a future post, but it feels safe to say she's living her best possible life right now.

***

My sister C has been the rock of the family the past five years  - and before that as well, of course,  all the way back to when I came out to her first). As I've mentioned before, her nickname at work is the Energizer Bunny. While I'm pretty energetic when I'm feeling like myself, I feel as if I'm wearing lead boots compared to her. I genuinely don't know how she does it. She goes to all of my mother's doctor and physical therapy appointments (she has an arthritic shoulder, which causes her quite a bit of trouble). As a nurse practitioner, her knowledge and expertise are invaluable to both my mother's doctors and medical stuff, and also to my mother. When my mother, not wanting to complain, will write off a night when she was unable to sleep due to pain from her shoulder, C can give them the real lowdown. I have no doubt she has saved my mother countless hours of suffering because of her presence. I'm currently staying with her for a few days before I move on the next phase of my journey back to full health; I'm grateful she's in my life. (The homemade brownies and baked beans - my personal favorite dish - don't hurt, of course).

***

I saved my nephew (and godson) C for last because of how remarkable his story has been since we last connected. Talk about living life to the fullest - consider his accomplishments in the past five years:

He wrestled the debilitating illness that made his life a living hell for the better part of a decade to a draw. (He was administered the Last Rites on three separate occasions.) He watches his health very carefully, but anyone who saw him even two years ago would likely not recognize him now.

He earned his Bachelor's degree, graduating with highest honors.

He decided to pursue a career as a physical therapist after being impressed with his therapist while recovering from a badly damaged wrist, the result of an over-vigorous attempt to snag a rebound in a game of HORSE (a playground basketball game, for those unfamiliar with hoops lingo). He applied to, and was accepted by,  three of the most prestigious programs in the New England region (and by extension, the US as well). He was offered a full scholarship to his top choice, which he happily accepted. He is currently approaching the finish line to two years of intense, exhausting study, He will be departing for Colorado at the end of next week to fulfill the residency portion of his studies. Once he completes that in mid-July he will at long last be Dr. McGuinn. Words cannot express how proud I am of him (but you can probably tell 😁).

Last, and by far most important, he met and began regularly dating A, who has become the love of his life. It was wonderful to watch their relationship blossom over the past few years, culminating in Chris proposing to her in January 2025 They were originally planning a wedding this fall after he receives his doctorate, but they decided to move it to May 2027. A recently started a new job (which she loves), but they wisely realized a fall 2026 wedding would be biting off more than even they could chew. We can wait another year - which will coincidentally be the first wedding I will attend as myself. 🙂 Cannot wait.

***

As always, a few tunes to round out the post - in this case, the Pat Metheny Group provides the soundtrack.

Leading off is a track from 1982's Offramp - "Are You Going With Me?":

Next up is "Letter From Home," the title track of their 1989's album:

 Finally, one of their best known and most beloved songs, "Last Train Home," from 1987's Still Life (Talking):

That does it for today. See you soon...