Two years. Two years without hearing his voice (I have a couple of grumpy voicemails I salvaged). Two years without him asking me to breakfast — the last thing he said to me. Two years of wishing he could have been with me as I did the things I had to do — the things WE planned to do together.

The things I cherish are unique — his handwriting and the ingenious things he made to solve minor problems I had. Mostly, I miss our conversations. He loved to make me laugh, and he was pretty good at it.

I’m grateful for friends, both near and far, who have stuck by me and supported me for these last two years. Not only did I lose Alan, but I lost my dad six months before him, a beloved high school teacher a year later, and a dear friend from high school six months ago. I’m almost afraid to find out who’s next, but at my age, one constant is that we begin losing people from our lives. It’s part of the price we pay for living.

I’m still figuring out who I am now as a solitary human being, because, somewhat surprisingly, everything changed two years ago. Even the things that are the same are different. I’ve determined I don’t need fixing, so that’s been a huge relief.

Projects are slowing down. The renovation portion for Crockett Avenue is complete, and we are moving our stuff in and getting things situated. We’ve hosted our first two Milam Touch of Love events there — Wellness Day and Barn Cat Day. As the weather heated up in March, it became apparent the warehouse space would require air conditioning, so a mini-split unit has been installed in that room.

Our setup for Barn Cat Day (the crates are available for Wellness Day participants and weren’t used for Barn Cat Day):

I’m getting the office set up. I’m not rushing this, but it’s taking shape.

The break area is usable. We’re still sifting through what we want where.

Since there is no usable counter space in the break area, this little area across the hall handles overflow and storage.

Alan had these trophies from his rally racing days in the late 60s and early 70s, so I brought them to where people can see them.

Projects at the house are wrapping up. One man is preparing the porches. Work on the downstairs bathroom is in progress and should be completed in time for me to use it after my foot surgery in mid-May. The same is true for my access ramp and sidewalk from the driveway to the front door.

The tape is off the garage doors, and the new openers have been installed.

The gutters are installed, so rain will be channeled appropriately now. Rain barrels are planned but not purchased or installed yet.