50th Anniversary: The 2000s - Getting Older & Feeling It

As I look back on the 2000s, it seems to have been the busiest decade of my life and probably the most challenging, too.  Not only was I teaching full time, but my kids were graduating from high school and college, getting married, and having their own children. I was always on the go.

Having attended my last BreyerFest in the 1999, it would not be until 2012 that I finally had the time to go again. Fortunately the internet was exploding and I kept up with the hobby through Haynet (the grandaddy of hobby social media sites) and other online forums and sources. I still added new pieces to my collection and was active on hobby forums, but I simply did not have the time to attend any live shows.

My health took a nose dive during this decade. It was an unexpected shock in 2001 when I was diagnosed with two brain tumors. Luckily they are benign, and as long as they don't grow, I can avoid brain surgery. A third, different type of brain tumor was found in 2008 when monitoring the first two. It is a meningioma and is more concerning than the first two, but if it has to come out, it is in an easily accessed location. (Thankful, thankful, THANKFUL!)

Then, I began to notice while teaching that my hip was really starting to hurt. It began interfering with my mobility, especially in the classroom. I ended up having my right hip replaced.

I recovered from that, but then my knees began causing me trouble and I started falling. After my third fall, I saw my orthopedist and X-rays showed that both knees were bone on bone. I had to have them replaced. 

Recovering at home after my first knee replacement. That's our Lab, Zeus, snoozing with me. Like Pepper, he was a retired service dog, only he'd been a narcotics sniffer for the police. He was huge - about twice the size that Pepper is - and very gentle.

A grizzled Zeus with my mother - they had a very strong bond and he would always sit by her when she visited.

Sadly, my father passed away during this decade. He had always championed my horseyness and was still buying me model horses until his Alzheimers made it so he could not drive anymore. 

Skip-bo, one of the pieces that my father bought me.

Jack's Oh Boy, a model that I named after my dad and his pony, Oh Boy.

Despite the mounting health challenges, life was good. Our children were all independent and doing well, and while we missed them terribly, we enjoyed this new phase of life. Craig and I were busy, but we also had more flexibility in our schedules since it was just the two of us.

We'd always hoped that we could go Back Home Again (to) Indiana. Finally, after almost 30 years away, we had the opportunity to return. Craig was offered a position at Purdue here in West Lafayette, the town we both came from. We discussed our options and decided that it was time for us to go home.

Packing up my collection was more than a bit overwhelming. Not only did I have shelves lining the basement walls with Breyers and Stones, I had several china cabinets full of Hagen Renakers and other breakable horses upstairs.  On top of that, I'd just had ankle surgery and was hobbling around in a boot while finishing my Masters at the University of Illinois. 

What a whirlwind! Several of our kids came back to Illinois to help us with the gargantuan job of sorting and packing. But I graduated, the models were safely packed, and I was cleared to remove the boot the day before we were scheduled to leave. 

As excited as we were to go back home, it was difficult to say goodbye to Illinois - we'd made lasting friendships and had loved our time there. But we were also glad that we would be closer to our parents and able to help them as they dealt with their own challenges that came from growing older. It was time to move home.

Comment to enter for the blankets!

50th Anniversary: Kathy Bateman

 In the early 1990s, I expanded from my early morning newspaper vending box route to helping my kids deliver the afternoon newspaper to our neighborhood. They had five paper routes, and would troop in after school, start rolling and bagging the day's edition, then we'd all head out together on bikes and cover the neighborhood. It was a lot of fun, and the kids earned money not only for personal spending but for their college funds, too.

Our home in Illinois - I loved this house. It had five bedrooms so it was plenty big for our family of eight. There was also a full basement whose walls were lined with shelves for my model horses. 

One of our paper route customers was a woman named Kathy Bateman. And one day while chatting with her, I saw something through her open front door that made my jaw drop - a wedgewood Breyer Fighting Stallion sitting on a table.  

Kathy and me at a live show - she made that saddle on the Lady Phase.

She invited me into her home to look at her model, and then showed me a large shelving unit chock full of models of all scales and makes. She was a collector! That chance sighting of the Fighting Stallion kicked off a friendship that is still going strong thirty years later.

More tack made by Kathy in the 1990s. This piece and the tack are owned by Kay Biberstein. (Photo by Kay Biberstein.)

Kathy didn't know about the model horse hobby, but I was happy to fill her in. Soon she and I were going to live shows together.

We went to the very first NAN (North American Nationals) together, too.

Beth Dickinson, me, and Kathy at NAN, 1995.

She helped me hold Lincoln Land Live and had great ideas as to show packets, awards, and in keeping the show running on time.

Kathy retired and she and her husband moved to Tennessee. They also have what she charmingly calls "a wee house" up in the mountains of North Carolina where they live part of the summer. She sold most of her collection when they moved. 

She is a dear friend and we stay in touch via social media. To this day there is no one I'd rather go to a model horse show with than Kathy. (Kat, I know you read this blog occasionally - BreyerFest 2021?? Think about it!)

The fourth giveaway is open for entries until Tuesday at 11:59 PM. Comment to enter!

 

Turning 60

I turned sixty this past week. (Boy, does that sound old.) Lisa and Craig wanted to have a party for me, so we had a small gathering last night. Since it was Labor Day weekend, most people were out of town, but the Connollys and Seymours came over for some cake, to watch the Purdue/Louisville game, and some games.

  There was a nice spread of nibbles.

 Craig wanted the savory snacks...

... and I asked for a very special cake.

When Craig had asked me what I wanted for my birthday, the only thing I really wanted was a cake from Deanna Loschen. Deanna lives on a farm in Ogden, Illinois (an hour's drive away) and baked all our cakes when we lived in Urbana. Lucky me, Craig called her up, ordered one, and brought it home for me. 

I love how the "IN" for Indiana is centered on the "I" for Illinois, the university where I received my Bachelors and Masters degrees. (Go, Illini!!)

Cole and Emily sent me this nifty Illini license plate holder as a birthday gift this year, too! My hometown may be the town where Purdue University is located, and I even did two years as an undergrad as well as my Gifted and Talented endorsement at Purdue, but Illinois is MY school.

 We also put out some soft drinks and water and then just let everyone wander in and out, grabbing what they wanted when they wanted it. It was a very relaxed and enjoyable party.

A few of us also played one of my favorite cards games, Wizards. In some aspects, it's a bit like Bridge because you bid to win sets. 

Milestone birthdays like this one make me pause and reflect and turning sixty was no exception. I never, ever dreamed I would still be owning horses when I reached sixty, but I have Abby and expect a good ten years or more with her. I may not be able to ride any more, but I sure am glad I still have horses in my life!

 I can't help but wonder what else this decade of life will bring and am looking forward to the coming years.