If my 2018 was The Year Everything Changed, then my 2019 was The Year of Finding the New Normal. But it's only a temporary normal.
The divorce isn't officially final, but I think my lawyer will be ready to file shortly after the New Year. We signed the property settlement at the end of September, which means that I'm single for all practical purposes. I've adjusted to living on my own and the idea that I have to do things for myself. I've started getting out there again, and I'm dating a bit.
My balance problems were finally diagnosed, and treatments have started. I've had to get used to the idea that I have a chronic illness called CIDP (if you're familiar with Guillain-Barre, think a chronic version of that). The regular infusions were fairly easy to adjust to -- every fourth week, my mornings are taken up with IV infusions, and the worst of it is having the catheter in my arm all week. I'm used to the ankle braces now that I've found shoes that open wide enough to insert foot and brace at the same time. The physical therapy is helping -- today the therapist gave me the Berg balance test, and I scored a 25, or 55 percent limited (which is a lot better than the 8 I scored a few months ago).
I had to say goodbye to both my male cats this year. I'd kind of expected Coco to go ever since he was diagnosed with cancer in September 2017. But he made it until July of this year, which is a long time for a cat with cancer (even with aggressive treatment). I've talked about Coco so much in other threads, so I'll just repeat that I was Coco's human as much as he was my cat. I've heard the theory that Coco held on against the cancer until he was sure that I'd be okay without him.
Losing Joey in February was the surprise. He was a kidney donor for Arthur. His remaining kidney started to fail just as I came down with bronchitis, so by the time I was well enough to see that he was sick, it was too late.
On the bright side, Bally (Cat Ballou) came out of her shell. She has always attached herself to a male cat, and I figure that she was willing to attach herself to a male human once the male cats were gone.
Looking ahead, I've decided to retire in 2020. The plan is to retire at the end of the year, but I've given myself permission to retire sooner if I decide that I've had enough. Which means more changes coming up in my life.