Jodi's Christmas

I'm dreaming of a white...no green...no brown...Christmas! Life in the desert is a far cry from living in the Evergreen State, but I think we'll all adjust. We moved to Tucson in February. I was never really at home in California, so I am hopeful that that the adjustment to Tucson will be smooth. I have informed Ken that we are nearing the end of my moving days. I am hopeful we will finally find a place to stay. I did some reflecting on my life and the number of moves. Fifteen houses (not including two dorms and an apartment in college), 10 cities (not including college town), 6 states. That is a lifetime of change. It explains a little about my desire to place roots somewhere.

After we left CA, I continued to work for the same company until May. I enjoyed the work, but they decided they really needed someone on site to do the job. I decided to take the summer to be with the kids, since the adjustment wasn't easy for them. Then started my job search in September. I will say, I've never had this much difficulty finding work. I guess my standards are a little different. I want a job that challenges me and pays more than 1/2 what I was making in CA. At some point I will settle, but I'm not there yet. I've been #2 choice on 3 ideal jobs. I'm not giving up.

I am making a few friends, but it is hard. We haven't found the "right" church yet and I don't have a job, so it's hard to meet new people. I'm confident that the connections will come with time. I have enjoyed visits from friends and family. We've had more visitors to AZ then we did living 20 miles from Disneyland (with free passes). A lot of our friends from Ken's office in CA have been to visit. Even with all of my complaining, we did make some good friends while in CA. We had a great time with them in Vegas just a few weeks ago. Having family within driving distance is also nice. Janet has been a gift, helping me unpack and sharing holidays. I'm so glad they are close. Looking forward to New Year's with Dad and Pam.

I guess besides the move, the hardest part of the year has been dealing with my eyes. This is the year that I finally have to accept that I do indeed have RP, and will be dealing with the consequences of that the rest of my life. First off, it is really, really dark in Tucson! My night driving days are coming to an end. If I do drive, I need someone in the car with me to make sure I don't miss something crucial. It has made me really miss my mom. I wish I had someone to talk to who actually understands the frustrations. I had to have cataract surgery this summer. (I guess early cataracts are common with RP patients). Once that was done a film or stain almost immediately formed, leaving me with cloudy vision. Laser surgery to correct that was done in November. Still blurry vision, macular edema (common in RP patients after cataract surgery, uncommon to everyone else). Drops, retina specialists, time and hope that I will eventually have clear vision again, though it's not guaranteed. Not good when center vision is blurry and peripheral is gone. Thinking I should have just lived with the cataracts, my vision was better before the surgery. Hindsight, it's much better than my regular sight.

Well, that is Jodi's year. But fear not, I have the least exciting life of all the Tuckers, so keep checking for their 2009 stories.