I've been thinking about this post for a while, trying to figure out exactly what I want to say. Anyone who's been following along knows that I recently left my job to pursue my artistic interests. I've been looking forward to doing this for a long time. However, it's been a rocky start, to say the least. As mentioned in previous posts, I hurt my back in September...nerve root compression in my neck that left that left me unable to do much of anything for almost 2 months. That in turn set back my work schedule and delayed my "retirement" by over a month. But I finally finished up at my old job at the end of January and began preparing to paint paint paint...cleaning and organizing my studio, ordering some supplies, and even doing some small studies to get back into things.
But then life threw another curveball. In mid February my father became very ill. He'd been battling myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) for about 5 years. MDS is a disorder of the bone marrow that causes problems in the blood. In his case, it mainly affected his red blood cells, causing anemia that made him extremely tired and weak. Over the past year he had been in and out of hospitals with various problems. Then in mid February he went in for what was supposed to be a blood transfusion...but he was also complaining about stomach pain. After several tests it was found he had an intestinal perforation which required emergency surgery. He made it through that (the surgeon used the term "miracle") and seemed OK for a few days, but then went into a rapid decline. He passed away on March 12.
The last 4 years have been rough. My grandfather (my mothers father) passed away in March 2005. A year later my mother was diagnosed with cancer, and she passed away 2 months later (May 2006). We're thinking about doing away with the month of March in our family. Anyway, since both of my parents are now gone, we have the estate to deal with. They lived in their house on Long Island for over 40 years, but never did much work on it. So we have some renovating to do in order to prepare to sell it. I'll be heading down there for about 3 weeks to see how much we can get done...clean up, paint, replace kitchen cabinets, etc. I'm hoping to be able to start spending some serious time painting (art, not walls) sometime in May.
We (myself and my brother and sister) used to joke that going home was like entering the dark ages, as my parents never got a computer or internet service. In fact, I don't know if either of them ever looked at a web page. Well, they may never have made it onto the information superhighway while they were alive, but they will now...the picture below shows them in 2002, at my house in Virginia...a few days after my 40th birthday. Happier times for certain.
But then life threw another curveball. In mid February my father became very ill. He'd been battling myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) for about 5 years. MDS is a disorder of the bone marrow that causes problems in the blood. In his case, it mainly affected his red blood cells, causing anemia that made him extremely tired and weak. Over the past year he had been in and out of hospitals with various problems. Then in mid February he went in for what was supposed to be a blood transfusion...but he was also complaining about stomach pain. After several tests it was found he had an intestinal perforation which required emergency surgery. He made it through that (the surgeon used the term "miracle") and seemed OK for a few days, but then went into a rapid decline. He passed away on March 12.
The last 4 years have been rough. My grandfather (my mothers father) passed away in March 2005. A year later my mother was diagnosed with cancer, and she passed away 2 months later (May 2006). We're thinking about doing away with the month of March in our family. Anyway, since both of my parents are now gone, we have the estate to deal with. They lived in their house on Long Island for over 40 years, but never did much work on it. So we have some renovating to do in order to prepare to sell it. I'll be heading down there for about 3 weeks to see how much we can get done...clean up, paint, replace kitchen cabinets, etc. I'm hoping to be able to start spending some serious time painting (art, not walls) sometime in May.
We (myself and my brother and sister) used to joke that going home was like entering the dark ages, as my parents never got a computer or internet service. In fact, I don't know if either of them ever looked at a web page. Well, they may never have made it onto the information superhighway while they were alive, but they will now...the picture below shows them in 2002, at my house in Virginia...a few days after my 40th birthday. Happier times for certain.
William and Sandra O'Handley
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