Nature Songs ~~~~
“Growing old is no more than a bad habit which a busy man has no time to form.”
~~André Maurois, French author (1885-1967)
August 1,2000 My grandson is trying to sneak in a peck or two along the way. So far no words have made it, but he wonders how I would be able to make a link to him... so, I showed him how the email would work.
Having left them in bed this morning, I went to Q4L to have my workout. It turned out to include forty-five minutes of all kinds of walking. I took part of that time to swim instead of so much walking. Both boys were still in bed when I returned home. It wasn’t long until we loaded up in the truck and head up the road and out in the country to pick up my taxes. We got some food to eat as we traveled for our lunch. Midafternoon I had to have them in Morganton for their haircuts and Mom picked them up from there. I proceeded back this way and stopped by to spend a little time with Mother.
I decided at the eleventh hour yesterday that I would sign up for some more online courses. Yes, I went the whole nine yards and chose three courses again. I got myself into more work this session than the last one. The Spanish class is going to be a real challenge for me (well, my grandson says he will work along with me.) My ability to remember is much shorter than it used to be. I am already forgetting from yesterday to today what some of the words are. I have to mention, that the days, months, numbers and stuff were taught to my kindergartners once a week way back when I was teaching. Much of that I have forgotten. As I read the history of the language, I recognize some of what I learned so many years ago when I took French. It is remarkable how much alike the two languages are alike in some ways. Perhaps the memory of what I once knew will help me now and maybe now will help me with what I studied in High School and College.
The writing class I decided to settle down with for the next six weeks is The Healing Power of Writing. This first class covers the power of forgiveness and suggests spending forty minutes writing about things I would or could forgive myself for by looking back into the past. Then comes adding another paper of forgiving someone else in connection with my first writing session. That is going to take a lot of introspective prying on my part.
Class number three is one I will enjoy while I am learning. It is about popular herbs and their uses. It has as much information to cover as the Spanish Class and will be most interesting to explore. I am still toying with ideas of expanding on the story I began way back when I first began playing with being online and using the computer. Maybe some of what I learn during these next few weeks will give me some good ideas for spoofing off into that magical world of make-believe. I no doubt will learn some things to help with day-to-day living and being healthier in years to come.
August 2,2000 - Water this morning was of the Tai Chi stretching and moving enjoyment sort. We all got a much better workout than yesterday. The stretching and moving to the music gives me a better feeling of bettering myself than the walking. I come back home feeling more ready to conquer new endeavors even though I usually come home to rest before doing anything. Would that be habit or need? The boys didn’t get over until after lunch today. Their Dad took them to work with him at the hospital this morning since he was pushed for time and couldn’t bring them over earlier. Sounds like they had a busy and fun time there while Dad worked.
I’m toying with another idea. ae Kwon Do is being offered each week at Quest. It is being heralded as being good for any and all sorts of people regardless of how well they may get around. Each person does only what he/she is comfortable with and no competition with others in the class. It sounds good, but yet I wonder if it is actually the thing for me. I have some reservations about my agility and know that if there is any getting down on the floor, I will have to have some assistance getting back on my feet. That is one thing chairs are made for, so guess I could just make sure that a chair is close by and ready for me to use. Another drawback is the fact that it is later in the day. I’ve considered going back to do water a second time some days, if I did it on the same day as the Tae Kwon Do, then I would be there for more than one thing which should be a good for me to do.
Time out this evening was a little more of a challenge for the boys and me. They could not agree on what they wanted to eat. Since they aren’t used to eating home-cooked foods, I saw no need for me to bother with toiling over the hot cookstove slaving to prepare foods they would not eat. We ended up going by Bojangle’s to pick up a country ham biscuit for Mother. She has wanted one for several days now. NascarKid got the new chicken strips that are out at KFC. We got a few things at the drugstore when I dropped off my prescriptions to be filled for the month and the new boy on the register got thoroughly mixed up when I presented him with coupons for the few things I bought. The manager had to come over and work out the kinks.
DynoKid and I settled on something from the Sonic which was just up the road. Then we were off to visit Mother for a short time. It was eight in the evening by the time we arrived to find her sitting in the dark in her room. She is not aware of the lights being off lately, but complains when the sunlight shines in the room or overhead lights may be on because they hurt her eye. It didn’t take her very long to devour her ham biscuit as she exclaimed about how good it was.
August 3,2000 - Spanish words for the week:
hola - hello
domingo - Sunday.
lunes - Monday.
martes - Tuesday.
mie`rcoles - Wednesday.
jueves - Thursday .
viernes - Friday.
sa`bado - Saturday.
Now if only I could remember the song we used to sing for the days of the week and months of the year in Spanish. It is much easier to do to music. My ear for the English language is not all that good. My ear for the Spanish language will leave much to be desired, I’m sure, but if I am able to read some of the signs and things it will be an accomplishment for me. Who knows, perhaps some day it may all come in handy for me and that other person that may not understand English so very well.
Wonder if taking a course in doggie language would help my grandsons in their confrontations with Charlie? He is easy to understand if only you take a moment to watch him. They would rather attack first and look second. That makes for a very rowdy situation at times. He loves all the roughhousing they do with him. They soon lose interest in the roughness and get angry because he is responding to them the only way he knows. “Hey, these boys are playing rough with me! Oh, boy, now I can run and jump and chew and claw and bark and play!”.
The little ones find him much different. They can pull his hair, hit, push, tug, scream, or whatever and he lays on his back patiently waiting for them to dish out more for him to endure. He knows the difference between the boys and the babies.
Hasta luego. - I’ll see you tomorrow.
August 4,2000 A slow start in the morning does not necessarily mean a day of leisure. Today was such an example. I lolled around and was nearly late for my water date this morning. Even then, the tempo of the day was beginning to change. We did some new moves using the noodles after a cadence of Tai Chi warm-up. One of them in particular was an exercise I should have skipped. I didn’t. It involved putting a foot in the center of the noodle and pushing against it with the leg lifted. It is not a good stretch for lower back problems. Will I ever learn moderation and the ability to choose to be different from others? am being to doubt I’ll ever change.
My daughter-in-law joined us this morning, having brought three of the boys along with her. Since I could only accommodate two of them in the truck, she opted to drop them off at my house after the session to await Uncle Allan. He had made plans to take them to the lake this afternoon. I offered to go along and help keep an eye on them as they fished through the afternoon. We collected what was on hand at home for cooking out on the beach and then I stopped on the way over to my aunt’s place on Lake Hickory to purchase the addition items needed for a successful day at the lake. Four boys and a girl in tow, the two of us set in for an afternoon at the lake.
I had forgotten the quietude of sitting lakeside watching the calming water movements. A fish jumping over in the cove; a turtle peeking its head up for a quick breathe of fresh air; boats with a slow droning sound of motors passing; An occasional tube being pulled behind a boat sporting an eager child; a jet ski hurrying to get nowhere in particular. My aunt came down driving her golf cart to mauveur the hill from the cottage to the river’s edge. She was leaving for the afternoon, but opened up the boat house for us in case we needed something from it, or wanted to use the telephone.
Alan was kept busy all afternoon getting five rod and reels readied and baited so each child would be able to fish. His was an afternoon of hard labor, but it was a labor of love, with the satisfaction of seeing the happiness of the children. I sat and watched. DynoKid was the first one to catch a fish and caught four for the day. I lost count of the number of small perch and Bluegill catch after the first dozed or so. Since most of the fish were small, they were thrown back into the water to grown larger.
Allan’s wife and Mother-in-law came down for supper on the beach with use. She grilled hot-dogs, hamburger and reheated the chicken I had cooked earlier and frozen for use later. There was sliced fresh tomato to add to the buns with other condiments. Bringing Buddy Boy along with her added to the joy of the afternoon. He got to touch his first fish as well as watch the boats as they cruised the waters. Should I mention that I came the closest to falling than I had for many, many months? I lost my balance while I was walking on the uneven ground with all the little grooves washed out by the storm waters rushing to the lake.
After a forty-five minute drive from the lake, I delivered NascarKid and DynoKid to their Dad. Another thirty minutes and I arrived home after ten p.m., hot, tired and happy.
August 5,2000 Sleep was sporadic throughout the night, but yet, come morning and I drift off to sleep. It was after nine when I awoke to a bright, sun-shiny day. All the children are gone. The phone has not rung. Another morning starting out with a lull. There are things I need to do. There are a few things I have to do. Wonder if any surprises will pop into the day? It would be nice if the phone would ring and I would be informed that the Explorer is ready for me. I’ve nearly forgotten how it looks and drives. I was reminded yesterday that I am the owner of one even though it has not been around the house now for a full seven weeks. The tax bill arrived in the mail for it. Should I send it on to Goofus and have him to pay it? It seems only fair since he has it 100 percent of the time. Even though I dropped it off at the shop with a full tank of gas, I'm expecting to see where he has charge for adding more gas during the time he has been driving it. I plan to challenge him if he does charge for more gas. It would not take that much gas for test driving - even over two months.
Mother has been out of the “good” candy and wants more. That means that she wants some chocolate for her own sweet tooth. The tarts, fruit flavors and bubble gum have been going down as the staff picks over the stash. Those are all flavors and types that Mother does not like. Guess when I pick up my medicines from the drugstore I can run in and get a few bags for her. I told the pharmacist I would be back on Thursday to pickup my meds. They are still there. Having the boys for a whole week has made a difference in my lifestyle and ability to move from A to B on the schedule I choose.
August 6,2000 I liked him. If first impressions are to be trusted, then I feel that the person to candidate at our church this morning would be the one to step into the position of our senior pastor. He is very down to earth, alert to all around him, caring and loving, along with delivering a great sermon. He has a sense of humor which I think is good. He reminds me somewhat of our beloved pastor from years past that died before his time. Finding a pastor to follow along after him has been hard for our congregation. Yes, perchance this is the one. Only prayers can lead each of us to make the right decision of acceptance and commitment.
I had to be home shortly after church to meet NascarKid, DynoKid and Dad so the boys could pick up some things they forgot to take home with them Friday evening. When they left, I was ready for a short nap. My foot has been hurting since all the walking in our water session this past Monday. It makes me wonder if I might have a stress fracture since there is also swelling in my foot. One would think that by now it would be feeling better. Add to that a quickie back and stiffness and it added up to a slow and painful morning. The new noodle playing may have strained my back a little Friday morning when I tried to lift my leg up as I pressed my foot into the noodle I was holding onto. I also could have done it when I slipped and almost fell at the lake. Then, too, it could be a combination of the two. At any rate, the back could certainly feel and act a lot better than it does today. All right, Brain, get with it and get Back in tip-top shape. Somewhere you have the ability to overrule that pain and send it off to a corner by itself to pout and fume.
I spent several hours with Mother this afternoon. She was wearing the new dark red dress I bought for her yesterday and enjoyed the softness of the knit material and the longer length. I cut her fingernails, filed and cleaned them before putting on two coats of new nail polish for her to sport around for all to see. After her supper, I left her to watch her ballgame this evening and came home to wash some clothes and rest.
Washing clothes is not a time for me to look forward to any more. It is not one of those mundane things that you do and forget for me. I wish it were less of a problem. Allan worked on the drain line last week, but the water still is not draining out as it should. I have to put down towels and papers to catch the water so I can get my clothes washed to wear. I used towels today until the last load and then they went into the washer and I covered the floor with today’s newspapers I had looked through. On the bright side, I had another use for the papers besides tossing them into the recycle can.
Psoriasis has its own way of letting me know that I have been experiencing stress. This past week has been stressful. Both elbows are irritated with those pesky blisters, along with others popping up a few here and there. Guess I should have started back on the meds a week earlier than I did. Then again, since I believe the stress plays a part in the flare-up, perhaps the medicine would not make a difference.
Tomorrow I promise myself that I will do my water exercises in the deeper water and keep pressure off my sore foot. I also promise to wear my best fitting walking shoes to help relieve pressure when walking around out of the water. I shall not try anything outrageous with the water noodles.
August 7,2000 The weekend kids gave the noodles a workout at Q4L after going into the unlocked supply room and rummaging around. They broke one - boo-hoo! We didn’t use them today, so I had no worries about overdoing with the exercise. In fact, we did our Tai Chi type workout all the session this morning. As it turned out, I did pretty well with my foot and back in the water. We looked over some pictures taken earlier of us in and around the pool before leaving for home.
My own day seemed to slip by unobtrusively. It has been a slow, uncomplicated sort of time-out for me. The temperature hanging up in the low nineties with a high humidity could be the problem. It feels more like the high nineties with all the muggy air hanging so heavily around. Any attempt of doing any work has been drained away for the day. I managed to check email online before traipsing off to explore my assignments for this week on the new classes.
I have to admit that I have not done as much as I had hoped on last week’s exploration into the Spanish language. Studying another language was much easier years ago when I was in school. Back then we classmates would spend time putting our new learned words to work as we walked the streets home in the afternoons. That was a good practice time for us and helped to imprint those words and sounds on our minds for eternity. Not so now. I read over the words. I say them out loud. But it is not the same. I fail to remember much of what is on the printed page without having that page in front of me. Perhaps more of it will rub off on me as the weeks progress and I use the words more often.
I have a written assignment for the class on Herbs this week. That means going online to research some of the more exotic herbs to learn about them and choose which one I would like to write about. I need to introduce myself to all three bulletin boards and take part in the discussions that are taking place. So far, I have only been reading some of the responses.
Class number three is my writing class and this week it is on the subject of love. I’m still fumbling through the forgiveness week and finding it rather difficult to look objectively on some topics in terms of forgiveness. It’s much easier to forgive others for things than it is to forgive myself. Now to add love to the thought processes and see where it leads.
~ continued ~ page two
©2000 by Stormy Jeanne
