Nature Songs ~~~~
FEBRUARY, 2000
Memorizing the seasons,
I touch things as if my fingers
will learn them again;
weary of explanations,
At mid-life I am more comfortable
with the truth.
~~Susan A. Katz
February 1,2000 - The first month of the first year of the year 2000 is already passed. Where did it go so quickly? How could I allow it to slip by and have so little to show for my involvement during the month? It seems that I have been closed up in my little cocoon again and there is little progress to show for my days during this time. Being down with the flu and virus for a month leaves little time and energy for anything else.
Allan comes early again this morning to do some things. He has to take his tractor off and do some things some place else, and then he putters around here for a while doing more things for me. He takes time to do some things on my computer before leaving. One of the children at his house seems to have spilled some juice on the keyboard of his new computer causing it to short out. The company is sending them a new keyboard now that his will no longer work. When it arrives he is to send the other one back to the company. He is not a happy camper ...
It is well after lunch before the ice disappears from the trees from Sunday's storm. The sidewalk and roadway are clearing up, so I venture out to visit with Mother for a while. She is still not doing well and is refusing to eat. I take her a country ham biscuit hoping that she will eat it, but she only nibbles a few bites. I do get her to eat some pears, but that is all. After talking with her nurse and making plans for the doctor to see her tomorrow, and getting her back in bed to rest, I head back home before dark and freezing water on the road (surprisingly, it was already beginning to freeze). I feed Elsie Dawg the ham biscuit that Mother could not eat. Maybe tomorrow she will feel more like eating.
February 2,2000 - We did square dancing-like movements as we tread through the water this morning in our exercise session. Then, too, there was the grapevine step as we side stepped across the pool from side to side. The mummies took over as we crossed our arms across our chests and walked with giant steps to improve our balance. This morning the three of us - Allie, Mrs. Jay, and myself - partook of the pleasures of the water together as a team. It's the first time we have been out as a trio since before Christmas. Mrs. Jay is considering joining up with Quest4Life and we can be a trio on a regular basis. I wonder if the facility is ready for the three of us together?
After resting for a spell I headed over to the center to meet with Mother and the doctor when he made rounds and had his visit with her. He agreed that Mother definitely is not her spunky self and plans to run some tests to see what they may show. I can't help but think that she has hurt her back again when she sat on the floor last week. She would be the last to agree. We know that from the fall she took here at the house and the emergency room sent her home with a broken arm. It was the next week when she was hospitalized that they x-rayed and found the two broken vertebras. They couldn't believe that she had endured the pain she was having for that long. Now she has another doctor and once again he does not know Mother's stubbornness with it comes to matters of her back. I doubt that he is aware of the condition of her back in general. He sent her to the bone doctor only to appease me the last time. Of course, then we were told that there is nothing more to be done for her back, but at least she could have something to relieve the pain if she would only admit that she is having pain in her back instead of "all over."
By the time I stayed with Mother to try to encourage her to eat some supper and get her to bed, I had missed Lady here at the house. She had already cleaned up the place spic and span and gone her own way until next week. Now I owe her for this week! Wes was here with someone to look over the basement apartment with hopes of probably renting it. First of all, Wes has a lot of moving out yet to do before anyone else can claim it as home. I told Wes we need to get Wendy to type up a contract so a rental can be handled as a business venture. There are too many things to go wrong with rentals not to have some sort of security to fall back on - both for the renter and the rentor. It may be nice to have someone around the place as long as my puppies don't cause a melee with all their barking and playing.
Before Wes could leave the Schwan man came by to see if I wanted anything from his truck. Lady had bought some stuff from him two weeks ago and I got some ice cream sandwiches and frozen biscuits. I vowed not to buy any more, but I broke that vow! Wes wanted some of the pizzas and I offered to buy him some to take home with him. With my resistance at an all time low, somehow it slipped out that I would have a box of ice cream sandwiches while he was bringing in the pizzas ... now how did that happen? And I actually told him that in two weeks I would get another bag of frozen biscuits! (My grandson loves the biscuits.) I shared ice cream with Wes before he headed home.
A phone call from Mother's youngest sister brought some sad news for the family. The sister that was staying with her this week started having problems with her speech and was taken to the emergency room to be checked out. She had a stroke and was admitted to the hospital for further testing and evaluation. She also informed me that their brother's wife is in the hospital in serious condition with pneumonia. She has some heart problems and uses oxygen all the time and this has really complicated things for her; all because some lady was at the eye doctor's office sick and was coughing without covering her mouth in the waiting room at the same time as my aunt. The cousin that had the cancer surgery before Christmas is still in the hospital as well. I had to add Mother on to the list as having her own problems at this time.
February 3,2000 - Boy did I have those endorphins pumping today! Boy did I over do myself today because of it! I made it over the icy spotted roadway and tread carefully over the salt and ice to get into Q4L this morning before the temperature was high enough to get the salt to do its stuff. I did my hour of working out with the group. I done good... My friend's mother came in too late to join in with our group because they did not know that the time had been changed. Two of us offered to stay in the water longer and walk with her so she would get in some exercise after all the trouble of getting dressed and ready. We walked and talked for a half hour longer while her daughter sat along side the water and joined in the conversations. That wasn't too much. I was feeling good! After turning in six gold rings and a membership pass at the desk that had been left in the locker I used today, I decided to go to Kmart and buy some surf and sand shoes to use in the pool. The ones I am using now are beginning to crack and show signs of wearing out. New ones were being put out on the shelves at Kmart yesterday and I wasn't sure how long they would be there for me to purchase.
Since I was close to Bojangle's, I decided to stop and get Mother a ham biscuit and me a chicken fillet sandwich and we could have lunch together. She was surprised to see me walk in with all the goodies that just happened to jump into my shopping cart as I walked down the aisles at Kmart. Valentine candy to replenish her cache for the staff! A cute little white, cuddly bear wearing a red tutu that played music when its paw is pushed! Valentine M&Ms to put in her pretty blue man M&M dispenser - and a White Coke bear sporting a bright red straw to drink her Coke from while I soak her other container to clean it and its straw! (I don't think I am spoiling her?) She had just looked at her lunch tray and decided not to eat again, so seeing the ham biscuit today was a plus for her. She ate nearly all of it
By the time I helped her back into bed and started for home, I realized how exhausted I had become from all the activities of the morning. In fact, I wasn't certain I would make it to my car, but I did. Getting home, I barely got my load of goodies - well most of them - in the house, hung up my swimsuit to dry, and sat down in my royal wheelchair. At times like this, I am fortunate to have it to help out. I was much to exhausted to move around much and was glad that little Charlie enjoys pulling off my socks for me. Today, his help was needed. I headed to bed to try to rest some and get my bearing back.
Tomorrow I plan to be back for my water workout early in the morning.
February 4,2000 - Even though the temperature climbed up near fifty yesterday, the snow and ice are tenaciously hanging around. Our road into town had two shaded sections still covered with ice. Later when I visited Mother, the road to the center had its own curve with an icy patch remaining. By afternoon, the snowman in the front yard lost its hat and head. All that remained is actually solid ice. At least my own driveway is safe to travel on now.
Once in the water, we were again ballerinas strutting our steps from side to side in the pool. We did the "mummy walk" both backward and forward. Today using our "weights" anyone watching would declare we were practicing our golf swing and follow-through, punctuated by boxing jabs sprints. Again, the endorphins were pumping. At the end of the session everyone agreed it is a great way to start the day.
I got my truck back this evening! Yes, finally, Wes got his truck from the garage and is trying it out this weekend with the hopes that all is well. It is still hard for me to understand how the city could say they are not responsible for fixing the damage from the flying manhole cover way back when...! It is surprising that the city sent Wes a letter that they had examined the manhole and that it was in need of repairs. They explained that temporary repairs were first made and that now it was permanently repaired and in good condition. He took the letter to his insurance company since they are suing the city for payment for the repairs. This may get interesting.
February 5,2000 - Every intention was initially to go to the grocery store yesterday. That never happened. This morning Wes came by and while he was here he downloaded two new games on the computer for the boys. One of them is mountain bike racing and the other is truck racing. Wes found out quickly that these two games are much more challenging than the games they have been playing. All the family will be here tomorrow for Giggle's first birthday and this will give the boys something to work on while they are here. When he left, I headed for the grocery store to get things for our party (supper) tomorrow.
For some reason, I gave out while shopping and my back really bothered me. Guess it may come from over doing things the other day. I had to carry in some of the groceries because they needed to be in the freezer or refrigerator, but didn't feel like doing it. I rolled my royal wheelchair out the back door and loaded it down with the groceries and got all the bags in with one trip and less energy on my part. It was such a relief once the chair was empty and I could sit and finish putting up the items around the kitchen! My aunt came by to pick up some mail and I was too tired to get out of the chair and see her to the door. I felt bad that I didn't go out to the car and speak to my other aunt that just got out of the hospital. Once they left, I laid down to rest for a spell before going over to visit with Mother. The Old Gray Mare seems to be showing her age and lack of conditioning today.
Around three I went over to the nursing center and spent the afternoon with Mother. She is still not doing very well and is taking antibiotics for a kidney infection. She had been up all day and was experiencing a lot of pain. I spoke to two nurses about letting her lye down for awhile. They wanted her to stay up until she had supper. By the time her supper came she was in so much pain she couldn't eat. She was feeling sick on her stomach. I managed to get her to eat a few bites, got her to the bathroom and then into bed before leaving this evening. It bothers me that when someone that usually denies having anything wrong with them is having a problem and no attention is paid to visible symptoms and requests to go to bed. Even the doctor had admitted on Wednesday that Mother was evidently not her usual self. One apparently gets conditioned to hearing these requests and turns a deaf ear to all of them - real or unreal. Every one is stereotyped into the same image.
I did manage to get my monthly bills taken care of and ready to mail while visiting with Mother. A lady who was visiting her sister stopped by to talk and we learned that her husband was related to us and she was able to tell me a few things for my genealogy work. After leaving the center, I dropped by the post office to post my letters and then stopped for some Japanese chicken for supper. Another day has passed.
February 6,2000 - Today will be a very busy day for me. With the family coming here for supper, there is much to be done. Just how much of it I will succeed in readying is yet to be seen. Wes will come early and take inventory of the kitchen to see what he needs to purchase for our meal. (He also promised to stop by and see how Mother is doing today.) Tbird has to have the boys at school this afternoon to have their basketball team pictures taken, so Dad will bring Giggles over and take over the cooking in the kitchen before they arrive. I hope that Wes and Allan will have time to get my Jacuzzi working for me during all the other confusion and family fun.
Learning to make exercise a habit can have many pitfalls. The body and spirit may be willing, but the external conditions can play havoc with all good intentions. What a fancy way to say, "Well, once again I will have to miss a day of exercise this week." Wednesday, the nursing center has made an appointment for Mother with the Urologists in Hickory. They have asked me to go earlier and have the paperwork completed for her before her appointed time at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. That means no Q4L for me that morning. I shall still attempt to go four days.
Even with the desire and need to exercise, its hard to implement the habits needed for best results. I am tempted to begin using my exercise bike here at home. I could have my cordless phone close by in case I got into trouble. I love the energetic rush that comes with exercising. I know that things come along and changes have to be made, I just have to keep trudging along trying to keep in step with the needs of my body. Concessions are a way of life.
I do have a rememberance of Giggles' first birthday!~ Here she is with her Aunt Wendy.
continued
©2000 by Stormy Jeanne
