HOPE YOU ARE LOVING LIFE AS I AM

I have always heard "be careful what you wish for, you might get it and more to boot".  Well, my wish and my prayer for rain has been answered in spades.  We have had rain, rain, rain and more of it.  Now, we are having plain old bad storms.  Thursday night, starting at 9:30 and lasting until the early morning I have never in my entire life heard such thunder and seen such lightning.  I had my candles and matches ready and my big flashlight by my bed in anticipation of my electricity going off, but that never happened.  I came through the entire night sleeping intermittently and safely and for that I am thankful.  Many trees around my apartment complex were damaged either by completely being struck down or losing many big, full of leaves branches.  It will take the city quite a while to clean up the area surrounding the complex that is a walking track that stretches many miles.  Also, I heard chain saws yesterday cutting limbs that must have fallen across the railroad track that runs right by my apartment.  However, the brown and tan colorless grass and the limp leaves on the trees and the poor, wilted flowers are now revived.  The grass is a lush green and the trees are holding bright green leaves high and letting them blow a nice breeze to give some relief to the hot, humid air that is so uncomfortable.  With my breathing problem I am reluctant to spend much time out of doors in the humidity.  I have to use my breathing devices more these days but I manage to accomplish most of the errands and things that I want to do.

One of the things that I have been doing lately and probably have written in previous blogs, is water exercises.  I have met a woman that lives here in the apartments that is my partner for this exercise.  We go to the pool in the morning before all of the mothers and little children who splash and play in the pool get there and we walk the width of the pool sideways, backwards and frontwards.  Then we have an instruction booklet to guide us with the arms, legs, hips and back exercises.  All of this takes about 45 minutes and I am amazed at how much it has helped me.  I recommend water exercise to everyone in deference to doing aerobics in a gym or with a video.  The water seems to work up the heart rate as well as exercise your muscles and joints.  Also, my friend, who has MS and cannot walk is enjoying this so much.  We have become fast friends.  She is so interesting to talk with because she has lived all over the world and held a responsible job in technology.  She has a service dog named Maisie that is always with her.  When she drops something Maisie picks it up and hands it to her.  I have become very fond of Maisie as well as Terrie.  Billy used to say that everywhere I went I met new people and talked to them until I found out their life story. I don't know about that exactly, but I do know that there are some people in this world that just give off vibes to me that they are someone that I would like to know and Terrie is one of those people.  I knew from the minute I made her acquaintance on the sidewalk one day that we were destined to become friends.  After all a woman on an electric cart with a service dog going to Sam's and WalMart and anywhere else she desires to go certainly did pique my curiosity.  I'm glad that I introduced myself and we have made a bond. 

My sinus stuff just seems to be hanging on forever.  Yes, I know that I should have gone back to the doctor for another round of antibiotics and shots, etc. but I didn't.  Now, I have been encouraged by a friend and by my daughter to go to an ENT for examination and diagnosis.  Maybe it is something that can be fixed and won't be hitting me so hard and lasting so long.  It surely does take the fun out of life when you get up in the morning feeling just as lousy as when you went to bed.  However, after a couple of cups of coffee and some toast, my medicine, getting dressed and moving around I do "perk up" and am able to accomplish a few tasks.  Then, when around 3:00pm comes I am content to get into my chair and read and nap for an hour or so.  I really have to make myself take Houston outside for a good walk twice a day because of the humidity.  We have to go early and we have to go just before dark because anytime in between is not good for me.  I did cook meals on wheels at church Thursday and then went to Sara's house for lunch.  She had a lovely luncheon of hot chicken salad that was excellent and my favorite congealed salad which is made with pretzels, cream cheese and strawberry jello.  We played a game of Scrabble and I was more than ready to come home, get in my chair and rest.  It had been a full day from 6:00am until 4:30pm. 

Chris and Ashley have gone to California to attend a wedding of one of Chris' boyhood friends and Nita and Ray are keeping Christopher, John Ed and Mary Hollis.  Yesterday when I talked to Nita she was handling the situation well except that she was not able to spend time in the yard and the children were getting pretty rowdy in the house.  I'm sure that she came up with some ingenuous ways of entertaining them until Ray could come home and they could go out for hamburgers for supper and maybe a trip to the book store or some other fun place.  Emily and Jackson sold their house Thursday.  It has been for sale for a while and many people have come to look at it so I knew it was just a matter of time until somebody - just the right person- would buy it.  Now they have got to find a place to live across town, closer to Christ Presbyterian Academy where Emily teaches and be ready to move by the end of August.  I don't envy them this task at all.  It is sad to think that they will live so far away but I can understand that it is impossible to get five children up in the morning, breakfast for them, dressed, lunches packed, books and other school bags together and be in Brentwood by 7:30. Looks like Nita will be travelling I-65 to Brentwood a lot to help Emily and also Drew who lives there.  In spite of Nita's ailments she is a good grandmother and never backs down when needed to help or when she just goes to spend time with her grandchildren. 

Leslie and Russell and the children moved into their new home in Florence, AL this week.  Quite naturally, Corinne took off a week of work to go help with the move.  She did this same thing when they moved in Texas and to Clarksville and to Dyersburg.  I understand that the house is just wonderful with many extra features to make Leslie's life easy.  I also understand that the house has a huge basement that the children are enjoying as a place to ride their bikes, play basketball and work off energy while the women get the house set up.  I can hardly wait to go to Florence and see the house, the hospital where Russell is working and the school where the boys will be going.  I think it is ironic that to get to Florence you get off of the interstate at Athens, AL which is my birthplace.  Maybe when I take the trip to Florence I can spend some time in Athens on the way to or from there.  I have not been to Athens in many years.  Most all of my relatives are gone but the ones that are still there are living in the homes that were built by my ancestors so the area is quite familiar.   I say the area is familiar, not the way it looks now with many houses, grocery stores, a new school with athletic field and other things that were just cotton fields in my days of going to Athens. 

Well, the morning is moving on and my work here in my apartment is at a stand-still.  I need to do some major house cleaning since I have been so lazy lately.  I blame it on feeling bad but I am beginning to think that I am lazy.  Also, I have had some wonderful books to read these past weeks and it is hard not to get my book and get in my chair and read. The next thing I know it is afternoon and I have accomplished absolutely nothing.  Maybe that is what old-age is about.  Maybe these days of idleness are not the result of anything but time to take it easy, quit pushing so hard, resting and reading, writing notes to people who need to hear a word of encouragement or congratulations on something they have done, talking on the phone to Barbara about all sorts of philosophical subjects, talking on the phone to Wallace Lee about the presidential election that is coming up in November, just living life in the slow lane rather than the fast lane.  This is a new life for me and so very different from the one I have lived for 78 years but it is rather nice.  Getting to be old is not so bad.  I believe that God gives us strength to do all of the things we must do when we are young and then gives us the good sense to accept what we can't do when we are old.  For this I am grateful and it just reinforces my feeling that God is good - all the time.

SUNDAY MORNING THOUGHTS

Today is Sunday, July 8, 2012 and I am not at church.  I know that will come as a surprise to everyone, even me, but I am "not up to par" today.  Truth is, yesterday I woke up with vertigo.  The room began to spin and the nausea hit bit time!  I got up out of bed and immediately took one of my miracle pills, Adavert,  that the doctor told me to keep on hand always due to the fact that I seem to have one of these attacks each time I have a sinus problem.  Isn't that the most ridiculous thing?  I have had a problem with sinus drainage, cough and headache for a few days.  Who hasn't had that I wonder?  After all the temp has been over 100 degrees for the past nine days.  I think that the problem comes from getting hot and getting into a car and turning the a/c on full blast and letting it blow on me.  Getting hot again and coming into the cool house. Just jumping from hot to cold seems to not be a good idea for me.  Anyway, yesterday I took the pills, laid in my lounge chair and slept a lot (a good thing)  and worried my girls (not a good thing) and this morning other than feeling washed out and weak I am okay.  In other words, no nausea nor dizziness, which is the best thing.  I plan to take it easy today and get ready for next week, which is Vacation Bible School Week at Madison Church.  I have signed up for the entire week so I have got to be strong and well and ready to deal with noisy, excited, happy children. 

I have two daughters at home and two daughters in Florida as of today.  Nita and her family came home yesterday after a week in Florida - all of them - Drew, and Emily and all of their children which total 10 children and 4 adults in one condo and Chris, Ashley their 3 children and Nita and Ray in another condo.  Now there is a bunch of people.  According to Nita it was a perfect week.  The children were all very good and happy and loved being together on the beach.  Tracey, Carter, Danny and Courtney went to the beach this past Monday and the guys came back yesterday and the girls are coming back today.  Tracey and Courtney just had to have one more day at the beach.  Kim. Brad, Samantha and Roger left yesterday morning for Destin and I talked to Kim this morning and she sounds better already.  After just a few hours of that wonderful place she was talking like a happy person and says that she is feeling better.  I am so happy for her and I know that her three co-travelers will take good care of her.  Well, Corinne is here looking after me.  In fact, I thought I could slip over to WalMart while she and Nita would be at church and when I drove up she was standing in the driveway worried to death as to where I was and why I was out in the car.  I had to go pick up something for Houston and never dreamed anybody would "bust" me.  I should have known better.  I will not go out again today, however, because just that little excursion wore me out.  That Vertigo stuff just lays me low.

We had a wonderful Fourth of July Celebration this past Wednesday.  We went to Kim's house for barbecue and all the accompanying dishes plus desserts to die for.  I really enjoyed visiting with my family (the ones that weren't in Florida) and eating the good food and enjoying all of Kim's elaborate decorations.  Her table was decorated with flags and red, white and blue dishes and plastic ware.  Her foyer table was decorated with the Fourth of July theme and she had buntings across the entry way into the dining room.  It was so festive and so colorful and so happy looking.  We did not stay to watch the fire works as we usually do because, it being a work night and everyone having to get up the next morning, we broke up around 8:30 so that everybody that wanted to watch the fireworks on TV would have the opportunity.  I was feeling "poorly" from the sinus thing  and was ready to come home and go to bed.  I only saw about five minutes of the Macy's Show from New York and then I turned the TV off and went to sleep.  They say that our display from Riverfront Park downtown Nashville was fabulous but I couldn't see them from where I live and surely didn't want to join the thousands of people that were downtown partying.  According to the National TV reports, Nashville has outstanding Fireworks and seem to rank in the top cities over the country.

The hot temperature and no rain has caused our beautiful middle Tennessee that is usually green grass and trees, flowers of all colors and sky as blue as blue can be to now be shades of brown and tan, leaves curling and falling in some places, and the poor flowers that people so lovingly planted and cared for are now drooping and the leaves turning brown.  You can't water with a hose enough to keep things alive.  We need a good ground soaking rain to try to bring things back to life.  It is predicted that we will have some rain this week but the rain that is talked about seems to be "scattered showers" which means that it could rain here at my place and not a drop a mile away.  They have put a water-ban on some cities where people cannot use water for anything other than bathing and cooking - no car washing or anything unimportant.  It is so dry that the least spark from a cigarette could start a terrible fire.  I do hope that people will be careful and not cause us to suffer like the people in Colorado that have lost their homes and businesses to forest fires that spread so fast and were uncontrollable.  I just have to keep telling myself that God is in control and He will take care of the thirsty birds, the dry grass, the dying flowers and the drooping trees and shrubs.  He has always taken care of us and he always will.  How do I know this?   Because I know that God is good - all the time.