Mom had open heart surgery two days ago. There were a few unsuspected complications once they got in there but she's doing okay considering. There were calcifications in her aorta (the major blood vessel coming off the heart) which looked like stalamites, sharp, pointy rock formations that develop over years of liquid dripping from a cave ceiling onto the floor.
The only thing now is that she won't wake up. SHe's ultra-sensitive to pain meds and I have to keep prodding her to wake her up. I have to nag her to eat. I have to boss her around like she's a small child.
I was never a parent, but if this is what it is like, I"m kinda glad I din't go through it. I know I've missed a few of the warm fuzzies that go along with parenting, but this is one of the hardest things I've ever done.
I"ll take a deep breath, tuck my head down and keep plugging along. I knew this day would come. We all gotta get old sometime, but it's giving me more and more thoughts about how to plan my own future for when I get old.
That includes more exercise now, eating less chocolate and caffeine, less fatty foods, more vegetables, less red meat. Now wait a minute!!! Did you just read what I wrote? WHO am I kidding? Gggrin!
Whew...glad I got over that insane before I went too far.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
What Bugs Bunny taught us about classical music
I bought a CD of popular classical music. I love it. My husband doesn't. One day however when we got in the car, it began playing. I figured he would turn it off.
After twenty minutes, I commented on how odd it was that he was actually listening to classical music. He said ... "oh, is that classical music? I thought it was the soundtrack to Bugs Bunny cartoons."
Rossini, Mendelson, Straus, Wagner, Stravinski, and (if I could spell it right)...Betovan, Bethovan, Beethovan...you get the picture. It's 4:30 in the morning and my spell check is still asleep.
The background music for cartoons I'd listened to all my life were all there. I hadn't realized it until he said something.
As Richard Wagner's song, The Ride of the Valkyrie, played in the background, I could just close my eyes and "see" Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny dressed as vikings with Elmer proudly belting out the tune, "kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit, KILL THE WABBIT".
Hard to believe, Bugs Bunny is good for something other than a laugh. He helped me learn to appreciate classical music too.
After twenty minutes, I commented on how odd it was that he was actually listening to classical music. He said ... "oh, is that classical music? I thought it was the soundtrack to Bugs Bunny cartoons."
Rossini, Mendelson, Straus, Wagner, Stravinski, and (if I could spell it right)...Betovan, Bethovan, Beethovan...you get the picture. It's 4:30 in the morning and my spell check is still asleep.
The background music for cartoons I'd listened to all my life were all there. I hadn't realized it until he said something.
As Richard Wagner's song, The Ride of the Valkyrie, played in the background, I could just close my eyes and "see" Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny dressed as vikings with Elmer proudly belting out the tune, "kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit, KILL THE WABBIT".
Hard to believe, Bugs Bunny is good for something other than a laugh. He helped me learn to appreciate classical music too.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Squatter's Rights for Frogs
Is there such a thing as Squatter's Rights for Frogs?
Somebody moved in a few days ago. He may be
little and green, but he's a persistant little buck. My
husband keeps finding him hiding in various
places around our garage. It seems our
log cabin is his favorite place to vacation and hang
during the summer months.
Mr. Frog's favorite hidey-hole is under the lawn mower
hood. Good thing, dear hubby peeks underneath every
time before he starts the darned thing. Otherwise.......
Ewwwwwww!
Funny thing is, it seems to be the same frog each time.
I guess nobody's gonna tell HIM where to live.
Ggggrin!
Living in the country is fun. If you don't
have deer in the driveway, frogs in the lawn mower,
chipmunks chirping so loud they wake you up out
of a sound sleep, turkeys in the back yard taking a dust
bath, hawks circling the woods in back of your house,
racoons pooping on your back deck, squirrels getting
trapped inside your house and chewing a hole in the
window screen so he can get out, woodpeckers trying
to drill a hole in your house cuz it's a LOG cabin and
Gee...that's what woodpeckers do, and various and sundry
ground bee swarms to drive over with the lawn mower
and get attacked by, miscellanous bugs and once finding
a brown wolf spider in the middle of your bed when
you walk into the bedroom to go to sleep, life just ain't
worth livin'. Ain't life grand?
Somebody moved in a few days ago. He may be
little and green, but he's a persistant little buck. My
husband keeps finding him hiding in various
places around our garage. It seems our
log cabin is his favorite place to vacation and hang
during the summer months.
Mr. Frog's favorite hidey-hole is under the lawn mower
hood. Good thing, dear hubby peeks underneath every
time before he starts the darned thing. Otherwise.......
Ewwwwwww!
Funny thing is, it seems to be the same frog each time.
I guess nobody's gonna tell HIM where to live.
Ggggrin!
Living in the country is fun. If you don't
have deer in the driveway, frogs in the lawn mower,
chipmunks chirping so loud they wake you up out
of a sound sleep, turkeys in the back yard taking a dust
bath, hawks circling the woods in back of your house,
racoons pooping on your back deck, squirrels getting
trapped inside your house and chewing a hole in the
window screen so he can get out, woodpeckers trying
to drill a hole in your house cuz it's a LOG cabin and
Gee...that's what woodpeckers do, and various and sundry
ground bee swarms to drive over with the lawn mower
and get attacked by, miscellanous bugs and once finding
a brown wolf spider in the middle of your bed when
you walk into the bedroom to go to sleep, life just ain't
worth livin'. Ain't life grand?
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Bully Bird
"Hey Lady. Get outa my way. Ah'm flyin' heyah."
My walk today was punctuated with a moment of
of extreme surprise. I felt a thump and flutter
at my back. As I tried to see behind me, I
noticed the shadow of a small bird hovering
behind me just below my shoulders. It glanced
off my back again and then flew off.
What do I look like? A window? Hmmmmmmm...
on second thought...don't answer that. Gggrin!
Just thought I'd share. Odd things happen to me
but this one rates pretty high on the weird-o-meter.
Now I'm gettting pushed around by birds.
My walk today was punctuated with a moment of
of extreme surprise. I felt a thump and flutter
at my back. As I tried to see behind me, I
noticed the shadow of a small bird hovering
behind me just below my shoulders. It glanced
off my back again and then flew off.
What do I look like? A window? Hmmmmmmm...
on second thought...don't answer that. Gggrin!
Just thought I'd share. Odd things happen to me
but this one rates pretty high on the weird-o-meter.
Now I'm gettting pushed around by birds.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Oh to be young again? Not me.
I worked with an 18 year old who was graduating from
high school today. She's scared spitless about her future.
Has no plans on how to accomplish her goals of being a
kindergarden teacher some day. She physically shook
from nerves as I performed her sonogram.
I never thought about that sort of thing when I was young.My
future unfolded for me without a hitch. I got into college
in the x-ray school program by a complete fluke. Someone dropped
out at the right moment so I could just slip in the door. Exit
college, there's a job waiting for me. The next years crop of
graduates had no jobs at all.
A few years later, someone sidled up to me and whispered...psssssst,
there's a job in Ultrasound, pass it on. I hollered ... ME...ME...take
MEEEEEE! They did and there were no openings in Ultrasound for
another 10 years after that.
Everything I've ever wanted in the way of a job has opened up
right when I wanted it and I've loved my job ever since.
How lucky is that?
My advise to her is to always keep a positive attitude no matter what
happens. "We become what our thoughts are." Then I said something
utterly inane and made her laugh.
Don't know which helped more...being silly or being profound but
at least she wasn't shaking any more.
BUt all this made me realize I wouldn't want to be young again
for a million bucks.
high school today. She's scared spitless about her future.
Has no plans on how to accomplish her goals of being a
kindergarden teacher some day. She physically shook
from nerves as I performed her sonogram.
I never thought about that sort of thing when I was young.My
future unfolded for me without a hitch. I got into college
in the x-ray school program by a complete fluke. Someone dropped
out at the right moment so I could just slip in the door. Exit
college, there's a job waiting for me. The next years crop of
graduates had no jobs at all.
A few years later, someone sidled up to me and whispered...psssssst,
there's a job in Ultrasound, pass it on. I hollered ... ME...ME...take
MEEEEEE! They did and there were no openings in Ultrasound for
another 10 years after that.
Everything I've ever wanted in the way of a job has opened up
right when I wanted it and I've loved my job ever since.
How lucky is that?
My advise to her is to always keep a positive attitude no matter what
happens. "We become what our thoughts are." Then I said something
utterly inane and made her laugh.
Don't know which helped more...being silly or being profound but
at least she wasn't shaking any more.
BUt all this made me realize I wouldn't want to be young again
for a million bucks.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Brain Development . . . is this a good thing?
I just bought a CD program called The BrainFlex Method. It talks about how to develop
your brain so that as you get older, you have less chance of developing brained related issues
like dementia and Alzheimer's by stimulating your brain to form new synapses instead of
decreasing them as usually happens when you get older.
The program talked about being a left brained person or a right brained persons. Left brainers
are logical people. They make lists and follow them; they make great detectives. They wear
watches and are almost never late.
Right brainers are those flighty kinds of creative people who "feel" more than they "see".
Not the most organized people in the whole wide world. In fact if they made a list,
they'd probably lose it. And watches? HA! What's time to a creative person?
Now just because I haven't worn a watch in over 28 years doesn't mean I'm a right brainer.
I just keep forgetting to take the watch to the jeweler's to get it fixed. Get the picture? The
list I wrote it down on to remind me is probably buried until piles of creative clutter on my
kitchen counter.
To stimulate the other side of your brain, they suggest doing things with your non-dominant
hand. Ever try brushing your teeth with the opposite hand? Oy! I got cramps in my wrist
doing that. I've been using my left hand on the mouse when I play solitaire. I have to use
my middle finger to click the mouse instead of the forefinger. *Mr. Left ForeFinger* has gone on
strike. It doesn't want to work right.
And soooo...they suggested a way of right brainer's developing the left side of their brain.
Keeping a blog every day for 30 days. You might think this is a creative person's forte but
it's not. It's organized and logical, *delicate shudder*, but I'm going to try to do this for
30 days.
oh yeah . . . just gotta share one last thing. They suggested using two pieces of paper and two pens. Draw a circle with one hand while you are drawing a square or a triangle or some other structure with the other hand. They offered about 12 different drawing scenarios graduating up to the more difficult ones of drawing two squares with one hand, a triangle with the other hand and trace a circle with your foot on the floor as you do it. By the time I got done, I felt like I'd pulled a hamstring in my brain. Aiyiyi! DO NOT do this exercise just before betime, boys and girls. I kept waking up wondering where I was that night.
Anyway, I'm gonna try that write a blog post every day. We'll see how far I get. ggggrin!
your brain so that as you get older, you have less chance of developing brained related issues
like dementia and Alzheimer's by stimulating your brain to form new synapses instead of
decreasing them as usually happens when you get older.
The program talked about being a left brained person or a right brained persons. Left brainers
are logical people. They make lists and follow them; they make great detectives. They wear
watches and are almost never late.
Right brainers are those flighty kinds of creative people who "feel" more than they "see".
Not the most organized people in the whole wide world. In fact if they made a list,
they'd probably lose it. And watches? HA! What's time to a creative person?
Now just because I haven't worn a watch in over 28 years doesn't mean I'm a right brainer.
I just keep forgetting to take the watch to the jeweler's to get it fixed. Get the picture? The
list I wrote it down on to remind me is probably buried until piles of creative clutter on my
kitchen counter.
To stimulate the other side of your brain, they suggest doing things with your non-dominant
hand. Ever try brushing your teeth with the opposite hand? Oy! I got cramps in my wrist
doing that. I've been using my left hand on the mouse when I play solitaire. I have to use
my middle finger to click the mouse instead of the forefinger. *Mr. Left ForeFinger* has gone on
strike. It doesn't want to work right.
And soooo...they suggested a way of right brainer's developing the left side of their brain.
Keeping a blog every day for 30 days. You might think this is a creative person's forte but
it's not. It's organized and logical, *delicate shudder*, but I'm going to try to do this for
30 days.
oh yeah . . . just gotta share one last thing. They suggested using two pieces of paper and two pens. Draw a circle with one hand while you are drawing a square or a triangle or some other structure with the other hand. They offered about 12 different drawing scenarios graduating up to the more difficult ones of drawing two squares with one hand, a triangle with the other hand and trace a circle with your foot on the floor as you do it. By the time I got done, I felt like I'd pulled a hamstring in my brain. Aiyiyi! DO NOT do this exercise just before betime, boys and girls. I kept waking up wondering where I was that night.
Anyway, I'm gonna try that write a blog post every day. We'll see how far I get. ggggrin!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
What makes you happy?
Have you ever thought about what makes you truly happy? TOday...I decided to make a list.
1. When a stranger responds to your smile.
2. The smell of cut grass
3. The smell of flowers as you're sitting under a busy overpass waiting for a traffic light to turn green. (can you tell this happened to me today? I've never smelled flowers there before in my life and I've been driving under this overpass for almost 30 years)
4. Seeing the sunshine after days and days and days and days of rain. (can you tell we're a bit water-logged here in the Midwest?) gggrin!
5. Finding the perfect pair of pants on sale for $2.99. (Okay...so my husband doesn't like them, but WHAT woman wouldn't LOVE to find a pair of bright red elastic waisted suede pants ON SALE and they actually FIT?) gggrin!
6. Having someone tell you the convoluted directions to a doctors office, but stopping after she says....go down this long hallway....NO...WAIT...open the door, THen go down the hallway. (That's my kind of sense of humor.)
7. Helping someone who is very uptight about having some medical testing done laugh through their procedure and reeeeeeeeally relax. (Of course, it's hard to be around me without laughing really hard. Hmmmm....I wonder if that's a good thing or not, she pauses to consider, then grins)
8. Realizing it doesn't make that much difference if you are one minute late to work or not, as long as you got there safely.
9. Getting to think about what makes you happy and then realizing you had a most excellent day.
10. Realizing you really only have nine things that made you happy today, but in sharing those nine things, you get to say you have 10 things that made you happy.
And so...what made YOU happy today? I wanna know.
1. When a stranger responds to your smile.
2. The smell of cut grass
3. The smell of flowers as you're sitting under a busy overpass waiting for a traffic light to turn green. (can you tell this happened to me today? I've never smelled flowers there before in my life and I've been driving under this overpass for almost 30 years)
4. Seeing the sunshine after days and days and days and days of rain. (can you tell we're a bit water-logged here in the Midwest?) gggrin!
5. Finding the perfect pair of pants on sale for $2.99. (Okay...so my husband doesn't like them, but WHAT woman wouldn't LOVE to find a pair of bright red elastic waisted suede pants ON SALE and they actually FIT?) gggrin!
6. Having someone tell you the convoluted directions to a doctors office, but stopping after she says....go down this long hallway....NO...WAIT...open the door, THen go down the hallway. (That's my kind of sense of humor.)
7. Helping someone who is very uptight about having some medical testing done laugh through their procedure and reeeeeeeeally relax. (Of course, it's hard to be around me without laughing really hard. Hmmmm....I wonder if that's a good thing or not, she pauses to consider, then grins)
8. Realizing it doesn't make that much difference if you are one minute late to work or not, as long as you got there safely.
9. Getting to think about what makes you happy and then realizing you had a most excellent day.
10. Realizing you really only have nine things that made you happy today, but in sharing those nine things, you get to say you have 10 things that made you happy.
And so...what made YOU happy today? I wanna know.
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