Musings

Mamma's beginning to feel better. We've started arguing and getting on each other's nerves. That's a good sign. My main gripe is that's she's too independent and stubborn and won't listen to me. 

Mamma's sister, Mary Jane, came to visit last week and Mamma and Mary Jane have already taken off two times in the car alone. Both times I tried to tell Mamma she shouldn't drive but she wouldn't listen. She can barely walk from room to room. She shouldn't  be driving. When they came back, she admitted she nearly had an accident.

I asked her nurse practitioner if Mamma should be driving yet. She said she thought Mamma should wait until they get her medicine adjusted. Mamma still has home health care and a physical therapist come every week. 

I'm glad May Johnson agreed with me because my little mamma is a daredevil and can scare the bejesus out of you. She turned in front of a car when Katie and I were both with her one day and Katie won't ride with her any more. I can't blame her.

I've been consumed with taking care of Mamma and have barely focused on my life although that's not what some people think. 

Anybody that knows me knows I like to make lists and keep track of things. I've noticed that whenever I'm in a crisis I forget to keep track of my days. That drives me crazy. I like to know what day I did something or when I paid a bill. Stuff like that. I am so far behind I will never fill in those blank days I spent during and after the hospital. Those days are lost to me in a fog.

I do have some more good news to report. I've been monitoring my blood glucose religiously and have begun to get a handle on it. Most days my blood sugar is in the low 100's, which is good but I haven't been exercising and I really feel that! I miss it so much. It really helps relieve stress. 

While I have been staying with Mamma, I have been mowing her yard and trying to get some exercise. I don't consider that much exercise when you're on a riding lawnmower but it's better than nothing. I figure the jiggling is shaking some fat off. Right?

Everybody says I'm not around as much as I should be but I'd like to know how much more around I need to be. I've been there every day and most nights since Mamma was in the hospital and I have languished away waiting to do my mother's bidding when she needed something to eat or assistance with anything. Mostly, I've sat around watching her work circle word puzzles.

I think people have forgotten, just because I don't work, that I have things I need to do. 

Nobody considers that my old dog is stuck in the house all day alone, with the poor old bird stuck in a cage, or Buddy is outside huddled on the porch waiting for somebody to come home and let him inside. 

Nobody considers the goat we've got that needs tending to and watched so it can roam free and eat bushes and weeds in the backyard without being attacked by Buddy. He can't be trusted.

Just because I'm an anomaly doesn't mean I don't have a life. It just looks different than yours.

I didn't even notice the dogwoods in bloom because I've been so preoccupied with other things. Spring is really here and I barely noticed. I hate that because spring is the most beautiful time of the year. The azaleas are blooming, too.

I don't think we will have but one more cold snap this year, blackberry winter. I could be wrong.

I don't mean to complain because I am very thankful for my life and everything going on in it. I am tickled to death Mamma is getting better and wants to do things for herself and doesn't need constant supervision. I am grateful for my boys who pick up the slack whenever I'm away. 

Colt and Donny jump right in and make sure they have clean clothes and something to eat. That's a blessing and one more thing I don't have to worry about. I could have ended up with someone like my Daddy who never cooked a meal in his life, as far as I know.

I am thrilled to be a mother-in-law and a granny. Scout picked a winner when he married Katie. She's been a great support to us all.

Katie is starting a new job and, by default, I am starting a new one, too. I am responsible for seeing that Bennett gets off the bus safely every afternoon when Katie isn't home. We bond over chocolate pudding and reading books. He is my best little buddy.  I only hope I'm not a bad influence on him. (Don't ask)

I'm going to get my hopes up again and look forward to a better summer than last year. I hope we are able to plant a garden and keep the goat out of it. I really, really would like a break for a while. I'm tired, already.

AS ALWAYS

PIO

Weekend Review

Don has been working overtime recently. He was supposed to work 10 hours a day 7 days a week. Last Saturday he hit his knee on something and it swole up so bad he couldn't walk. He decided to take a vacation week off. By Tuesday he felt so bad that he went to the doctor. They took blood. The doctor couldn't syringe any fluid off his knee so he ordered x-rays. An observant nurse pointed out a spot on Don's knee that looked suspicious. The doctor took a biopsy. The doctor filled him up on prescriptions and sent him home.

Don and I went to the Diagnostic Center and got his x-ray. I asked about mammograms and found out you have to have a doctor's order to get one. While I was at it, I asked how much it would be if I didn't have insurance. The lady said $525, I think. I was flabbergasted! Every time you fart in a medical situation it costs you $500 dollars. Colt's episode cost over $400. Don's last medical exam cost over $500. I think that is standard procedure, or something. How in the name of heaven can you look someone in the face and charge them $500 to mash the hell out of them with two window panes that are screwed down enough to make you feel like you are going to pop and take a picture? No wonder most people can't afford to go to the doctor. The cost is exorbitant. 

Don had been hobbling around like Chester in Gunsmoke. Anybody remember him? He hasn't been able to get outside and work in the garden so Colt and I have been taking care of it. Colt planted beans and tomatoes and I planted some okra.

Don called his doctor to find out about the x-ray and biopsy. They told him it was good news. He didn't have melanoma but he does have gout and needs to be taking another medicine. I hope his knee will get better so he can walk normally again.

Friday I mowed the entire yard, back and front. I usually break it up in a two day job. It was so nice and mild I didn't get tired like I usually do so I mowed the backyard without stopping. After that I had to mow the front yard and get it over with. It didn't take very long. This weekend is the yearly Battle of Resaca  reenactment so I wanted the yard to look nice.

I must have really pushed myself because I started limping around like Don. Every time I sat down for too long my legs locked up and I couldn't walk. I stumbled around like a spastic until I worked the soreness out of my legs. Now I can appreciate Don's pain. My soreness will wear off. I'm not so sure about his.


Colt and I rigged up two flagpoles so I could put a couple of Confederate flags in the front yard for the Battle of Resaca this weekend. People coming and going up Dixie highway will see them. That was my small contribution to the spirit of the occasion. That's all for now.

AS ALWAYS

PIO