A slow rain is falling and the light breeze makes it feel cooler than the 78 degrees that Rick's thermometer is registering. I'm sitting on the back porch with Katherine and William who are blowing bubbles with Crayola's new colored bubble stuff. Thunder rumbles occasionally. This certainly isn't a typical July afternoon in Southeast Texas.
The back yard is finally coming back to life after the ravages of the January 2011 freeze and the Summer/Fall 2011 drought. This is not happening entirely automatically. I have put a significant amount of work into its rebirth. It's almost as though the yard is a metaphor for my life. I kind of went through a drought the last few months, too. I'm not quite sure why I quit posting to this blog. I just did. In nine days, it will be a year since my last post. It seems right to begin sharing my thoughts again.
I did face some health challenges in the past year. Nothing life threatening--just irritating, time-consuming and painful. The procedures included six separate CT scans, seven doppler ultra sounds, three MRIs, countless x-rays, four angiograms, two separate stinting procedures (a stint in my right internal carotid artery and an eight centimeter one in my right iliac artery), two hospitalizations, a lung function test, three months of physical therapy three times a week and almost weekly trips into the Texas Medical Center. The specialists I have seen include: a pulmonary specialist, two orthopedists, a neurologist, three cardiologists, a nephrologist and a urologist. The admissions staff at St. Luke's and I are becoming friends. I happily report that I have only had one bout with acute bronchitis since I started treatment; the tumor in my right kidney is benign and the only concession I must make to it is that I can no longer engage in contact sports (There goes all hope for the World Women's Wrestling Championship--a dream since the early 70s); blood is flowing nicely through the stinted arteries although I will probably always have pain in my right groin where the iliac stint repaired an injury from a previous angiogram; and the severe pain in my right hip decreased dramatically over the past two weeks for no apparent reason. I am blessed and thankful to live so close to a world-class medical facility like the Texas Medical Center. Some of the procedures and tests that I had are still in experimental stages and at other facilities they require more invasive procedures than I experienced. (Some of my nieces and nephews scold me for not telling them of my medical problems and procedures. So Jana, Brent, et.al. this last paragraph was written for you and not for sympathy.)
There has been one major change in my life since I last wrote here. In September, Amy and her family moved out of my house and into their own house approximately three blocks away. This was better for all of us. I did, however, have to go through the adjustment of living alone. There were some long, lonely days during the dark winter. I had only lived alone once in my life. That was for three months after I moved to Fort Worth. It took Rick that long to get transferred to Fort Worth to join me. I see Amy, Katherine and William almost daily and I probably average keeping K and W a couple of days a week which is good. I don't see Chris and his family nearly as often as I would like. Their two oldest, Zoe and Ian, are teenagers now and involved in their own activities that keep the whole family busy.
One night a week or so ago, I turned off the t.v., got out of my chair and started turning off lights and putting the house to bed. Suddenly, I stopped. It was as if someone had turned a switch in me. I don't know if one were turned on or off. A sudden feeling of acceptance and contentment swept over me. Since Rick died I have had an anticipatory feeling that "something is about to happen." That feeling is gone. I have no idea why the new feelings struck me at that particular moment, but it is a memorable moment. I have had more forward momentum than in the past two or three years. I'm making plans for some travel and have decided that I want to stay in this house for at least another year. I've begun to entertain again and I love doing that.
I have several topics in mind that I plan to write about in the coming weeks. Thanks to all of you for "hanging in there" with me. I'm glad to be back.
The back yard is finally coming back to life after the ravages of the January 2011 freeze and the Summer/Fall 2011 drought. This is not happening entirely automatically. I have put a significant amount of work into its rebirth. It's almost as though the yard is a metaphor for my life. I kind of went through a drought the last few months, too. I'm not quite sure why I quit posting to this blog. I just did. In nine days, it will be a year since my last post. It seems right to begin sharing my thoughts again.
I did face some health challenges in the past year. Nothing life threatening--just irritating, time-consuming and painful. The procedures included six separate CT scans, seven doppler ultra sounds, three MRIs, countless x-rays, four angiograms, two separate stinting procedures (a stint in my right internal carotid artery and an eight centimeter one in my right iliac artery), two hospitalizations, a lung function test, three months of physical therapy three times a week and almost weekly trips into the Texas Medical Center. The specialists I have seen include: a pulmonary specialist, two orthopedists, a neurologist, three cardiologists, a nephrologist and a urologist. The admissions staff at St. Luke's and I are becoming friends. I happily report that I have only had one bout with acute bronchitis since I started treatment; the tumor in my right kidney is benign and the only concession I must make to it is that I can no longer engage in contact sports (There goes all hope for the World Women's Wrestling Championship--a dream since the early 70s); blood is flowing nicely through the stinted arteries although I will probably always have pain in my right groin where the iliac stint repaired an injury from a previous angiogram; and the severe pain in my right hip decreased dramatically over the past two weeks for no apparent reason. I am blessed and thankful to live so close to a world-class medical facility like the Texas Medical Center. Some of the procedures and tests that I had are still in experimental stages and at other facilities they require more invasive procedures than I experienced. (Some of my nieces and nephews scold me for not telling them of my medical problems and procedures. So Jana, Brent, et.al. this last paragraph was written for you and not for sympathy.)
There has been one major change in my life since I last wrote here. In September, Amy and her family moved out of my house and into their own house approximately three blocks away. This was better for all of us. I did, however, have to go through the adjustment of living alone. There were some long, lonely days during the dark winter. I had only lived alone once in my life. That was for three months after I moved to Fort Worth. It took Rick that long to get transferred to Fort Worth to join me. I see Amy, Katherine and William almost daily and I probably average keeping K and W a couple of days a week which is good. I don't see Chris and his family nearly as often as I would like. Their two oldest, Zoe and Ian, are teenagers now and involved in their own activities that keep the whole family busy.
One night a week or so ago, I turned off the t.v., got out of my chair and started turning off lights and putting the house to bed. Suddenly, I stopped. It was as if someone had turned a switch in me. I don't know if one were turned on or off. A sudden feeling of acceptance and contentment swept over me. Since Rick died I have had an anticipatory feeling that "something is about to happen." That feeling is gone. I have no idea why the new feelings struck me at that particular moment, but it is a memorable moment. I have had more forward momentum than in the past two or three years. I'm making plans for some travel and have decided that I want to stay in this house for at least another year. I've begun to entertain again and I love doing that.
I have several topics in mind that I plan to write about in the coming weeks. Thanks to all of you for "hanging in there" with me. I'm glad to be back.
