TGIF: Almost anyway

It's actually Thursday night, but I'm feeling thankful early. Almost exactly one week ago, I woke up in the recovery room after having laparoscopic gall bladder removal surgery. I love the woozy feeling of waking up from anesthesia. But it didn't take long for the pain to break through that warm, fuzzy feeling. YIKES! I wasn't expecting it to be so painful. The nurse gave me two Percocet, and told me that I'd get a good night's sleep now.

NOT! It was a very long and sleepless night. My mouth was so dry, my lip kept getting stuck above my teeth (a very attractive look). I couldn't wait for the required 4 hours to be up so that I could take some Vicodin. Although that helped some, it wasn't much relief.

On Tuesday, I called my doctor, because I was concerned that I was still in so much pain after five days. I mean, everyone else I've talked to who have had this surgery have recovered much more quickly. What's wrong with me? The nurse reassured me that it was completely normal to still be feeling so much pain, especially since there was significant inflammation. But it is not normal to have so much breakthrough pain while taking Vicodin, so she recommended Percocet, a stronger drug. Bring it on! I couldn't wait to get that miracle drug! The next day, Gene picked it up, and I happily took one and settled in for a nice, pain-free nap.

No such luck.

I tried taking a second one, just to get things started on the new drug.

Nothing.

Argghhhh!!!!

It reminded me of when I was about 13, and I had a REALLY sore throat. My dad told me he was going to pick up some really great throat spray that would take the pain away. I clung to the hope of this amazing spray taking away the horrible pain. The next hour went by at an excruciatingly slow pace as I waited for Dad to come back. When he finally came in my room and sprayed the miracle elixir in my mouth, I almost threw up! It was horrible! And it didn't help my sore throat AT ALL! Wha!!!!!????? Oh, what a disappointment! To this day I hate Chloraseptic.

So, I'm going to pick up a refill for my Vicodin tomorrow. It's been a long week.

But here are some things I'm thankful for as this week comes to a blessed close:

• I've been sleeping A LOT. It's been nice to get that kind of rest. It's been YEARS since I've slept so well.
• The girls have been so sweet (to me, to Gene, and even to each other - a little).
• I've lost four more pounds for a total of 16 since this whole gall bladder thing started.
• Gene has been able to take a full week off of work, and he has been VERY helpful. He even made me a stepstool to help me get into my high bed easier. I love it!

I'm ready to feel better now, please.

TGIF - Back to Normal!

It's here! After almost six years of working nights, Gene starts on the day shift next week. We have longed and prayed for this day to come. We thought it might happen a few months ago, but it fell through. So I was afraid to get my hopes up when it came up in conversation again. I didn't want to say anything until I was sure it was really going to happen.

He worked his last night - well, last night. No more lonely nights! I'm very thankful for this blessing, and am really looking forward to our lives getting back to "normal." It's been so long, I don't know what normal is, though. Now I'll have to fix dinner for a family of four instead of one adult and two picky kids. I need to go grocery shopping!

And I'm going to have to get used to sharing the remote control for the TV. I have gotten used to having complete control. And I tend to watch two or three shows at a time, which drives Gene crazy. I also like to watch TV in bed until I fall asleep (again, two or three shows at a time).

I guess I'm now going to have to take Krista to school and pick her up every day (Gene usually takes her in the morning, but he'll be working 6:00 - 3:00 now). That's going to be rough.

Most Sundays it will just be just the girls and me going to church, because he'll be working Sunday through Thursday.

This could be a difficult adjustment for all of us. But all of these challenges haven't dampened my spirit. I'm still VERY excited!

TGIW - Trees!

OK, I know it's only Wednesday, but I didn't post last week, and I don't know if I'll think of it on Friday, so I'm doing a "Thank God It's Wednesday" post instead.

It's so exciting to see some (not all, unfortunately) of my trees doing well. Our Little Gem Magnolia tree has several blossoms on it. Here are some photos of the first ones to bloom since it's been in our yard.

Now if we can just figure out what's wrong with our Bronze Loquat tree, I'd be really happy.

Happy Wednesday!

Oh, and Gene caught a gopher! It was really sad. He used a trap. Nuff said. I sure hope there aren't more (but we probably aren't that lucky). But our front yard has been torn up by one or more of the darn things.

TGIF - Freedom

With the upcoming election and the anniversary of 9-11, I've been thinking a lot about how blessed I am to be an American. Here is my list of things to be thankful for this week:

Sarah Palin - not for what many would probably think would be the obvious reason for a Republican; I don't necessarily think she's the best choice for a Vice-Presidential running mate. No, I'm thankful for her because she has definitely got people talking and thinking a little more about voting. And I hope more people will vote in this election. It's pathetic how many people don't vote and take the right for granted.

Non-judgmental Democrats (and Republicans for that matter) - for having respect for other points of view and having the decency to disagree without putting opposing opinions down. I don't expect us all to agree, but it's not helpful to twist words and take quotes out of context. I see that happening on both sides and in the media, and with people I know. And it amazes me that people I thought were so intelligent are stooping to this level. It makes me very thankful for those rare people who can just have a conversation about politics and share their views without trying to make you feel stupid if you disagree.

Patriotism - I love hearing stories of people (like John McCain) who put their very lives on the line for their country (or for the rights of people in other countries). And, although I disagree with a lot of his stances, I think Barack Obama truly loves this country and wants to do what's best for it.

Freedom - For all its shortcomings, we still live in the greatest country in the world, and I'm thankful that all those judgmental Democrats (and Republicans) still have the right to make fun of people who have different opinions. But I still wish they would stop.

TGIF: Life is good!

This week, I'm borrowing an idea from a friend, and I'm listing things I've been thankful for throughout the week. Taking time to write these things down really reminds me of how blessed I am. I highly recommend it! Here's my list:

Sunday: I'm thankful that Krista gets to go to Camp Oliver for free this year and that she made it to the Boys and Girls Club on time for the bus ride (that's not always easy to do in our family). And I'm thankful for the wonderful mother-daughter time I had with Leah going to the mall and watching a movie. She's an awesome kid!

Monday: I'm thankful for my amazingly-talented daughter, who is selflessly designing a wedding invitation for a friend of mine that she doesn't even know! With her already busy, stressful life, this is so sweet!

Tuesday: I'm thankful for my job that allows me to work at home, and this week I even got to have my weekly team meeting over the phone. With the price of regular unleaded gas at $4.40, that's really a blessing!

Wednesday: I'm thankful for my new Aqua-bot that keeps our pool clean enough even for me to take a dip mid-day. With the pine needles that drop continuously from our neighbor's trees, our pool used to just be too gross for me. But this thing is AMAZING! So amazing, in fact, that we canceled our bi-weekly cleaning service, saving us $65 a month!

Thursday: I'm thankful that my mom got a good report from her doctor after taking a stress test because of concerns about her heart. No problems detected! She has had so many health problems in her life, so this was good news indeed.

Friday: I'm thankful that Krista is coming home today! We have missed her terribly, and I can't wait to hear all about her week in her I-can't-get-all-the-words-out-fast-enough way.

Saturday: Even though Saturday isn't here yet, I'm looking forward to tomorrow, when I'll be thankful for the San Diego free shade tree program, which allows each household 10 free 15-gallon shade trees! We are going to the mandatory 2-hour class in the morning, and we will order our trees!

I am definitely blessed!

TGIF: Life

This morning I'm feeling . . .

melancholy

pensive

reflective

. . . thankful.

My friend and former coworker at the Rock Church just gave birth (on Mother's Day) to her long-awaited baby girl. They have known for some time that the baby had some problems, but they didn't know what the extent of the problems would be. They are learning the extent now. What should be a joyful time for her and her husband is now filled with tests, consultations with specialists, and discouraging news. It's likely that their baby has Cerebral Palsy. She may also have kidney problems. The list of potential problems is long. They are struggling to find joy in this difficult time. My heart is hurting for them.

But V and D are amazing people, and I know that they are the perfect parents for their "Sweet Pea." And, although I can't imagine the pain that comes with having a special needs child, I think there are also special joys that come with it that the rest of us will never experience. I imagine that, while the lows are probably lower than our lows, the highs are probably much higher than ours, too. Nothing is taken for granted.

With my daughter's third baby due in September, this has hit home with me. It's something I really never thought about when I was pregnant. I just took my babies' health for granted, never giving it a second thought. Maybe it was because I was so young, and I didn't think about the possibility of having a child with special needs. It just never entered my mind.

So, today I'm thankful for my four healthy children.

And I'm thankful for V's special baby girl.

TGIF - Ah, Laughter!

This morning I woke up in a not-so-good mood. Not a bad mood, really, just not good. After another night of little sleep (which my doctor assures me will improve by taking a Benadryl every night--what???), I just didn't want to get up and start work (even though my job is just downstairs, and I can wear pajamas if I want to).

So, sitting down at my computer, I still couldn't bring myself to start working. I did my daily check of family and friends' blogs before settling in for work. Somehow I ended up at the blog of someone I don't even know and found this HILARIOUS story. It caught my eye because it starts out with "I don't like Halloween." I literally laughed out loud for a long time (Gene was taking the girls to school and I was all by myself). And when I read it again, I laughed more. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. If not, . . . WHATEVER! It's funny!

I don't like Halloween. I never really have. Even as a kid I found it very hard to decide on what to be. And I always opted for a run-of-the-mill cowboy or pirate. And even these simple costumes annoyed me by the end of the night: an eye patch became a sweaty burden; make-up dried on my skin; some garment inevitably made it difficult to walk. This list goes on. And then there were the two years, 9 years apart, where I thought I'd had it figured out.

1977 saw me cultivating a true love of KISS. And for Halloween I thought I'd go as Peter Criss, the drummer, whose character was a cat (for those of you not in the know, KISS wore full-face stage make-up and lots of leather during the 1970s). Of course, I didn't have leather, or real boots back in 1977, but I did have long hair and my mom's make-up. So, with Mom's help, I donned a dark shirt, a denim jacket, blue jeans, and her boots with the tops adorned in tin foil. And, of course, the make-up. And off I went to the Ella B. Allen elementary school Halloween party.

There was, of course, a costume contest, and all the kids got in a line and traipsed across the stage a couple of times. The judges then announced the five finalists: "The Princess, The Dragon, The Butterfly, Puss-in-Boots, and Sir Walter Raleigh. You are the five finalists. Please stay up on the stage." So, I lost. No big deal. I turned and started to walk off stage. "Where are you going?! You're one of the finalists!" "No I'm not," I said. "Yes! Puss-in-Boots!" My face turned a little bit red, I hung my head a little and muttered something like "I'm not Puss-in-Boots."

"He's in KISS!" said a mystery voice from the audience. "Oh, I'm sorry! Oh well, you still need to get back on the stage." So there I was, demoralized, embarrassed, emasculated even (there's irony in that one). I ended up losing, of course. But that right there convinced me that Halloween costumes were for chumps.

I LOVE to laugh!

TGIF - Halloween is Over!

This week's TGIF is that I'm glad that Halloween is over! You'd never know that I really HATE Halloween by the way we STILL help the girls dress up and we STILL take them somewhere to Trick-or-Treat. Every year I say that we're not going to celebrate Halloween--no costumes, no trick-or-treating, no candy. But, somehow, every year, the girls conveniently "forget" that I ever said that, and they start talking excitedly about what they are going to dress up as and where they want to go (we usually go to a local church for "Trunk-or-Treat" because it's so convenient and quick). And I just never have the heart to follow through on my feeble threats. In fact, this year, Krista had TWO costumes! One for school, and one for Trick-or-Treating. Arrrrrrrrgh!!! We did the same thing with Ashley and Ryan. We're so pathetic. Anyway, here are some photos of the day.

Krista's school costume

Leah as "Maid Marian"

Krista and Leah getting ready to go Trick-or-Treating

TGIF

God Bless America!

I am so thankful that I live in the United States of America. I know that, right now, our country is divided in its view on the war in Iraq, and I know that there are many people who are unhappy with George Bush. But, we still live in the best country in the world, and I still get teared up when I hear the "Star Spangled Banner" sung at a baseball game. I love the Pledge of Allegiance. I believe in it. When I see a large American flag lit up at night and waving in the breeze, I get a fuzzy feeling in the deepest part of me that can only be described as genuine love.

I love my country.

Yes, I'm proud to be an American. I'm proud that our country fights for the underdogs and cares about the rights of women. And, although I worry that we have lost some of our respect around the world because of our decision to go to war in Iraq, I still believe that George Bush has the country's best interest at heart.

Growing up, my dad instilled in all of us a pride for our country. Not with words, but with the way he lived his life. He was a career Army man--and he was proud of his service. He served in Vietnam for a year when I was in fourth grade. I remember recording messages to him on our reel-to-reel tape recorder. And I remember getting his back. He always had a message for each kid (and a message for Mom that she listened to in private). It was a difficult year for all of us, but even then, we somehow knew that he was doing this for our country, and we were proud.

When we lived on the military base in Germany, we would go to the movie theatre (for 15 cents!), and before each movie, they would play the "Star Spangled Banner." Everyone would stand with their hands on their hearts and sing along with pride. That was so cool. I miss that. I wish theatres still did that.

With all of the images and stories that we are bombarded with on CNN and Fox these days, from countries around the world, stories about genocide, the persecution and oppression of women and girls who just want equal rights or the right to an education, the bombing of innocent people in restaurants and shopping centers, I thank God that I am an American.