Sunday, May 18, 2008

 

Sunday, May 18th, 2008 just thinking...

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

Ever look at the date and wonder where all the years went to, or wonder what you have accomplished in all that time? Ever look around you and find you have lots to be Thankful for even if there are some problems to handle?

Seems like as long as you own your own home, there is always some repair waiting to be done, This morning I finally got around to sanding the wood smooth where , last winter, I filled the cracks in the wood over my side door. I didn`t want the bees to find there way into my home using those tiny spaces in the wood, like they did last fall. Only problem with using the spray in filler is that it expands and extends outside the boards. It was too cold last fall to sand it all smooth, so this morning I decided I should get it sanded and ready for painting so it would look neater. The filler is a yellow cover and looks bad along the white painted walls. Last week I made some extender steps and nailed them to a riser board that was cut to match with the original porch steps. I have the supports lined up to hold the new steps outside the original steps railing. I have some large pretty flower holders I want to sit onto these steps so I can have flowers going down the side of the porch. I fixed these steps so that they can be removed in the winter so they won`t be in the way when I need to shovel snow off the original porch steps. I have them already stained and am waiting for some more dry days to finish them. Plus, I also want to add some edgings to the steps so the planters can`t be blown off in bad storms. Haven`t decided what type of support trim I want to add, but my mind is going a mile a minute on a lot of ideas. With all this hard work and repair money spent in trying to keep my home in good condition, I am thankful I have my own home as I would have a hard time trying to pay the rent prices they are charging today. I don`t see how the younger ones can pay so much and still properly support their families. My heart goes out to them.

Next week it is off to see the Dr that handled my arm after I dislocated it a year and a half ago. After another fall about 6 months ago, the arm started paining again and x-rays didn`t show what was causing the pain. Lately it has been aching worse and my Dr says an MRI might show the problem, but he sent me back to see the specialist that treated me before.

In July it`s back to see the Specialist who first tested me for sleep apnea ( unless they have a cancellation to fit me in before July). Getting so I fall asleep to easy with no warning and I don`t think that is good. Wasn`t a big worry till it happened only a little over an hour after I got up one morning.

Then the week after next, it`s off again to see my eye specialist. Got new glasses a couple weeks ago and have 20/20 when reading with them. But, they are no good for seeing distance. I have double vision which requires prisms in my glasses to bring the two images back into one picture wearing glasses. I have to wear the old glasses for driving and walking around outside. The new glasses leave the double vision with two separate images. I didn`t realize this about the new glasses when I picked them up as they simple checked how well I could read with them. And I thought it wise to wear the old glasses to drive home until I had time to get used to the new glasses. Well to make a long story short, I was wearing the new glasses at the computer when Sassy (my Border Collie) wanted to go outside. I got up, was on the porch hooking her onto her chain when my youngest son yelled "Hi Mom" to me. When I looked up, he was standing on the son-In-laws truck in the next door driveway and the son-I-Law was standing on the ground behind the truck. What I saw was two images of my son on the truck and 2 images of the S-I-law on the ground. That is when I found out the new glasses were not any help with distance. It hit me strange since , before, the newer glasses had always worked fine. I told my son and son-in-law that they should find it real easy removing the new kitchen range off the truck with four of them to lift it. LOL. At first they looked at me like I was crazy, till they remembered I had double vision. Looking thru the new glasses was no different than looking without wearing any glasses. Not sure what the eye Dr can do about it this time. I told him that the two images were no longer overlapping with the right eye image much higher than the left eye image. When I told him the two images were now side by side a couple inches apart, he told me that prisms can bring images up or down to match, but they can`t move images sideways. So, I ask myself
What next? Glad I can still see ok for distance with my old glasses even though they aren`t as good for reading or computer. Just have to remember to change glasses every time I start to get up and walk around. It`s like that pill you have to take only once a week, hard to remember when you aren`t used to it.

Funny how you think you have everything under control and you suddenly find there are some things you just can`t control. They told me it was a mini stroke that caused the double vision and that prisms would correct it for you. You are also told that over time your eyes would become crossed, but not to worry because when ( not if) that happens they can correct it by operating. Well, it has been about ten years since I was told this. About 5 or 6 years ago the Dr was surprised that my eyes hadn`t became crossed. After all these years, I hope that means it probably will never happen after all.
The body is a funny thing , often with a mind of it`s own. You, or your Dr expects one thing to happen and an entirely different thing ends up happening. OH Well, all we can do is smile and make the best of what we have. After all, things could always be a whole lot worse. Just look around you and I am sure you will find people who are either going thru something much worse than you are, or someone much worse off than you. As long as you keep the cup half full, you will be thankful that you are not as sick or as bad off as some others are. Remember, there is always someone much worse off than you are, no matter how bad off you are. I know I will be ok as long as I remember this and can feel thankful for what I have instead of feeling sorry for what I don`t have.

As one nephew once said to me " Aunt Dot, I would gladly give up all the money my family has to have the love in our family that I see in yours and in Uncle Ken`s family" . That was at my brother Ken`s funeral back in 1994, but I never forgot it. Money can`t buy happiness, only love can. Love is such a huge word and can make many bad situations easier to handle. Love is one of the hardest words to define, and yet, it is the most important feeling a person can know. When I feel lonely for Walt, I often remind myself that I was one of the lucky ones to have shared a love with the same person for a little over 50 years and that I am loved by children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren that are constant reminders of that first strong love. Some never are that lucky. So, yes, no matter what, my cup is still half full, not half empty.

Comments:
Hiya Dot,the prices of house's in England now are truley supid,to make them affordable for young couples now they are offering them 50 year morgage's, know what you meen about the glasses,i'm at that age were they say i've got everything going for me,my eyesights going my hairs going my teath are going lol.
 
Thanks Oneida. I think the most important thing i learned from my parents is that if you have each other you can handle whatever hardships come along. I believe that Love is the most prescious word in every language.
Lydia`s friends are very wise. That is how my friends felt visiting my home when I was growing up and I also always had a house full of my childrens friends filling up our home while my children were growing up.
 
Hi Gazza, Wow, 50 year mortages, hope it encourages the younger ones to make their marriages last that long. Here, it seems like few of the younger ones are married long enough to raise their children with both parents under the same roof. Whatever happened to " for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part"?
With the reading part of my new glasses I have perfect 20/20 eyesight, without them is crazy. As for hair, I am the lucky one in my family as here I am 76 yrs old and you have to strain to see the gray hairs while most other family members went gray at a much younger age. I guess my Aunt and older cousins advice must have been worth doing-- brushing my hair 100 strokes a day and never allowing anyone to use any chemicals on my hair while my sisters were always getting permanents which use chemicals.
Thanks for stopping by.
 
Post a Comment

<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?