Another year gone…

Today is my birthday. Another year has passed. Usually I don’t pay any attention to my birthdays. It’s just another day. This time, it’s the big 60! Somehow it has more weight to it than usual.

In doing a quick review, here’s what I see. I’ve been married 39+ years to the same man. I’ve been doing the same work since 1980 and at the same shop since 1992. I have arthritis in my hands and wrists and my neck & shoulders ache most days. My knees need work, which causes walking to be iffy on most days. And you know those commercials on t.v. where the woman doesn’t go anywhere without knowing where the bathrooms are? Well, that’s me now. But I can verify that “Enablex” is truly a wonder drug!

Let’s see…we have 2 children, and our 5 grandchildren live out-of-state, so we don’t see them very often. Our daughter got “temporarily” laid off from her job. That was 11 months ago and she has yet to be called back to work.

My car is 20 years old but it has been a great car. It is still going strong and hanging in there.

We went through a bankruptcy almost 10 years ago, so our house is NOT paid for and won’t be anytime soon! It taught us to buy with money instead of credit, though. That was a good lesson to learn. All of our needs are met and some of our wants are managed from time to time.

I got a $1 an hour raise this past year, I enjoy my job, and get along great with my boss! Not everyone can say that. I have people who love me, and people who pray for me. God has blessed us. We are healthy and happy!

I talked to a friend last night. I heard her husband was under the weather and was concerned. It seems they spent some of thanksgiving at the emergency room. He has a stomach tumor. The prognosis is very good. They will reduce the size of the tumor with drugs and then plan to operate. It’s just hard to cope with, and to get past the “C” word! That really knocks your socks off!

I’ve decided the next time my hands or wrists or knees hurt, or I want to whine about how difficult it is to cope in the bathroom struggling with compression hose, I will say an extra prayer for my friend instead! It will help both of us!

Here’s to another year!

‘Tis the Season

We spent last weekend giving thanks and spending time with our families. Now, it is December and we are preparing for Christmas. We plan to give gifts to family and friends, and perhaps, to give of ourselves to others less fortunate.

A couple of years ago, I found a webpage called the Angel card project. There are two sides to the project. It is set up to send Christmas cards to shut-ins, those experiencing hard times, or those in nursing homes with no family at all. You can submit names of those you know would enjoy receiving a Christmas card at a sometimes lonely time of year.  I signed up my mother that year. She is 84 and lives alone. She got over 80 Christmas cards from people all over the country. She was so pleased and excited to look for her mail that December!

The second side to the project is for those who would enjoy sending out cards. You can sign up to be an Angel card sender, and then can pick and choose from the list of submitted names. You can send out one card, or one hundred…it is up to you to decide. Sending at least one Christmas card to someone who has no one, is a small, but  fulfilling way to give of yourself at Christmastime.

The webpage is http://www.countrychurchcrafts.com/2009angelcardproject  .  There is much information to get past. Scroll down the page until you find the 2009 guidelines. There you will find the links to either submit the name of someone, or to sign up as a card sender. There is not much time left! The deadline to submit a name is Dec. 3rd. The information is down at the bottom of the page. Keep scrolling down until you find both sections. There will be an email link to sign up or to submit a name. Be sure to follow the example when submitting a name. I endorse this program thoroughly! It blessed my mother, and it blessed me as I sent out cards to those alone or lonely.

Giving Thanks

Most of us spent last thursday with family or friends eating turkey and giving thanks in the only national holiday set aside for that express purpose: to give thanks to God for what we have.

I want to express some of what I am thankful for. I am thankful for the man I met 46 years ago in 1963 who has loved me, supported me, and cared for me faithfully during 39 years of marriage.

I want to give thanks for our son, who has become a wonderful husband, father to 4, and a man of prayer.

I want to give thanks for our daughter, who has helped drive me,care for me, and become my friend through a difficult year of hospital stay, and out-patient lymphedema therapy. She continues to be a blessing and an encourager to me.

I want to give thanks for my Church home. It has nourished me and nurtured me since 1990 and given me much.

I want to give thanks for my relationship with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, without whom I could not get through each day. I am thankful for the opportunity to pray and to give thanks and to know I am heard.

And I want to give thanks for The Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, a community of Nuns, who have befriended me, and prayed for me since 1990. They are a wonderful example of how to live a Holy life.

What do you have to be thankful for?

Shingles anyone?

I did my trip to the hospital. I did the Lymphedema Therapy 3 times a week. I finally finished that and began wearing compression hose to control the Lymphedema. First I tried compression leggings with knee hi hose on top. Then I tried the leggings with thigh hi hose. I finally settled on compression panty hose with compression knee hi sports socks on top.

So when things finally seemed to settle into a somewhat stable routine again, I develop a burning, itching pain that won’t quit in the left side of my back right behind my breast. This lasted a couple of days. I wondered if I pulled a muscle or something. I started imagining heart trouble. I can’t get comfortable and pain medication doesn’t seem to help. And then I broke out in a rash on my back and around my left side along the bra line. Ok then. A trip to the doctor confirms my suspicion that this is shingles. That is an inflammation of the nerve endings and it is quite painful to the touch. If you ever had the chicken poxs as a child, you carry the virus in your system and might get shingles one day.

Even though I’ve caught it early, and began anti-viral medication, the shingles has to take its course and continues to break out until it is full blown. I am unable to wear a bra. Some days the pain seems to level off and other days it burns and stings and itches and never lets up. I heard about a friend at church who had the shingles and it was so bad we didn’t see him for 3 months! I’m so glad this is a “mild” case! The bad thing is, the longer the pain lasts, the less my tolerance seems to be. It is supposed to get better in about 5 weeks! Oh happy days!

P.S. I wrote this 5 weeks ago when this began…I’m happy to tell you, I’m over the shingles. There is some residual markings like birth marks on my back, but the major rash is gone and the pain is gone too. Yeah!

Can I talk to a real person?

My favorite Christian radio station went off the air this morning before I got up. I tried to call their 1-800 call line, but this is a satellite station with millions of listeners all over the nation and it is almost impossible to get through. Next, I tried to remember their alternate prayer line # and dialed that. I got women’s voices moaning, advertising whatever. I slammed down the phone quickly, rolled my eyes, and said good grief! Then, thinking I had misdialed, I tried again. Nothing like hearing that twice! Ack!

Next, I tried dialing directory assistance. The voice mail computer couldn’t recognize the radio station call name and connected me to a real person who connected me with the 1-800 directory assistance computer. She couldn’t understand the call letters of the station either, so I gave up in frustration. All I wanted to do was report that the station had gone off the air! I never expected so much trouble finding a real person to talk to!

Prayer Shawl Ministry

I recently noticed an interesting offer in our Church bulletin. A group of women were giving away blessed prayer shawls for those who wanted one. They were to comfort those with a serious illness or who had received a negative prognosis, or just for those who wanted to use the shawl as a means to pray and get closer to God. I thought, Hmm…sounds almost Jewish. How interesting.

Beneath that notice, was an announcement for the meeting of the women who were knitting and crocheting the prayer shawls. Now I was really intrigued. I like to knit and crochet, but since my attention span is shorter than it used to be, I need a small project to do. This seemed ideal! The whole idea was wonderful to me. As a recipient, knowing someone prayed as they began the shawl, prayed as they knitted, and then prayed over it when they finished it was comforting. And then, knowing the shawls were blessed before they were given away was just an added bonus.

I’m always looking for small ways that I can give back to the church and this sounded perfect for me. They gave me the sets of prayers, 3 skeins of yarn and the instructions. I am knitting my 1st prayer shawl and have already bought more yarn for my 2nd. Knowing my prayers and my shawl might give comfort to someone in need gives me great satisfaction.

I have learned that this ministry is national. It crosses denominational lines. The main web page is http://www.shawlministry.com/. There is a links page to look for groups in your area, though it is not complete.

Whether you would like to own a prayer shawl, or begin knitting them to give away, this is worth looking in to. Happy knitting!

The Nintendo Wii is for everyone!

It took many years, and a handicap licence plate to admit that I am partly handicapped. My knees won’t straighten, so I walk short distances in a bent-knee position with the help of a walker.

My son and grandkids introduced me to the Nintendo Wii system. I found I could play tennis, golf, baseball, and go bowling from my sitting position! How fun! And when my daughter purchased the Wii Fit, I was extremely excited to find many exercises I could do.

There is yoga with breathing and stretching exercises. In the aerobics sections, I can go on a short or long-distance run around the countryside moving my arms and upper body. I can ski and snowboard which uses my legs and thigh muscles. The ski jump is difficult and addictive and it really feeds my frustration. The system keeps a running total of how much exercise you do each day. The games and the characters make the exercise fun and enables me to do more than spend my days off reading, knitting and watching t.v. I highly recommend the Wii system if you find motivating yourself to exercise a problem. I’m putting this one on my Christmas wish list!

Sunday Morning

I had a long night Saturday night. It had been a busy last day at work for the week. My customary aches and pains were setting in. Sometimes at night, I have to get up every hour or so for a potty run. That makes the night seem very long and I get up feeling tired.

All throughout the night, I was thinking about Sunday morning and how I should go to Church. I LOVE going to Church! I love the singing, I love to praise, I love to spend time in prayer…I just love Church and spending time with God. As I stumbled back and forth to the bathroom, I’d groan and think how tired I was and did I really want to go? Then, sleep for a little while and the cycle would begin again. I argued and stewed all night long and still hadn’t decided what I was going to do when I got up to bathe and dress. Of course, I got up a little early, which meant I was getting drowsy about the time we needed to leave the house! Yeah! Nap time.

I decided I really wanted and needed to go, so off we went. Outside, fall weather had arrived in all its glory. A little misty, and a little dreary. A real mood lifter. And of course, I was dreading the long walk into the church with my walker. Yada yada. With two rests along the way, I made it to the pew and had a little time before Mass began, to pray and nod at a few regular faces. And then…Glorious! The opening song was one of my favorite Twila Paris praise songs. We sang of God’s goodness and mercy and I swayed in my seat like a good little “pentecostal” Catholic! This set the tone of the entire morning! I thanked God for getting me there and for the opportunity to praise and to pray and to worship and to sing! What time I wasted dreading that walk! What a glorious time I had! It just shows I still have a lot of work to do on my attitude some days…I’m still a work in progress!

Life is Sometimes a Struggle

My husband has always been wide awake and cheerful from the moment he opens his eyes. It’s a gift. I’ve never been that way! When he said today, “Good morning! How are you doing today?” I said, “I’m grouchy!” He said, “Uh oh…what’s wrong?” When I proceeded to list my complaints of aches and pains, he snapped at me saying, “You can walk! You’re not in as much pain any more, and you are ALIVE! Do I need to say more?!” That certainly made me stop and think. Had I turned into a habitual complainer?

Any change in your life, however small, brings its own challenges and struggles to overcome. When you are in the midst of these new challenges, it is sometimes difficult to stay positive and remind yourself that things actually are improving! Sometimes the day-to-day, or even the moment-to-moment struggles bog us down. And the emotional effort can take its toll on us as well.

The pain of arthritis in my hands, wrists and shoulders from my job and from using my walker to support my weight is an ongoing complaint. The struggles to put on my brand new compression panty hose are numerous. Compression hose, if you are not familiar with them, are like support hose on steroids! It generally takes about 15-20 minutes to get them on and situated the way you want them, and by then you have worked up a sweat and had your aerobic exercise for the day!

My knees are locked in a bent position from years of osteoarthritis and sitting at my job. The situation can be corrected with knee surgery. That is an ongoing and daily pain I have learned to live with. Women…can you recall the gyrations sometimes used to put on your pantyhose? Kick one leg out to the side, squat here, lay on the bed, kick the other leg out, tug and pull, etc. My knees prevent me from doing all of those things that help to get the pantyhose in place. And so, the gyrations I do, tug here, bend over, tug there, sit down and rest, start again, etc.  has aggravated the pain in my left knee and given me a new complaint of muscle cramps in my left thigh and buttock.

On the positive side! I AM out of compression bandages now. Those were bulky, unweildy and I never want to go there again! I can drive myself to work again! I AM using my walker again and not the wheelchair! After a couple of weeks wearing the compression pantyhose, I really CAN tell that it is getting easier! The pain in my left knee and thigh has lessened, telling me some of it was muscle pain that is going away with use. I just sometimes get bogged down in the difficulty and forget the progress I’ve made.

Despite my grousing, I really do say Thank You prayers daily for the strength and abilities that I do have, and for His grace that helps me each and every day to do what I need to do! As my husband reminded me today…Things are better…I am stronger than I was…and I am alive and well! What else could I ask for?

A Sunday Adventure

We stopped for lunch after Church last Sunday at our favorite Mexican food restaurant. In the ensuing distractions of 3 people talking at once, getting my wheelchair out of the back of the car and me into it, my husband locked the car, leaving his keys in the ignition. We went in and ordered our meal before he realized what he had done. He immediately got up and went to the car to confirm his suspicions. He came back inside, shaking his head saying, “I can’t believe I did that! I haven’t done that in 10 years!” In discussing the problem, we concluded we didn’t know where the extra car key he used to keep in his wallet was now; we couldn’t remember if my key ring back at home had a key to his car on it; and we were probably going to have to call a locksmith. We borrowed a phone book while munching on our chips, and browsed the yellow pages. We had decided on who to call when my husband stopped short and announced, “Wait a second! I just got my AAA card in the mail the day before yesterday! I can call them and it won’t cost us anything!” So, we proceeded to call AAA who sent a locksmith out to us by the time we finished our meal. He took all of about 5 seconds to unlock our car! Our unexpected afternoon drama was resolved easily and quickly! Hallelujah!