from the porches

ditzy

Today was the first of many doctor appointments to get Mom on the road to recovery and cure for that ugly, non-Hodgkins lymphoma on her lip.  I would post her photo here, but she would just die if I did. 

I imagine a few of you may have seen my mom in Winn-Dixie, The Great Outdoors, or the beauty shop in High Springs.  Then you probably did a double-take a little too quickly, or your children might have walked backwards pointing at that lady with that crusty lip.  That's okay.  People did the same thing at Shands Hospital, which shocked me. 

Yes, my mom would be the one with the H-U-G-E blister on her lip talking to every Tom, Dick and Harry. Mom is very self-conscious about her looks, but I tell her I don't even see it.  I just see her beautiful face and silver hair.

You have to love my mom because she is one-of-a-kind.  Since Dad passed away six years ago yesterday (Valentine's Day), Mom has lived alone.  Excuse me.  If you ask her if she lives alone, she'll blurt out,  "WELL NO!  I LIVE WITH MY DOG AND CAT!  And by golly, she means it, too.  So THERE! 

After spending seven hours with Mom today visiting Dr. Lynch, her Oncologist (and her entertaining him for two hours),  after then going for a CAT scan, lunch, and a long drive home . . .I am just plain old ditzy. 

After I got home and worked in the Studio a bit, Truett and I went to the grocery.  I was waiting for Truett to buy some seafood when I heard a young man say, "I want two pounds of skrimp."  Well, I started laughing and couldn't stop.  Then I mumbled to myself, "It's skrait to your left".

Now that's ugly isn't it, and not at all Christian.  I know it's not nice to make fun of people,  but all that pent up anxiety from the day just flew out of my mouth onto the skrimp..uh, shrimp. . .and now I feel ashamed.  Please forgive me.

Then Truett and I were driving home and I notice the Department of Transportation is widening one of our country roads, and right now for the life of me, I cannot remember the number of the road. 

 
SoI looked at this narrow country road and exclaimed,  "Thank God for D.O.T!"  I don't know where that came from, but I bet you've never exclaimed that out loud. 

Then, when we got home from the grocery I checked the answering machine and wrote down the radiology appointment time, pre-op port time, port appointment time and an appointment time at North FL Radiology.  Wait!  They've overlapped appointments!  But after a few minutes, I realized the North FLorida appointment was mine and I must remember to cancel it tomorrow.

Ditzy!  Ditzy! 

But one of the best parts of the day was driving home from Gainesville when I looked up at the sky, veered off the road and shouted, 'SANDHILL CRANES!  THEY'RE FLYING NORTH!"

 
 

Thank you, GOD!  Does this mean winter is over???  Please say "Yes!"

valentine rock

Sometimes when Life gets too hectic, the only thing that brings me peace is getting out in nature and reveling in its beauty.

 
  Truett and I took a little drive yesterday afternoon to see how high the flooding rivers were in our area.

We ended up stopping at the south end of the Ichetucknee River.  You can tell by the hand rails protruding in the river that the water is up.

I really hoped to see water foul of some kind, but they weren't there.

All I saw were bare trees and rippling water . . .

and with my imagination kicking in gear . . .a Valentine rock. 

Happy Valentine's Day!  

my valentine

Happy Valentine's Day, Truett.  You have always been my Dr. Zhivago.

When Truett and I took our vows on June 13, 1971, I don't think either of us thought about what our lives would be like in 2010. 

Like most married couples we have had good times, bad times, rich times and lean times.  But the good thing is: we have spent all of these times together as a married couple for all these years. . .and we still like each other.  

Just this morning as I was standing in the dressing area with sopping wet hair from the shower, he said, "You sure are cute."  I'm not sure whether he had his glasses on or not, but I thanked him and accepted his compliment. 

So Happy Valentine's Day, Truett.

teacher workday

 

We all need a little bit of color right now to jazz up that grey sky out there, so I decided  photos of my azaleas might do the job.  It was rainy and cold here today.  One of those bone-chilling nasty days.  But here's the good part:  Teacher Workday.  Teacher Workdays are just shy of being as good as holidays.

 
 Today at work I was able to muddle through piles of papers and file folders and get rid of nonessential material.  I mean who needs three copies of a writing rubric when one will work.  Heck, I can just walk over to my handy dandy copier, and in the blink of an eye, copy a new rubric if need be.

I also loved digging in the drawers in my desk and deciding whether to keep the chuckler or put it in the give as rewards box.  The chuckler is some kind of voice  device out of a child's stuffed animal.  Several years ago our Principal, Mr. Allen, tossed the chuckler to me as I passed him in the hall. "Here.  You might need this," he said.  So of course, I loved it and bring it out ever so often as a different kind of verbal reward.  Hee hee! Kiss me! is one voice.  Aaaaachoo! is another.

 
But the best part of Teacher Workday is eating lunch outside of the school with your friends you don't get to see except for a Hi there.  How're you doing?  Fine.  Have a great day. And now I must thank Lucille's husband, Jim, for buying our lunches today. Thank you, Jim.  Catch you next time.

All in all it was a good day even though the weather was yucky!

the results

The results are in. 

My mother has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the lip. 

Come to find out, her brother had the same cancer and had treatment for ten years. Mom's sister, unfortunately, died of lung and brain cancer.

I guess the immediate family is all pretty much stunned at this point. 

It's all so new to us...this cancer thing. 

But there is one good thing:   With a diagnosis, Mom is on the road to a treatment and then a recovery!  

pythons

Hey, Conway.  Did you hear about all the deaths in Miami?

Tell me, George.  What deaths?

It seems the last cold snap they had down there killed about 60 manatees and several  Burmese pythons. But the wild life people wanted the Burmese pythons exterminated anyway.

Get outta' here!

 That's right Conway.  Those pythons were frozen stiff!  I bet we could eat for a week if those pythons are thawed out by now...Hey!  Conway!  Where are you going?

See you in Miami old buddy!

Our red buds are budding. Hope the 34 degree weather doesn't kill the buds.

red red robin

 
Sunday morning I walked out on my front porch because Roger and Punky were scratching at the door to be let out for their daily viewing of the world of nature. 

I looked in the front yard and there must have been fifty fat robins pecking away at the ground, and a few were taking a bath in Bee Boy's basin.

These robins almost look like statuary, don't they.  That's because I  was taking the picture from inside the screened-in front porch. 

I did take a few steps toward the front door, unlatched it as quietly as possible; but the minute I opened the door, I felt a flurry of robins flying past me toward the cedar tree.

I took my camera on out to the yard and waited and waited and waited for the robins' return; but their instinct told them No.  Don't go near that lady with the camera.  She'll be taking our pictures and plastering them all over the internet.

This was a wonderful sight for a Sunday morning.

car show

Yesterday Truett informed me he had to pick a "Mayor's Choice" car in the car show held in Fort White.

 
"Wanna' go?"  he asked.

"Sure.  Why not," I answered, although I had been gearing up for fun elsewhere, like Cedar Key maybe, or even the Medeival Fair in Gainesville. 

I must admit there were some beautiful old antique cars there.

WOW!  This one just about PUT MY EYES OUT!   

I also figured out car shows weren't just about the old cars. 

It was about bringing back memories of happier times like when you were in your teens and twenties.

 
Car shows are about remembering your childhood sweethearts and smooching in the front seat...or back seat for a few.

Car shows are about remembering drive-in restaurants like "The Wagon Wheel" in Clarksville, Tennessee, and milk shakes and music of the older days. 

 Definitely, car shows are about showing off the bling.

Lots and lots of bling.

 Yes, even this rat was displayed on a car's trunk.

All in all, the car show was interesting. . .

Now I've got a couple of songs playing in my head:  "Mustang Sally" and "American Pie" which says, "Drive your chevy to the levee."

emotions in a day

If you ever want to spend a day totally cleansing your inner soul until there's nothing left but a wasted shell of yourself at the end of the day, then spend your day at Shands Hospital in Gainesville with an 86 year old mother about to be put under for a minor surgery.

This morning as I was ironing, I kept reflecting on yesterday's visit to Shands Hospital with Mom.  Then I began thinking of all the emotions I felt and assumed Mom felt.  Then I decided to look at a list of emotions and check off the ones I experienced yesterday.

Anxiety:

. . .driving in the dark under a fine mist of rain, watching for deer or dogs that might dart in front of my car. And then watching dark shadows of cars whipping in and out of my traffic lane trying to beat me to Shands ten seconds ahead of me.

Agitation:

. . .putting up with a beautiful but surly young lady at the valet desk.  Obviously, she doesn't know the old saying I was raised with: Pretty is as pretty does. Thanks for that one, Mom.

Appreciation:

For all the wonderful Shands staff that seemed genuinely interested in my mom's condition...and especially appreciation for Merry Jennifer spending time with me when obviously I was one step below Mom on the stress level.

Overwhelmed:

. . .when Mom and I were herded through the vast corriders of the belly of Shands Hospital, placed in holding cells (curtained off bed spaces), and thrown in a frenzy of doctors, nurses, blood pressure takers, anesthesiologists, residents, attendings, other patients who were as equally as anxious as we were, and their family members.  And oh, I can't forget about the office personnel making sure Mom's expenses will be well covered. 

Envy:

. . .at a few healthy young women who were in shape.  And I mean few.

Irritation:

. . .at the thirty'ish year old woman and her husband directly across the room from Mom's bed.  Evidently, she is a puppeteer and ever so often had to cup her hands like a sock puppet, throw her voice and shout, "I don't want to go!  I don't want to go!"  Needless to say, I wanted to yank that imaginary sock off that skinny hand of hers and stuff it in her mouth.  After all, this was serious business.

Sadness :

. . .knowing Mom was scared of dying, as she bid the world farewell before being wheeled to surgery.  "I've had a good life," she told the pre-op staff.  "But I'm ready to go." 

Love:

. . .when Merry Jennifer, MD.,took me to her office where we drank coffee for an hour and a half.  I talked about the grandchildren, school, the up-coming FCAT writing test, the progress the children have made. . .or not.  She told me their visit to Hawaii, her work, and grandmother's options.

Joy:

. . .when Merry Jennifer and I rounded the bend to the recovery room and heard my mother saying,  "I want a milkshake.  I'm ready to go.  Merry, I want a milkshake."  Tears came to my eyes and I had to choke back a cry because Mom seemed to be her old self.  We left Shands and I bought her that milkshake, dropped her off at home, went to Winn-Dixie to buy her Hydracodone, and by the time I returned back to her house, she was in her trusty flannel pj's, eyes closed, ready for a long sleep at home.

*************************

I can't list any more emotions, because I'm getting worn out writing about them.  But I'll tell you one thing.  Last night I went to bed at 8:30 and worke up at 7:30 this morning.  I got my well deserved rest.. .and all my emotions had been just about depeleted in one day.