Living this life is like trying to put a shirt on an octopus. Unless you have a custom shirt specifically designed to be worn by a cephalopod, along with a very compliant eight legged beast, your chance of success, as you define it, are very slim indeed. The task ends in frustration, and the octopus is still naked. Every morning,[…]
On the Blessings of Winter…
I have always been a winter hater. I do not ski or engage in any type of winter focused activity. I lived in the far northeast part of the United States one year and wasted no time when all the snow melted in April to pack my things and return South. Nor am I one to get too excited about[…]
On Farewell to 2024 and the Usta Coulds…
As I say goodbye to 2024, I want to express my gratitude, and apologize for my impatience and grumbling. I entered 2024 disgruntled because 2023 didn’t turn out the way I wanted to. My heart surgeon did not finish the job I hired him to do (replace two valves) in September and I was… shall we say… slightly, uhm… PISSED[…]
On Christmas Present…
I always get a bit melancholy at this time of year. Melancholy, for those born in this century, is a feeling of unexplained sadness. The word comes from the Latin phrase meaning “black bile,” an excess of which was once believed to cause depression. I don’t know about all that, but I do know the melancholia I feel on this[…]
On My Heart (A Series)… Just a Month.
Today, November 14, marked one month since my MitraclipTM procedure. I was quite shocked when I realized it. To tell the truth, I thought it had been much longer. It seemed like at least three months that I’ve been recovering and trying to manage things, riding the sadness train. I had expected to be up where I started activity wise[…]
On Flowers for Jean (and the rest of us)…
Charles and I were pallbearers at a funeral today. Our good friend, Todd (one half of the couple that introduced us), buried his mother today. He was her pride and joy. He was a good son to her. But Jean was more than just Todd’s mother. She was special to many people. She was special to me, too. After my[…]
On Giving in to Darkness…
First of all, let me apologize to everyone in my life with chronic illness. I have people in my life with RA, MS, heart conditions, diabetes. If being in heart failure and having bad valves has taught me anything it is that being “chronically ill” isn’t a choice. Who would choose this? Sure, how one deals with it is a[…]
On The Porch (To Sit or Not to Sit)…
I didn’t insist on the porch to improve the curbside appeal (we have no curbside), I had envisioned a place to relax and observe God’s beautiful work.
On Unicorns and Rainbows…
“It’s not all unicorns and rainbows,” someone says to point out that whatever they are going through isn’t all fun and games and they shouldn’t expect it to be. Whatever it is might be college, a job, or raising kids or just a random Tuesday afternoon. The point being, we have to live in reality and not be all “woo[…]
On My Heart (A Series) … Here We Go Again
A year ago next Tuesday is the anniversary of my open heart surgery to replace my leaking aortic and mitral valves. As it turned out, the surgeon made a (poor) judgment call and decided the mitral was not bad enough to replace. I say this again, not because you may have forgotten that I mentioned it several dozen times in[…]