Time Flies

It has been over a year since I last posted to this blog. In reflection a lot has happened in that time. In May of 09, our puppy baby girl Petra had to have surgery for a uterine growth. She came through well but by June she had a blood clot develop in her spine and we lost her. She would have been 10 in August. Monty and I went through some intensive nutritional counseling and the end of July had lap band surgery. It has truly changed our lives in a good way. I am 70lbs lighter and feel sooooo much better. Monty and I have thrown ourselves into trying to adopt better and healthy habits. We are riding our bikes, he is playing more disk golf and we are both spending more time outside and less time in front of the "boob tube".

I was just recovering from the surgery when I came home from the first day of school and found our sweet boy Falkor had mourned himself to death. He and Petra were mates and he was so bonded to her that even though we still had Lacy and Chrisi, he couldn't go on without Petra. Labor Day weekend we took off to get our new babies. Casi (short for Casiphia which is Hebrew for silvery white) and Gambit are the new joys of our lives. We now have 2 White German Shepherds again to join our Great Dane, Lacy, and our mutt, Chirsi. Gambit is from Petra's breeder and is so like her it is uncanny. Casi, although not related to either Petra or Falkor, is more like Falkor in her sweet and gentle nature.

We've had a few tough times since Jan. 2009, when I last posted but all in all, the passing time has been much more positive than negative. I pray that things will continue to be uplifting and positive in the days, weeks, months and years to come.
Peace!

Gratitude List

As the new year ushered in I felt compelled to think about all the things I am grateful for so I made a Gratitude List. I know I'm a bit late in posting it but here goes. The list is in no particular order except for the first 2.

My God, Lord and Savior
My husband
Our dogs – all 4 of them
Our cats – 3 of them
Our home
Our generally good health
Our jobs
A job that I love
Our cars and that we can afford the gas to power them
Good friends (translated – old friends)
4 nieces
3 great nieces
Godchildren
Sunshine
Rain
My parents (especially after the accident)
My mother-in-law (really!)
My brother and his family
My sister and her family
My husband’s brothers and their families
Heroes (real life ones not the TV show although I like it too)
Books of all sorts
Music of all kinds
Colors of Fall leaves
Blooming of Spring flowers
Mexican food
Snow
Getting away from it all
Coming home
Smiles and laughter
Memories – the good and the not so good
The Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Stars
The swing in our front yard
Yellow roses
Poetry
Sunflowers

Looking Ahead

Exactly a month ago today I posted to this blog whining about getting old. Shame on me! There a much worse lots in life than aging.
A lot has happened since then, both good and not so good. It is amazing to me how much stress life can put in your life. Sometimes it's like fighting a losing battle and other times it is like hearing joyous music. One of the biggest things going on right now is that my dad is getting out of the "skilled nursing facility" (translate = glorified nursing home) where he has been living in since January.
This event brings about a lot of changes for all involved, though primarily for my brother and his family. For a number of reasons Dad going to his house is the logical path right now, not the least of which is the nursing background my brother has and his understanding of all that entails for dad. My brothers daughters will be built in therapy for Dad as much as they were for Mom, and I hope being in a household setting will be even greater therapy for him.
There are a lot of factors that are daunting for us to consider - though I wonder if they are not even more so for Dad. Mostly for him, there will be a freedom and a comfort that I don't think he has had since the accident. A freedom from being confined and separated from family and a comfort in the fact that those caring for him are truly concerned for him and not just paid to look after him. I hope that these factors will really jump start his progress and that he will continue to move toward the fullest extent of his recovery as possible. It has been a long road for him to get this far and the road still stretches a long way ahead of him but maybe he will close the gap to his destination a little more quickly now.

I'm Feeling Old. . .

Two days ago I hit the "half way to 90" birthday. I don't think of my self as being that old, but my birth date doesn't lie. I always thought people my age were grown up and mature. I don't feel that way, are you sure I'm Ahem! years old? It was ok when my husband turned Ahem! years old because he is older then me (by 9 mos.) and it was ok when my brother-in-law turned Ahem! years old because he too is older than I. I am just having a hard time dealing with me being Ahem! years old. I've had several people tell me "Oh but you don't look that old" but sometimes just knowing that I am Ahem! makes me feel old. My heart and my mind are still young - even teenage sometimes but then reality hits and bam! I'm Ahem! again. Next year when I'm Ahem! +1, I will be fine and won't have that feeling again until the next milestone birthday - You know . . . the half way to 100 birthday.

i just had a thought . . . and no it didn't hurt too much.

Maybe this is all tied to the whole mortality thing. People in my familiy generally live into 80's and 90's and I am realizing that I am half way through my life. It's been a good half so far and maybe I just need to look forward to the next half being as fun, exciting, challenging and thrilling as the last half has been. Hmmm, I do have good thoughts every now and then!

Too Old to Color????

I've written before about the admirable qualities of children. Now I am wondering about a certain child-like trait of my own. I love to color. I have always loved the black line drawings, however simple or complicated that populate coloring books. I love finding really cool pictures in unusual places, just begging to be brought alive with flashes of color. Right now I am drawn (no pun intended) to kaleidoscope drawings and "stained glass" designs. There is a town not too far away, know for antiques and arts and crafts, where the General Store sometimes carries coloring books with drawings of by-gone days. These are nice, but I really like those geometric designs where I can devise repeating patterns or go abstractly crazy with no pattern in mind. I love to sit down with my nieces and color - my color choices are a little more "safe" than theirs (I do love the fearless abandon with which kids color dogs green and purple and make the sky yellow). For me, coloring is a relaxing escape from the pressures that life can bring and reminds me of the fun of childhood.