Nature Songs ~~~~
February 14, 2002 - Valentine’s Day with all the flowers and sweets presented to loved ones with that very special card full of endearments has come and nearly gone. None of the thoughts or things came my way this year. Ms. Jay talked with me this morning as we do on an average morning. Having given Mother a card a few days ago so she could enjoy it longer, there were no gifts which seemed to yell out, “Buy me! I’m the one!” Thinking long and hard over the options, all those of candy, teddy bears, cupcake, cookie, clothes, flowers, bric-a-brac none of which said the word, ”Mother.” Or, “I’m the one.” There seemed to be only one thing to be done, so I got ready and left the house earlier in the afternoon heading over to the nursing center.
There she sat in her wheelchair. She was dressed up in her bright red pants suit for a change and looked cheerier than usual. Seems they had a Valentine’s Party for the residents and she allowed them to wheel her down to the dining room for it, and also played bingo this morning. She has to be feeling much better with the antibiotics she has been taking for the urinary tract infection of late. As I announced to her that I had come to work on her fingernails for her Valentine gift from me, her eyes lit up even more, “Oh good. They really do need something done to them.” No other thought or gift could have meant more. The chosen color was her very favorite; bright, shiny red.
Once back home, there was a quick call to Allan and remind him what time to be here in the morning for the trip to the Same Day Surgery Unit. Not that it is a trip awaited for excitedly. Quite the other way. All will be better once all is done in the morning and I’m back home. It’s just the thoughts of eating supper and then nothing to eat until in the morning and no fluids after midnight. What happens when coughing occurs and nothing can be done to ease or take the edge off? Guess I’ll find out tonight. Least ways, the appointment is for 8:15 a.m.
Changes come and go through out life and so does my journal. It is time to be switching more to becoming aware of objects and situations around here and there. In other words, I’m tired of having to think about me so much. There are many exciting or interesting things that take place in the world and at some point in their lives, my grandchildren and their children may like to know a little something “first hand” about some of them. We all have different views on life and happenings and my own family never ceases to remind me how differently I may look at some things. “Yeah, only Momma would think of something like that!” Or, “Do you remember what Momma did when that happened?” “I just knew she was going to ...” Their favorite topic at times is the outrageous attitude and visions - and actions - of their Mom!
February 15, 2002 - The phone rang before seven this morning. The surgery center wanted me to come early because the first patient of the day had canceled. A call to Allan, and he was just leaving his house with Buddy Boy heading toward the daycare center. As it turned out we did make it to the center a little earlier than expected and the secretary was ready and waiting for me so she could complete the paperwork - making use I am who I am. During the process of proceeding from check-in to pre-surgery to surgery the questions were repeated over and over making sure the right patient was getting the correct procedure. Even in the surgery unit, the question was posed once more, “Now, what are you in here for?” There were to be no mistakes.
It took little time for the doctor to find out that the scars are still in place and the pathway leading out of the stomach is smaller even than before. Later the doctor was to tell Allan that it was so difficult for the food to go out the right way and that it caused reflux. He had taken two cultures of which the results would be sent to my regular doctor and the newbie on the block was the hiatial hernia now claiming its own place along the way.
The remainder of the day was spent resting, napping and answering the phone.
February 16, 2002 - When the nurse said there would be some headaches through the second day, she was not kidding. Saturday was a day of one giant headache. Enough so, that no energy was spent making a visit to see Mother for the second day.
The phone rang about midday, “Momma Jeanne, I’m sleeping in your bed tonight!” In the background Wendy was coaching Busy Kid, “No, honey, you’re supposed to ask if you can come over.” “Well, Momma Jeanne, can I sleep in your bed tonight?”
Sure, why not? It would be good to have someone here with me. BusyKid and BingoKid would be no problem and they would help keep my mind on better things than a headache. They arrived shortly before suppertime. Not only did they come. But they brought back my first computer, the Gateway, so I could play around with it and maybe get it doing more. As it turned out BusyKid had fun using it and playing games he had never got to play before. When the older Grandkids are here, the little ones don’t get to touch the computer as a general rule. The favorite for BusyKid was Tonka’s Search and Rescue game.
According to something I heard on television, today is supposed to be some sort of special day for looking out in the backyard and counting the different types of birds in a fifteen minute span of time. There was a special telephone number to phone in the results of the short watch. Seems this is supposed to help with learning more about the variety of birds and their habitats and how it is changing because of urbanization.
Without looking out today, I already know that the birds around here have changed immensely through the past forty years. Birds that once called this place home have either died or moved to other places. The sound of the woodpeckers has not been heard in a year now. The giant woodpecker that used to pass by here in the spring and fall no longer appears. The cowbirds are gone. Fewer cardinals and bluejays are here to fuss at each other. I did hear a catbird today and the crows. The crows are quite at home and healthy. The one robin I’ve heard and sparrows and wrens are around. Add the finches ( purple and yellow), doves, nuthatches, owls and hawk and most all the birds are named. Strangely, the gracklins and starlings keep their distance from us as long as the hawk is around.
February 17, 2002 - Hooray! The headache is gone since all the medicine has taken leave of my body from the Friday exploration. BusyKid and I enjoy some hot rice for breakfast. He had two helpings since rice is one of his favorite foods. BingoKid had breakfast from a box while he watched a cartoon on TV. Mom came over to get them around noon since they were eating with their other grandmother for lunch. That gave me plenty of time to get ready and make the trek over the hills to visit with Mother.
The parking lot was evident of how few visitors and workers were in the nursing center today. That could only mean that a lot of lonely people were sitting around inside with nothing to do, enduring another long day. Mother had to be counted among the number. No one had been to visit her since my last visit on Thursday.
Gone With The Wind was one of the movies today and Mother had watched it. In her words, “It was the longest thing. It lasted all day.” Together, we watched the Daytona 500 Race as it wound down. I was surprised to see that Dale Earnhardt, Jr., was back in the race for a third try and had been in yet another fender-bender only this time his car was being towed off on a flatbed wrecker. Together we watched as eighteen cars collided and bounced around before coming to a smoky halt. All told, it was an excellent race and was spellbinding up to the very finish line.
Leaving Mother to have supper by herself, I headed home where I watched the Olympics for the evening. Not only were the judges being closely monitored for the dance competition on ice, but they had some excellent competition to judge. Their work was not an easy task.
It was a great sight to see how well the two ice skating teams got along together for the awarding of the gold medals to the Team Canada. No doubt the Russian Team was relieved to know that they were not being held responsible for the error of the judging. The second ceremony could well have been a much better experience for them as well as the others. Now if only the countries can be as gracious and forgiving as the skaters .... cherries have pits; roses have thorns; people make mistakes ....
February 18, 2002 - Okay, in a little while I am determined to face the HP computer and do something I’ve never attempted. It can be done. Others have done it. So, I can too.
The new network I have changed over to has web service as well. The only hitch is that the pages have to be made first and then Ftp - or whatever- up to the site. I’ve always relied on the websites to furnish the equipment to build a site with. Now I’ve got to figure out how to do it from here and get it there. What was tried yesterday didn’t work.
The rules are printed out to follow. Netscape Composer has been found. There is an online service that could be downloaded free. All that is left to do is create a folder to work from, get the icons and pictures into it, make the page - and upload it.
Sounds simple, but strangely, it doesn’t seem simple to me!
Where is help when I need it most?
February 19, 2002 - Yesterday there was only the slightly tint of the lightest purple peeping out through the ground near the river birch. Yes, the first crocus of the year! The harbinger of Spring was putting forth an effort to emerge from the winter. Today the river birch was surrounded by many more of the ever so delicate petals of the crocus. It’s amazing how these tiny tikes can be so brilliant and colorful in early Spring and then completely disappear for the remainder of the year. The other crocus out along the front walk may also be in bloom, but generally they are a bit later showing off their colors.
Jonquils are blooming around the yard and along the edge of the woods. Passing the yellow bells, forsythia and baby’s breath bushes planted close to the mailbox, a hint of budding and color showed on some of the tips of the bushes. Spring is moving in quickly to decorate the countryside in time for the early Easter season. Even the dogwood trees have buds swelling more each day. I have to wonder if some violets may be found that are already blooming.
Driving back up the road from the valley this morning, there were lots of robins in search of worms. They must be more robins migrating from the Southern winter visit since there were so many of them. Here at the house, I’ve only seen the one robin this year. Apparently it has decided to build a nest out in the apple trees for the summer. That is an excellent place for rearing its young with all the deep grasses and a good distance from humans. However, it is lots of fun to be able to watch as the eggs hatch and the babies grow and learn to fly off on their own. Perhaps another robin will come around and decide to build closer to the house. There is an old nest on top of the electricity box outside the window from several years ago. Another nest is on top of the closet area out under the roof of the carport from two years ago.
The remnants of a huge wasp nest is still attached to the top of a window along the basement wall in back of the house. It’s amazing that such small insects could work together and chew up enough wood, flowers and paper to make a structure that large in one summer. I have to wonder if any wasps are left around that would begin working on it again this summer. Because it is so close to the back door and the grandchildren are in the yard a lot, the nest was sprayed several times last summer, but there is doubt that all the wasps were killed off. As the winter progressed no one has bothered to take down the nest before warmer weather brings the insects into action for another season. At least, the yellow jackets that were within three feet of the front door are gone. That door is used many times more than the back basement door.
February 20, 2002 - Two days of attempting to win against the computer. As the Olympic teams do their skating, twirling, double and triple jumps on ice, others snowboard up to and over forty feet in the sky to do all kinds of feats, Bobsleds sped toward the finish line, all in hopes of being the fastest and the best. They each strive with their own special talents to win the coveted gold. Here I am striving to win as well. There will be no medal, flowers or kudos for me. My only goal is the satisfaction that the computer machine will not win out over me! There is a way to accomplish my task of placing a webpage on the new Internet connection. So far, the score is: computer -two (days of trying) and me-zero (times to succeed). That will change and I shall be the winner.
The directions given by the online service are very simple to follow and it appears they should work. First, enter their name (destination); second, enter my name (name of my site); third, enter my password (for that site.) Each time I fill out the FTP to send the page, I was getting an error message that either the site was not detected or that the password was wrong. Both were correct. Finally, yesterday the page was sent by FTP. I only do not know where it may have ended up! It never did appear where the directions were typed in for it.... Lost in Cyber Space and probably never to be found. All the icons and pictures were uploaded and sent, but where they may have ended up is anyone’s guess.
At least for the moment, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I’ve come up with a new design for my journal. What doesn’t work (YET!) for the new page will most definitely work on Yahoo! Geocities. It’s time for a change and the new Java Class has taught me a few new tricks to use. There’s still some thought to put into how the pop-up could be used and not be a bother to those clicking on the page. Maybe just a simple hello and welcome would be enough. At any rate, beginning in March, there will be a new look for the journal as well as a new format.
Why can’t I have a blue ribbon, at least, for figuring out so many of these technical terms and learning to do things with the computer? Who slaves any harder than those poised in front of the monitor for hours on end working searching for the impossible! Kudos would be nice, too.
February 21, 2002 - King of the Hill! Liberty Day and not a moment to lose. One would have thought Charlie was taking off with the speed of a bullet at the start of one of the Olympic races. Asking him if he wanted to go outside and all he knows to do was jump on top of the ledge to look outside as he does most of the time. He had to be picked up and placed near the door, but once the gateway was thrown open he wasted not a moment.
His first agenda on this warm sunny day was to retrace the steps of Oreo. There was no doubting that he had memorized the routine. First stop, ever so briefly was near the garbage cans and then speeding along the same path it took little time to check out the neighbors. Once he had made Oreo’s tramp, Charlie was off on his own timetable. He has a broader range to take in. After all he has been out to visit Ms. Jay before and apparently he remembered seeing children there over the weekend, because there was lots of smelling and investigating to take care of before turning back to his own domain.
He comes panting to the back door, but no, he isn’t ready to come in yet. He veers to his right and takes off down the path to the garden and field. Tongue dragging, moving slower, but still lots to be seen and understood.. One doesn’t give up too quickly with a whole afternoon to savor outdoors. But then thirst becomes the bigger issue and the only place to find water is in the kitchen from the water bowl.
Once indoors, the activities outdoors catches up with the short legs and overweight body of Yorkie Charlie. (Little does he know that he will be doing more. He needs to run and get his body in better shape.) He finds a comfy spot on the carpet in the computer room and zonks out from all the overexertion of an afternoon well spent exploring the great outdoors. The rest of his afternoon and evening are spent dreaming of his excursions and planning what moves he will make on his next outing.
February 22, 2002 - Helicopters and Corkscrews. What do these two things have to do with each other? Actually, absolutely nothings! Except for hearing about corkscrews and a memory springing back to mind about helicopters on the same afternoon there is no connection. Remarkably, neither of the words in reality refer to a topic often expected to be spoken when the words are utilized.
Afternoon brought the doctor’s appointment for reports on the tests, ultrasound and Gastro-light ordeal of the past month. Having to accept a later time than the usual first appointment after lunch always aimed for, the parking lot was full and parking had to be on the opposite side of the parking area from the building. A cement walkway meandered through trees and bushes leading back to the office. Going into the building, my mind was on other things instead of looking around. First off, I was being careful to watch where I walked since the pathway swayed back and forth around the landscape and had a slight elevation. Secondly, the mind was busy with thoughts of the upcoming visit; the nurse had already called last evening and clued me in on the Gastro findings.
Seems there is always a mandatory long wait in a crowded waiting room for most doctor appointments. This afternoon was no exception and as we waited, three of us “waiters” discussed different waiting rooms and the waits for doctors from the viewpoint that the patient has time which is often as important as the doctor’s time may be. My own wait today was almost an hour, but once called back to the inner sanction, the doctor was in to see me in a few minutes.
Walking through the door, Doc, reached out his hand to shake mine, “Stormy, How are you? I have to say that I admire how you keep going, and how you are still doing your workouts.” Then the discussion began about the stomach. As he and the surgeon discussed the outcome of the light process last Friday, the use of the word, corkscrew emerged. Two doctors standing together talking about a stomach resembling a corkscrew. That was the way the lower part of my stomach and duodenum were described. Scars have my stomach drawn up in such a way that the surgeon had to work his way through the scars to do his inspection and take the cultures. At some point in time there may have to be talk of maybe a by-pass to avoid the ever shrinking opening for the food to proceed to its next appointed area of digestion - not this time.
Today’s discussion was about the infection now thriving in the tightly hidden crevices of the scars. The cultures indicated the presence of Helicobacter pylori or H. pylori. The two-week supply of Prevpac hopefully will eradicate the H. pylori and reduce risk of duodenal ulcers recurring. It takes four to six weeks to chase away the predator. So, picking up the Prevpac from the pharmacy, I was thankful that my part of the over $300 cost was cut down to $25. For the next two weeks there will be a process of taking three prescriptions consisting of four pills twice a day. The next two weeks will be one pill twice a day and then the doctor will advise what may be next on the agenda.
Alas, my next appointment had to be made for mid afternoon instead of immediately after lunch. But, as I took the path back to my car, the mind wandered as I took in some of the signs of spring. Thoughts of school kindergarten children running around the playground playing with their helicopters. A great teaching toy provided by nature far out-shown any expensive store-bought toy. Learning, exercise and enjoyment, thanks to the Maple Tree.
Nature provided the Maple trees with the neatest wing for each seed released. That one wing can swirl and glide a seed to distant lands so it can find a nook to attach itself and spread roots deep into the ground and then sprout upward to made another Maple tree. Once back in the classroom some of the seeds collected by the children are used to show how it propels through the wind. The children love when one stands on the table to liberate a seed and they watch as it gyrates to the floor. Many of the seeds always end up in pockets, hands and book bags to be taken home and released. I have to wonder how many new Maple trees sprung up through the years from any of the seeds that found fertile land for growing.
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Lenoir,NC 28645
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©2002 by Stormy Jeanne
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