Nature Songs ~~~~

JUNE, 2001 ~continued

June 25, 2001 - What a change this week has started out as - compared to the past few weeks! Except for a very short time this morning, the only sound of grandchildren was from the other end of the telephone line. DynoKid had about thirty minutes here while he indulged his next to favorite breakfast of sourdough bread toasted with peanut butter spread atop. His favorite choice would be a bagel instead of sliced bread, but being that the bagels are all gone ... After quickly eating, it was time for me to take him to church for a week of Day Camp Activities. Dad picks him up in the afternoons. I have offered to repeat last Friday’s proposal and keep DynoKid and Giggles through the night to give Dad another break.

Resting for two days now has brought me relief from much of the spasms and rebellion of the back and hip. Flexeril has been beneficial; which means I’ve strained that same place that I hurt when I tried doing the water exercise out of the water a while back. The walking all bent over with one hand pressing on left hip has not been necessary today. Staying home from Q4L was a good choice. Maybe by Thursday, all will be well enough I can attempt some of the water exercises without repercussions screaming out, “Foul!!!”

Surprisingly, Mother was not in one of her moods of trying to pressure me into coming over to spend time with her today in spite of how I’m feeling or getting around. She was in agreement that resting today was a good idea. Me thinks, that will only last for one day. Tomorrow she will expect me to show up and spend time with her. She has a fresh supply of candy for the staff, a stash of Cokes for herself and her nails newly manicured in addition to being topped off with the red door red nail polish - not to mention plant food for the flowers that adorn her windowsill. Her ulterior motive of my not coming over could be the fact she would expect me to preach her a sermon if I were to be there in person. She managed to get out of bed again last night. This time, she forgot her folley and left the bag attached to the bed rail while she headed toward the bathroom. She pulled out the attached tube and a whole new kit had to be ordered for her! She has these visions that she can do anything! She was fortunate this time because the CNA happened to be out in the hallway and came to the rescue before she could slip on the wet floor - possibly breaking a bone.

Both of my own boys were by here this morning . Could it be they were checking up on me? Wes commented that he was glad to see me walking straighter, but cautioned that I be careful. The hot tub has been lukewarm since we refilled it, so I turned the heat up with intentions of crawling into relaxing hot water this afternoon. No such luck! Maybe tomorrow I’ll get around to soaking in the tub with one of the jets aimed at the soreness in my back. Instead of immersion in the tub, time was spent facing the computer sieve of all those tiny dots forming addictive projections. With three of the on-line classes finishing up, it was time to search for some more interests to delve into. Time to take a rest from the heavy stuff while I digest all that has been offered this go-round. I will repeat them for the fall session - or maybe winter ... Memory is a top priority for me, so I signed up for a session in hopes of accomplishing a miracle. B&N offers a course on organization and I shall see how it compares to the course I just completed? (without accomplishing any actual work showing an improvement of my own organization.)

Oh, no! I really do need the memory course!!!! I can’t remember the third one I enrolled for.... I do remember that two begin in July and one is setup for August!

... Aha! I do remember - it is about learning to be more sociable with people and not being such a wallflower or social klutz! Seems I’ve been out of circulation for a long time and have forgotten how to sit down and carry on a sensible conversation with an adult gender Homo sapien. Guess I’ve turned into a child at heart and communicate more easily with the younger generation. This, too, shall change ...

June 26, 2001 - Two days of lazing about so that the pain can subside in my back and hip. The big wedge that hammered its way into the muscles has begun to waiver a bit and is eroding along the edges. I would not fret if it should slip from its tenacious hold and lose itself from my being, taking the heat of inflammation with it. Uttermost in my mind I have to take care that it is not aggravated by some stupid movement on my part causing it to return with the vengeance it can render.

I’ve about decided to wait until next week before attempting to get back into the pool to exercise. Along with getting DynoKid to his Day Camp each morning this week, it could easily turn into a mad rush to get everything in on time. To have to rush is not an option I’m willing to venture into. There is a twinge in my back when I sit for any length of time which limits my use of the regular computer. But on the other hand, I have a project to investigate on-line and today is a good time to search for what I want.

Tbird was to be on the lookout for a didgeriroo to ship back to me while on her trip. She mentioned to me the last time she called that they are very expensive and she found a place that I could order one later after she got back home. She mailed one home for herself which is about five feet long and cost $350. I had already found some on-line before she left, so this evening i commenced to search once again. I found some on two different sites that ran cheaper than what she quoted. Both sites guarantee the instruments as being genuine eucalyptus tree limbs bored out by termites. These are the authentic ones that supposedly have a better tone than some others. It’s difficult to imagine exactly what you are ordering by looking at pictures as to the size. They do have access to the different tones of some of them. I settled on one that is part painted and part natural wood; requesting the key of A. The cost was $120 with $20 Insurance and handling and $30 shipping - anywhere in the world. It took a lot of patience going through the steps needed to order and the final screen never did appear. I only hope that it was ordered successfully and will soon be on its way to North Carolina, USA. I downloaded directions for making a didgie from American gourds in case some of us decide to try our hand at creating music of our own.

Mother slipped and told on herself this evening while I was visiting with her. Guess she didn’t know that the nurse had not notified me that she had fell - again! When she was up at night the last time, she went down on the bathroom floor. Someone should had notified me of the fall. Wonder what’s going on with the relay system... Mother was threatening to lie down on the bed by herself while I was there. I kept offering to turn her light on for help and she would change her mind and say that she would wait until the “girls” came in to help her roommate to bed. My gut feeling was that she would attempt to transfer herself from wheelchair to bed after I left. I looked for her CNA to have her keep an eye on Mother, But I didn’t see any of them around. She is a broken bone just waiting to happen.

June 27, 2001 - Hump-day! Half the week has officially passed; and quite quickly, too, I might add.

Several phone calls from BingoKid during the day yesterday. About dark he called to see if he could come over to spend the night with me. I’ll miss having him here so often once he is back in school. It’s hard to imagine that he will be in the seventh grade this fall. Only yesterday a group of us in the Pain Clinic at the hospital strolled by the nursery to marvel about the mystery of babies and celebrate the birth of my very first grandchild.

I need only look at him and remember when my life took such a drastic turn in all ways. It was March of that same year that “The Stroke” entered the scene with its complications and life changes. Toward the last of August my jaunt in the Pain Clinic began. This was a stint normally lasting around six weeks or so for those willing to endure the process. Since the doctors were working on weight loss - and due to the level of pain I’ve had to deal with - I was still with the program when BingoKid was born December First. (I was with the clinic about eight more months.) Very truthfully, I told many people that I exchanged being a teacher for becoming a grandparent. There was no need to elaborate any further on extenuating conditions.

Interesting and yet sort of comforting to receive the type phone call I had this morning. My credit card company called to confirm the order I placed in Australia. It was not the sort of buying I am in the habit of doing. The “girl” on the other end of the line couldn’t pronounce the name didgeriroo and sounded relieved when I finished the word for her and mentioned the amount charged. It wasn’t an amount all that high-priced and it surprised me that they would confirm my knowledge of the sale. Good things do happen sometimes - even when we least expect them.

The two of us spent a laid-back sort of day lolling around. BingoKid decided to checkout the garden and another surprise for me when he came in with about a bushel of yellow squash and giant-sized cucumbers. I have to wonder what type cucumbers Allan bought because one of the cukes was a good eighteen inches long. That was the one little BusyKid took control of and claimed as his own. I’m going to have to break over and fix a squash casserole. Guess I will end up freezing it in small portions for later use - that is, if I get it baked.

BingoKid reluctantly went home for the night, but I assured him that he could return in the morning and spend another day with me. With his other grandmother in Charlotte with a group from school, he would have to stay home alone and that is not his favorite thing to be doing.

Wendy is now doing her practice work in the x-ray department (actually, nuclear medicine) at the hospital and is gone longer than when she is in class at the college. Her classes start again in August, but it isn’t long until she will be going to Charlotte to work with the drugs and learn about correct handling of different types of materials she will be working with. After that she will have another stint in Asheville before she finishes up her studies. It will not be too terribly long until all classes will be finished and she can begin work for real.

When we visited with Mother this afternoon, BingoKid meandered around and spent a little time with some of the other residents. He managed to wander outdoors and jumped water puddles for awhile, but didn’t get wet in the process. He found some sunflowers coming up out in the little garden area where Mother’s birdfeeder is and decided to take two of them home with him. He got an empty milk carton to carry them in and brought them home, planting them close to the other flowers we’ve put out this summer.

Today was Cotton’s birthday. I didn’t even send her a card this year. I’ll do something special for her when we get together. We talked together on Tuesday and I wished her a happy birthday then, but she said it wasn’t necessary to try to call today. Hopefully, hubby took her out for a nice dinner for two this evening which he usually does. I relent to even hope, but would like to call and ask her anyway. She mentioned in our phone call that someone had turned in a two year old Yorkie and she thought of me when she saw it! It is a female and very tiny. I love my Charlie Dog, but I had hoped that he would be smaller than he is. Of course, I asked Cotton to check into this puppy and see what she could find out about it.....

June 28, 2001 - The day began early, very early for me to be getting up and about. I was dressed and ready for the day before six. I’m not ever sure exactly when the boys would be coming, so I try to be dressed and ready for the day before they always come. Good thing I got up early this morning. BingoKid arrived about 7:15 a.m. and DynoKid was here before eight! The two of them spent a little time at the computer for the first time this week before DynoKid had to leave for Day Camp. He went swimming at Kool Park Pool in Hickory yesterday afternoon with the group and forgot to take his sunscreen. Today he was in some pain with his back being sunburned. I didn’t know it was hurting him until I gave him a big hug for his Mom. I didn’t get to the one for me because of his back. He got his head rubbed instead.

For the first time since NascarKid has been gone, the word “pizza” came up in the conversation. BingoKid decided he would like for us to order pizza and take it over to the nursing center and share with Mother for lunch. Lucky for her that we did. She had sauerkraut and green peas for lunch which she doesn’t like. She had some pizza and when we left, she asked that we leave her another slice to eat later in the afternoon. BingoKid went outside and got two more sunflower seedlings to bring home with him to add to our landscape again today. He seems to be following in his Uncle Allan’s footsteps with his love for the outdoors and plants.

With a laid back week for most of the time, my back has improved tremendously. When I was walking in the grocery store yesterday, it bothered me some, but not nearly as much as last week. Twinges aren’t hard to contend with. Tomorrow will be my day of show and tell. I’ve promised BingoKid and DynoKid I will take them to the Science Museum tomorrow afternoon. DynoKid has his guitar lesson in Hickory and I figure about two hours will be long enough to browse and tryout experiments at the Museum. I only hope to have a place to sit down while they meander about.

Pushing my luck a little more, we will drive on up the highway to Morganton to pick up Giggles to bring her back to the house along with them. I will have the three of them for the night again. BingoKid’s folks are hoping to go to Charleston, SC for the weekend. Wes has been planning to go on business, but as of now they aren’t certain that his work will require his person there. They will find out about noon tomorrow if the trip is still on their agenda. Meanwhile back at my corral we shall see if all goes as well as last Friday progressed.

Plans are for me to keep Giggles here Sunday night, too. Dad is supposed to make the trip to Charlotte to meet the plane bringing back our tired and happy duo from Australia. Mom would like for DynoKid to come to Charlotte to meet the plane, too. He has no desire to come anywhere near an airport. He has no desire to ride on an airplane. As of now, he does desire to spend the night here where he fills safer - away from the jets that soar the friendly skies - and see his Mom on Monday.

June 29, 2001 - All went as planned today. While DynoKid was in Day Camp at church for the morning, BingoKid and I went to the grocery store. There was a sell on the Bounty eight-packs of towels and detergent that I needed to take advantage of since the towels are running low and I’m close to being out of the power powder and liquid strength for the washing machine. Having the Grandkids around puts both items into more use than when I am home alone. As usual there were other items that took advantage of a cart being pushed by their shelves and literally jumped into the cart to take a free ride to the checkout counter.

Lady informed me last night that she was running low on several of her cleaning helps. With all the choices along the huge aisle, it was like hunting for a needle in the proverbial haystack seeking out the special brands with appropriateness for her desires and requirements. She will not be back for two weeks, but least ways I know that she will have her supplies ready and at attention.

Right on schedule the nearly hundred dollars worth of “stuff” was dropped off at home except for some of the things that would not be ruined by the heat of the day. We were at the church on time to pick up DynoKid at lunchtime and headed to Wendy’s for a cool, relaxing meal inside before heading off down the highway to Hickory and the Science Museum where an afternoon of learning and enjoyment awaited one and all. There were plenty of hands-on activities for all ages and being that Friday’s are free to one and all thanks to several of the local businesses, the building was bursting a the seams with kids. These were all energetic, inquisitive young ones abounding throughout the rooms and hallways. While the boys investigated, played and learned, I had someone to converse with throughout the afternoon as well. One of the boys I watched grow up at church was there with his son and step-son. He also was in scouts with Allan many years gone past .

The room we used so many years back for the sit down luncheon and dance following Cotton’s wedding, is no longer available for use by others. Today it is filled with many experiments of speed and motion which included a car wheel and braking - three types of mufflers - a giant lock to open - legos to build - erector sets - block and tackle- lights and many different experiments - oodles of golf balls to use for about ten different experiments - and the list went on and on ... Leaving it all behind was hard to do.

While DynoKid had his guitar lesson, we went into Pet Smart. I only purchased some flea repellent for the dogs, BingoKid spent his time investigating the hamsters, fish and reptiles before heading over to check out the dogs up for adoption on Fridays. Once back in the car, he tried to get me to adopt one of the dogs to take the place of Elsie Dawg without success.

At least, our ride to Morganton to pick up Giggles from Day Care was better than last week. We had sunshine instead of the deluge of rain and storms. I noticed as we neared town that all sorts of tents and music gear was already being put in place for the upcoming weekend of music and competition between bands. We took a back street to avoid the congestion through town.

Shortly after six we were back home, but I couldn’t rest because Miss Giggles had her own ideas for shaping the evening. Bingo the dog met us at the door! That meant Wes and Wendy had left for Charleston, SC for the weekend.

June 30, 2001 - Sleep was not to be during the night. Rest was not to be, either. Little Miss Giggles was in no mood for sleep and quiet time. She finally slept about two hours, but was awake from around midnight or so to near four .. It wasn’t that she was that much of a problem. She just didn’t want to sleep. Today has been harder because of lack of sleep or rest on my part throughout the night At one point, I separated two sleeping boys from one couch as one moved to an adjacent couch. Then they both could stretch out and sleep better. Jama had books to leaf through and two small stuffed animals to keep her on the bed beside me since she had no notion of using her own port-a-crib.

About two p.m., Giggles was down for a nap and slept for over two hours. At one point in the morning the boys got wet outdoors as they played with the water hose and I had to wash and dry their clothes. Dad came around supper time to pick up his crew. BingoKid and I took Mother some freshly cut watermelon. BingoKid took along Oreo this evening and spent time going up and down the halls to let the other patients see Oreo, talk and pat him. He was in his seventh heaven as he pranced throughout the nursing home and ran outdoors while I spent some time with Mother - who had refused to get up today!

A thunderstorm ushered in the evening. BingoKid got caught at the new neighbors and had to sit it out most of the storm up there. We both were ready for bed earlier than usual ...

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