Sunday, January 24, 2016

Life: It Goes On - January 24

Life: It Goes On - this seems to apply more than usual this week.

My mom had a knee replacement on Monday. She's got a long road of recovery ahead of her but she reports that she's already walking better than she was before the surgery. The fact that can happen always makes me think of the opening sequence of that old t.v. show, The Bionic Man, when they talked about making him "better, faster, stronger." I never ceased to be amazed by her strength.

The Big Guy had a scan recently and a scope procedure this week which both confirmed that he remains cancer free after over four years. Anyone who's come through cancer knows that there will always be things to deal with in the aftermath, but, as we like to say when we start to feel sorry for ourselves, it beats the hell out of the alternative!

Lastly, my parents lost a dear friend last week. She had her husband have been friends of my parents for over 55 years. He was my dad's first principal; she was one of the nurses in the delivery room when I was born. Can you even fathom having people in your life that you've been friends with for so long? Betty's family will have to figure out how to go on without their mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, beloved wife. My parents will have to adjust to life without another of their friends.

This Week I'm:

Listening To: More radio time this week but still catching up on my podcasts. "Catching up" may not be entirely accurate. "Keeping up" might be a better phrase. I did wish I'd had an audiobook Tuesday when, thanks to a rush hour snowfall, my 30 minute commute took almost two hours.

Watching: Movies: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Inside Out. We liked them both. In fact, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was one of the best adaptations of a 1960's television show I've seen; they played it very much like the tone of the television show.

Reading: Why didn't any of you warn me about the sadness that is the ending of A Man Called Ove??? I seriously cried in a hospital waiting room! I started books, switched books, and reorganized my reading plan this week. Because of the archive dates on books from Netgalley, I decided to wait on reading My Name Is Lucy Barton until later and started Nelly Dean (she of Withering Heights). I also started Why We Write About Ourselves and decided that it's a perfect nightstand book. I'm moving The Flying Troutmans off the nightstand and I'll read it when BG decides he need the iPad.

Making: Pork roast, tator tot casserole, cheeseburger pie, runzas, fettucine alfredo. I've decided cooking is fun again! This week I'm planning to try a couple of new recipes including a crockpot chicken marsala. What's been cooking in your kitchen?

Planning: The past couple of weeks have been busier than usual with more on the calendar, longer work hours, a week of being down with a cold. My plan for this week is to get my house back in order.
Good thing my mom's room was big!

Grateful for: Family. In the University of Nebraska fight song, there is a line that says "we all stick together in all kinds of weather." That's my family. I'm sure hospitals never know what to make of us but we travel in packs when it's time to support one another.

Enjoying: Watching my daughter stretch out on the floor in my mom's hospital room the other day with a book. There are four readers in my immediate family. Miss H was not one of them. Now that she's really discovered how relaxing reading at bedtime can be and how great it is to have a book to pass time, I think we may just have a fifth reader!

Feeling: It's been a week of feeling all of the things.

Looking forward to: Thanks to last week's winter weather, book club had to be postponed. So this week I'm once again looking forward to spending an evening with my ladies, talking about A Man Called Ove. I wonder if anyone else cried?

12 comments:

  1. It's good to have plenty of engrossing reading material when waiting around in medical places. I'm glad that you're all doing well healthwise, but sorry to hear of the loss of a family friend. That's sad for your parents, as I know from experience. I hope you have some light reading on the go. Some of the books I've been reading lately seem to have old age as a theme and I have to be in the mood
    even when the novels are well written. Our DiL gave me several for Christmas that she obviously thought I would enjoy. One is written as black humour called 'Going Gently' about a woman who has had a stroke, finds herself in hospital unable to move and starts thinking about her past life. I find it's not bedtime reading and have put it to one side!!

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    1. In general, I like to keep my bedtime reading from getting too heavy. I don't have nightmares so much as sad dreams.

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  2. Wow, this has been a busy week for you. So happy your mom is doing well and your hub got a good report as well.

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  3. Glad your mum's going well. Yay on another reader.

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  4. So many good things. I'm glad your mom is coming along, that your husband is doing well and of course I'm sending good thoughts for the people who have passed. Tater tot casserole is a favorite of mine, and it sounds like you have some good books in your life. Cheers all around.

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    1. I know foodies don't think much of things like tator tot casserole but it really is one of our comfort foods.

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  5. Yay for your Mom's recovery news and also your husband's tests. Sorry about the loss of their friend. Yes, I guess that comes along with getting older. We found out this week that a good friend had a cancer diagnosis. So sad about that. Your cooking sounds yummy. Have a good week!

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    1. Sorry to hear about your friends. I wish our country would spend half as much working to fight cancer as we do on war.

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  6. So glad your mom came out with her bionic knee with no problems! My dad has two fake knees and now a fake hip. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly they recover. In fact, most of the pain she will feel will be from the surgery and not from the knee itself.

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  7. I am glad your mother's surgery went well, Lisa. And good news about the Big Guys test results! I'm so sorry about your parent's friend.

    I am glad your daughter has discovered the joys of bedtime reading. I find it helps me relax. I generally sleep much better when I read right before bed. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out.

    I hope you have a great week, Lisa. My husband started training for his new job today. I am anxious to hear how it went for him.

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