CVR - 25 years

A Love Letter

To my wonderful child...we rendevoused a quarter century ago.  Yes, it was unexpected but celebrated and most anticipated.  You were early, five weeks to be exact.  But you were and are beautiful.  You mesermized your dad but mesmerized me.  I wouldn't leave the hospital without you.  You stayed seven days, I stayed seven days.  I WAS NOT GOING HOME WITHOUT YOU.  We had to hang you out in the sun a couple of days to get you color. 

I so remember the nights you and I rocked in Papaw's chair by ourselves and had the whole world at our feet to talk about.  I sang, you nursed, we talked, Jesus watched (because he had been with us the nine months previous.)

You learned to walk and talk in Houston, you fell in love with your MiMi Ussin when she was ill.  You climbed numerous obstacles..."Go beach?"

When we moved to Marshall, we had a love affair, you 2, then 3.  Us kicking through the leaves in the fall.  That 'bear' loved to vacuum.  You wearing your dad's hardhat and laughing at his three o'clock calls.  Comandeering the microphone at the Christmas pageant and talking to the congregation of First Methodist in Marshall, TX.

Moving to Mansfield, LA and enduring the many hardships we went through.  No money for extras lots of times.  You were such a trooper through the bad times. 

You excelled in school, even receiving Student of the Year once.  Dad and I loved going to your baseball and football games, pee-wee through high school.  You were and are a go-getter, no slouching on your part, no matter work or play.  I remember the flag football game when you decked one of your own teammates for not trying hard enough.  It's funny now, it wasn't then.

You endured high school under less than optimal circumstances.  Your Dad and I both apologize.  You showed your strong character and endured.  You graduated with scholarships and headed to Baton Rouge.  You continued to show strength and determination.  You chose a great fraternity and thrived.  You learned and strengthened your character through choice of major, friends, rich experiences and responsibility.

You met the love of your life.  And we could not be happier.  The path you two have forged and experienced was and is amazing.  We look for great things from both of you. 

Please always know you are loved by us....you are our son, our hero and a wonderful man. 

Love,
Mom and Dad

Gone to the Dogs

I was reading one of my favorite blogs the other day (dooce) and in a response to one of her posts I found the cutest/scariest/wierdest pictures of dogs diving into water.

https://tandemstock.com/

Click on above.



Take a few minutes and click on it.  It's worth a look.

Latest update on the ever crippling woman before your eyes.  I headed to the orthopedist last Wednesday because I have a lot of time on my hands these days.  The bones in my feet and hands have been really bothering me lately.  And of course, my left and right ankles from my 1972 accident are more and more excrutiatingly painful, along with my right knee that now officially has no cartilege.  Aside from re-affirming the nuclear explosion in both ankles, Dr. Ferrell said my hands and feet have arthritis after examination and xrays.  And of course he sprang a surprise on me:

Venous Stasis

Exotic perfume? Relaxing medication? New planet? Every day of my unemployment status brings new joy and happiness. No good deed goes unpunished, right? I have officially become my grandmother.  He said I have Venous Stasis and ordered me stockings.  Look it up on your own, it's not a pretty sight.

Here's hoping next week will bring happier moments.

Turmoil

There's a lot going on in my life right now that I'm not very happy about...looking for a job, licking wounds.  But my biggest obstacle for the day is this:  Pulmonary Rehab.  Seems I can't breathe.  So I'm going to the hospital today so they can teach me how to get the optimum out of what I can't breathe. 

Oxygen.  We take it for granted.  I was busy minding my own business in the cardiologists office yesterday having a simple check up.  He listened to my chest and said, "My dear, you sound like Muttley today."

Why thank you Doc.
"You're wheezing terribly."
Why thank you Doc.
"Let's do an echo on you."
C__p.
Long story short, I need a pneumotachograph from which they can study my pulmonary function. Ha!  Don't find that in your everyday vocabulary.  I go to spirometry next Wednesday so they can whip my back with bamboo canes to check my endurance and talk shop.

I can't help but harking back to 1969 7:00 a.m. (before school) riding around in my older sister's LeMans out at Addicks Dam smoking joints.  But this one time stands out and although I've written about it before on my blog, it truly haunts me.  We ran out of rolling papers and my sister's best friend Diane said, "let's try rolling a joint out of notebook paper (of which we had plenty of)."  We were all game for it and I will say it was one of the fattest joints of the morning but GOD did it burn our chests.  Well sure Susan, why didn't you smoke the newspaper or a cocktail napkin?  How did we get that stupid?  Truly as stupid as the idiots on you tube smoking salvia....hello nuthead.  My beautiful healthy body wasted on an ungrateful youth.

Oh, let's have a happy before I go.   How about some Lunch Scholars?



And silly me, I thought once I jumped that last hurdle a couple of weeks ago, it would be fairly smooth sailing for the new year.