Thursday, May 31, 2007

I'm out of town....

I've been living my life out in the real world for the past few weeks without extra time for blogging--even now I am using a borrowed laptop. This is a good thing, and yet life is not always so kind 'out here'. Still, I cannot complain because while things could be better, they could be worse also. I'm fortunate that they are not.

I've been with my daughter for the past two and a half weeks. She's had sinus surgery in the hopes this will help alleviate problems with sleep apnea with which she was diagnosed recently. She has also moved into a new house that I'd not visited before. Much of it was still in boxes, so I've been busy helping her put her place in order. I'm happy to report that it looks better today than when I first arrived. This, too, is a good thing!

My son flew in and made the seven hour trip to this location with me. The next day their dad joined us for a couple of days. I've had my challenges in more ways than one upon arrival, but I'm hanging in there.

My daughter has three dogs and one cat (in heat, I might add), and co-habitating with them has been challenging. My son and his father put up a fence while they were here and that has made it easier for all. We've also moved the dogs' kennels to the basement. Since they are getting enough outdoor time now, this does not seem so cruel and gives us cleaner space and air. The new system is working out quite nicely.

The cat is another issue. Not to be unkind, but just as a means of coping with her situation, we've used a spray bottle of water to keep her in her own space and out of ours. We've all found our niche at this point. My daughter and I are actually doing very well sharing so much space and time. This is a good thing also!

Sarah, my child, has seen her ENT specialist a couple of times, post surgery, and he even tossed in a freeby exam for me. Sarah still has symptoms that keep her from feeling as well as she had hoped to feel at this point. We discussed/explored possible reasons for this including the effect the animals have on her condition. I know I am allergic to the cat, and thus the exam for 'mommy dearest'. I also have in place an inspection of my own house when I return home, because I've had concern that the mold/mildew problem that is evident in my house is causing some physical issues with me. My daughter lives in a darling 1930s bungalow, but the basement is what I consider a 'cellar'--there is a bank of earth exposed on two sides of the area, and with outdated floor vents that open down to this area exposing the house to what lurks in that soil, I think mold/mildew is certainly a factor with her sinus problems. The ENT guy confirmed this for both of us after our examinations. So it seems that surgery alone will not resolve the sinus issues--it's time to clean up our environment, and for both of us, this may involve relocating--moves that neither of us are eager to make at this time. Ahh...but such is life....change is always on the horizon!

Speaking of horizon, there are a couple of opportunties for me in the upcoming week. I will be traveling further south soon to visit with my dad who has survived a stroke he had just prior to my daughter's surgery. I could not be two places at one time, so one of my sisters stepped in to be there for my mom and dad as he went through his ordeal and I dealt with my daughter. This is a story for another blog...let me just say that while dad was in the hosptial for a gall bladder removal (which we now know was not necessary) he had the stroke, but only after dealing with horrendous side effects to medication. Once he was off all meds so that he could recover from this, he was given a shot of insulin by an incompetent nurse in the middle of the night. My father is NOT diabetic, so he certainly did not benefit from that injection. It was intended for the guy next door--I'm STILL wondering what they gave him.

Anyway--I'll be going to visit with him soon and while in my hometown, the talented musical people from my high school (and others) are gathering to have an annual 'battle of the bands' (affectionally called 'Brookstock' since we are from the era of the original concert that spawned the idea)--this will be the seventh for us. All classmates are invited, and this will be my first time to attend. I have three sisters who will join me, and if Sarah is well enough, she will go with me too and, hopefully, perform--we'd like it if her new friend who plays guitar for a heavy metal band will attend too (though we've been informed he has his own gig then). My son and his girlfriend and a third friend will travel there to participate also. So this will certainly be one of the highlights of this month long trek. I don't recall ever spending this much time away from home. So far, I'm handling it very well.

While here in Nashville, I have had he opportunity to visit with my youngest sister and her family. They lived with me for a year before moving here. Her kids are like my own, so being with them again has been great. My sis was born when I was a junior in high school, so she and I did not have much time together at home as a family while she was growing up. We've done our part to create closeness despite the distance between us. I think it has brought us even closer.

Ironically, my dad's sister who lives in Maryland/near D.C. was also in the city with her husband for a convention (well, a show), so we had three generations together at one time, which can be rare, and so we had a few 'girls night out' opportunities to catch up and have a great time! Oh, and I must mention that I was here for Mother's Day AND my nephew's birthday, plus preschool and grade school graduations, baseball games, cookouts with homemade ice cream and a moment to relax and feed the ducks. I've certainly had the opportunity to make up for lost time during this visit.

I have a friend who is caring for my parrot, Kanoni, and my house in my absence. I'm grateful to have someone who cares for both as much as I do. This certainly makes it easier for me to be away for so long, but I've missed them, and I've miss my blogger friends and blogging time too!! I'm glad to have a moment to take a breather and to reconnect.

Ha!! The crazed cat just lifted her head from a nap, it appeared she wanted to join me here in my comfy chair--I think the red spray bottle sitting on the arm convinced her to extend her naptime! Works for me!!

Later folks!! I've missed you all. I hope you are enjoying your days leading up to summertime!

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BTW, while scanning my sitemeter details, it appears that many of my hits are from people who are likely just browsing blogs. Most do not stay very long--ha--boring here, huh?! I do notice some very interesting locations though, and some do linger. I'd love to have links so that I could visit YOUR blogs and be taken to places far away. One can only hope.....