Small things II

The Decor

Okay first thing you need to know to understand this "small thing" is the decor of my room.  A couple of years ago I began decorating my little bedroom in what I like to call sort of "retro coastal." The color scheme is white, beige, spring green and a muted turquoise blue with little, little hints of pink. The furnishings fall along the minimalist line with pieces that are distressed and touches of rattan.  The accents include hints of willow leaves, sea shells and coastal nostalgia.  Sprinkled in this very soothing decor are just a few very tasteful (and small) flamingos.  The flamingos and my favorite throw blanket provide the splash of pink. 

The Old Hairdryer 

So I have had this little compact red hair dryer for as long as I have been back in the US.  It belonged to my folks for many years prior to that.  Having long hair that I have treated as "wash and go" has meant that the hair dryer has had sporadic use over the past several years. A month ago however I got a hair cut that  has made me want to blow dry on a more frequent basis.  My hair dryer decided that it was not fond of the frequent use.  It became rather temperamental requiring a lot of coaxing (switch flipping and sweet talking) to get it to work.  This led me to the decision to look for a replacement. When a kind family at school gave me a $15 Target gift card, I decided to try to use it towards replacing the hair dryer.  

The New Hairdryer

I had been looking at the variety of options when what should I find at Target but a bright pink hair dryer for $14.99.  Being in my budget and having the features that I wanted, I decided to buy it.  As I see my pink and black hair dryer on the little side table, I can't help but see an abstract Flamingo head. and it makes me smile every time. How gracious of God to not only provide a working hair dryer but one that fits my decor!

It's the small things.

Merry??? Christmas

So I feel obligated to say "Merry Christmas!" yet to be honest I am not exactly feeling "merry" this morning.

You see, after sniffling and dealing with drainage for a couple of weeks, today I woke up will the full blown "shoot me now" cold.  It is Christmas day and I am sick.  I have never done well with being sick on Christmas, my birthday or any holiday for that matter.  In my world, it just should not be.  So that is the foundation for my less than merry mood.  Want more????

So Mom got the cold the day before.  So that one "stable, holds it all together for this family" person is not functioning 100%.  She missed the Christmas Eve service and dinner at my house. The traditional Christmas Eve dinner at my house was reduced to Peter in one room and me in another eating our dinner.  

Because of Flu and other illnesses Larry's nursing home has been on "lock down" for almost a week. He is not able to come home today for Christmas. Because mom and I are both sick, neither one of us is going to be able to go in (hands washed and masked, as I did last night) to see him.  He will spend today at the Nursing Home in the ordinary way without visitors (and he is used to a daily visit from family.)

Need more....

Peter has continued to act as if I am his maid and personal attendant.  The Batman PJ bottoms I gave him last night were completely rejected.  And honestly I am anticipating more of the same today with the gifts I have bought him.  And when tomorrow comes no doubt there will be request for more. Ever read "If you give a mouse a cookie"???  Yeah that is Peter.  And I can't help but think Peter acts as he does because I allow it.  And well that just makes me mad at me.

Did I mention that the cream curdled twice when trying to make my tomato soup for Christmas Eve. So I made chili.

So I can't honestly greet you with Merry Christmas today because it would be a lie.  However I can greet you with "Hopeful Christmas," because today isn't really about being "merry".  It isn't really about the family smiling around the tree. Today is about hope.  We recognize today that God kept his promise to his people from way back in Genesis.  He promised a savior and he sent him.  He sent his son Jesus to do what we could not do for ourselves.  Not only that but he  will continue to do for us what we can not to for ourselves.  And we will celebrate with him one day in all His glory and splendor without sickness and sin to mar it.

Christmas marks hope fulfilled.  It gives reason to continue to hope.

So whether your Christmas is Merry and Bright today or not, I pray that it will not be without HOPE.

Small Things

Life is hard.  There is no way around it.  You make a plan and things change the plan. You put bread in the toaster and it burns.  Hurting people you know experience more hurts and you feel at a loss. You give and give and the receiver wants more and more.  You figure your bills before pay day and you are in the red before you even get paid. You learn a new truth and resolve to live by it only to forget it when you needed to remember it.  Yes, life is hard.  But then in the midst of life's trials . . . . . .

You spot a cockroach, a big one crawling along your kitchen ceiling.  You do that squealing thing running for the can of roach spray you hope is in the laundry room.  You aim at the roach and give it all you got.  Without any maneuvering on your part, that roach falls directly into the kitchen trashcan so you can smother it with more spray followed by the lid. You giggle thinking how you got that roach and scored two points all in one swoop.  Plus you didn't have to touch that yucky thing!  That's when you thank God for the small things.

Dad update

So I am sure that it is not coincidence that Thursday afternoon by which time many people would have seen my post and were praying, Dad took an amazing turn around for the good. He was shaving, brushing his teeth, walking the halls, and all in a much less agitated and confused state.  He was sent home Friday afternoon.  When I saw him that evening he was sitting in his chair watching TV.  He said he was tired but was fairly chatty.  There was some normal repeated conversation and some hints of confusion but nothing like what was happening in the hospital earlier in the week.

Due to some caring co-workers who sent me off when my concern and weariness was evident, I was at the hospital Thursday morning when the Doctor came.  I had an opportunity to express my concern for dad's mental well being.  As it often is, Dad was lucid during the doctor's visit and he was unaware of the behaviors Mom and I had witnessed. Basically the Doctor's conclusion was that what Dad experience is common among the elderly during hospital stays.  Mom and I also tend to think the numerous medications he was taking contributed as well.  

The report is that he has had a pretty good weekend.  He has a cough from the respiratory issues but he is doing the necessary breathing exercises to help with that.  He is now looking forward to a visit from his friend in Mississippi who is coming to do some projects around Mom and Dad's condo this weekend.

Thank you for your prayers.  I am convinced there is a connection between them and his amazing turn around. 

Dad

Wanted to share that Dad has been in the hospital since early Sunday morning.  He went in with a stomach blockage.  This is a somewhat common occurrence so it was not too alarming. Although that issue has not been totally resolved, it is better.  However meanwhile, respiratory issues developed this morning.  The most distressing part is his confusion and crazy talk.  It has been humorous in some regards.  In truth there are times we haven't been sure that he was really not aware or just being funny.  The nurses have told mom that it is certainly not uncommon for people in the hospital to show such confusion.  We have also wondered what is connected to medicine that he is on.  We have tried not to be alarmed but some interactions with him today have been somewhat disturbing.  Mom is staying with him the majority of the time.  She is an experienced hospital companion from many stays with both my dad and brother.  None the less, it has to be wearing.  Appreciate your prayers for clarity for the doctors, Dad's healing, and mom's stamina and strength. Thank you.  

Still in Shock!

So I am still stunned by what happened this evening.  I keep looking to see if I really picked up my kid to bring home for the night.  Let me provide a little background.

Peter is at Military school for the second year.  He has not been real happy about it especially about the fact that I have him board there when we live two miles away from the school.  I was advised that he would receive more discipline training by boarding.  I had said that being a day student was a future option but I did not promise it for this year like Peter claims I had.  Thus he was pretty rude during the first month and half of weekends home. Over the past month I have seen his attitude improving.  He has engaged more in conversations and been more responsive to spending time with his grandparents. (It helps a lot that they have cable TV for football game viewing and they provide him with food of his choice.) 

This weekend was homecoming weekend at the school. I was able to meet with some teachers yesterday and was told that he is a good kid. In general the teachers see Peter making real efforts at his work. Unlike last year he has been passing all his classes every week.  He seems motivated by the desire to come home for the weekend which requires him to be passing all his classes. When he was begging me to pick him up today before the mandatory homecoming dance, I asked him if he didn't like girls.  He quickly replied, "I like girls. I just have other priorities right now like my grades."  I then replied with "so you are planning to study Saturday night?"  I got one of those rare but beautiful grins as he said "no!" I had offered earlier to find him a date and he quickly declined. Often girls are "bused" in from an all girls school but when I picked him up this evening  he said the bus of girls didn't come.

Before I get to the shocker thing let me say I was already feeling proud and impressed with my son. Today I went to the Military Parade.  Okay so that you don't make the same mistake I did when I first heard about the Parade let me clarify this event.  Remove from your mind pictures of floats, clowns, candy, or anything that involves people walking down the street. The Military Parade does include the Military School Band and the boys marching. However it is primarily conducted on the football field (or indoor field in cold weather).  There is systematic movement, marching, and standing in formation as well as some shouting. Today's parade was longer than usual because of special recognition for Homecoming. Essentially those young men stood out on the field for close to an hour with very little movement.  For those of you who remember Peter, that is impressive.  Doing such takes patience and discipline.  I know I was getting antsy just watching it. This wasn't my first parade but once again I found myself really impressed with his ability to do that.

Count in 5 from the left to find Peter. Marching to the Field.

This shows 4 of the 9 companies on the field before the crowd.

Delta Company.  Peter is somewhere in the back.

Peter is in the Middle. Leaving after standing in the field an hour.

Impressive, right?

Okay so this is what happened.  Peter and I were driving home from the school this evening in the dark.  He was very anxious to get home to his couch and game system.  He even declined a stop for food or a Redbox movie.  We came down the hill rounding the corner just before our house.  Just as I realized something was in the road Peter shouted out for me to stop.  He saw before I did that there were 4 large folding tables in the middle of the road.  It was a close call as I swerved to miss them.  As I was rounding them he told me to stop as he prepared to get out of the car.  I said "what are you doing?"  He said "I am going to move them before somebody hits them."  He picked each one up moving them off the street up onto the grass.  He couldn't figure out why someone would put them there.  (I suggested that they fell off a truck).  He didn't understand why they were there but he knew that they shouldn't stay and took action to move them.  Now that may seem like common sense to you. You may be wondering why I considered it such a big deal.  Peter rarely thinks beyond his personal interest and to take the time and initiative to move something that did not immediately effect him was a big deal.  He was thinking beyond himself.  Thank God for Military School!

My first Half Marathon, In Pictures

It was my first (and possibly only) half marathon yet I was rather strategic in my planning.

First of all I chose a location that would be pretty to look at while running and fun to re-cooperate at following the race.

Running the first Mile as the sun rose up over the Ocean!

 

Many of the 13.1 miles involve running under moss covered Oaks.

Next I invited a buddy who likes to take pictures so I could have documentation of the event. It also helped that she loves the beach making it easier to endure all my talk about racing and crazy pre-race preparation.  

Tammy, my travel buddy and a fabulous photographer

I spent the past three months training. I found a training buddy, actually she found me when she startled me on one of my runs.  Haley helped me push myself to go faster and longer when I didn't want to.  After some of our runs, I decreased my original target time. Therefore I set my I pod for a 2 hour and 30 minute run. I wore my running hat (John Deere because nothing runs like a deer) and followed the crowd.

And then I just ran and ran and ran and ran.  I had fun the first few miles and spent the last 10 swearing I would never do such a run again.  Truthfully all of my strategically planned music and the scenery didn't mean quite as much as I thought it would. I was just trying to get to the finish line without dying! And 13.1 miles later, I did!

Grateful for Tammy who captured my success for all to see.

Then I begged for water and a place to sit swearing this was my one and only half marathon. Pretty soon, the reward of it all began to kick in!   I got my finisher medal.  I realized that I had basically met my goal having run it in 2 hours 30 minutes and 55 seconds (gun time). Chip time was only 13 seconds! I was tenth out of 17 in the 45-49 age female category.  I was the 208 finisher out of 296. All what I consider respectable.  My college roommate's husband and  neighbor ran the half marathon as well.  Their families ran the 5K. It was Melissa (the roommate's) first 5K.  She was at the 13 mile mark of my race waiting for me.  I had not seen her in years and it was really sweet to have her take my hand and run the last .1 with me.  It was fun to visit with her and her family for a while after the race.

David(the neighbor), Me and Billy (Melissa's husband)

It was pointed out at some point that I was telling anybody who would listen that I was running a half marathon.  It is true.  I did want people to know.  I realized that this run was very significant for me. See most of my life I have considered myself a NON-athlete and a "quit when it gets hard" kind of gal.  Running consistently  for two and a half hours  covering 13.1 miles pretty much proves both of those beliefs as being false. And I wanted everyone to know.  However I did NOT wear my medal to the beach, dinner or even breakfast the next day as I witnessed other participants to do.

Exhausted put very proud of me!

I planned this half marathon to be my one and only.  That thought was confirmed adamantly during the last 10 miles of the race and the two days following.  But I confess that there are now thoughts of attempting another one (in another fun and flat location) floating around in my head!