THANKFUL THURSDAY...

Since the clarity I gained yesterday into the REAL meaning of appreciating life, I've been trying really hard to stop and enjoy the mundane experiences in my day. 

When my Dear Dad had lung surgery a short while ago, a sweet relative sent him a gift basket of Wolferman's breads, jam and coffee.  My mom and dad are really more tea people than coffee, so they happily passed the package of coffee on to me.  Hmmm...it is just WONDERFUL coffee and free to me...even better!  So I decided to make myself a cup of coffee, rock in my chair for a while and read a good book.  Slowing down and ENJOYING my day.  I made myself a cup in my Keurig coffee maker, using the "as seen on TV" filter I had purchased a few weeks ago.  I am so glad that I purchased this filter as it allows me to use any type of coffee in my Keurig. 

When I stopped into the grocery store a few Sundays ago for a few "necessities",  I had a coupon for a free bottle of International Delight creamer  I love ID creamer, but don't buy it often because of the sugar content and calories.  Plus, I am, at heart, a black coffee drinker.  At checkout the cashier read the coupon wrong and told me I couldn't use it to get the creamer free.  Not wanting to hold up the line I told her to just ring it up normally.  I was going to keep it in the fridge for when my mom comes to visit, but decided that I needed a bit of pampering with my coffee yesterday.  Mmmmm... it is just SO good!  I checked the coupon out with my son and it was an error on the cashier's part.  So next time I am in a store I will pick up a FREE creamer for my mom.

This is the coffee mug I use all the time.  My Dear Hubby bought it for me a few months back.  It keeps the coffee or tea (or even cold drinks) at temperature for HOURS.  But the best part is that the drinking opening on the lid doesn't open unless the blue button is depressed.  Perfect for me now that the tremors are progressing.  No more worries about dropping the mug and spilling hot coffee all over myself.  Of course, my Dear Sweet Hubby was thinking of a way to make my life easier.  He is ALWAYS thinking of me...and I love him for being so caring.  I couldn't have a better husband!

Yesterday I had a short period of steady hands, so I used the time to work on my hexie project prototype.  The steadiness didn't last long, but I got a few inches of hand sewing done with only ONE Band-Aid needed.  I can take a hint...it was time to stop, lol. 

Around 3:00 yesterday afternoon I was reading my book, rocking away in my favorite chair.  I got up to walk to the bathroom and the amusement ride started.  My vertigo kicked in with a vengeance.  I grabbed the table for support and eased myself back into the chair.  The spinning quickly subsided.  But, I was left sick to my stomach, incredibly weak and sweaty.  For 10 minutes I sat in the chair hoping I would feel better.  If anything I was feeling worse.  For the first time it hit me that I am ALONE in my home.  My Dear Hubby works an hour away in a different state, my Dear Dad has had a complication from his cataract surgery and can't drive until they do a follow up laser on Monday, my Dear Aunt was 20 minutes away at work and my Dear Son J is 5 minutes away at work!  

So I tried to think logically and prepare myself for any eventuality.  I had worked in the medical field for over 30 years before I retired, had been a CPR instructor and still have, to this day, a pretty good handle on medicine in general.  I grabbed my purse that contains my identification, insurance information and list of medicines and slowly walked down the steps.  As I passed the front door I opened it, just in case I had to call 911 (My first call to 911 was when J was only 5 years old and we were home alone...he handled it like a pro!).  I grabbed a bottle of water as I passed the kitchen, sat down in the recliner and raised the legs.  

J gets out of work at 3:30 so I texted him and asked him to please come straight here when he got out of work as I was feeling horrible.  All of my life I have had problems with my blood pressure dropping too low so I asked him to grab a bag of potato chips on the way out of the store.  At 3:45 he flew in the front door.  Besides being my wonderful and caring son with a bright head on his shoulders, he has taken the courses to prepare for the Emergency Medical Technician certification.  Unfortunately, due to an injury on the job, his "preceptor" was unable to finish J's "live call" requirement and J could not sit for the exam.  The process has since been changed to prevent such an occurrence from happening again!  Even if not certified, he has a pool of EMT knowledge to pull from.  He said I was white as a ghost and he went upstairs to get my BP cuff (darn, I didn't remember everything, lol).  Long story short, after eating half a bag of chips and drinking water my color came back, I was able to walk around again and J headed home to his fiance.  I am SO thankful for my wonderful, loving and caring son.

And yes...you read that right!  FIANCE (or is it fiancee?).  That is the exciting news I have been dying to share!!!!  I had to wait until the whole family knew just in case someone read it.  Either way, fiance or fiancee, it's the same...they are officially engaged!  I am so thankful to be getting a warm, wonderful, caring daughter.  Welcome to the family, K!  Oh, her ring is just LOVELY...J has good taste!  Guess he got that from his MOM, lol. 

 

This morning I had about an hour of steady hands so I got a bit more work done on my prototype.  After the second stick I decided to call it quits before I bled all over, lol.  I'm now heading to my rocker to continue reading the first book in the Elm Creek series by Jennifer Chiaverini.  Dear Hubby has an appointment with a new Orthopaedic Surgeon today so he will be home from work shortly after lunch.  Please keep him in your thoughts.  We need to get to the bottom of his problem and FIX IT.  The pain is causing him to miss out on too much of life.  

I'm off to rock and read, thankful for my family, friends, life and love.  I am truly blessed...