Once Again, The One And Only Post
on 04/24/2024 at 05:45 AM
Happy 2024 everybody! The comments zone has been freshly scrubbed and is ready for all your pithy remarks!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year - late as usual.
Not much to write - ordered-in food and money was the main gift around - kids can buy and sell us many times over and there are too many grandchildren from young to adults and now great-grandchildren - that our paltry retirement pay doesn’t stretch that far. Especially since we didn’t keep our house in KY - which would have long ago been paid off. Live and learn. And only $500/month (we assumed the Army guy’s loan, one of the few advantages of an Army town) - cheap homes at really cheap prices.
I think most people don’t realize hubby retired as a disabled vet, I’m drowning in my own lungs and son’s burn (loss of below the knee rt. leg and finger damage) has him as disabled, too. We make it - but as we’ve all gotten older - it just gets a little bit harder.
And that’s what I did on my Christmas vacation. And I’m so tired most days, I have realized how important the lungs are. If I’d known I was going to live this long - I’d have taken better care of myself.
Oh and I’m feeding a stray cat 🙀 that roams about outside.
-falls in, bourbon and Coke in hand- Still here, just busy as hell. Escaped Amazon a couple yrs ago for Best Buy Geek Squad City, working Specialized repair. We do a little of everything; robot vacuums, Nintendo Switches, Chromebooks for schools, laptops for Squaretrade/Allstate, Bose headsets. Hubs is doing dispatch for Fort Knox (they’re hiring two more right now, if you all know anyone) Other than work and the occasional concert, not much going on here. Keeping an eye on the weather cause they can’t seem to decide when or how much snow we’re supposed to get. That’s fun.
Good to hear from y’all. Hope Rich K is doing ok up there in the great Pacific Northwest.
Glad to read that you got out of Amazon Severa. I hear they work their warehouse people and their drivers to death.
Wardmama, I’ve got the COPD thing too. It sucks, but a puff a day of several different expensive meds gets me through. And as long as I keep enough water in the BiPap at night I do ok. If it runs dry I wake up soaked in sweat outside and dry as a desert bone inside. And then after plenty of liquids I go through the morning coughing, but after that I’m mostly ok. Just don’t expect me to run marathons ... or even hobble any given my knees and ankle.
My problem is mostly avoiding people and germs. So the only place I really go now - is the hospital (alas - people and germs)! I was there this am for another scan. Sometimes I think they forgot they put me in that machine because it seems like it just gets longer and longer.
I have a collection of meds too and 3 different inhalers. But I’m still kicking.
Otherwise it’s mostly the same old, same old. I mean when, any time out of the house is all the excitement I get - it sucks getting old.
YES - my scan came back - no markers or signs of dementia. My brain is ok - just a bit of ‘getting older than others’ forgetting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope that this wraps up a lot of the testing that they’ve been doing lately. I’ve survived decades longer than anyone expected - so apparently I’M A SURVIVOR.
I’m surprised that it came back so quickly - but I’m happy. I guess I just have always been a slightly bit spacey - but I’ve always called it ‘being a dreamer’.
Good to know though.
They can do scans for dementia?? Or senility? Not sure if there is a difference.
My mom turns 89 in April. She’s quite far down that road. 6 years ago she was sharp, still driving, etc.Now I seem to be forgetting things. I’m a bit concerned. Oh hell, I’m scared, let’s face it.
There is a marker for dementia/alzheimer’s, which I apparently have. It was discovered in the first test - the CT scan. Hence test two and three (which was the MRI then the lumbar puncture) - which I don’t recommend- my back is still sore - but since I haven’t taken any pain med since the first day- I consider my fault for being sore. And you are suppose to lie flat the first day - I can’t seem to do that at all anymore.
Snowball is gone - (a week and two days since last sighting) now replaced with a fluffy black cat! Since it’s been a year of feeding Snowball - I figure a year is about all I get of these so-called feral cats. I consider them thrown away/left behind cats (there is a set of apartments up the hill - which I suspect has a short turnover rate). They are too nice, appear well cared for and not adverse to petting. I guess I will see how long this one stays around.
I’ll be 69 next birthday - but I’ve always felt it (the worst forgetting) was an infection of some sort - as a week or so later - I felt much better and more clear of mind. But hubby had already gotten the appointment ball rolling. I guess earlier is better, as now the Docs are aware of it and can keep watch.
I’ve always wondered if there is something in our modern era, that is causing this rash of early mental decline. Growing up, I only knew one person who was really out-of-touch mentally. My grandmother - who was fun to be around, as she only told stories of the past, which we kids found fascinating. And she knew, until the end, when the day nurse left and she would be alone and she knew that the one store delivered after 3 - so she could order ice cream after the nurse left - as the daughters-in-law took over dinner and evening care/bed time. Now it seems so more common. Or is the media just reporting more of it?
I forgot - The daughter is the bread, pretzel and bagel maker. She is awesome at it and helps keep us in something quite often.
Snowball cane back. She kind of smells a little bit skunky - so maybe she hid out after a mild skunk encounter.
Not much else to write about - we are getting sunny days - not the warmth to go with it. The cats want the window curtains open. They have one in the front and one in the back - that will have to do, until the temps get warmer.
I don’t do spicy anymore - just can’t seem to handle it. Of course - decades ago I could not eat California version of Mexican - so who knows what is going on. Given how many different cuisines I had to at least taste for 28 years of Army functions, parties and wives ‘teas’, you’d think I would have a cast iron digestive system. But no mine is a delicate little thing.,
I’m tired of it all - the invasion (oh, Congress - it’s just uber super that you want to ‘limit’ it to 5000 per day- what crappola). Limit it to Zero for a year or two or forever. We don’t need an influx of drug traffikers, criminals, and people traffiked for sex.
We have enough of the criminal element. And it is such an insult to people like my bio-father who applied legally and waited in his home country to come to America - and actually contributed positively, became a citizen and stayed here until his death. Not funnel money both earned and scammed from social programs (once again 75% of illegals with children are on social programs) and then retire back ‘home’ in wealth and splendor.
I’m most saddened that so many people are either ignorant of the situation or just don’t give a damn. Not realizing our taxes and crime would go down - at the very least.
JFK could not run as a democrat these days and the GOP is riddled with people who aren’t even RINOs - but democrats in disguise.
I weep for America.
And I won’t even go into the criminal idiots of the KC super bowl shooting. I still believe that these are paid shooters, so that this ‘horrible’ incident can be used 1) to pimp gun control (less than an hour after the shooting) and 2)to cover up some illegal/immoral story of more importance/value to the conservative/American public.
Glad you are on the mend.
I’m so very sorry about your Mom. It’s hard to go through, as you watch someone just die in bits and pieces.
Well that didn’t go well. I not only didn’t get well, now I’ve gotten worse. And I know now what it must feel like to drown. I can no longer clear my lungs. It used to be end of day that the cough would start. Then the afternoon and now it’s starting in the morning. So mostly I’ve been sitting on the couch trying not to cough. No matter how much I cough, I no longer clear my lungs. I can still can get through most days without going on oxygen, I consider that a win.
So much for that. We have had a mild winter thus far. Now that I go almost no where - the winter is great.
I guess that’s it for now.
Sorry to hear about your illness wardmama. I had the same thing. The cough is terrible and relentless. Endless sinus flow and it gathers in your chest. Mucinex pills, or that liquid mucinex DM, which they now call Kickstart, will help. But what really helps is a 10-12 day dose of Augmentin antibiotic along with a hefty long dose of steroids.
This went through our area a month or two ago. It was a rotten thing to live through, and I have no idea how fatal it was in general. Was this RSV? Nobody even bothers to test. Helluva change from the BS we went through with COVID.
We went through the same thing with my mother. It’s tough to watch someone you love turn into someone you don’t know. In Mom’s case it progressed to where she would get physical with people, and damage furniture, walls, etc.
I know it doesn’t help much hearing from strangers that say “I know how you feel”, but hopefully knowing that strangers are praying for you will give you some comfort. Hang in there, stay strong, and keep telling yourself that this too shall pass.
So the first news - isn’t good - whoever posted first that my scans were good - should be fired. I have the marker for brain issues and I have been diagnosed (and on medication) for alzheimer’s. Don’t worry - it’s going to be a race to see if my kidneys, heart or lungs kill me - long before the brain gets to.
I have heard - your are going to die - so many times before, that it is kind of a joke for me. Most especially, long ago in Germany the first time - with a female Army Doctor standing over me, saying you should be dead, but I’m talking to you - you have no pulse or blood pressure. I, could have told her why - but being a patient since I was born - I know doctor’s don’t like patients knowing more than them! First, my Dad was a Cardiologist - well he wanted to be, but couldn’t because he hurt his legs in the Pacific in WWII. And two - the number of doctors I’ve seen in my life (I think at least 3 grand rounds - when all the doctors of the day come around to hear about their ‘special’ patients on the ward). Doctors hold no mystic for me anymore. And besides, I’ve lasted 69+ years longer than they ever thought I would.
As I said - I’ve lasted decades longer than anyone ever thought possible, I had children (5) that no one would have thought possible and I’m still here and functional (although I admit hubby and daughter are stepping up to do cooking).
I’ve lived a good life. I’ve had some amazing opportunities that few people have and I acknowledged that often. The first was being born in America. Having lived outside the US (even in a progressive country) - I know how very, very much above the rest of the World, the US is. Do not weep for me - I shall go down fighting to the very last breath, with my last ounce of strength.
I will keep reading and writing - until I can’t. You all take care - life is short and for some people - sucks. Just remember the words of William Wallace - every man dies - some men never live. And if I were still a drinking person - I’d say Salute.That was a lovely bit of writing Leslie. God bless you and know we love you.
I have a cartoon on my refrig - For Better or For Worse. The son is walking with a friend and goes into a deep and beautiful diatribe about how he can’t write and doesn’t have the necessary attributes to be a writer. It’s always how I felt, even though you aren’t the first to comment on how I write. Hubby has said I need to write about my life.
I thought that my Mom should have - since they traveled from New Jersey to NYC in a carriage with the pony on a lead behind when she was a child (her Mom’s family was BIG in NY (upstate in the latter years - the name is a familiar one Borden - and yes it was THAT Borden and yes and Uncle sold Mom’s side of the family stock back to them - as no one was going to purchase a thing with a cow on the package. And yes, it is also the same Borden of Lizzie fame). So, yes I can see why hubby would think I should write all this down. I wonder how much a secretary will cost?!?
Not much else going on around here - another scan yesterday - no longer sure exactly what/why each one is about anymore - although given the hospital - I’m going to guess it’s about the sleep study on the first of May. Yeah, let’s go with that.
Wet (and thus my nose is leaking this morning) and dismal here. Must get lunch and take noon meds - and that is about as exciting as my life gets.
We got the front lawn mowed - not exactly sure when we will be able to plow down the back. It is so damp here - which really I don’t understand - as it hasn’t rained any of the days that they predicted it (one of the reasons we haven’t mowed in the back). Oh well.
I have so much to do, that things are piling up. Too many of them want too much money - as ‘costs go up’ but somehow our retirement paycheck only seems to increase by pennies every year.
I don’t get the social bennies of being older - as I only worked for months (hate where you are assigned in the Army - let your wife get a job - guaranteed to be moved in 6 months or less). So I wait for my hubby who is younger than me. Hopefully I will live that long. And the avenue for family members to get a job is (or was) almost impossible to navigate if you aren’t a teacher, prior military or have an advanced degree.
So we pay a medical bill or two (I’m not looking forward to any hospital stay).
I will rummage around my desk (I have cubby holes along one side) and see if I have a notebook around and start writing. Who knows - I’ve always wanted to write a book - maybe it will happen. Although with my form of ADD combined with the brain fog - I will probably forget as soon as I start!
Go for it. Writing can be cathartic, a good way to release stress. Don’t beat yourself up if your first half dozen tries come out a mess. It takes some time to develop the knack. This is one benefit I have got from running this blog for so many years now. And playing word games on my cell phone. Clear writing, proper grammar, good spelling is a rare thing these days. One more indication of our cultural decline over the last 4 generations. Sadly.
Grammar is not my issue - I was raised by a grammar nazi - it’s I don’t believe in myself.
I heard that I was going to die for most of my childhood. My Dad [a Dr. who wanted to be a Cardiologist but couldn’t practice it due to leg injuries while in the Pacific [and I don’t think that they give bennies for screwing around in the water with the other docs and nurses] so he did Internal Medicine (yes, he had two MDs - most educated person I know) bought me a horse (I bet the fights over that one were huge). [Sorry for the convoluted sentence] And alas, despite what all the other doctors and my Mom declared - I rode (and fell off) and never broke a bone and cleaned horses and stalls for the next 11 years. And I didn’t die. So I have a slight disregard for most doctors.
And now - I have lived longer than my Dad (56), my two sisters and a brother - also in his 50s. I just have one brother who lives in Canada now - he calls me once a year. So no family really left. My Mom lived to 93 but since none of them are biologically related - their longevity or lack thereof aren’t my problem. I know my bio-Father died in 1979 - at 59 and my bio-Mother returned here a couple of years ago (I think she wants to be buried next to her oldest son who is buried here) - she was 88 the last time I was able to track her to her son in WI. Apparently once you pass 80 - even yahoo doesn’t give a damn to track you - or going into an old age home drops you off the tracking - whatever. Maybe I should start looking at the obits! If it’s 88 - I still have a few years. As I said - whatever.
I learned long ago - what will be will be. Unless someone attacks you - your odds are good. I stopped drinking, stopped the little bit of smoking I did ages ago and mostly lived the life of the odd girl out - so no nasty surprises there - other than getting smacked around by the first hubby (luckily also Army - so I did get a few breaks now and then) - and of course the falls from horses - a very mild life.
Interesting - though. I stood in the arena for the Lippazzan horses in Vienna and climbed the Eiffel Tower in Paris and got to go to the area in Germany where my Dad’s family emigrated to America from. That was fun - we ate lunch at the Gasthaus (think village inn and diner) - and when the waitress noticed the hideous green American plates - we told her we were Fischbachs (my Mom was with us - so she still had the name) who came to see where are family was from in Germany. She ran around to the other people in the place to tell them - Americans who came to see where their ancestors were from. I would have loved to go to England to see where my Mom’s Dad was from - but apparently I could only get one trip from the ex and we was too po’ to do any traveling when we were there the second time. Still all and all a good life.
And I haven’t even talked about all the adventures in Montana! Don’t worry about the morbidity - I indulge now and them - but as I said - I’ve lived decades longer than anyone expected. And I know how to take care of myself. Plus I really don’t do anything to tax what health I have.
Well off to veg a bit before wondering what to do for dinner and of course some tv. A lazy, rainy afternoon. We did get the front mowed before the rain - so it’s all good.
see? That was pretty good writing right there!! You can do this!
02/18/2024 at 03:31 PM
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