Good to be home again

It is so good to be back in your own bed and especially good to hear Cooper yell Gee, Gee, looking for me.   He is like the happy little elephant in the GE Imagine ad on TV.   He comes bouncing into my room as happy as can be and you can't help but have a smile and think what a great day this is.   Being in the hospital is always an experience.   Having volunteered at Texas Children's in Houston for 9 years gave me a great experience of staff and doctors.   So am not afraid of the hospital but there is nothing like home where you feel you have more control over your day and your life.

Shock and Awe

I thought I had bronchitis that didn't seem to want to get better and low and behold it turned out to congestive heart failure.   I won't go into all the details but it is not exciting to hear the words clot and leaky valve.  Am on blood thinner medicine waiting for the next steps.   So first came the shock.  I had no idea and was not even thinking that my heart wasn't working right.   I go in for regular check ups so we are not sure when the heart started its decline.  Here it was Valentine's Day and the test didn't work.  It would mean waiting for a clot to dissolve and you hear these words over and over.  Don't fall down, if you have any bleeding be careful, special diet, get your blood checked every week, etc. etc.  I started thinking hmmmm if I don't wake up in the morning I have lived a wonderful life.  To be faced with all the uncertainty causes a lot of thinking about family and what if this is the big one.

Then came the awe.   My son and daughter-in-law were outstanding in their care and concern for me.  The ICU personnel were excellent and made my week there comfortable.  I started lining up all the blog ideas that I didn't want to miss writing.   Friends and family came to visit.   Good conversations.  Lots of thinking about my life overall and how much I've learned about spirituality and giving to others.

This experience makes you realize how vunerable you are but also how much love and support there is to help you face the next steps. Time will tell.

The things you would never have known about

Being around young people and a grand baby introduces you to many things you never would have experienced otherwise.   I am now a regular Nik Jr. TV fan and can tell you all about the Wonder Pets,  Dino Dan, and Max and Ruby.   By the way where are Max and Ruby's parents?

It's amazing how much is out there and how many children know it all.   At Christmas a little boy that was visiting saw an elf on Cooper's shelf and said to me "please don't move him, he might lose his powers".  That's when I found out all about the Elf on the Shelf Christmas story.  Apparently every child knows about this story.   Some times I think we think our world is all there is and then you step into a child's world and see another whole side of life.  The same thing is true when you are around 30-36 year olds.   What they watch on TV,  think about the world, their ambitions are all fresh and new and you realize how much you have forgotten about your early dreams and interests.   It is great to be awakened and remember just by watching and listening.

A comforting sound

One of the joys of living everyday with your grandchild is experiencing all the changes from day to day.   Every morning it is such a comforting sound to hear him wake up.   Sometime you hear him singing.  Sometime he sits up in his bed and yells Hey, Hey.   For some reason he doesn't get up or open the door which he could do but waits to see who is going to come and get him out of bed.     Sometimes he reads a book.   Whatever the method you know that a new day is dawning and it is going to be fun and filled with laughter.   It is a comforting sound and you are glad you are alive to experience it.

It wasn't easy

I had lived in a small two bedroom condo for over 13 years.   As I looked around at all the things I had acquired in those years, I felt overwhelmed. Previously Matt and I had lived for 20 years in 3 bedroom house and when he graduated from college and went out on his own I had moved to the condo.   I thought I had downsized then but boy was I wrong.   Just where to begin.   We decided that our goal would be to be in Austin by April of 2010.   Here it was about October 2009 and I had a lot to do to get rid of many of my acquisitions, prep and sell the condo and move my life to Austin. I organized myself to do something everyday and work on a plan to get it all done.   I learned a lot about myself going through this process.  First I went through all my belongings, clothes, books, dishes, jewelry, etc.   This took about 3 or 4 weeks.   I put them into catagories of what I would give away, sell, and keep.  I learned that I could get rid of lots of things.  More to share next time.

An offer I couldn't refuse

It was a wonderful phone call.  All the family lived in Austin and I lived in Houston.   The call was my son and daughter-in-law inviting me to come live with them so that I wouldn't miss out on all the day to day events.  I had not even imagined or wished for such a great offer so it made it a real surprise, an honor, and something that I really wanted to take seriously and think it through.   Little Cooper was about a year old and they wanted to be sure he knew all the members of his family.  I had already been to Austin many times and met all Ashley's family who already made me feel welcomed and at home.   The real questions were was I ready to leave year's of friends, being a volunteer child advocate, and a volunteer lay chaplain at Texas Children's Hospital.  Was I ready to make another transition, go to a new city and start life there.   I gave it a great deal of thought and decided it was the right thing to do.  I wasn't going because I was sick or had no other alternatives.   It was a decision based on looking at all the options and criteria for the move.   Now at 74 I was off to another new adventure.