courage...

...not again...

This past Saturday night, My Sweet Hubby (MSH) had his second heart attack in two years. After two weeks of a horrid case of the flu. (Doubtful there was a connection--don't think it helped his situation, however.)

I raced him to the ER--15 miles away--where they stabilized him and then transferred him to the Ft. Worth hospital we'd gone to two years ago.

Sunday was a hard day. TLC, who was not contagious, but who was (still) sick, came to be with us and to be the constant messenger to her brothers about what was going on.

Monday, she came back. (Little Leighton was in good hands--her Daddy's!) MSH and I were both deeply grateful that TLC could be with us. The day was a rough one for MSH. They had stopped all food and drink at midnight Sunday night, hoping he'd have a Cath/angiogram Monday morning. Or by noon. It was 4:00 p.m. before they took him down to the Cath Lab. 5:30 before they actually did the procedure.

By 7:30 that night, he was back in his room with three new stents. At 8:30, he was getting up and eating a bite. This had not been the process two years ago. This was much better. He had a "wrist" line--rather than the "groin" line he'd previously had. Significantly easier postop. Thank You, Lord God Almighty, for that gift! We got home Tuesday around 3:45 in the afternoon.

Since then, he's been working on healing. (Yes. He's a man. No offense to men as a group. Just sayin'... But I do have to, periodically, remind him of a few instructions by the doctors. Sigh.) I've been named Head Nurse. An honor I cherish.

Not sure when we'll be able to post next...TLC remains puny. Sheesh. Will it never end? And, yet, through all of this experience, we find encouragement in the blessings we've been given. We understand it could all be worse. We do get that.

We hope life is treating Y'all kind(er!), Wherever in the World Y'all are...

tutus...eggs benedict...and rubber duckies

Tuesday morn I left early and drove East for a visit with TLC and Little Leighton (LL)! I was beyond ready to get out and about. I actually met them at a Mall close to their casa. TLC wanted to look for some shoes—school and sandals—for LL. Her sweet little tootsies had grown a tidbit. She’s in-between sizes, of course, so it wasn’t as successful as we’d hoped.

That afternoon, after LL’s nap, I was thrilled to be able to attend her second Ballet and Tap Class! She adores her “at home” dancing. She and a precious little school chum are tackling this challenge together. They’re the “babies” of the group! At this point, LL seems to be marching to the beat of a different drum, so to speak. But, hey, she’ll get it. She’d wear her tutu 24/7 if TLC would let her!

The next morning, I kissed LL au revoir in their garage, as TLC put her into her carseat for the quick trip to preschool. As TLC got into her front seat, I said: “While you’re gone, I’m going to take a quick bath!” When she got home with our Starbuck’s lattes, TLC told me LL said this, as they backed out of the driveway: “I think Grammy is going to play with my rubber duckies in the bath tub and that’s okay!” She’s a hoot, that LL. Such a Funny Gal. Strangely, I wasn’t tempted to play with the duckies.

TLC and I got to do something we haven’t done in months. And months. We went shopping—just the two of us—at the Mall! We felt so free! (Not that we don’t love to have LL with us…it’s simply different dynamics. Wink. Wink.) As we figured out how much time we had left before needing to pick LL up—we tried to decide what we might do for a quick lunch.

ELC: We could go to the Sonic in the Food Court—grab a small burger and drink. Take them to your house. I have my giftcard Dad gave me for Valentine’s Day.

TLC: Your what? You have a Sonic giftcard?

ELC: Yep. Didn’t I tell you? Dad got me one for Valentine’s Day!

(If Y’all haven’t learned this about moi, I love Sonics! Their food—YES. But, most of all, I love to get Vanilla Coke Zeroes—especially at Coke Hour! If My Sweet Hubby (aka MSH/Dad) happens to be with me, he gets quite tickled at my $1.00 tips for a $1.29 Large VCZ. I call it my “Sonic Ministry.” I give anywhere between a 30% and 50% tip to those FANTASTIC Carhops. I believe they deserve every single penny.)

TLC (as she giggled hysterically): No. You didn’t tell me. That is so sweet, Mom. That Dad drove up and ordered a giftcard for you! Priceless. Truly priceless.

ELC: I know. I laughed and laughed. And laughed. I told him that was one of the most fun and thoughtful gifts he’d ever given me—in 39 years.

TLC: How much was it for?

ELC: $20. But I can reload it—hahaha. I actually forget I have it. I’ve only used it once.

We opted, however, to go by another burger joint closer to TLC’s house. Our fast-food treat would stay warmer.

As we kept giggling about it, I was reminded how lucky I’ve been to be married to such a good man. About a month ago, he found some gluten-free Canadian Bacon he wanted to fix for LL—the next time she came for a visit. It made us reminisce about the years we traveled—for his job—to many, many States, and how we loved to order Eggs Benedict at the hotel restaurants/cafes. It became a tradition, early on, in our marriage. We’d never even tried to fix them at home! In our recent purging/organizing/cleaning of our pantry and kitchen cabinets, we found a 3-egg poaching pan and vowed we were going to be poaching eggs soon. After that conversation, and as a surprise, he bought a package of hollandaise sauce mix and fixed me Eggs Benedict! They were FABULOUS. Utterly divine. We’ve had them twice in the past month. MSHTC—My Sweet Husband The Chef!

I had to leave LL and TLC at 3:30 p.m. yesterday—so I could beat the insane evening traffic in the DFW Metroplex. I missed them the moment I drove away. And, yes, I cry.

Hope Y’all have had a good week—so far! We’re looking at more dreary—albeit necessary—rainfall for the next three or four days. Hard on our spirits and general mental health—great for our lakes and yards and water tables. We’ll, begrudgingly, take whatever The Good Lord gives us!

ta-ta for now, Sillies Everywhere…

Monday, Monday...

So good to me
Monday morning
It was all I hoped it would be

Sung by The Mamas and the Papas (TMATP). Written by John Edmund Andrew Phillips. (Of TMATP.)

For most of my junior high and high school years, I cherished this group. Their style was unique. You couldn’t not sing along with them as soon as you’d learned the words to their latest hit. As individuals, they were fascinating. As a group, they were amazing. Classic. Timeless. They made all of us Texas Gals wish we lived in California. Well, TMATP and The Beach Boys, of course! (By the way: I especially adored Mama Cass. Honestly? We all did. She was a treasure.)

This morning, My Sweet Hubby (MSH) and I feel like we’re coming back to life. A week in bed, basically, with coughing, fever, blowing our noses and feeling nothing but yucky, has left us anxious to get back to The Land of the Living! The sun is shining here in North Central Texas and it’s supposed to be a lovely, warm, fantastic Spring-ish day. (Those dadgum Weather Peeps are saying more rain, possibly, tomorrow. Believe me: WE NEED RAIN. We do. Yucky cold and dreariness? Those we can do without. Sigh.)

After several errands in town this afternoon, MSH and I have The Voice to watch tonight. A new season of Dancing With the Stars begins at 7:00 o'clock p.m. CST! (MSH used to watch it with me—many years ago. He finally took a stand and said: No. No, thank you. I’ve got some Alaska/War/WeirdGuy—fill-in-the-blank shows waiting for me on the bedroom DVR.)

At the end of this day, Wherever in this World you are, I hope you can proudly declare Monday was all you “hoped it would be!”

ta-ta for now…gotta scoot…heading to iTunes to purchase this song!

one more down...

Yep. ELC. I’ve been hit by YUCKINESS. This will be my second day of feeling quite awful. Wednesday I wasn't doing great—but I was functioning. I don’t believe it’s the flu—like My Sweet Hubby (MSH). I’m fairly confident this is what TLC has had for weeks. Thank you, Doll.

By the way: Lucky for me, MSH has improved enough in the past 24 hours to now become my nurse. He’s not 100%. I’d say he’s 60-70%. Mostly we go from the bed to the couch to a chair to the microwave (for a cup of hot tea) and then back to bed. Sigh.

TLC and I often talk about the fact that I typically don’t come down with “normal” stuff. Colds. Flu. Tummy bugs. No. I prefer, instead, to get the BIG stuff. As a child and the oldest of four, I was always the one with health issues. Asthma. Severe acne. Sinus headaches. Hideous cramps that would cause me to stay home from school for a day or two each month.

After I got married, I fell off a 3-legged stool and crashed through our front living room window, cutting my right arm open—including an artery, muscles, tissues, etc. The dangerously fast trip to the ER meant surgery and an extra night in the hospital. Soon after that incident, I was plagued with twisted intestines. More surgery. I had an emergency C-Section to birth Ms. TLC. A hysterectomy eighteen months later.

It goes on: Right after I turned 40? Breast Cancer. I’ve talked about that experience with y’all in past posts. Possibly ad nauseam.

Over seven years ago, I suffered total deafness in my left ear. At some point down the road, I’ll tell y’all more about that. What happened to me is technically called SSNL. Sudden Sensorial Neurological Loss. Basically, it covers the loss of one of a person’s  senses –suddenly—and with no explanation. I feel I have an idea about what might have happened. Suffice it to say it’s not been something I would wish on anyone.

Six years ago? My first broken bone. Which, I must confess, was amazing, considering  my overall lifetime clumsiness and everything I'd been through (see above!). Broke my right wrist falling in our shower one Labor Day morning. I had to have surgery a few days later for pins to be put into my wrist. Wore a camo cast for almost four weeks (in honor of Dove Season). I can assure you I've been as careful as anyone could be in the shower since that day and everywhere else I go. I'd prefer no more broken bones, thank you very much.

Since TLC was born, thirty one years ago, I’ve had the flu once. I’ve had a few colds. I’ve had this viral laryngitis issue two-three times. Overall, I’ve stayed healthy enough to be my family's Nurse/Nanny when they’ve had the flu, broken bones, back surgeries, colds, heart attacks, babies, etc. I’ve stayed well when everyone around me was falling like flies. My luck clearly ran out sometime late-ish Wednesday. I'm fearful I'm down for the count for a few more days. Sheesh. I promise I will strive to be more upbeat and happy next week, Darling Friends!

Even Us Sickies, though,  are happy to say:

T.G.I.F.!

Smooches and Hugs and Ta-Ta for Now…

One step forward...

…and two steps back…       

We’d actually be thrilled to just be standing still. However, it feels more like we’re falling behind…farther and farther every hour…SIGH.

My Sweet Hubby (MSH) and I were to meet TLC and Little Leighton (LL) in Ft. Worth this past Saturday morning. LL was going to spend two to three nights with us at our country casa. But, late Thursday afternoon, TLC phoned and admitted she was not getting better. She’s been sick for approximately four months. Or maybe it’s four years. We’re finding it difficult to keep accurate track of our  family “illness” time! She asked me if we could bump the visit up a day. Her plan would then be to come to our casa on Sunday—spend the night—and go back home, with LL, on Monday. That was A-Okay with us. We cherish all visits with Biscuit.

Saturday, around noon, MSH admitted to me he wasn’t feeling well. Couldn’t quite put his finger on what, exactly, was wrong. He was worried it could be viral. He didn’t think it was what TLC currently had. He just felt “yucky.” He did his best to help me with LL’s dinner (not breathing on it!) and bath (not breathing on her!) that evening. Then he crawled into our bed and crashed. Hard.

By Sunday morning, we were beginning to suspect his symptoms could be a case of the flu. All of us (me, MSH, TLC, Her Hubby and LL) had our flu shots, mind you. Back in October. We also were quite aware, through the national news’ media's continued reporting over the past three months, the shots we had might serve as virtually no protection from the flu.

TLC, feeling somewhat better herself—after being in her bed for 2 ½ days—arrived at our home around 3:00 on Sunday. She was worried about her Dad. LL and I had been steering clear of him all day. He now had fever, chills, aching and TONS o’ congestion. I sent a text to a good, dear, sweet friend of ours who is a pharmacist, asking her about some OTC meds we had and whether or not MSH could take them—with his past heart issues/condition/stent and his high blood pressure. She encouraged me to contact our doctor. She explained the prescription Tamiflu—which I’d also asked her about because neither MSH or I had ever had this script—had to be given within 48 hours of the first flu symptoms. (We did remember this from LL taking it for her recent “flu.” Plus, MSH Googled it. What did we do without Google?) We guessed MSH’s  48 hours would end mid-Monday morn. Her pharmacy was going to close at 6:00 p.m. (this was 3:30ish) and we’d be cutting it close to get it in time the next day.

Long Story Semi-Short (teeheehee...): Thanks to our FABULOUS Primary Care Physicians, I went to town to pick up the Tamiflu before our pharmacy closed. The first dose was administered to MSH at 5:45. MSH and Buddy Bear went over to our Barn apartment for the night—so as not to expose me, LL and TLC to any more of his evil germs. (Of course, it could very easily have been too late for moi. Time will tell. Tick. Tick. Tick. And LL, according to her pediatrician about a month ago, said she’s already had the flu. TLC and I are skeptical. Please, PLEASE, Dear Lord God Almighty, let it be true. Let LL have some protection from another round of sicky-sick-sickness.)

We checked on MSH (via texting and a couple of actual-in-person visits) for the next several hours and many times on Monday morning. TLC went into town for an appointment at her bank. After lunch, she and LL left for home at 1:00. MSH slowly made it back to our house and our bed. Buddy Bear was quite relieved to be "home."

The Good News? TLC’s mucho better today. LL and I are still hangin’ in there. MSH? He’s not a Happy Camper. He had an extremely rough night. No sleep. Fever. Aches. More YUCK. It doesn’t seem like the Tamiflu is making anything easier/better for MSH. The time frame we guessed could have been off. We’ll be going to the doctor (or ER!) if he gets worse in the next few hours or by tomorrow morn.

All of this long explanation to, once again, beg for your kind patience as TLC and I try to get back on a posting schedule! Sheesh. Our intentions get better and better as our health issues continue to annoy us and drag us down.

We pray each of Y’all are well—healthy—and happy and that you’ll have a Wonderful Week—Wherever in the World Y’all are…

hugs and BIG (air!) smooches…

winter in the shade...

It was one of those

March days when the sun

shines hot and the wind

blows cold: when it is

summer in the light, and

winter in the shade.

         --Great Expectations

Is this not the loveliest description of March? I’ve read it and reread it. I’ve bugged TLC to read it. And reread it.

We’ve had more bitter cold, icy, snowy, “Thank-you-but-we're-very-much-over-it!” kind of weather in North Central Texas. TLC got sick, again, Monday evening. (Little Leighton has been doing great! Knock on wood. Sigh.) I drove the two hours to their casa Tuesday morn. I was only going to stay for the day and early evening. But, since, TLC was puny, I took a bag and three extra outfits—in case she got worse or I got snowed/iced in. We’d heard the Weather Peeps talking about a cold front coming through on Wednesday that could involve snow and/or ice. Since they seem to be accurate about 50% of the time, I thought it could be a problem—in terms of driving back home.

When I saw how TLC looked—and sounded—I did decide to spend Tuesday night. We’d see how her illness progressed. She wasn’t much better when we awoke yesterday morn. I was faced, though, with the possibility of needing to stay until late Thursday afternoon because said Weather Peeps had become certain the bad stuff was coming. Sometime afternoon/early evening-ish.

TLC rallied long enough to take Little Leighton to pre-school—sans lipstick and earrings (basically in her jammies—I mean no offense but YIKES, TLC...)—and I did some errands for her. Went to a Sprouts Market for the first time in my long life. AWESOME store. Freshest fruits and veggies. Extremely clean. Exceptional customer service. I’m now jealous of another store TLC has easy access to!

On my way back to her casa—after a stop at a CVS for more cold/sinus/generalyuckinessmeds—I picked up some chicken noodle soup for Sicky TLC and moi at a convenient Panera. BEST. SOUP. EVER. Truly. TLC has been living on it for days and days. I positively swear on my own life that Ye Old Wives’ Tale about chicken soup being good for a cold is 100% true. I’ve believed this now for at least ten years. First sign of me coming down with a cold? I’m consuming it like water. (By the Way: I don't feel that it has to be homemade chicken soup. Progresso works marvelously for me! Winky wink.)

TLC’s Hubby was going to be working from home this morning, and there was no place Little Leighton needed to be (She started ballet and tap lessons on Tuesday afternoon—stay tuned for that update!) today, so we deemed it wise I head west asap. I departed TLC’s casa at 12:30 noon. Typically, a good, safe and (legally) fast trip to my back door, from her front door, takes a little over two hours. On the President George Bush Tollway, approximately nine miles from TLC’s casa, I hit ScArY rain—mixed with sleet. I white-knuckled it to the east side of Ft. Worth. From there to our home, it wasn’t too hideous. The trip did take me nearly three hours. I was happy HAPPY HAPPY to be on my davenport by 3:50 p.m.!

We were blessed with more snow last night. (I say "blessed" because it is moisture. We're in a drought. We'll take water any way we can get it.) TLC and Her Gang got probably over four inches. My Sweet Hubby (MSH) believes we got maybe two. He and I are marooned up here on our hill until at least mid-afternoon. The sun is out and the sky is a beautiful blue—so we have those gifts from God to comfort our weary winter souls!

Hey—March: We’re ready for more light—less wind and cold, ‘kay? DEAL.

ta-ta for now, Silly Friends…Stay warm and cozy…and hopeful for a delightful Spring season…