Top Ten Thankfuls: One

Not too long ago, my sister was challenged with coming up with the Top Ten Highlights of her life.  This got me to thinking about mine.  And, as I pondered  what they might be, I realized that I wanted to make a distinction between Highlights and what I am most Thankful for.  To me, the former are events while the later are what has contributed most significantly to my life to date; to making me ME.

So, this seems like a great thing to Blog about!  My Top Ten Thankfuls!

I Am Thankful For My Parents

My gratitude and thankfulness to my parents, all four of my parents, is the very first thing I thought of.  Without them, I'd be nowhere; or, rather, not where I am now; which is a pretty darn good place to be. 

I've said it before and I'll proclaim it to the end; although divorce can be rough on some kids, especially those whose parents are not sensitive to the impact it has on their children, my parents handled it right.  My Father and mom made a pact to never talk bad about the other one in front of us or to manipulate our emotions.  And, they never did.  I never felt as though I had to chose between my Father and my mom; who to love, who to want to be the most like, who to obey, who to want to be with.  And, believe me, as with all divorces, my Father and my mom had plenty of things to be irritated with each other about so it's not as though they went skipping hand in hand through the process.  They just KNEW it would be best for my sister and I to be courteous and respectful to one another and to work together to raise us; which both left no bones about the fact we couldn't play one off the other and taught me that taking the high road is usually the best thing to do.  Because of their example, I have difficulty comprehending why it has to be any other way for other families in like circumstances.

Both of them remarried soon after their divorce; first my mom, then my Father.  I'm grateful that they did so as certainly, had we had several years to forge routines and patterns with them as single parents, it might have been more trying to meld together new families.  As it was, it seemed, well, seamless to me.  Yes, I was a small child, but I was also extremely observant and sensitive to what was going on around me.  And, as far as I'm concerned, I hit the big time jackpot with stepparents.  Another thing to be grateful to my Father and mom about; they chose their new partners wisely. Over time (and it didn't take too long), I basically stopped thinking about the fact my parents were divorced and I had a stepfather and a stepmother.  The four of them were my parents.  That's it.

As I grew up and experienced a bit of life, I began to comprehend how thankful I  was that I had four intelligent, loving, hardworking and decent people raising me.  And, how wonderful it was that they each brought something unique and special to "the party".  Now that I am almost fifty and have been around the block a time or two, I can look back and see at which point one of them, maybe more than one, was always there during the difficult times, trying times, sad times, joyful times, happy times of my life.  I can also confidently state that they each became my FRIEND. What luck!

I've lost one of my dear parents now and as such, have thought a bit on the next stages in the Circle of Life.  It should go without saying that there is a reason why we don't know what's going to happen before it does; we couldn't bear it.  However, whatever happens, when it happens, I'll be equipped to get through it.  

I've got my parents to thank for this as well.

Mrs. B

  

Jam-Packed Last Few Weeks!

What have I been up to?  Here is a recap:

We left town on Friday June 8th to begin our trek to North Carolina for our combo business-vacation trip.  We spent the several days prior to our departure in the usual frenzy of preparations plus dealing with last minute vet visits and minor home equipment malfunction.  The vet visit was simply the Little Kids's annual exam/shots.  They were not overly happy about being crammed into the cat carriers; all three of them shrieked the entire way to the office.  Thankfully, it isn't that far away.  I was surprised at their weight.  I was expecting higher numbers, especially for Mr. Turkey Man Apollo.  But, they'd actually LOST a few ounces from last year.  Ares was 10.4, Apollo 9.6 and Athena 7.8.  Our vet wasn't concerned; he said they were a "perfect weight" for their size.  He also pointed out that they are likely still getting quite a bit of exercise (boy, are they).

The equipment in question was our pool pump motor. It crapped out on us so we had it replaced with a energy efficient one.  Problem was, said pump wouldn't run the water fall on its low setting.  Bottom line; it wasn't figured out by the time we left but it was by the time we got back!

We drove separate cars up to Ocala where we were staying with Mom B. for one night (and dropping Lucy off to spend the time with Grandma).  There must be something about driving our Ford Escape on I-75 to and from Ocala with both Mark and Lucy in the car as, similar to what happened last summer, the Ford was hit by a UFO.  It dropped down onto the hood (leaving a nice dent and gash in the paint), then, flew up onto the windshield cracking it and taking out one of the wipers. Obviously the most important thing is that no one was hurt.  The insurance agency was called that afternoon and we'll get the windshield replaced (for free as that is Florida law) but will have to decide what we want to do about the minor cosmetic flaws.  Since the Ford is almost 7 years old, we may elect to do nothing.  Heck, I couldn't hardly tell, anyway (funny how one's perspective changes over the years; before, I'd never be able to tolerate having a less than perfect car).

After enjoying a nice evening in Ocala, we left B&E Saturday for our drive to Pittsboro, NC.  How nice to leave one family house and arrive at another!  The drive was uneventful and we made it there in less than 10 hours.  Unfortunately my mom wasn't feeling that great when we arrived as she'd been bit by a tick was was recovering from tick disease.  Thankfully the antibiotics kicked in and she was doing much better the following day.

Over the course of the next 10 or so days, Mark met with several of his NC business clients while mom and I goofed around doing our usual mom and daughter thing of shopping, going out for lunch, drinking wine, and talking.  When the four of us were together, we played a lot of cards.  Note to self.  Don't allow Dad and Mark to be Euchre partners ever again.

Some of the other fun things we did while there were having dinner with Cailyn two nights, going to a Bulls game (they lost but it was still great to be back at the DBAP!), meeting up with Jon, Shannon and their girls for dinner that same night, and having a mini-family reunion at mom and dad's the day before Father's Day.  The family picture posted here 

was taken that afternoon by Analee.  It was her idea for all of us to coordinate with the various shades of blue.  I think the picture turned out great.  We even left a space for our  missing sisters, nephews and niece.    Unfortunately, the majority of the folks in said picture ended up with countless chigger bites.  Inexplicably, my mom and I were the only ones who didn't get one single bite; well,  I have a guess as to why; we put SO much body lotion, body sprays, hair spray, etc., on, we probably sent the chiggers screaming in the opposite direction.

Mark and I visited our rental property one morning.  In general, the place looks great although we were perplexed why the tenant took down three of the smoke detectors.  A bit of a hassle occurred later when we got a call from the property management people advising us that the tenant was locked out of the house.  Huh?  Turns out a) the guy who came to let us in was supposed to stay with us, not leave us with the key to lock up and take with us and that was the only key they had; b) Mark locked the door leading from the kitchen into the garage and c) the tenant is in the habit of leaving that unlocked and not taking her key with her.  So, she was locked out, her dog was locked in, and she wasn't very happy about it.  I'm guessing she'll not be leaving the house without a key in future.  What if the power goes off and the garage door won't open?  Anyway, the property management representative met me out in front of the DPAP to get the key.  They also told me they'd sent the tenant a letter advising her she needed to put the smoke detectors back up.

One evening we took a client of Mark's out to dinner.  His name is Terry and I've blogged about him before as he is 95% blind and surely an inspiration.  He chose a place called "The Melting Pot" which neither of us were terribly thrilled about going to because it was quite a distance and it seemed a bit hot out to eat a pot of melted cheese, but we decided the best thing to do was to humor him.  As it turned out, it was a very interesting evening.  First off, he misplaced his cigarettes and went wandering around in search of a place to buy some.  As he's fairly independent, he didn't want Mark going with him.  As the two of us sat there in the restaurant for well over 20 minutes waiting for him while eating all of the fondue he'd raved about, Mark finally decided he'd better go in search of him.  He found him in front of a nearby hotel waiting for an employee who'd agreed to go buy him the cigarettes. Now, here's the amusing thing.  Turns out the smokes were in the backseat of our car all along.  Goes to show that when a blind men tells you he left his cigarettes at home, you'd be wise to check and make sure.  Duh.

Anyway, between the time it took to drive to the restaurant, eat, and drive Terry back home, he was with us over 4 1/2 hours.  I don't think he stopped talking from the moment he got in the car until the moment he got out (and he talked another 1/2 hour when Mark went back the next day to give him his lost pack of cigarettes).  What does this mean?  He's LONELY.  And, although we were a bit tired of his chattering, it was a very small thing for us to do.

As for the restaurant, it was a big rip-off as far as I'm concerned.  The total bill was almost $150.

My mom and I met a few of my former neighbors for lunch at PF Chang's one afternoon.  This was a much better deal!  And, it was great to catch up on the old Ravenstone neighborhood gossip.  We'd driven by our old house a few days before.  It looked ok; maintained and all, but no personal touches.  Sorta sterile and lonely.  I'm really glad we got out of that neighborhood, though.  It looked even more run down than ever.  The neighbors will be coming to visit us here in Florida the first week of October.

Mark and I left NC last Tuesday morning to begin the drive back to FL.  Luckily, we had enough time to stop for two nights in Charleston and stay at our favorite place, The Vendue Inn PLUS eat at two of our favorite restaurants, Slightly North of Broad and Fulton Five.  Additionally, we FINALLY made it over to Ft. Sumter (it only took us five times in Charleston to get this done!)  We were blessed with great weather while in Charleston and thoroughly enjoyed our brief mini vacation.

Back on to Ocala last Thursday to spend another night with Mom B. and pick up Lucy.  We made it home early afternoon Friday to find that our cats were all in fine form (even if they had somewhat wrecked the place).  In addition to getting the house in order, sorting through mail, paying bills, going grocery shopping and all of that jazz, we got to deal with the lovely Tropical Storm Debby (she's just about got her butt out of Dodge but, man, what a lot of wind, rain and debris!)

Finally, yours truly had minor surgery today to remove a cyst-sac.  Yuck, I know.  But, better to do this then let it swell up again.  The procedure itself was not bad; the thinking about it was not so positive, though.  Now I'm ok if a little sore and tender but nothing that a nice stiff martini won't take care of.

So, now you are all caught up on me.

Mrs. B

Pictures From Our NC and SC Trip!

Click here to view these pictures larger

Happy Father's Day!!!!!

To all the fathers in my life, past and present.  But, most especially to:

Father
Dad
Mr. Sr. B (gone but never forgotten).
My Mr. B
Jon
Doc
Mike

Love,
Mrs. B

About Ares

Ares

Is single-minded in his adoration of and obsession with Pete.

Is aptly named.  We wonder; had we called him Twinkle Toes, would he be friendlier?

The Mighty Gecko Hunter.

Can easily jump more than ½ way up the side of the lanai cage (not that he is supposed to!)

Has been in the pool more than any of the other pets (swims quite well, too!)

Snorts and wheezes when he’s happy; hence his nickname “Wheezie”.

Marks calls him Butthead.

Has amazing balance.  Used to rail-walk on the balustrade at our old house.

Eats all of the time.  He weighs more than Lily and is seriously gaining on Pete.

Loves his Little Blue Mousie.

Interestingly enough (given his somewhat unfriendly nature) he’s the only one of our cats who appears to really like Lucy.

Is a quite striking looking cat; silvery, dove-colored, elongated face. 

Mercurial.

Constantly tussling with his little brother and sister.

Whines at the door when he wants to go out.  Will not shut up until we let him out.

Is King of the Rubber Maid Storage Box (loves to sit and/or lay on top of it when he’s outside).

Surprisingly enough, he likes to cuddle at nighttime.

Enjoys being brushed but always tries to chew on the grooming blanket.

Has a knack for pissing Lily off.

He and Mr. B don’t get along so much; he’s coming to terms with me.

We’re not sure WHY we adopted him but now it wouldn’t be the same around here without him.

Our Warrior.

Mrs. B

Crazy Time of Late!

Ok, so, what the heck, right?  Where have I been? 

The last week or so was a total blur.  It started on Cinco de Mayo; Mr. B and I were enjoying our evening martini (no, we forwent both a margarita and a mint julep (it was also Derby Day) for our traditional Bombay Sapphires) when my little brother called, worried that he'd had two missed calls from my mom and dad and one from our brother.  Well, I hadn't heard anything so I told him not to fret about it.  
Famous last words. A few moments later, he called back to report that our dad (who had recently had hip replacement surgery) was back in the ER after experiencing chest pain/breathing problems.  My brother told me he and his wife were leaving immediately to be with my mom (and dad) at the hospital.  

LONG story short.  After many phone calls back and forth with  him and my mom and after my dad ended up having a major heart attack right there in the ER (a great place to be for these types of things), Mr. B and I decided I should leave the next day to drive up to NC to help out however I could.  Drive?  Well, I thought about flying but by the time we got all of that worked out, it'd be just as easy to drive and so that is what I did.

I left at noon and made it to Waltersboro SC (not a very exciting place for a single traveler, BTW).  When I travel by myself, I always stay in a "better" hotel.  Meaning, not a Motel Six or Red Roof Inn but a place that has interior doors to the rooms.  This time I was at a Holiday Inn Express and it was surely nice enough other than there wasn't much around for dinner purposes.  I ended up eating a salad from McDonald's in my room and drinking a few beers I'd thought to throw into my cooler.

I was up B&E Monday for the remainder of my drive to NC.  I left around 6:30 am and after roughly five hours of additional driving, made it to the hospital in Chapel Hill.  

By the time I arrived, much of the excitement was over.  Dad was in the cardiac critical care unit waiting for a few additional tests and scans.  Turns out the culprit, meaning, what caused the heart attack, was a bunch of blood clots that formed in his heart as a result of him a) going off his blood thinners in preparation for his hip replacement surgery and b) having to be on coagulates for the same reason.  He'd been back on the blood thinners a few days but apparently the damage had been done.  Frankly, I thought this was all rather scary.  Someone with a known heart issue with a pretty much rest of live need to take blood thinners has to go off them for another surgery and yet no one advised them of this risk?  I know my dad would have still opted for the hip replacement surgery, but, both of them would have been much more on alert for this life threatening side effect.  My mom told me that when dad first started complaining of discomfort in his chest, she wasn't really worried, initially, because his heart monitor wasn't doing anything strange.  Well, it wasn't because this problem had nothing to do with his device/ his heart rhythms.  But for the grace of God, is all I have to say about what could have happened.

Anyway, the doctors (a slew of them with the one in charge looking like he was all of 25) wanted to ensure there were no more blood clots lurking in any other places.  Plus, of course, they had to get his heart stabilized (at the point the device was freaking out a bit trying to get back to normal), his heart rate down, blood pressure up, medications in order, etc., etc.  So, dad stayed in that unit until the following day, Tuesday, when they moved him to the regular cardiac unit on the same floor.  

The doctor told my mom there was likely little to no permanent damage to his heart and that his heart is very strong. What did I tell you about my dad in the piece I wrote about him a few posts ago?  He never gives up.  He is determined.  He was up and about (using a walker because of the hip replacement) almost right away.  Good appetite and antsy to get the heck out of there.  

They released him late morning on Wednesday and by that evening, the three of us were sitting around the dinner table enjoying a meal together.  

He had an appointment with his regular cardiologist Friday so I waited to leave until we knew he had the all clear from her, which he received.  She told him to proceed with his rehab for his hip, after which he'd need to enter into cardiac rehab (a lot of the stuff he already knows but she told him a refresher would be a good idea).  I left Saturday morning right before his first appointment with his physical therapist.

I drove until my eyes started to blur and ended up in Lake City, FL.  A great exit.  Lots of hotels, restaurants and a Starbucks to boot.  This time I landed at a Holiday Inn which had its own bar and restaurant so I didn't have to drive around finding something to eat.  I wandered down to the bar to order some food to take back up to my room (buffalo chicken salad).  While waiting for the food, I had a drink and chatted with the couple sitting in the bar and the (lady) bartender.  Talk about a small world, and this is what I mean by that.  The couple were talking about his health issues (I overheard).  He'd recently had hip replacement surgery.  After he recovered, they went on a cruise (their first).  A few days after the cruise,he had a heart attack.  Why?  Blood clots due to, well, you know why.  After talking some more, we discovered us three gals were all 48 years old.  You know what?  That's just weird, isn't it?

Anyway, I made it home safely by noon on Mother's Day.  My MIL was there (unfortunately I'd missed most of her visit) and my dear husband was prepared to make us both a special Mother's Day meal.  

I was happy to be able to go help my mom and dad out.  And, frankly, once we knew dad was going to be ok, it wasn't all doom and gloom.  My brother was in the hospital with us a lot (he'd been there pretty much since the get-go) and he came home with us every night to regroup, chit-chat, socialize, eat dinner and relax.  I was able to (briefly) see my other brother and also my step-daughter for an hour or so over a coffee at Starbucks after getting her new phone at Verizon (I'd had to get mine the day before, unexpectedly, but, such is life).

Mom and I cooked a few dinners together; I cleaned up and did the dishes, just like old times.  I can't remember the last time my mom actually let me do anything in the kitchen.  This was sorta nice.

I came home to a bit of craziness because I somehow picked up a Trojan virus on my laptop.  I'm so careful but these things do manage to sneak in.  It took all of Monday and well into the night for the AVG folks to get it fixed.  Thankfully, all is ok but I know had it not been, it would not have been the end of the world.

So, here it is Friday and I'm still feeling a bit discombobulated but I'm thankful to be home and that all is well.  Mark and I celebrated our 7th anniversary Wednesday; a bit quiet, just a dinner out, but, quiet is ok.

Now.  Onwards and upwards to the rest of May!

Mrs. B

Well Duh

Apparently, I had to download the app!

Testing uploading pictures.  If I did it correctly, there should be a picture of my mom and dad's dog.

Mrs. B