Circle Of Life

 

Surrounded by mountains, our town looked so pretty the other day. I took out my phone for some pictures.

Then the phone, inexplicably, slipped out of my hand and disappeared. 

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Nothing to do, but to drive home, find the phone and just keep the few pictures I had taken. 

Easier said than done, as it turned out. A quick search of the front and rear areas, under the seats, as far as I could see proved fruitless. I needed another phone to call my phone, so I would at least know its approximate location.

I knew Joyce was away, so I looked for Bob. He wasn't home either and no one else was around. 

 

Imagining being here alone, for even a few hours without a phone, stressed me out. 

So I did something I find very difficult. I emailed Jeanne and asked if she could come and help. 

Before long, there she was, an angel at my gate. 

After calling my phone and searching for some time, she found it.

I've never in my life been so thrilled to see my phone again. 

I thanked Jeanne and said, "You know, I really hate to ask a friend for help. I don't mind if it's a helper I can pay, but a friend, no. I have such a difficult time with it because I can no longer reciprocate, the way I could when I was younger." 

Jeanne said, "this is how I see the circle of life. When you were younger, you helped when it was needed. And now that you need help, I'm here to help you."

Of course these were the words, the exact words I needed to hear at this exact time of my life. 

They make so much sense. 

I can let go of that feeling of absolute helplessness, that fear of having to ask for help, and perhaps not being able to help in return. 

Physically help in return. 

I know I can help friends in other ways. Talking about things, sharing what I've learned throughout a long life. 

Letting go of that last discomfort, has been pretty huge for me. 

Thank you, Jeanne. 

Advent, Health, And My Old Dog

Correction: Sandra commented that Advent starts on the 28th. I knew that, I looked at my calendar when I wrote this, and I thought it was the 28th! Which is after Thanksgiving, so this post makes no sense. But I hope you will enjoy it anyway. 

Some health issues have come to the forefront of my life. I now need supplemental oxygen at night. No big deal, the noisy machine is in the other bedroom and I quickly got used to sleeping with little cannulas in my nostrils . 

Tomorrow, my great-niece, Jasmine, will drive me to Bakersfield for a CT scan of my chest. This will determine if I need oxygen during the day. While that would be a bummer, I know I will get used to it as well. It doesn't really matter since I'm mostly here at home.  

I also want to learn more about breathing because I believe one can improve one's ability to breathe. At least while one is at the stage I am. The only symptom I've had is a little shortness of breath walking up my hilly road here. Nothing while on flat land or in the house. But the oxygen is important, of course, so I have to work with the medical people and learn as much as I can. 

I got a good book, called Breath, by James Nestor. I will study it and work on some of the exercises included in it.  

Jasmine, has been here to help with house cleaning and special projects. So far, she emptied my pantry, got rid of expired items, cleaned the cabinet and organized the good stuff. Now I open the door, look inside and smile. Then she did a great job cleaning my floors. It's been wonderful getting help and spending time with her.

Adding to my woes, I also have an infection in my mouth, which set off my blood sugars to unimaginable highs. I thought I was OK after finishing the prescribed medicine. Now I think it's probably still there. There's always a reason for unusually high blood sugars, if you haven't splurged on a bunch of cookies or forgotten to take your insulin, then you're probably sick somewhere in your body. 

Now, about the holidays. Global warming is in full force here, it's 63 F --- 17 C here today. And 69 F is projected for later in the week. That's Swedish summer weather. At this point, there's nothing much to do, but to accept it. Normally, I would have taken out my Advent candle holder, cleaned it, put four candles in, and lit the first one, representing the first Sunday in Advent. Granted it came early this year, before Thanksgiving, even, but with this weather, I had no idea. 

Samson, who is 12 1/2 now, is slowing down. He can't walk far, he needs to rest while on our walks. We will visit the vet soon to get an evaulation. Samson and I have lived together for a long time now. We raised puppy Faith together, we mourned Errol together, and we've walked these hills together for many years. A huge sadness fills my heart when I sit and pet his  furry head. 

But he's still here, he's still totally food oriented, has a good appetite, guards, and barks the same as always. 

This has not been a fun post, I know. Since I haven't posted for awhile, I just wanted to share my health issues. But I promise, this will not be a whiny blog. 

I have a wonderful true story to share as soon as I finish writing it. It's about an ancient oak tree in Sweden. 

And I have a new inspiration for another conversation with Faith. This one about a road runner, a bird of the American Southwest, who hitched a ride with a moving van and ended up in Maine. Faith will have some opinions on that, for sure. 

As for the holidays, I guess I will have to prepare for next Sunday now. 

I'm late with this for a Sunday post, so I will schedule it for Monday morning. 

 

New Cups And Strangers Cheer Me Up

 

I was recently diagnosed with asthma. A mild case, but I need to use an inhaler, which I really don't like, but it could be worse, of course.

To cheer myself up, I bought these colorful cups. 

The other day, a kind young woman at our local small DMV office fixed all my problems with the Motor Vehicle Department: changed my mailing address, gave me a set of license plates, affixed the 2022 stickers, found a screwdriver in an office drawer, went outside and screwed the plates in place on my car. 

I thanked her and she said she wouldn't let her own grandmother bend down to do that job, so she needed to help. 

Then I went to the post office to pick up a package or two. One was medical supplies, the other was gigantic! I looked at it and shook my head. The clerk asked if I wanted a cart. I was going to say yes, when the guy behind me in line offered to bring it out for me. I accpeted and thanked him. Short man, big package, but he mananged. (It was a badly needed new kitchen trash can.)

As I drove off, I felt my bad mood lift, my negative thinking fly away thanks to the helpfulness of strangers. 

I truly need to get out more, interact with strangers more, talk to people I meet in the stores, as I did before the pandemic. 

I used to have so much fun, just going to the grocery store.

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About the mailboxes from my last post: 

1. They have been replaced by a modern structure and are now all locked.

2. The road has been paved.

3. It's nowhere close to me, it's farther into the canyon. 

4. Finally, I'm very happy I captured that shot, sort of from a bygone time. 

Driving Ms Inger

That would be me, driving myself to town for nothing and then deciding to make the best of it.

Since April, I've ordered food online from Walmart and then, following the instructions from WM, picked it up. Piece of cake, right?

I put in an order day before yesterday and was ready to go and pick it up yesterday morning, but when I checked, the order had not gone through. It was there, but had not been processed. 

I fixed a few things, or so I thought, and this morning, even though I didn't get the acknowledgement from WM, I was so sure all was well and set off for town.

Some 15 miles later, I arrived at WM. And, of course, my order had not been received. I just couldn't understand how I could do something correctly for five months, twice a month at least, and now be so completely lost. 

Fortunately, two chirpy, helpful, and technically advanced young people, WM employees, appeared, took my phone and showed me what I had neglected to do. A simple double-check that the order submitted was the order I wanted. So now I know and will, hopefully, remember it.

Driving home, I decided to make the best of it and take some pictures so I could post about my lost morning, and sort of show off how I didn't let it get me down. OH, well...