Making Lunches
Every school morning, my routine mostly involves making lunches, while Jonathan prepares breakfast. I used to assemble seven of them, before Peter came, but eight is much better. Have you ever tried to divide a cucumber into seven equal pieces?
This morning, Jonathan reminded me that Sarah and David had hot lunch at school, which occurs about once a month. Good, I thought, only six lunches today. But then a look at the calendar brought back reality. Paul and Rachel needed sack suppers as well as sack lunches, due to an away football game.
So . . . back to eight lunches!
Bizarre: Postscript
When sleeping, "normal" people cycle through 1-1/2 hour intervals. That means they fall asleep, go into deep REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement), and then return to light sleep very close to wakefulness. Therefore, they reach the light sleep stage about five or six times during the night.
The results of my sleep study are in. It's no wonder I'm fatigued during the day (and the kids are not the problem). My light sleep stages occur about 60 times a night!
Greenspring
Yesterday, my father took an ambulance ride from the hospital to the rehab center. He keeps calling the new facility "Spring Green" instead of its actual name of "Greenspring."
I made a mental note to explain to his physical therapist that this is not a case of senior confusion. I'm only 51 and made the same mistake!
A few years ago, my parents and I toured Spring Green, Wisconsin, to see the Taliesen home and studio of Frank Lloyd Wright. It made quite an impression on all of us.
To the Rehab Center
My father's move out of the hospital will be today, not yesterday. He'll be staying temporarily at a retirement center that my parents considered before deciding on their current housing. The retirement center has a wing dedicated to rehab and physical therapy. My parents are very familiar with this facility, which makes them more comfortable with it.
Yesterday, my dad was able to stand and then manuever into a recliner near his bed. He's also eating well and engaging in extended conversations. What a change from last Saturday! Prayers were answered.
Worse, Then Better
My father's medical condition on Friday and Saturday was extremely difficult. For about 36 hours after surgery, he faced drug reactions and infection that caused confusion, agitation, and fever. My mother, sister, and brother-in-law all watched to make sure he didn't pull out the tubes and take off his dressings. He is still quite strong, and they had to work very hard. My brother and I telephoned often, for my dad seemed to calm down when he talked to us. I sang familiar hymns and prayed with him. My sister did ask me, however, to stick to soft, soothing songs. When I sang "A Mighty Fortress," he struggled even more!
The hospital staff reacted quickly to his medical problems, and by Sunday his condition had improved considerably. Now Dad is himself again, although fatigued and depressed. But he's doing well enough that the doctors want my mother to move him to a rehab hospital for physical therapy.
Thank you, Lord, that he's doing better. I appreciate everyone's prayers for him.
Prayer Request
My dad fell last night and broke his hip. We're waiting to hear the time of surgery today. Please keep him and my mother in your prayers.
Positives
Jonathan and I meet every Thursday morning to sync our calendars and plan the upcoming week. Before beginning our usual work, he asked if we could take a few minutes to review the good things happening with each of our children. It was important to do this, because we've had a very trying week with some of them. Reminds me to think positive as much as possible.
Traveling
I've probably written about this before, but it still resonates as rewarding. When I traveled to Ukraine (2008) and Washington, DC (2012), I loaned one of my nightgowns to Sarah and a sweatshirt to Peter. When they missed me, which was usually as they fell asleep, they could snuggle up with my clothes and think of their mom.
Bizarre
I woke in an unfamiliar but luxurious room, with a blonde woman standing over me. My mind, foggy with sleep, only slowly remembered what was going on. The woman adjusted the wires attached to my calves and then lay the blankets back over me. I turned in the bed, and more wires moved all over my head and torso. But sleep took over again, and I drifted off.
Sleep studies are unusual things.
The Lungs of Chicago
About a century ago, the Chicago area established the Forest Preserve District and set aside lands to be kept in their natural state. One of these forests lies on the route between our home and Walther, the children's high school.
Since Jonathan now teaches a class at 8:00 am, I'm driving to Walther three days a week. What a joy to experience the woods in this way, and on a regular basis. Hard to believe that we live in a major urban area when all you can see is trees.
Don't Blink
When did they all get so tall?
Word Play
We now have two adoption anniversaries in our family--August 18 and September 23. In addition, our schedule of school, work, extracurricular, and medical appointments is quite full. So, we chose Labor Day to celebrate by going to a nearby lake for the afternoon.
Our destination was located in a wealthy part of the Chicago area, and we passed mansion after mansion as we drove there. Sarah compared the houses to ones in Texas that she saw during our July vacation:
"These houses are stuffier than the ones in Texas."
While the houses in Texas were quite nice, they weren't mansions, so I assumed she meant that the Chicago homes were pretentious. When I quizzed her on her meaning, however, she replied:
"They have more stuff with them!"
That's A Switch
I walk dogs at the Animal Care League, both for enjoyment and exercise. This morning, a Jack Russell puppy and I were minding our own business as we strode by someone's house, and their cat charged us. I put myself between the two animals and yelled at the cat to back off. After a brief respite, the cat charged again. This continued several times until the dog and I were three houses away.
That's some brave, unusual cat!
