The past month has been pretty busy for everyone. Early in the month, I went to see my doctor about my extreme fatigue that has been plaguing me for a month or two. He ordered bloodwork to see if it was metabolic (all was normal) and a home sleep study to be done. I ended up receiving the sleep study last week, so I had to do it while sick with this crud that I’ve been battling. I hope it doesn’t skew the results. I won’t get the results of it for another couple of weeks. Dennis and I have often wondered if I might have sleep apnea, because I have ALWAYS been a bad snorer. I guess we’ll soon find out.
We had a couple of Nam sleepovers in November and have one planned for this Friday night. We don’t get to see him much otherwise now that he goes to school fulltime. We sure enjoy our time together! I guarantee you, there is a lot of smiling going on during those visits.
I was able to go to Clarksville to attend Paul’s funeral, thanks to Diane B. agreeing to ride along with me. That would have been a grueling trip to make by myself, but it was a pleasant drive having a friend to catch up with. Dennis was in South Texas on a state park hunt that he’d been drawn to participate in. He hated missing the funeral, but he was already paid and had his accommodations paid for the week. The funeral was packed with loved ones. It was a good funeral, and I don’t often say that. I’m pretty picky when it comes to funeral stuff. Keith and Donny did a great job, though. I know it had to have been really hard on them! The funeral was very emotional for me…not only because I’m going to miss that sweet man, but it also hit really close to home. We had just put Dad on hospice the week before Paul passed.
I know everyone wants to know how Dad is doing. He’s just slowing fading…in every way. He still gets up by himself to go to the restroom and dining room (although he really shouldn’t). He still attends Sunday morning services at Highway (although he did miss Sunday before last…was worn out from coming over for our Thanksgiving). He is down to about 130 pounds, and you can see every vertebra and every rib. He can still talk, he just chooses not to most of the time. Trying to formulate a sentence is difficult, although he does fine with answering yes/no questions. He does still recognize people, he just doesn’t usually respond to them. In many ways he is about on Gracie’s level. He does feed himself, but you have to restrict his access to food or he’ll start grabbing things he shouldn’t. He ends up with as big a mess or more so than you would expect from a 1 ½ -2 year old. He’s pretty compliant most of the time, but his independent streak still flares up when you’re not expecting it! He doesn’t seem to be in pain, but he is exhausted all of the time. He spends about 95% of his time in bed, asleep.
I attended the Thanksgiving dinner at MWN&R with Dad on the 21st. (Dennis was still is S TX). It was really nice! They served a huge plate of food, including some of the best ham I’ve ever eaten. I later found out that one of the employees had smoked it themself. Then all of my kiddos came on the 23rd for our family Thanksgiving dinner. Dennis picked up Dad and brought him over to enjoy the meal, then he was ready to go back home. (He really loved Sheila’s homemade cranberry sauce!) Everyone was there except Ian, who had to work. It was a great day, with lots of good eating, laughter, and memories. Stephen’s family had spent Friday night here, but then spent Saturday night with the newlyweds.
I ended up sick after the weekend, and have been fighting the crud ever since. Sheila and Nam have also been down with it. I went to the doctor today and got a steroid shot and some nasal spray to see if that will help. The nurse told me that RSV has been going around and it takes 3-4 weeks to get over. Not sure if that’s what we have, but it is rough and relentless. Saps all the energy out of a body! I always struggle with a bad cough when I get sick, which makes sleeping difficult. Thankfully, I haven’t had anything big that I needed to do, so I’ve been able to rest when I need to rest. I’ve been using the time to go through old picture albums and picking out my favorites to keep. I’ll be tossing the rest, after the kids have gone through them and picked out any that they want. I did this with Dad’s old pictures when we sold his house. I don’t want my kids to have such a huge task to handle when it is their time. I’ve been enjoying my trips down memory lane!
After my doctor visit last month, I bought a stationary cycle to see if I could get on an exercise routine that I could stay with. I struggle with outdoor exercise (the weather, stomach issues, lack of privacy). I’ve gone the treadmill tract before and HATED it! So I did a little research and found a bike that is recommended for “seniors” and is portable enough to move easily from room to room. I did great with it for the first couple of weeks. Then I got busy with getting ready for Thanksgiving and then got sick, so I haven’t been on it in a while. I’m hoping that I start feeling well enough this week to start back. I love using it! I try to ride a few miles in the morning (listening to music) and then a few miles in the evening (while watching TV). It is very low impact, so it doesn’t aggravate my Achilles’ tendon or my ankles.
My Aunt Coez had to go back to the hospital a week and a half ago. She has done this three years in a row…getting sick this time of year and spending weeks in the hospital. She just recently turned 90 and has been living independently in her own home. I’m not sure how much longer that’s going to be possible. She’s not going to have an easy time giving up any of her independence! Please keep her and her family in your prayers. This is a really difficult time of life, with a lot of hard decisions to make.
I’m planning to make tamales over the next couple of days, and have Sheila’s family and Ricky and Amber over for Mexican food Friday night. We all really enjoyed the last tamales I made, and I’ve been looking forward to trying again. I’m going with chicken and green chili again, and also going to try some cheese and poblano ones. (I hope this steroid shot kicks in and provides the “umph” that I need to get it all done.)
Well, that brings us up to date. I hope that all of you are enjoying this holiday season! I just love this time of year!
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