"Keeping on keeping on"

Life is pretty much getting back to normal for Dennis and myself…our new normal, anyway. It looks like with the huge spikes in COVID cases, this may go on for a while. Wearing a mask in public is no big deal…certainly something that we can do to help contain the spread! I do miss eating out at restaurants, but we are eating healthier at home anyway. We are having “regular” sleepovers with Nam now, and we’ve been able to visit with all of our kiddos in the past few weeks. So I really have no complaints! Dennis and I keep talking about how blessed we are during all of the craziness going on.

My CASA work is really gearing up! I have three cases now. I hadn’t planned to do more than just the one, but the need is so great, it’s hard to ignore. This week has been pretty busy. I visited 3 of my 4 kids this week and observed a visit between a couple of my kiddos and their mom. Then we had (Zoom) court this morning. I have another hearing next week (on my newest case, so it doesn’t require a court report). I really enjoy being back in the work, but it does stress me out to a certain degree. You get so involved in people’s lives at one of the worst times in their life, so it can be heartbreaking. I also really get stressed out when I have to appear in court! Even though I may not seem to be the type to get nervous about speaking in front of people, I am! Any time I have to speak in a “formal” setting, I get very anxious…a type of stage-fright, I suppose…especially when it has to do with important matters and my voice is weighed heavily in the decision-making process. I’ve never had a lot of self-confidence. I’m more of a self-blamer. I constantly second guess myself and doubt myself. Anytime ANYTHING goes wrong, I automatically wonder what I did to cause it! So I guess I’m not really cut out for this type of work. But it is something that desperately needs to be done, and I have the time and desire to do it, so here I am.

Dennis is doing great! He has currently lost 25 pounds. He is now off of his blood pressure medication and has his blood sugar well-controlled. He is still working on the drywall in the living room and hallway. He’s new at this type of work and is a perfectionist, so it is taking a LONG time! It shouldn’t be too much longer before we can do the texturing and painting though. I’m ready to have my living room back!

I went to see my cardiologist for the first time in 3 years. I was concerned about some little issues that I was having. He was very happy with my checkup and couldn’t see any problems. He did schedule me for a stress test and a Doppler of my carotid arteries, just to be on the safe side. The stress test is in a couple of weeks and the Doppler, a couple of weeks after that. I also go for my regular checkup around the same time to get my bloodwork done. I always try to do my routine medical stuff around my birthday, so I can keep up with it. I am also having to return to my orthopedic doctor in a couple of weeks. My shoulders are continuing to get worse, and some days I can barely lift my arms. So I think it time for another steroid shot. I’ve been trying to put it off, because I really don’t like the idea of going to doctor’s offices and testing places right now. But the number of COVID cases is only getting worse, and I am concerned about developing nerve damage if I put it off too long.

Dennis took a quick trip to the hill country this week. He found a good opportunity for a hunting lease for a few of the guys that have been looking for one. Dennis has lost access to a couple of places that he has been hunting locally, so he is needing other options, too. He had talked to the landowner on the phone and wanted to check out the place in person. He was very impressed, so he booked a 4-day hunt for himself and a few other guys. While he was “in the neighborhood” he dropped by our favorite pecan place in San Saba and brought home 10 pounds of Nocona pecans. I had run out of my good pecans and have been having to resort to “store-bought”. There is really no comparison between the two! So I’m really happy to have some quality nuts on hand. I still have to crack and shell them, which I’ll probably try to get done this weekend. They are a large paper-shelled nut, so they are pretty easy to shell out.

Well, that’s pretty much what is going on in our world! I hope all of you are staying safe and healthy and seizing the opportunities that present themselves for doing good! This world is in a pretty sorry state right now, and we all need to do what we can to make things kinder and better. God bless!