Saturday, August 23, 2008

Life in general

I sure glad that I took yesterday off to rest. Because today, was a fun filled day. Jeff left about 7 this morning to go to an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament. He needed to have a fun day since he has been working as well as taking care of the farm and me!!! Tess and Nan took up duty by lying next to me on the floor.

About 7:20 a.m. Tess and Nan started to growl and their hackles rose. I woke up from a la-la land sweet dream. They were really worried and their growls got louder. I managed to sit up and looked but didn’t see anything. Then the dogs in the barn were ballistic. I got dressed and went to the back porch and looked over at the barn but didn’t see anything. It figures, I am alone and something is out there. Like the X Files.

Ok, I decide that I am not a weenie and go to the barn. With Tess and Nan as my bodyguards. Nothing, Nada, zilch. All was quiet. I have no idea what set them off. I called Jeff to see if he had any idea. He saw nothing when he left at 7:00 a.m. So, who knows what it was but it has happened twice in the past 2 weeks. But with Tess and Nan, I am safe. If you would hear them growling this morning, you would NOT have come to the door.

After my jaunt to the barn and my call to Jeff, I decided that I had enough excitement so I went back to sleep. I decided to sleep on the bed instead of the couch. Tess was delighted as she got to snuggle next to me on the bed. She and I shared a pillow and she licked my hand. She was so happy to be on the bed. Nan snuggled next to my legs and made sure that one part of her body was always touching me. The two girls made sure they were right next to me.

We got up and fussed about and Janet arrived. She came to clean the kennels and work Tess and Scott. I went down and chatted with her for a bit. She worked Tess and started to learn how to drive. She was doing great. Tess was working well for her. She can sort, drive and do all sorts of stuff. Tess is happy to be her partner.

Janet ran Scott. They did quite well. In addition to the mini course, I had them do figure 8 in the field. They both had fun and learned from their mistakes. Tess and Scott worked well too.

Kael got a couple of Kongs with treats in them and he went to work. He is a chow hound like his mom. He was using his paws like a monkey and looked like a younger version of his mom. Sleat was happy to be let out and sat in front of me, expecting me to fuss over her. Of course, I did!! She would run around and then check in with me and get her pets. She loves to be fussed over and I love fussing over her.

It was a good afternoon and shortly after they left, Nelson and Jim came up. They borrowed my truck and cut up some wood. It was in the middle of the day and hot as Hades. I sat in the shade and watched them work. They loaded up a truck load of wood. Later, they returned the truck and I am sure they are beat from unloading the wood too!! I know that I got tired watching them.

So today I did a lot of walks to the barn and visiting. It felt good and now, at 11ish, I am not wore out. A little tired but not wore out. I have trying to cut back on the pain meds so for tonight I took ½ of my nightly pain med. I hope that will be sufficient for me. If not, I can take my backup ½ perco pill. I am making sure that I am not addicted to the pain pills. I am taking enough so I don’t feel the chest pain. I am not taking more than that.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. Kathy Davis is coming over for a visit and dinner. My mom and Kimiko will be here. I hope my brother, Nelson can make it, and I also invited his friend Jim. Jeff is going to grill Filet Mignons and Mom and Kimiko will make Tempura and other assorted Japanese dishes.

We also have a full crew to work dogs. I won’t be giving lessons but my students are advanced enough to work on their own. I love seeing their progress.

It’s nice to see my progress is going well. I am reducing my pain pills, my chest is not hurting as much, my stamina is better and I enjoy life again. I remember when all I could do was drink a few sips or take a couple of bites before passing out. Or having my mom walk me to the bathroom. Or my mom helping me to take a shower. Or even dress!!

A lot has changed in the last seven or so weeks. It takes a long time to recover from that but what you learn when you are facing a crisis is what truly is important to you. Let go of the little things and look at what is really important. Family, friends, your faith, love….that is what is important. Holding onto to a grudge or being mad at someone for something stupid…that is not important. Remember back in High School when someone dissed you….in the grand scheme of life, is that really important? What is more important is telling that person in your life that your love them. I love my brother and I tell him every chance I can. I almost lost him a few years ago to a head-on accident. This year he realized that I was going through a hard surgery and then had to be rushed back into OR due to complications. When you come close to losing someone you love, you then realize, even though you love them and you show it, you need to say it. Those simple words mean a lot. When Nelson told me that right after the operation, it meant a lot to me. Nelson is not like me. He is very quiet and laid back and not one to chat. Opposite of me!!

So off my soapbox for now. Just remember what is important and if you get one bit of info from reading my blog, let it be this. Love life and live life and love your family, friends and your faith.

You will never know when your time will come but at least you know you will be a better person.

Love to all of those you cared during this ordeal. It means a lot to me and I am blessed to have you as my family and friends.

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