Angels watching over me

It’s morning coffee time. In a few minutes I’ll go get dressed, take the dog out to pee and go to cardiac rehab at the hospital campus. I only have four days this week and I’m done completely on Thursday. Friday I’m subbing after having taken a break since early September. After I get back home from rehab I’m riding along with Michael to go to St.Charles and take his mom to Bloomingdale for her CT scan and brain MRI. The doctor had stopped her chemo weeks ago as her cancer had progressed.  The only option left is stronger chemo and she is already depressed, angry, exhausted and has increasing bouts of memory loss. Mike is her power of attorney and the situation has been really draining on him. He is just recently over Covid and I can tell he’s still very tired from it. So I’m going along to help support them both. I’d better get going. More later.

4:20. We’ve been home for a while and I took Bitzi for a brisk walk around the lagoon just now. We got the results of Mike’s mom’s scans she had this morning. The news isn’t good. The cancer in her lung and brain are growing. Mike and his mom have a phone appointment with her oncologist Wednesday morning to talk about it. Mike has been trying to reach his siblings to talk about this. I feel bad for all of them. I’ve been through it with my mom and myself and is just awful. I can’t even imagine how on earth I’m still alive. I’ve always known there are angels watching over and helping me. No kidding. I just hope there are angels for Annette too. 

I’m reading this book now. It’s pretty good. It actually makes a lot of sense if you can get past the adolescent humor and redundancy. Basically a good read.

After the scans and taking Annette home we stopped at Portillo in Elgin for lunch. I know I sound like some old dried up codger but I cannot believe how expensive everything is now. It’s crazy! I brought most of my Italian beef home. It will be good tomorrow.

Winding down

I know humans catch colds and viruses. I know some of us are more prone to catch stuff. I know that this too shall pass. I’m just feeling very aggravated with this recent stuff I’ve picked up. Fortunately it’s only some runny nose and annoying tickle-y cough but I’ve tried SO hard to not catch anything. Suck it up buttercup. Pull up your big girl pants and get over it. It could be worse. Yuckkkkkk.

In a little while I have to wake up the 3 boys and get their stuff packed up and loaded and drive them to Lacon to meet my daughter. Arlo (5) has been pretty exhausting. He’s a super picky eater and sometimes he can be a rude whine-y little tyrant. Mike and I have both had to take him aside and talk to him. He’s got 2 rowdy older brothers and a baby sister to compete with. I get it but he still can’t be a rude tyrant. Sometimes he can be super sweet. He’s absolutely adorable so that helps save him. Anyway after four days grandma and grandpa are ready for a rest. We had 8 year old Hennessy here for a week before the boys too. Happy new year. I hope my cough stops soon. I’ll be wearing my mask today when I go out. 

122822

Is 4:22. I’ve been awake since about 3 and couldn’t get back to sleep. For some reason I’m ache-y all over. Yesterday I left home early with Hennessy and drove her down to Norris, picked up Argo, Oscar and Milo and drove back home. As soon as we got here we got our stuff and headed to the pool for 45 minutes until the end of family swim time. I sent the boys to bed around 10 and I went to bed after 11:30. I don’t know what the deal is with me waking up at 3am out of the blue. I haven’t been to cardiac rehab since last Thursday due to the Christmas closing. I couldn’t go yesterday because I was driving. I’ll go today and tomorrow from 8-9 and then Friday I’m driving again. Mike was very helpful with the boys yesterday once I got home. This afternoon I’m taking the boys to this cool retro arcade in West Dundee that has all these old video games from the 1980s plus skeeball, air hockey and pinball. You get unlimited play on all games for hours for one set price. I took them once last summer and they loved it. 

I’m having a cup of coffee. It doesn’t taste that good somehow. 

I’m trying to decide on my goals for the new year. The list has to be short, important and achievable. 

Sat.122422

Here I am pecking away with one finger on my iPad keyboard early in the morning. I’m the only one up and I’m sitting on the couch with my blanket and dog with my cup of coffee with a splash of vanilla almond milk in it. I stayed up too late with Mike watching The West Wing with him. He’s never watched it before. I’ve watched it but have fallen asleep and missed many parts. I fell asleep again last night with my head on Mike’s lap. Some time after midnight I staggered in to bed but then couldn’t go back to sleep for what seemed like a long time. Once I did fall asleep I woke up a few more times and just stayed up around 5:45.

It’s beastly cold outside and last night the fierce wind sounded like an ice age was upon us. It’s pretty quiet out there now. Hennessy watched TV until around ten then Mike told her to go to bed. I was pretty sleepy and out of it by then. Mike always takes the dog out to pee at night. Bitzi only weighs about 7 1/2 pounds and doesn’t like to go out in bad weather.

Yesterday Hennessy and I made some cookies and packaged them up to take to a couple neighbor ladies who have brought us banana bread. Due to my cardiac rehab program and trying to lose weight and get healthier I hadn’t made holiday sweets like usual so we just made a small batch of cookies and packaged them up. Hennessy had two but at least I didn’t pig out on them. I also haven’t sent out any Christmas cards. I have a whole stack of ones we’ve received and I meant to send them one back. It’s too late now. I’ll send a note to a couple people.

I’ve just withdrawn from a lot of people and things. I’m trying to direct my energy on what really matters. Social media has become one big “la-Dee-da look at me “ boastfest or marketing scam. I’m getting pretty grouchy in my old age. I want truth, sincerity and purity. 

The Chicago Bears play the Buffalo Bills at Soldier Field in Chicago at noon today. Although I initially had high hopes for the Bears the past several weeks have been disappointing despite quarter back Justin Fields’ displays of excellence. I’ll watch the game today mostly due to the ridiculously cold conditions. 

Yesterday I took Hennessy to our Sun City lodge to look at all the Christmas decorations. It is done very nicely and we got some walking in. 

I guess I sounded pretty negative before but I actually am very grateful for my blessings. We have have 6 healthy adult children, twelve healthy grandchildren, healthy siblings. Mike’s  mom is eighty-four and doing okay despite her cancer treatment. We have all we need. I am so blessed for all I have and I’m absolutely sure I have an angel on my shoulder. She has saved my ass many times!

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12:18

Hennessy and I took Bitzi and delivered the gift bags with cookies we made to two neighbor ladies. I made a pot of chicken vegetable soup and it’s simmering on the stove. The Bears game is on. Mike is explaining football to Hennessy. I started watching Grumpy Old Men on my IPad with my headphones on. We’re going to the store after the game. 

Tomorrow we’re going to my step sons house in Glen Ellen. Tuesday I’ll take Hennessy home to Norris and bring 3 of my grandsons home for a few days. 

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6pm

Henna is in the whirlpool tub. I just mixed up a batch of hash brown casserole and put it in the crockpot for morning. We went to a couple stores then came home and took the dog out several times trying to get her to do her business it’s no luck. She doesn’t like the cold weather. It’s a problem. 

Thursday 12/22

Somehow I just deleted everything I had typed. I am so rusty typing, especially on this small new iPad keyboard. It’s early morning and no one else is awake. Hennessy came home with me yesterday and she’s still sleeping in the spare bedroom and Mike is sleeping. in our bedroom. It’s cold and the house is chilly. We’re supposed to get a snowstorm with blizzard conditions and dropping temperatures starting later this morning. I have to go to cardiac rehab at 9:1  and then I have four days off and need to find a way to exercise.

Christmas is in three days and I need to decide what I’m cooking so I can shop for the stuff but  so far I haven’t. I’d better hurry up or it will be much harder. I guests I should go today.

I have no clue why there is this gray dot floating around on my screen—no it’s not a floater in my field of vision, it’s an actual gray dot. I must have accidentally hit some key to put on some feature of the keyboard I don’t know about.  Speaking about that, Tuesday was the first day of me taking my new Honda Passport for a long drive by myself . We bought it in November and I’ve driven it around the neighborhood quite a bit but whenMike and I go out he usually insists on driving so until Tuesday I hadn’t’t put gas in it or knew a bunch of the buttons and controls. It has lots of new bells and whistles on it so that was interesting. It drives like a dream on the interstate. It feels so solid and stable and smooth- much better than my other cars. I’m happy with it. Yeah, for my birthday we got the new car and new iPad. 

I’ve been trying to  cut down on exposure to crowds lately with all the colds, flus, Covid, RSV going around. I’ve been on several new prescription meds since the heart attack in  OSeptember and I don’t want to get sick and take more meds and get my health knocked down even more. 

Shortly I have to get dressed and try to wake up Henna and get her some breakfast. I need to leave here around 9 to drive the 2 miles to the hospital rehab building. I always feel better after .I go . I should have been exercising like this long ago. Things always come up and get in the way. It’s all about priorities.  Exercise has to come first.  

I still don’t know what the floating gray dot it. I don’t remember seeing it when I tested the keyboard before. Now the bold control keeps coming on randomly. I have got to get used to this keyboard!  Okay, face it-I’m old and out of the loop.

 I’m not up on all the rapidly changing devices and technology……Sheesh….