We Celebrate Thankfulness

Thanksgiving this year was different - even though last year we missed it because of a big storm that left icy roads and porches, this year we chose to stay home.  I had a surgery to fix my deviated septum and it is taking me longer than I thought (of course) to get back on my feet!  I have to nap after I do about an hour of anything, so trying to go anywhere that is very far away is sketchy! I am thankful to have this fixed and be able to heal and hopefully start on a better sleep and breathing track.

Day of surgery selfie - not looking too great but going in the right direction!

Reed and his girl Keyona went out for a bit to Nana's (my mom hosted brunch today) and they had a good visit. We have not seen them for about month, except kind of passing each other on the way to other things.  That is one of the hardest parts of this, the growing up and moving away of the kids,  especially as a loss mother, to not see my other son for so long at a time.  My only solace is that he really is still here on the planet with us and I can talk to him or text him whenever I need to.  Or there is always Facetime too if I am really "off the chain" panicking.  It happens. He is good about being understanding most of the time. I am thankful for that.

I am thankful for people who step in and step up when we can step no more. Who help us carry our scary, huge, painful load with grace and who block us from view when we fall and cannot get up.  Then they help us get up and march some more, forward.  They walk slowly with us when our steps are heavy.  Sometimes they go ahead of us to see what is around the corner, so that we may be prepared for whatever it is.  They remind us that there ARE things to be thankful for. Those who step in for the children  - even those who aren't their own- when someone has to "do something".

For those who take us out of our comfort zones for a new way to create and expand without losing ourselves .I am thankful for the friends who are there for us without judgement, without advice, without thought - they are just there for us.

Thankful for those kids, and grown ups, who helped my kid when I could not, and when he did not want me to.  Together our pain was too big for either of us.  That one guy (or more than one guy) who drove the truck and let him rage and kept driving until it was time to stop and get out and run or skate or whatever he needed to do - and then drove the truck some more.  Until he could speak again in normal tones and without rage. 

I am not technically an educator. Technically I am a Secretary.  Everyone in a school building is an educator of some type though - no matter their "official role".

We celebrate children who aren't our own - sometimes the smallest positive steps are a reason to celebrate - earning a 'C' in a class that the student had been failing, small to us but huge for that child.  
We worry about them at night and all summer hoping they will go the right way or stay the path.  Sometimes the best we can hope to celebrate is that the child showed up on time and stayed at school awake all day.  We are thankful for that.

Really not as creepy as it seems! lol

I am thankful for the blog of a friend whose writing lets me know that I am not alone in my worry about the kids, and the everythings that mothers worry about all of the time, or until their friends talk them "off the ledge" so to speak. 

I am thankful for the company, comfort and care of the Hubby and the dogs (most of the time) while I recuperate and heal up.  Their energy keeping me going forward and going outside once in a while for a walk to keep me moving!

I am thankful that I am able to see  the things to be thankful for this year, even though some of those things are memories....

May you be Happy, Healthy, and Thankful Today and every day!

Blessed Be!

A New Washer Seal and A New Me - Almost!

It has been a bit since you last heard from me!  Just have been busy as all get out, mostly cleaning up after of Ike and the Men, but sometimes working hard at fun things too!  This time I had to do a little work on ME in order to keep doing the things I do!

Of course I had to get the washer fixed first!  It never fails here that anytime someone needs to have a surgery - the washer breaks!  Fortunately this time it was just the door seal and they had it in stock!  Got us fixed up in only about an hour!  Yes!  That seal was worn out - had holes in about five different places!

I have had a deviated septum for as long as I can remember (you can see the lump on top of my nose just slightly above) - caused mostly by my nose having been broken a time or two (or more)!  Once when I got punched in the face by a childhood "friend" who wasn't happy that I told on him for writing on my favorite corduroy pants in first or second grade!  Then there was the time in High School Basketball when I remember the elbow of a teammate MUCH taller than I coming down in the middle of my face during a rebounding drill!  Im 5'2" for gosh sakes and she was at least 6'5"!  There were others but those are the two most memorable when I'm sure I heard the "crunch" of broken nose!

One of the problems that a deviated septum causes is snoring and reduced quality and length of sleep!  Chronic sinus infections and ear infections and it leads to chronic fatigue and shortness of breath as well as other health factors.  I had been averaging about 4 hours and 20 minutes of sleep, and it was not quality sleep!  The sleep center didn't want to do a sleep study until the deviated septum was fixed and so....... 

Here I am with the "moustache bandage" that you get when your septum gets fixed, you have some splints in your nose, and no one wants to see the bloody gunk that comes with all that! 

(not my photo - 

Septum splints - this is what is up my nose right now!  They will come out on Day 5 after the surgery.  I can see and feel them but no one else really can see them.

A little bit swollen here under my eyes and over my nose.  I was a bit surprised that I was not magically breathing easy right after the surgery but, there is the swelling.... and it hurt a bit more than I had expected also.  Nothing extreme - just surprising!

It has been hard to rest and keep from bonking myself in the nose, much less keeping Ike and Brix from bonking me!  

I have to rinse out my nostrils about 5 times a day with this system!  Did you know that if you squirt water up one nostril it is supposed to come out the other nostril?  Its not supposed to go into your ears or try to come out your tear ducts???  That's one of the fun anatomy items I learned this week!  Mine are working now that the surgery is done!

We have had some lovely dinners from family taking care of us - potpie comfort from Nana and Taco night from Sister!  Delicious and makes my life easier! I am not supposed to lift anything heavier than 10 pounds for the next 10 days!  That is one of the hardest parts - a gallon of water weighs 7.5 pounds to give you an example of what I can and cannot lift.

It was a complete going under surgery including intubation, and my jaw, throat and teeth are sore as well as my nose from having the tube down my throat!  Makes chewing and biting a little bit difficult.

Mom and Dad had dinner with us this time since we weren't sick!  It was good to have a visit over delicious comfort food!

Day three after surgery!  Bleeding has stopped and the swelling has gone down a bit.  Splints are still in but not as much gunk coming out.  Still hurts a bit but I can feel that the breathing is easier already!

I have already slept better the past two nights and I am looking forward to seeing the improvements in my breathing and sinus function!

Take care of yourself - don't put off the self care!

Blessed and easy breathing be!