by Sharon O | Aug 2, 2013 | Uncategorized
After a week of being alone with no husband at home I realized a few things.
HE is supposed to kill big black spiders…not me.
HE is supposed to fix the leaking coffee pot… not me.
HE is the reason I iron most of the time… I can wear wrinkly clothes at home and press them if I am going somewhere.
Cooking for one is interesting.
Last night it was baked chicken legs from the stores deli section and corn on the cob.
I am not sad to be alone.
As a child growing up that was my safe place.
During the day I have had two nine year grand daughters and an almost four year old great niece.
So it hasn’t been too bad although it will be nice to have my husband home.
Even if he is asleep in the chair… he is here.
—————————-
Called my doctors office to get my lab reports and they think they lost them.
Not happy to give blood again and don’t want to pay twice.
I always like to read the doctor’s report.
She said I was groomed well but appeared to be inactive and obese.
That did not make my day.
I have seen obese people.
Definition
Obesity means having too much body fat. It is not the same as being overweight, which means weighing too much. A person may be overweight from extra muscle, bone, or water, as well as from having too much fat. Both terms mean that a person’s weight is higher than what is thought to be healthy for his or her height.
I am five foot tall and weigh in at one fifty two YES I need to lose some but I do not feel like I fit in the obese category. For the first time in years I actually feel pretty healthy.
It is a challenge to stay positive when one is receiving conflicting reports.
I am healthy but… I need medication for a ‘past’ blood pressure issue.
I need medication for a thyroid that doesn’t work so well.
I need medication for cholesterol that seems a bit high.
I need medication for an inflammatory issue in my joints that sometimes hurt.
I am healthy but…
At nearing age 59 I feel fortunate things are not worse.
Survived many things in life and have many more things to share and experience.
According to the doctor’s opinion losing weight is part of that new journey.
My cardiologist said to not lose more than 10-12 pounds and no more than two pounds a month.
So that is a good goal and something I can manage for the next four months.
What kinds of random things are you dealing with these days?
by Sharon O | Jul 29, 2013 | Uncategorized
You change your life by changing your heart.
It is a choice.
Sometimes for some people it is a very hard choice.
But in order to change…
the condition of our heart
we must decide what needs to be done then do it.
It is a choice.
We all have to make sometime.
Joining Deidra on jumping tandem with the Sunday community.
by Sharon O | Jul 27, 2013 | Uncategorized
The five minute Friday challenge is to write for five minutes with no editing.
The word today is: Broken
A long time ago there was a man who was strong, able and independent.
He was an auctioneer in rodeo settings and also a well known sheep shearer.
Nationally known in the rodeo circuits and also known as a man of all trades.
That was a long time ago.
Now he sits in a recliner chair or wheelchair.
With oxygen tanks nearby holding the air inside that keep his lungs and heart alive.
Alongside him is the pill caddie and the inhalers to help him breathe.
In the small refrigerator there is insulin which keeps his blood sugars stable.
He is limited with congestive heart failure and leaking valves.
Leukemia of the blood and diabetes cause his legs to be swollen and sore.
The lungs are tired and full of water that shouldn’t be there.
The heart inside him is tired.
HE waits for breath as he coughs and coughs and we pray as we listen.
Sitting beside him is his wife.
A long time ago she was able to drive and be social and have friends.
She was a hospital auxiliary president who did many charitable functions.
She worked full time and raised three daughters to her best ability.
That was a long time ago.
Now she sits in a recliner or wheel chair clinging to her blanket and a stuffed monkey or two.
She is unable to hold much of a conversation and she cannot feed or dress herself.
Dementia of the mind and Parkinson’s of the body has taken away who she once was.
They are now Broken.
Broken bodies with broken minds.
Broken hands and broken hearts.
The ability to do what was once done is no longer a choice.
It is sad.
Very sad to watch and remember when he was strong.
Very sad to remember when she cleaned her house impeccably always.
Along with the beautiful counted cross stitch pictures that she doesn’t remember.
Now they are old together and can’t do anything.
They sit holding hands in the foster home hoping for at least another day.
We will remember.
They were our parents.
Age 86 and 81 sitting hand in hand growing old together until that day ends for them.
by Sharon O | Jul 19, 2013 | Uncategorized
Our grand daughters are wonderful too.
Faith Elizabeth is fourteen. Heading into high school and growing way too fast for this grandma’s heart.
Following her are our surprise twins. Hannah Kay and Alexis Marie who are age nine.
Having twins is challenging enough but when they are identical it makes it way more of a challenge when trying to feed them as a baby or caring for them.
I still get confused at times if they have their back to me and I am not paying attention to what they are wearing.
I have learned to be patient with them.
I have also learned how to amuse them or challenge them and allow them to amuse and challenge me.
I have also learned that they don’t want things as much as they want time spent with us.
The beach is always a fun time of making memories.
We have spent hours and hours there together.
It is a time for us to listen to them.
To slow down.
To really hear what they are saying with their words or not.
Grand children teach us to think they way they think and to enjoy their kind of humor.
They are joyful and tiring both at the same time.
They bring us to our knees more times than we can count.
They also give us pictures for our photo albums and our hearts.
Grand children teach us so many things as long as we remain teachable.
Lord I pray we remain teachable.
by Sharon O | Jul 18, 2013 | Uncategorized
I have been trying to think of a blog writing lately.
My brain often is a bit tired and I can’t focus intensely the way I used to when this blog first began.
I was saying out loud today,
“Oh I do need to think of another blog writing and I don’t know what to share.”
One of our grand daughters suggested that I write about them.
The grand children.
Now that is a good topic and often times entertaining too.
We are grandparents to six ranging in ages two to fourteen.
The two year old is almost three, and I also do day care with my nieces little one who is almost age four.
The children keep me busy and keep me listening and on task to the day’s activities.
We have three grand sons and three grand daughters.
Our daughter had the girls and our son had the boys.
Last weekend we watched the boys.
They are Samuel age nine, Josiah age five and Seth almost three.
One of the rules at their house is no one gets out of bed till seven in the morning.
It was a wonderful ‘waiting’ time for grandma.
Of course Seth didn’t abide by that time frame.
The first morning he was awake yelling at the door at six-thirty am.
In fact the second day he was awake early too.
The difference was the first one the he woke up ‘crying’ for mommy.
The second day he woke up singing the ABC song.
I could hear him singing as I entered the room very quietly and stood there for the longest time just listening.
He laid in his bed singing the precious little song not knowing anyone was with him.
When he saw me he just said ‘hi’ and wanted out of bed.
I think God was very wise when he made grand parents.
We play a special role and we are blessed to pray for each one of these little ones.
I feel honored and challenged by the responsibility and the privilege of loving these little people.
Grandchildren are a blessing in our old age.
I pray that as we watch them and listen to them our wisdom and prayers will make a difference for many years to come for them.
by Sharon O | Jul 15, 2013 | Uncategorized
I have been trying to change the picture on my side bar as it is about five years old.
Sometimes this computer stuff is way more complicated than I can master.
SO … I will add my updated look another way.
Welcome to my blog. My name is Sharon O…
I am a mom. Grandma and follower of Jesus.
Oh and I have been married almost 40 years…too.
by Sharon O | Jul 15, 2013 | Uncategorized
In the stillness.
In the quiet.
In the going down of the sun.
We thank you Lord for your faithfulness to us.
We will never forget to give you praise.
Joining Deidra on jumping tandem and the Sunday Community.
(photo’s by Maxine and Larry of Oregon)
by Sharon O | Jul 10, 2013 | Uncategorized
After we saw the eagle we were all feeling pretty blessed and happy.
It is not every day one has the chance to see such a majestic bird flying over ones head.
We coasted along with the current and continued to enjoy the sun and the soft breeze.
It was refreshing and also upsetting because of all the fourth of July rafters who were in my opinion not taking the water seriously.
We saw parents who had little children on swift waters with no life jackets and even allowing little children
to navigate kayaks alone with no adult supervision or help.
I personally prayed for each and every one of those little ones who looked unsure or afraid.
The river is to be respected and it was very different this year.
The scenery was beautiful, quiet and peaceful.
(other than when we saw the others on the water)
I was uncomfortable with strange people with us and worked really hard to move away from them.
We used to see deer and other wild life but this year they were pretty far away from the noise on the river.
I did happen to get some pictures of a gaggle of geese along the shore line.
They were sitting on the edge of the water as if they were watching us float by.
I have always enjoyed the wildlife in their natural environment.
In the past we have seen a variety of deer on the shore and birds in the air.
Each year it is different and each year we may or may not be able to see an eagle.
As we were ending our trip and heading to the last stretch of the river.
Ryan our only kayak rider fell out of his kayak and had to navigate back into it.
He said the current was swift and his kayak had water in it.
Then another one of our team members dumped their canoe over.
That incident could have been very serious as they were both under the canoe for a short time and they could feel the current try to pull them away.
Then as we were closing in on our take out point our head leader and his wife dumped their canoe.
We have never had so many canoes go over and it seemed like a very different year for all of us.
Each one of the incidents could have been very serious from the hand ‘cut’ to the canoes overturning.
God was with us and protecting us.
Our 2013 trip was different yet it was sweet for when we couldn’t be on the river we could spend time sharing with each other doing different things.
We learned to work together and help one another and become more of a team.
It was good and it was challenging.
We look forward to next year and the many years after that until we no longer can go.
The river is a beautiful place to see God’s creation.
We are never disappointed in the experience or the view.
by Sharon O | Jul 10, 2013 | Uncategorized
The other half of our day on the river was pretty good until one of our teams hit a bridge and capsized their canoe.
They had headed through it and somehow hit sideways and slammed into the center post.
The canoe went over and they were in the water in seconds even with life jackets the water was swift and the current was fast.
They were good swimmers and made it to shore.
We prayed for their safety and we prayed for a recovery that would not be too difficult.
When a canoe is over turned it is a very difficult task to move it.
There is water current and water pressure and it is very similar to a strong suction cup.
Fortunately along the shore line there was a man who lived nearby with a motor boat.
Between the motor boat trying to attach ropes to the canoe and the man power of at least five guys after what seemed like over ninety minutes on the water the boat was pulled to shore and then turned over.
We waited by the side of the waters edge watching, and praying for the canoe to be rescued.
Our team members were safe and other than being shaken and a bit scared they were not hurt.
We all clapped and yelled when it was finally pulled to the other side of the waters edge and turned over.
The only items they lost were a few towels, bungee cords and a tube of chap stick.
We continued our trip down the river singing and praising God that our team was back together and everyone was safe and not injured.
As we were chattering with each other someone said in a quiet tone, “shush… there is an eagle ahead”.
Our silence was in anticipation of what we were going to see.
Over to the left was a large bald eagle and he was sitting in a tree watching us.
It then moved in flight and hovered over our team circling three times.
I was not able to see this but those who did said it was amazing.
Then the eagle flew over us and into a tree on the other side of the river.
We felt it was a ‘blessing’ and a gift to see such a beautiful bird and perhaps a sign that all was going to be
well for the rest of the trip.
by Sharon O | Jul 9, 2013 | Uncategorized
We did our 2013 canoe trip and we survived in spite of many incidents that could have been dangerous and or life threatening.
Each year the trip is a challenge.
Not a bad challenge but just the idea of camping, and taking enough for a canoe trip demands a lot of planning and thought.
We stay in a campsite and set our tents up and our chairs and our food and tables and then we talk about the days out on the water.
This year the water was more swift and higher than normal.
Our guide who happens to be my husbands oldest brother was apprehensive about the waters depth and also the current was much faster than we normally try to navigate.
We left home on the fourth and arrived into camp with the idea of celebrating the fourth with each other.
We had the typical hot dog and potato salad with watermelon dinner.
It was fun and festive. Some of the ladies had brought with them red, white and blue tablecloths and pinwheels.
We shared around the camp fire and just enjoyed the time spent together until one of our guys accidentally stabbed himself with his pocket knife fortunately we had a vet with us and he did the doctoring and wrapping and it seemed to be alright.
The next day we were supposed to be on the water but the boss said it didn’t look good.
SO we went hiking, or spent the day in Sun River a resort place in Oregon.
Some had ice cream at Goody’s and others had Carmel corn.
Back at camp we talked more about the next day on the water.
That night a few of us were attacked by an internal bug and we did not feel very good.
I personally was not sure after a rough night if I could go out on the water for five or six hours.
We paced ourselves. Had some tums. Prayed. Ate some yogurt and prayed more.
Then we set off on our trip down the rivers edge.
The weather was around eighty in temperature and it was very nice.
In the beginning it was relaxing and good.
The water was much faster and the current was often working against us.
The fourth of July weekend was also not to our benefit.
Part of our ‘trip’ included many extra boats, kayaks and inter tubes tied together and in our way.
We are not accustomed to that many people on our quiet retreat on the water.
The journey became not as relaxing as we had hoped and it was also challenging to navigate away from the other people.
God was showing us many things throughout this trip.
The biggest lesson was to be flexible.
