Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday morning to you from tropical Iowa where humidity and dew points continue to make life a bit uncomfortable and having me longing for fall.  It is definitely the lazy, hazy days of summer which is not so bad unless your joints complain.  Air conditioning is our friend!

I have been able to walk 1/2 mile all but one day this week.  One of those days, as I came up a small hill I was startled by a doe running down the hill.  My first thought was....yikes...is there a fawn she wants to protect?  But she veered away from me and kept going.  The hazards of walking in our association seems to be making room for the deer.  They are everywhere.

On Tuesday we purchased a new laptop for me.  I had a price set in mind, a sound I desired, and a size I felt would work best for me.  After looking for a couple of weeks one came up on sale as a promo and we bought it.  Unfortunately the Internet was as slooooow as molasses.  I could not figure out how to change it.  We also had to purchase Windows office 10 which was very pricey. At my request, when Joel was at his colleague group he asked if anyone there knew how to help with our dilemma. Sure enough two of the pastors did, and one came over and spent nearly 3 hours helping me not only get rid of what was slowing down the new laptop, but he also downloaded his own Microsoft Word which he had purchased for their home and church and was able to have 50 others use it too.  So, we took Microsoft Office 10 back as it had not been opened.  They not only credited us the lower "price with a laptop purchase" BUT gave us $20.00 more credit.  Say, what? Joel argued with them about it, telling them they credited us too much, but they said this is how it went through the computer and just to accept it.  Okay, then.  WOW!  I am happily setting up my new laptop........and the added blessing was a nice touch!

It has been a tough week for our family, since Gr. Jo fell backwards landing in travel, just missing hitting her head on cement.  She was in a lot of pain so Janelle took her to urgent care.  She had to sit a long time...not good....x-rays did not show anything but Dr. sent her hospital for a CT and to get her blood pressure down, and she was put in an "observation room"......a new thing with Medicare.  The new doctor checked her out and made her do mobility tests including jumping if she could.  Of course she did try and he said, okay, you don't need a CT scan, and sent her home without pain medication, telling her to go back to her Tai Chi class.  By the next day Janelle had to call an ambulance to take her to ER because of the excruciating pain.  The CT taken by yet another new doctor showed a fracture in her back!!  Her blood pressure was 214/114!  The past couple of days they have worked at managing the pain, lowering the blood pressure and fitting her with a back brace.  An MRI let them know she was not a good candidate for "cement" being put around the vertebrae.  At age 83 she will go to rehab for PT and pain management tomorrow.  It was a dance with Medicare and insurance which really rule over doctors and hospitals.  Sad.  And that doctor that sent her home?  He should be fired.

Our oldest son turned 45 this week.  It is always sobering when we think about what the next 10 years will bring......4 kids over 50, all our grands grown up, and us 78 and 80.  It is a gift to still be here, yes, but it makes you want to grab every moment in time and hold on to it as the treasure it is.  It makes me mentally write a bucket list and has me pondering what kind of a legacy I am making for my grands and great-grands to come.

I have spent more than a little time trying to figure out my new laptop and as I sit here typing on the old one and listening to music on the new, I am grateful for such a privilege to have the money to buy what we deem necessary.  We are rich, as my Joel says.  We may not have a lot of material possessions, "toys",  or much discretionary money yet compared with many others in America but seriously, we are well off.  Just go live in a third world country for awhile and you will get it.   We are prosperous because we live in a nice home that we own, drive a nice car that is paid for, sleep in a comfy bed at night with full bellies, plop in front of a big flat screen TV with a remote in hand, and have more technology and clothes than we need..... We have the privilege of owning as many Bibles as we wish, going to church wherever and whenever we want, and our rights are protected.  We have children who stand firm in their faith, grands that are amazing, and a marriage that just celebrated 48 years the end of June.  We are rich.....richly blessed, rich indeed.

I have been reading Lionness Arising by Lisa Bevere, listening to a few Bethel and one Charis teachings, watching some Madam Secretary on Roku and texting a lot with our kids and my siblings and sister Jan regarding Gr. Jo. We watched the movie, "Raising Izzie" on Netflix, it was pretty good!  So, how has your week been, friend?

Until next time...................