Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you from our small corner of the world where we awoke to snow falling!  NO!  We are still believing that Spring is on its way and winter is now in our rear view mirrors.  Maybe if I just close my eyes the white stuff will go away..........

Speaking of rear view mirrors and going away, it is certainly my prayer that the Covid -19 CoronoVirus will be a thing of the past too, but I am thinking it is going to be a long bumpy ride while we navigate as a country through so many unknowns.  The what-ifs could fill up a notebook and the solid answers as of now would fit on a post-it note!  Our plan of action is to take a deep breath, stay focused on our God, and do what is necessary to take care of ourselves.  Fear is an ugly taskmaster and cannot dictate our responses to this pandemic.  Does anyone else feel like we are in a bad movie....so surreal what is happening.  How quickly our world can change.

Hoarding toilet paper is right at the top of my "blowing my mind" list.  Our son Mark tried to go to Costco in MN and the lines were at least an hour long to check out.  The toilet paper shelves were also empty at Cub Foods.........and we have friends who told us they are almost out and cannot find it in Tucson where they reside in winters!  We always buy in bulk so no worry here but really?  I understand it is a necessity and much needed but do we really need a year's supply?!  I watched a video on Facebook of people running through Costco when the doors opened, racing with their carts to the toilet paper aisle and stacking it in their carts ~ enough for months.  Seriously?  Toilet paper?

So while the world is going "cuckoo pants" as my oldest daughter Beth so aptly describes it, I decided to look up when toilet paper was invented and was shocked to learn it was 1857 when Joseph Gayetty invented toilet paper.  What?!  So before that, when my grandmother was alive, they used different materials in place of toilet paper.  Materials like grass, leaves, moss, corn cobs (yikes), newspapers, sand (really?), water, snow, seashells (who would DO that?), and more.  I had a few questions that went with this knowledge learned, but don't want to make my readers uncomfortable.  Certainly, toilet paper has not been around that long and I just have to say I am soooooooooo thankful I was not born before 1857~~!!  Thank you Mr. Gayetty!

I was really hoping for doctor-free time, but last Wednesday after Skyping with good friends in Tucson, I began having strong pain in my arm.  It was not related to heart, but to movement.  It really started several weeks ago when maybe once or twice a week it would hurt to try to reach out and open the microwave door or a cupboard door.  Then it would be gone for days.  Well last Wed it came and stayed and made for a very long night with little sleep.  I could not lift my arm above my lower chest.  I felt led to see Joel's chiropractor and he was able to examine me thoroughly and rule out such things as rotator cuff, joint, neck, spine, etc and decided that even though my body is responding outside the normal reactions (the story of my life) he felt it was inflammatory tendonitis.  I have an open ended order to the Physical Therapist from my Mayo doctor so will go starting Monday to hopefully receive help not only for the right side of my chest wall and arm but now the left.  Are we having fun yet?  The Chiropractor did pressure point treatment while I was there and it did help so I can sleep at night and have a lot less pain in day.  Yay....He felt the PT would be best for me and I already had an open order for that!

Partly why I am sharing this is that my last post was on keeping faith smack dab in the middle.....when I started so abruptly to lose strength and ability in my arm it freaked me out.  I found myself crying in the middle of the night that one more thing was going wrong.....a bit of a pity party ensued and then I heard my own words come to mind...........Keeping faith and prayer smack dab in the middle of any mess we are in.  Yeah....  I chose to focus on Jesus and practice a meditation I have used before........when taking in a breath I say ....Breathe in Jesus..........when exhaling I say, Breathe out pain.  With that I was able to sleep a few hours.  Yes, Jesus is there in all circumstances. So with the current situation our country and our world is experiencing, we need to remember to keep our faith and trust in God smack dab in the middle.   Our world is unpredictable right now, but God............Our world is confusing right now, but God........Our world is "cuckoo pants" right now, but God.............  BUT GOD!

We have canceled our first trip  since October 2018 and are once again "social distancing" as recommended.  I expect most of you are doing the same.  Joel is still biking, even in 38 degree weather and we are walking outside together when we can.  Layers of clothing make that work.  We check in with the latest news just 2-3 times a day, and watch distracting TV shows.  Scrabble and Cribbage keeps our minds active!  I told Joel that with all this time at home, we should do some projects that we have put off........like cleaning and sorting our closets. ( I did mind 2 weeks ago).  He thought that was a great idea........NOT!  But what an opportunity to get our Spring cleaning done.  Our purging, organizing, etc.  It is a great time to catch up on our reading, writing, and check in with loved ones.  So, what are you doing while you practice social distancing?

So much to be grateful for as we begin this weekend!  We are grateful for a warm house, great vehicle, good medical care, a loving family, good friends and neighbors, a full freezer, and oh yeah, plenty of toilet paper!