Hello~
It's
a November rainy day, with the temp dropping as I sit by the warm, crackling
fire burning in the woodstove. Our first freeze, here in the TN Mountains, is
coming this weekend. We just had a brief window of the showing of colored
leaves due to the dry weather. Outside my window, swirling leaves are falling
in the wind, which makes me sad as soon all the tree branches will be bare. The
oak leaves in the front yard tuned brown this year, instead of the deep
burgundy they usually show. The cycle of seasons reminds us that life is full
of changes as well. Each month as I change the calendar, I am reminded that
time keeps moving on.
My
brave mini marigolds are still blooming, in muted colors, on the back porch,
along with some mums that still are waiting to be planting. A few green
tomatoes and peppers need picking. I'm storing the autumn squash; a neighbor
gave us, in the back room to be used later. This year, I'm going to try
bringing some sage that I grew from seed this spring inside. I've so enjoyed
the pungent smell every time I rubbed their leaves. Meanwhile, my cats love
curling and snoozing in front of the woodstove close by the fire.
I
went to the local doctor's office for my six-month visit. He was amazed at how
well I was doing, compared to before. My doctor and staff think Dwight is a
miracle worker. I told them that they
needed to check Dwight's blood pressure instead of mine. The last two weeks
before my appointment, Dwight was like a broody hen, fussing around and
hovering over me, sure I'd do something to set myself back. If he heard any
noise while in his bedroom, he'd come tearing out to see what I was doing,
which nearly drove me crazy.
I
had a five week stretch where I was walking around the house, circling down to
Dwight's shop, washing dishes, folding clothes, and feeling like myself. Just
as I lengthened my walk to keep building up my strength, and felt it in my leg
muscles, that night my left leg began to jerk involuntarily as I was falling
asleep. A hard jerk caused pain to shoot deep into my hip setting off my
sciatic nerve pain. At the rate I'm going, I will be able to write a book on
what to expect or what can go wrong for someone with sciatic nerve problems.
I've ordered something for restless legs and involuntary leg movement to see if
I can prevent this from happening again, because I'm not going to quit trying
to build up my strength. So, like a broken record, I had to start over from scratch.
I'm in my third week, now able to go down a couple of steps, and walking
outside part way. There's nothing like being independent and walking all
through the day only to suddenly, wake up the next day and barely be able to
walk to the bathroom, due to the pain when you put weight on your left foot.
The first couple of days when you are popping pain pills and, in a daze, just
trying to keep the pain under control through the day and night, you can care
less. But as the pain lessens and your mind isn’t in a fog, it really does a
number on your mental status realizing you have to begin all over again. The
first couple of weeks are hard trying to keep your mind focused on only walking
to avoid more setbacks while being waiting on hand and foot.
Dwight’s
truck started leaking fluid as he was hauling wood. He had to end up taking out the transmission
and fix a seal in the engine- something I know nothing about. Thankfully, he
finished that huge project and can use the truck once again. He also has been
splitting wood, getting things ready for winter. Dwight has to pace himself and
take breaks throughout the day when he does hard manual labor. I dearly wish I
could be helping him get the wood in, like I’ve done many years before.
Through
the ups and downs of life, we are still blessed. We have a roof over our heads,
a warm house, clothes to wear, and food to eat. Here in America, we have a lot
of extras the rest of the world can only dream about. God certainly has been
good to us! I’m so glad that God is still on the throne. He hears and answers
prayer. So, I choose to be thankful despite the circumstances of life. We can
always find someone worse off than us. Like an old preacher once said, “If I
was starving, I’d tell the devil I was fasting.” This month, join me in focusing on counting
our blessings.
Wishing
everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Dorcas
