A Memorable Memorial Day

It seems that I'm starting to make a habit of being in the ER on holidays - the first time was last December in Gilbert on Christmas Eve and into Christmas day, and now on Memorial Day yesterday. It's not my favorite way of spending a holiday, but some things are just hard to avoid.

What landed me in the ER you ask? Well, let me tell you. Last Friday, around 4:00 p.m., I starting having stomach problems - cramping, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting (actually dry heaving. Nothing came up). This lasted intermittently for a couple of days. I couldn't eat much. I thought I possibly had food poisoning.

Yesterday morning, which was Memorial Day, my stomach cramping and belly pain got even worse so about 4:00 p.m. I decided to go to the ER to get examined by a doctor. 

By now, I suspected that I had diverticulitis again. I have had this a few times in the past and I can now recognize the symptoms, especially when I get pain in the lower left side of my belly. After blood and urine tests were completed, I patiently waited two more hours for my CT Scan, which did confirm that I had diverticulitis. 

An interesting thing happened when I was having my I.V. installed. First of all, she tried once in the crook of my arm and couldn't find the vein - story of my life, so she withdrew it and had to try again. She was successful on the second try just above my wrist. However, for some reason, the back end of the I.V. needle wasn't plugged so blood started dripping down my hand and onto the floor before the nurse could close it up. I wanted to take a picture of the blood on the floor, but thought better of it. I didn't want the nurse to feel bad about her mistake. I did, however, take a picture of my arm while in the waiting room waiting to be taken for my CT scan. You can see that we weren't able to completely wash all the blood away from the I.V. needle.

Well, that had never happened to me before, and I hope it never happens again. My purse was on the floor close to where the splatter occurred. Fortunately, only a small amount ended up on the purse.

The whole ordeal at the ER took 5 hours! It took much longer than I had anticipated it would take. I am, however, glad that I could get the medical attention that I needed and that I am on medication that will have me feeling better really soon.

No, I don't want visits to the ER to become a holiday habit. I'm praying it will never happen on a holiday (or ever) again. 

Wrought Iron Fence

What do you do when you are bored, forced into self-isolation, and can no longer drill teeth? Why, you paint the wrought iron fence, of course!

Since Alan has a lot of extra time on his hands these days, he decided to paint the wrought iron fence and gates that we have on our property. We have six gates (two are double gates big enough to drive through) in various locations around the property as well as three segments of fence that surrounds the pool. Alan really has his work cut out for him. 

He has completed most of the painting. He just has three gates plus some poles (like the pole for the basketball hoop) left to do. The problem is finding a windless day in which to complete it. The Antelope Valley is notorious for having windy days, especially in the afternoons, this time of year.

Alan is painting it all by hand, which is a lot of hard work. It has taken him several hours so far. To avoid getting paint on the cement, he has to put down a plastic ground cover over the whole area, which is time consuming as well. 

I suggested to Alan that he hire someone to do the painting, but since he has the time right now and isn't earning any money, he couldn't justify hiring someone else to do it. He is my hard-working man!

Breaking The Rules!

While we are in isolation for the Covid-19 pandemic, we are not allowed to go to each other's homes or have anyone over to our house. Sounds like we are imprisoned, right? Well, it really is kind of like being on house arrest. Since there has been a decline in recorded cases of the coronavirus of late, Cheryl, Parker, and Kessler decided to visit us over Mother's Day weekend. They arrived on Saturday morning and left on Sunday afternoon, so basically we only broke the rule for about a 28 hour period of time. The visit was well worth breaking the rules for...as long as we didn't pass the virus to each other, which I hope is the case.

It was so much fun to hear baby noises around here again. We hadn't seen Kessler since early February - he's grown a lot since then. He is actually 10 months old today. Kessler got to swim in Grandma's pool....

He got to get all messy while eating an avocado....

And he got to go on a walk - Cheryl even tried out my new scooter.

Sunday morning we were able to hold church in our home while Kessler took his morning nap. Since it was Mother's Day, after the sacrament was blessed and passed, we watch a talk by Elder Holland entitled "Behold Thy Mother." After the talk, we took turns sharing memories and things we admired about our mothers. 

This was Cheryl's first official Mother's Day. It was great to share that special day with her. She surprised me with some flowers and a gift card from her and the boys. They are so beautiful! 

Cheryl also surprised me with a slide-show video put to music that she compiled with pictures of me and my children when they were young as well as more current pictures. It also included pictures of my wonderful grandchildren. It was very touching. I struggled to hold back the tears. I have had so many wonderful memories with my children and grandchildren over the last 43 years. 

Every mother is unique. I adored my own mother. She was the epitome of an elect woman. Her testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ was strong and it never wavered. She always had a smile on her face. She was a kind, gentle woman who quietly went about serving others. Although she was never supposed to be able to have children, because of a miracle, she gave birth to and raised seven rambunctious children (including twins) who kept her busy from morning until evening, and she did it all on a shoestring budget. She was such a hard worker, just like my dad was.

As for me, I'm grateful that I was blessed with four sons and one daughter. They are truly a gift to me from God. Although being a mother is the most difficult job in the world, it is also the most rewarding. I don't regret one minute I spent in the service of my children. I'm glad that they are all honorable men and woman who are happy with the paths they have chosen in life. 

We only get one chance at life, so we need to make the best of it. Choosing to get married and bearing children are some of my best choices so far. Much joy has filled my soul because of those decisions. Yes, there has been heartache along the way, but the good always outweighs the bad. Being a mother and grandmother has molded me into the person I am today. Every experience has helped grow. Every tear, every laugh, every accomplishment, and every struggle are cherished memories. Oh, the joy of motherhood!