Doctors Doctors Doctors

Three months of worry.

Today I can finally relax.

I went to the doctor's in mid-December with a bad case of stomach flu. I couldn't see my regular doctor as it was a "take me today"visit and he had a lot of regular patients.

A young woman doctor examined me and agreed that I had the flu. While there, she wanted to do an EKG. Once the test was completed, she came into my room and stated, "It looks like you have had a heart attack and the lower part of your heart is damaged". It knocked the wind out of me.

I put off the suggestion of a stress test until last month. I didn't want to handle anything until after the holidays.

My stress test was perfectly normal. I've also had four other exams for normal "wear and tear"and everything is good.

So with much relief, I am sitting here happy as a lark.

However .......... why in the world would a doctor tell a patient that she may have had a heart attack and was walking around with a damaged heart. Granted I am very, very relieved that the stress test came out okay. But the worry she created for me was immense.

Since then, I have been able to see my regular doctor and he has assured me that all is well.

Guess I'll be around for awhile.

I'm grateful.

That commercial was not funny!

Okay. Another OAR moment.

I record many of the shows I watch on my DVR. I can then fast forward through the commercials and not waste all of my time.

As I was fast forwarding through a show last night, my eye caught a quick look at a commercial that had balloons and a sign that said "Class of "68".

Whoaaaaaaaaaaa. I was really excited! That is the year I graduated from high school. My thoughts were "Wow"!

I stopped fast forwarding and began to backtrack to find the commercial. There it was. And guess what?

It was an advertisement for a "weak bladder". A weak bladder? Class of '68?

As I said. Not funny.

It took my breath away

I watched inauguration day from beginning to end. I felt like I was there although I was watching from the television in my room.

I could see the hope, the love, the magic, anticipation and so many other feelings I can't describe on the faces of everyone. It didn't matter where you were from, what color you were, how old you were ... it was simply just there. I have never been more captivated by a president in my entire life.

I will be the first to admit that I do not understand a lot of politics and probably don't follow things as well as I should. However, I can see the determination of our now President Obama and I, along with so many, have hope for those in need of change, a job or a pillow to rest their heads on at night.

The moment he was sworn in (the first time!) simply took my breath away and I cried. Somehow I feel the future will be so much brighter than it has been in a long, long time.

O A R

Okay so listen up.

There are many things in today's time that are abbreviated. LOL means laugh out loud. WTG means way to go. PMS means ... well I don't have to explain that one.

I have created, for myself, O A R. Old. Age. Rage.

A few examples of old age rage for me lately are:

1. That damned cashier at my grocery store who seems to hate my guts. When I go through her aisle and she continually ignores me, I feel it coming on ... OAR.

2. The first hill out of the area that I live was covered in ice a few weeks ago. My car got half way up the hill and then proceeded to spin sideways. It took me 15 minutes to get it turned the right side up and then, what seemed like hours, I finally BACKED down the hill and went home. The answering machine at the township recorded my OAR for that one!

3. But tonight was the biggest OAR of all. Third quarter, Steelers playoff game, and our cable went out. I sat here with Alan with my mouth hanging open and couldn't believe my eyes. One of my sister-in-laws (the bad one Amy!) had called earlier in the game so I knew she was watching it so I called her to fill us in on the game. We kept in touch back and forth until the cable came back on 3 minutes until the end of game.

That, my family and friends, is O A R.

Fortunately my Steelers won.

The "sound"of a smile

My daughter called today.

I "heard" the smile in her voice.

It is amazing how much you can read a person even if you can't see them. I answered the phone and instantly heard, "Hi Mom!" And I heard it ... the smile behind the voice.

We chatted about everything and nothing but we enjoyed the call.

And then I passed the phone to Alan. His huge "Hi Bussy" lit up his face and sure enough, a big smile was there too.

It's amazing how much you can "hear" from a voice only.

What a beautiful sound.

Whew!

My house is quiet.

Over the last few weekends, my home was filled with family. Noisy? OMG yes! Fun? It sure was. The anniversary weekend was everything I had hoped for. It was wonderful for me to go from room to room and see my family members in continual chatter and laughter.

The restaurant was great. They had our clan in a seperate room and the table was decorated beautifully. At first glance at the long, long table, I thought there were too many seats. But, alas, we filled them all!

There is nothing in this great world of ours that is more precious than family. The love hangs in the air and the laughing sometimes makes your stomach ache!

Embrace your loved ones. I know I did.

Anticipation

Anticipation is great.

Having something fun to look forward to is almost as much fun as the event.

This weekend Alan's Mom and Dad will be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. One of Alan's sisters planned the weekend for everyone here in Saltsburg at "The Ranch".

Some of the family will be staying here with us and some of the family will be staying at a Comfort Inn near Saltsburg. We will have from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon to visit, laugh, tell stories and, in general, have what is most important with family and friends ... camaraderie. We will have dinner at a local restaurant and I have emailed everyone "THE MENU". Everyone has emailed me their selections and I can feel and see the excitement we all have in planning and anticipating the weekend.

Family is so important in my life and I so treasure every moment with all of them.

What a weekend it will be!