It's Summer! Oh I love this time of year, the sun up at 5:30 and down at 9:00. The farmers busy on this road in their tractors cutting the first hay ,the tree toads, the fireflies, the daisies and black eyed Susan's popping up all over the countryside. I love the clothes on the line and that "ahhh" smell when I bring them in. My cat sleeping on the porch ,all stretched out ,without a care in the world. My veggie garden popping up a little more each day, til there is some produce to be picked. The lawn chair under the tree with me sitting in it with a good book and a glass of iced tea.
I love to hear the sounds of the children, fresh out of school, playing and running to and fro. Takes me back to when I was 7 or 8 and my best friend Linda (who is still my bff) would drive my dad crazy running in and out of the barn ,into the haymow as he was trying to fill it with hay. Sitting at the edge of the haymow door when he was done, just hanging out and wondering how we were going to spend the day. The possibilities were endless. This was back in the early 60's when your parents did not have to worry about strange people on the street or where you would be every single minute. Linda and I would go back and forth between my house and her's, letting the screen door slam, hearing our mothers, telling us not to let it slam. "Sorry",everytime we did. There were fish to be caught in the creek, tadpoles to be collected in the mudhole at the end of the dirt road, fireflies to catch at dusk.
As we got older, we were allowed to ride our bikes, and we did ,all over. To the village or the back country roads. Stopping to the penny candy stores, loading up on 25 cents. The small local gas station down the road with the Coca -Cola machine. Not like today, but the big chest one, with the opener on the side. We would buy one and chat with the owner for a few minutes before setting back out.
Always something to do on a summer day.
I watched my children enjoy the summer days growing up with our next door neighbor's daughter. Hearing the screen door slam every time and yelling don't slam it just as my mom did. Watching them go fishing in the creek, catching fireflies at dusk, being kids and having fun. I would go back in a heart beat if I could.
I love Summer
Monday, June 25, 2012
Monday, June 4, 2012
The End
There is a beginning and there is an end. Life is like that. You are born and you die. Two weeks tomorrow, my husband's sister went for an MRI on her finger. During the procedure ,her heart stopped. Nurses did what they could to revive her and they got a weak pulse. She was automatically sent to the ER by the local rescue squad. By now, family members were being notified ( me , being one of the them, who had to call my hubby and tell him to hurry to the hospital), and dropping everything and running to the hospital. Between me and the hubs and my daughter, we were the closest getting there. Our brother -in-law and my mother-in-law were there with her. Slowly, we all got there, quite a few of us when you get them all together. Everbody took turns to go in the room she was in to see her. Not what I expected. She was hooked to all kinds of gadgets and tubes and her blood pressure was low, as low as her heart rate. Not breathing on her own either. Scary,scary stuff. After awhile of waiting for drs to do their tests, we were told they were sending her to CCU . Again,the whole family descended into the waiting area, taking turns and listening to drs. Her daughter flew from Syracuse by car in 2 hrs time (which would normally take at least 3) Son was to be here the next day from Florida.
We waited and waited, telling stories about the day and the gossip of the moment. Our nephew offered to go to a neighboring hot dog place and came back with 60 hot dogs. Supper had never been so good. By 10:00, the dr came out and said she was resting comfortably and we should go, tests would be done tomorrow. I left with hubby and daughter and our son ,who joined us .
Next day comes, so far so good. But, by late morning, word comes that her kidneys are shutting down, drop everything and we all go running again. Dr's are baffled. They decide to do dialysis, but have to wait to get her heart rate up first. A procedure called a PIC line is put into her heart ,so they could do it. Her bp is up, we all think positive. By evening, we are all watching the finale of American Idol ,deciding who is going to win. By the time it is over, we are told once again to leave. Thursday, I am home for the day and life goes on as usual. I am updated now and then and go up after my day of babysitting ends. We once again eat hospital food, yuck and visit. By now, the dr's have answers, but not good. They have realized that when she had her MRI ,a dye was put into it and she had an allergic reaction. 48 hrs later they realize this!!!! By now, her kidneys are shutting down, her bp is low as is her heart rate. She knows you are there ,but can't speak,she does not look like the sister-in-law I have known for almost 30 yrs. Friday comes and goes, and that night around 10:00, her husband and children decided to shut down life support. A sad night and sadder for me as I went through this with my dad, 5 yrs earlier. My hubby takes it hard as do his other brothers and baby sister. My mother-in-law is beside herself.
The weekend is a long one, one of preparation for a wake and funeral. I catch up on errands and clothes shopping as I have nothing to wear. Memorial Day comes and goes and the next day, Tuesday, May 29th, is the wake and funeral.
It is a awfully humid day. The air is so thick, you can't breath and just standing still the sweat pours off of you. By noon time, tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms are predicted. Beautiful, as I am scared to death of both. Tornadoes are very rare here and I am petrified to leave the dog and cat behind. Away we go ,the sky gets blacker with every step we take to get to Warrensburg. The clouds open up a half an hr into the service. A few times the lights flicker, lightning streaks the dark sky. Thunder booms over the noise of the crowd in the funeral home, people running in soaked to the bone. We are lucky to be inside as the world crumbles around us outside.
The funeral is very nice, not too many dry eyes in the house. And then ,we say goodbye. It is the end of her life, as we watch a slide show that the family has put together. Good bye ,until we meet again.
We waited and waited, telling stories about the day and the gossip of the moment. Our nephew offered to go to a neighboring hot dog place and came back with 60 hot dogs. Supper had never been so good. By 10:00, the dr came out and said she was resting comfortably and we should go, tests would be done tomorrow. I left with hubby and daughter and our son ,who joined us .
Next day comes, so far so good. But, by late morning, word comes that her kidneys are shutting down, drop everything and we all go running again. Dr's are baffled. They decide to do dialysis, but have to wait to get her heart rate up first. A procedure called a PIC line is put into her heart ,so they could do it. Her bp is up, we all think positive. By evening, we are all watching the finale of American Idol ,deciding who is going to win. By the time it is over, we are told once again to leave. Thursday, I am home for the day and life goes on as usual. I am updated now and then and go up after my day of babysitting ends. We once again eat hospital food, yuck and visit. By now, the dr's have answers, but not good. They have realized that when she had her MRI ,a dye was put into it and she had an allergic reaction. 48 hrs later they realize this!!!! By now, her kidneys are shutting down, her bp is low as is her heart rate. She knows you are there ,but can't speak,she does not look like the sister-in-law I have known for almost 30 yrs. Friday comes and goes, and that night around 10:00, her husband and children decided to shut down life support. A sad night and sadder for me as I went through this with my dad, 5 yrs earlier. My hubby takes it hard as do his other brothers and baby sister. My mother-in-law is beside herself.
The weekend is a long one, one of preparation for a wake and funeral. I catch up on errands and clothes shopping as I have nothing to wear. Memorial Day comes and goes and the next day, Tuesday, May 29th, is the wake and funeral.
It is a awfully humid day. The air is so thick, you can't breath and just standing still the sweat pours off of you. By noon time, tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms are predicted. Beautiful, as I am scared to death of both. Tornadoes are very rare here and I am petrified to leave the dog and cat behind. Away we go ,the sky gets blacker with every step we take to get to Warrensburg. The clouds open up a half an hr into the service. A few times the lights flicker, lightning streaks the dark sky. Thunder booms over the noise of the crowd in the funeral home, people running in soaked to the bone. We are lucky to be inside as the world crumbles around us outside.
The funeral is very nice, not too many dry eyes in the house. And then ,we say goodbye. It is the end of her life, as we watch a slide show that the family has put together. Good bye ,until we meet again.
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