Goodbye 2009

I must say I am not going to miss 2009. While it started off well, we spent New Years with Alissa and Brek in Boston, it pretty much went downhill from there. I managed to work 4 days of the New Year and then the bottom fell out. I became sick at work on the 4th day and pretty much lost the rest of January and almost all of February. We thought it was just a stomach virus, but after being very sick all weekend and going to the Dr. on Monday, blood work showed I had the H Pylori bacteria. Now I don't know about you, but I had never heard of this particular bacteria before. All I knew was that I was extremely nauseated and wanted some relief. 2 weeks and 2 antibiotics later, same song, different verse. Back to the Dr., the bacteria appears to be gone, but I am still sick and losing weight. 5 pounds in 2 weeks, creeping towards a total weight loss of 20 pounds.

So, we began testing. I had so many tests in one week! I can't even remember them all. It was finally determined that my gall bladder had ceased functioning! No pain, no stones, just decided it was tired of working. So.... on February 19th, I had my very first surgery ever. Made it 50 years, but finally had to do it. Thankfully it wasn't a really big one and the recovery was pretty quick. It had to be, because I wasn't going to miss my trip to Cali with my girls for Alissa's 30th birthday! I wasn't at full strength, but I went. Thank goodness for Kaci, she was a lifesaver on more than one occasion. I think she will definitely be the child who cares for me in my old age, which some days seems much closer than I would like.

But, things began to turn around, I felt better, left my job, which I totally blame for the stress that I think led to my illness starting and started looking for something else to occupy my time. I found blogging! Started reading them and decided I wanted to do that too. Now, mine isn't as interesting as many I read, but for me it is more a way to chronicle what is going on in my life. The hardest part is censoring myself and not posting things about others that they don't want posted. I would love to be able to write about what is going on in my girls lives and how that affects mine, but out of respect for them, I don't. I might write something that is public knowledge and that they have already talked about, but not the more personal things. After all this is my blog about me. But they are such a part of who I am, it is hard not to discuss them here. Guess I will just have to find ways to do it without compromising their privacy.

Things were going pretty well until October. My in laws began to have health problems and that meant we needed to help them. We took turns staying with them, cooking, cleaning and taking them to Dr.s appointments. Thankfully they are doing much better, still not 100% but so much better.

Another first for me, my first root canal. Unfortunately it will not be completed in 2009 and will carry over to the New Year. Have I mentioned I hate going to the dentist? Well I do. Hate it with a passion. Didn't even go for the first time until I was 21. I had been thru 27 hours of labor and was still terrified to sit in that dentist's chair. And all I needed was a simple filling. I had a very good dentist in Waxahachie, Dr. DeHay. I really liked him, he is very good as dentists go. Haven't found anyone who quite measures up to him here in Arkansas.

I know 2010 is going to be a life changing year for my family. I am so excited to see all this new year will bring. My only wish is for good health. Because it is so very true, if you have your health, you have everything.

Happy New Year!!

It's a very Merry Christmas!!

We have had a wonderful day today. We had a White Christmas, a wonderful meal and amazing gifts. I think my favorite (so far) would have to be my season tickets to the Tulsa Performing Arts Broadway shows. Not the tickets themselves so much as the fact that I will be attending with Alissa, Kari, Kaci and Ed! Individually!! There are 4 shows and each of them will go with me to a show! The first will be in January with Kaci to see Legally Blond, then in April with Alissa to see the Beatles, May and June are yet to be determined, it will be The Wizard of Oz and a Cirque de Soleil show with either Ed or Kari. I am so excited the girls are going to do this with me!!

I also was given a web cam so that I can have video conversations with the girls!! Can't wait to "see" them when we chat!

More on Christmas later, back to family time!!

Merry Christmas!!

Will this ever end???

Ok, today I was supposed to finish my root canal. But no, couldn't be finished, will have to go back yet another time and hopefully finish it then. But of course that won't be the end of it, because then I will have to get the crown replaced that he had to destroy in order to get to the roots. My mouth is so sore and I hope I never have to do this again.

Finally!!

I have a tree!! A week before Christmas even. No lights or decorations on it, but it is in my living room and it smells like Christmas in my house.

Now, on to the decorating!!

A root canal? Seriously?

Ok, this is getting ridiculous. This has been a year of firsts for me and I want it to stop right now!!! My first ever surgery ( and all the tests required to determine I needed surgery) and now my first ever root canal. There have been a few other firsts that I would have preferred not to experience, just not at liberty to discuss them here right now. I have made it 50 years without all these health and other issues and I would just as soon make it another 50 thank you very much.

The good news regarding the root canal is that it has forced me to rest a little. I have spent 3 nights in a row in my own bed and that hasn't happened since the end of October. Granted it was on major pain meds, but I will take it however I can get it. The bad news is that I feel so guilty for not being with my in-laws and helping them. The pain meds help but I can't make a 2 and a half hour drive while taking them. Not sure when I will get back up there...

So for now, pain meds, antibiotics and the joy of knowing I will be going back in a few days to finish (hopefully) what the dentist started. Evidently my roots are not cooperating and I may have to be referred to a specialist in this area. Hopefully it will not come to that...

Less than 2 weeks...

And I still don't have a tree up or the house decorated. Hopefully I will get some of that accomplished today. We came home last night, so good to sleep thru the night in my very own bed. It's amazing how you begin to appreciate the smallest things when they are not available to you.

This week was up and down as far as my MIL and FIL's road to recovery. It just seems like we take 2 steps forward and 3 back some days. We did have to go to the emergency room for a CT one day. Everything was normal.

Still no idea where we will be for Christmas this year. I of course would love to be in my home with all of my children, but we know that will not be happening this year. Praying for it to happen next year.

Today, I will try and have a little normalcy, make breakfast, find a tree, do some decorating and laundry, you know, just a typical Sunday.

Tomorrow Ed has an appointment with a Neurologist. He is having some issues and needs to take some tests to determine what is going on. Praying for a good outcome.

I will be going back to Tulsa Monday evening. Really hope we start to see some improvement this week and we can all get back to our normal lives. I know my in-law's are as ready as I am!

What a week this has been. I am supposed to be in NYC right now, getting ready for my flight back home. But I am already home. Our trip to New York, that we had been planning for 6 months, lasted less than 24 hours. We weren't sure we were even going to be able to go, but then my MIL seemed to be doing a little better, we had a diagnosis and meds, so I let them convince me to go home, so that I could make our trip the next morning. We left Ft. Smith a little after 6am Thursday and got into NYC around 3:30 that afternoon. We walked around a little that evening, had dinner and decided on an early night since I hadn't slept much since Sunday.
We got the first call around midnight our time that my MIL was being taken by ambulance to the hospital with a possible heart attack. Of course this meant we had to make arrangements to get back home. Fortunately there was a 7am flight Friday morning. We made it back to Tulsa around noon and took a cab directly to the hospital. The good news is that it wasn't a heart attack. Her sodium levels were very low and her electrolytes were out of balance as a result. After several bags of IV fluids, she was beginning to feel better. Her appetite returned for the first time in a month and the nausea she had been experiencing was getting better. We were able to bring her home on Saturday, on the condition that she not try and do anything at all and allow us to take care of my FIL and the house.

Not sure how long we will need to do this, but it is probably going to be a while before she can handle everything by herself again. So for now, my weeks will be spent in Tulsa and weekends at home.

Not sure when or if we will get a Christmas tree, it is kind of pointless right now. No one will really be here to enjoy it. But I didn't get a tree a few years ago, because no one was coming for Christmas and I just didn't think it was necessary. I said I would never do that again but you know what they say about never saying never.....

I think I will try and put out a few decorations so at least the few days I am at home, I can enjoy them. Not even sure where we will be this year for Christmas. I would still like to go to Boston, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. We won't be having the Keeton family Christmas this year, my MIL is just not up to doing it. It will be the first Christmas Eve in Keeton history that at least some of them didn't come together for a meal and family time. But with my MIL being the only remaining sibling of the original 7 and no one else willing to take up the tradition, last year was probably the last time for it. This makes me very sad as I have been attending these gatherings since Ed and I married almost 33 years ago. And they had been going on many years before that. It truly is the end of an era.

So, today I will try and get the laundry done and things ready for me to go back to Tulsa tomorrow. I guess most of my shopping is going to be done online this year, with a few things picked up on the weekends when I come home. It is going to be a very different Christmas this year, that's for sure.....