Updates: Grandma and Mama, choosing right

Mama and Grandma were at the emergency room for a couple hours yesterday morning, but since the attending physician determined that there were no broken bones in Grandma’s ankle, she was sent home with the ankle wrapped. They wanted to prescribe some pain medications but Grandma has her own prescription because of the ongoing pain she has with her knees and back. It will still be a long recovery for her. The sprain will not heal quickly, and Grandma will not be able to get about other than in a wheel chair. It will be difficult for her and Grandpa for a few weeks, but they have gotten through far worse. The worst part for Grandma is that she will not be able to get out of the hose on her own for several weeks -and she is used to running all over town at the slightest excuse.

Mama’s update is a bit less encouraging. Last night as I worked with her, bending her left knee, I would guess she was not even at 85°. That is very disappointing. I am not sure what is happening, but the quad is so tight that any more bend is very painful. As tolerant as Mama is of pain, she does not seem to tolerate that pain very well. I spent a few minutes massaging the muscle and found the stiffness to be worst just above the knee. As I worked in that area, Mama was not happy with me, but I am hopeful that as we work the rigidity out of that area we will be able to get more of the bend back. I do not want to tear the muscle or the tendon by overextending the joint, but we have to be able to get the movement from somewhere in that attachment to the knee. At this point, I am not sure what to do, so we continue to work the joint as much as possible and pray. Understandably, Mama is discouraged. She goes to see the doctor next Wednesday. He will not be happy with the results either. Where we go from here, I cannot even guess.

Taking the bad with the good is often one of the markers of maturity in a person’s life. Right now, we are focused on the challenge of Mama’s difficult recovery, but there are good things happening. Whether or not Mama regains her full range of motion, she is able to walk. Her left knee will never suffer further degradation. It may not heal to the point we are expecting – although I am praying it will – but she will be able to use the leg without pain at some point in the near future. As disappointed as I am that things have not worked out as quickly as I was expecting in our personal businesses, I have job that pays our bills and allows us to give – at least part of what Mama and I want to give. We are healthy. We have a wonderful place to live. It needs some work, but it keeps us dry and comfortable regardless of the outside temperatures or weather conditions. We have an amazing church family. Incredible children and grandchildren. And so much more.

Everything we are discouraged by will soon be past. We will deal with the outcomes of those circumstances as we see them resolved, but we will not live as though those outcomes – whatever they may be – determine our state of emotional wellbeing. This course of life is only temporary. It is hard to leave a permanent mark on it, but we can enjoy the journey if we do not weigh ourselves down with those things that are subject to constant change. We cannot be an encouragement to others when we are discouraged – and being encouraging in so much more fun than being discouraging.

Matt. 6:33 says “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” “These things” refers to all of life’s continuing, ever changing needs. After the Lord taught on the necessities of life, food, shelter and clothing, He reminded us that “these things” are going to constantly be changing, but our Heavenly Father knows our needs before we even ask. He is already setting in place the circumstances of our next blessing as we weather each difficulty. Looking outward for a moment, our life does not seem so bad. Maybe we should count our blessings and look up.

We really are blessed.

Grandma, business concerns

Mama does not usually answer calls at 4:40 a.m. so I knew something was up when I woke to her talking to someone on her cell phone. She did not say anything to me as she got out of bed, but I was in the final stages of waking up, so I got up to find out what was going on. Grandma had called. She had fallen and was concerned that she had broken her ankle. She actually said that her foot was broken, but Mama did not know any more than what she had been told. We both dressed and drove to Bowie. I was needed because Grandpa is down with a very sore back, Norman and Seth are both in West Virginia, and Mama is still struggling with her new bum knee. It was sort of a “Keystone Cops” operation. (If you don’t know what that is, look it up. You will enjoy it.) We took separate vehicles so I could go back home after the patient pickup and still get to work on time. I drove the Sequoia. It had more fuel in it than the truck did. Mama took Victoria’s car – anticipating Grandma’s need for something she could easily access.

Once at Grandma and Grandpa’s we got Grandma out of the house more easily than I had expected by backing the wheelchair down the shallow porch steps. Getting her twisted into position to slide into the back seat proved to be a challenge. She could not use her hurt ankle to make the movement needed to get her backed into the vehicle. She did not have the strength in her left leg to hop on that foot – nor would we want her to. So, Grandpa wrapped his arms around her and helped her make the final adjustments to get herself in place.  Mama reached through the opposite car door and helped her get scooted into the backseat. It was surprising to me how little strength Grandma has in her arms.

 While we were getting Grandma loaded I looked at her ankle. Not too closely. She was in a hurry to get diagnosed, treated and hopefully get some relief for the pain. But from what I saw, I would be more inclined to think it was a bad sprain. The ankle can make a frightening crunching sound when it is folded into itself. We will know in a few hours whether it is broken or badly twisted. Often, a break will heal faster than a sprain. For now, Mama is at the hospital with Grandma, Grandpa is home nursing his back and Victoria is on her way to work. And all is well – or will be; mostly.

I am almost at the point of giving up on my second side business. I have spent time over the past weeks getting the documents ready for presentation and feel like I am going in reverse on the whole project. I made enough headway last night to recognize some issues I need to correct regarding content and sequencing of information. But that is not what is bothering me. I do not feel that I have what it will take to make the venture successful. Adding to the frustration is the very likely success Mama and I will have in the real estate business we are starting. That business will be far less complicated and has the potential to generate a sizable income. I am not convinced that I want a business that will occupy every available moment outside of the real estate business. It is something I am praying about it earnestly.

I would like a chance to relax at some point. I enjoy Mama’s company and would like the opportunity to spend more time with her. One of the two businesses will certainly allow that. The other may not. At least not for the several years while I am developing that business. For now, I will press forward and see how things progress. Mama is okay with either outcome.

Me too.

Mama’s setback, Brittany and the twins

After a good beginning with the physical therapist, Mama was back to where she started by the second visit for therapy. On the first visit following the second manipulation where she got to 116°, she was only able to get to 85° on Friday. She is very discouraged. So, every evening Victoria or I are massaging her leg to try to tame the stiffness in the quad in the hopes of regaining the bend we know is possible. Where she is right now, sitting on a plane will be nearly impossible. At the very least, it will be horribly uncomfortable. We are trying to get to the point where she can not only enjoy the flight to and from Honduras but enjoy the activities there as well. Three steps forward, two steps back.

We enjoyed our time with Brittany and the twins. Brittany and the girls got to the farm Thursday evening. Mama and Victoria got to enjoy them in different stages on Friday. Brittany and the girls met Victoria for lunch Friday while Mama met me in Decatur after her physical therapy appointment. Victoria had not gotten to see the twins until that meeting. They were already in bed when she had gotten home Thursday night and she left Friday morning before the girls were up. We all got to make up for it Friday night because Brittany left the girls with Mama and met Andrew in Dallas for her first night away from the twins. We had a great time with them and they did not seem overly concerned that their mommy was not there through the evening. With Victoria’s help we kept them busy. It was pleasant outside Friday evening so while we were letting Mama sit on the tailgate of the truck to swing her leg – somewhat – the girls played in the very dirty bed of the truck. The ridges in the bed did not bother them at all. Nor did the coolness of the metal. They acted as thought they were in their own private playground. They got dirty enough that we had to bathe them before putting them down for the night, but they were thrilled with the experience – both the truck and the bath. Mama, Victoria and I enjoyed their exuberance.

Brittany was back Saturday afternoon and Zoe was excited to see her. I was holding Sophia when she came in and when she tried to get Sophia to give her a hug Sophia turned herself back into my shoulder and buried her face in my neck. That quickly turned into a game. Brittany playfully scolded her daughter as we played. But she was thrilled to see how attached Sophia is to me. It is always more fun to be loved than to be tolerated. Sophia was fascinated by my facial hair – and I made sure to keep it to only a day’s growth so that it was not too scratchy on their baby skin. When I nuzzled her or kissed her neck she would shy away at first then lean into my face for me to do it again. She would rub her hand on my whiskers and try to scratch them off my face. I have the scratches to prove it. Mama enjoyed watching the interaction.

Saturday evening, we met with the church at a remote location just outside Chico. For a couple weeks we have been trying to get a picnic scheduled and the weather finally cooperated. Earlier in the day there was skeet shooting, football, volleyball and horse shoes. But we did not go for any of those activities. We showed up for the wienie (hot dog) roast. They were cooked over an open fire which at first was way too hot – resulting in about half the hot dogs being burnt beyond the point where they could be eaten. After we made some adjustments, the next batch came out perfectly. Mama made chili and slaw for the occasion. Almost all the slaw was eaten but she made ten pounds of meat into chili. Only about a third of the chili got eaten so we had a lot left over.

When we got to the picnic area we set a blanket on the ground for the twins thinking that the moist ground would discourage them from venturing too far. We were wrong about that. Once Zoe was down she crawled off the blanket and across the ground in pursuit of something only she knew about. Victoria and I followed. Sophia was not far behind, but she was following me more than anything of a personal directive. Brittany was okay with the excursion, so we let them go where they wanted. We were on a fifty-acre spread, so there was plenty of room.

We stayed until it was nearly dark. Got the girls ready for travel as we packed up our stuff and left as the flood lights were being turned on for those who were hanging out for the music. Mama wanted to stay but was just about at the point where she needed to get stretched out somewhere comfortable to rest her leg. We had said our goodbyes to the twins at the picnic. By the time she drove from the picnic to the farm – about three miles - the girls were fast asleep. We said our goodbyes to Brittany back at the farm. She left from there and we went back into a quiet house.

It was a good weekend.

Getting started, Brittany and the twins, Mama

I got a call on Wednesday from the title company in Oklahoma. Actually, they are an abstract company. Oklahoma sues the abstract process for real estate versus a title process. The outcomes are the same, but the processes are vastly different. They needed some information about the LLC Mama and I have set up to do business for our real estate investment company. After getting some questions answered, I put together the information and sent it out to the requesting persons. It will be a good test of the paperwork in place. Mama and I have never done business in this way before, so we are on a bit of a learning curve. We just trusted that the people helping us set up the corporations knew everything that would need to be done to get us set up properly. Now, we get to see if all the paperwork is really in place for us to operate as a limited liability corporation. The real challenge will come as we do our taxes for this year. The only problematic issue will be accounting for the 401k we moved. Now, it feels like we are getting started in our tax lien/deed, real estate venture.

Brittany and the twins got to the farm a little after 5pm yesterday evening. Andrew is in the area, but he drove in separately because he is doing some intensive training in the Dallas area. We will not see him until Sunday morning. It took a few minutes for the twins to piece together who Mama and I were, but once they did, we had some great snuggle time. Sophia has always been drawn to me. Even when they were very tiny, she would pick me over Mama and Victoria. Last night was no exception. I was busy cooking when they arrived, so I was not immediately in the mix for their welcoming, but she slowly put the pieces of her memory together. Each time she looked over to the kitchen from the living room she would smile and wave to me. Once she realized who I was, she followed me everywhere. She would softly whisper, “Papi” every time she saw me. Talk about special.

When Mama and Brittany were getting the girls ready for their baths, I was given Sophia. Both the girls had been stripped down to their diapers for dinner and Sophia, in anticipation of her bath, was standing on my lap. I had a couple days growth of beard and when I rubbed my chin against her shoulder she shied away and laughed. Of course, that only encouraged me to do it again. Brittany loved it. I did not want to torment the child, so I stopped once I had shown Mama and Victoria. It was only a few moments later that I realized Sophia was leaning back into my face to keep the tickling going. She finally turned around and put her hands on my face to find out just what was going on. Her smile was one of innocent wonder. Facial hair is not something she is used to. The girls were down by 7:45. They had not slept well the night before. They had not napped on the trip to the farm either. It was hard for me to tell that they were tired, but their mommy knew. They were sound asleep in very short order.

After the twins were settled in, Brittany and I helped Mama with some of her exercises. At first Mama was near the point of tears because of her inability to reproduce the results she had had at her most recent therapy. I was holding a stretch band and Mama was pulling her knee towards her. She was not able to get the bend she was expecting. When I understood her concern, I had Brittany help her bend the knee as she pulled it as far under her as she could. That not only helped Mama get to about 105°, it also felt better to her. We will repeat that exercise every night. She is so much better but she is so much more concerned about keeping what she has seen she is capable of after the second manipulation. We still have weeks if not months of work ahead of us. But we can actually see progress. Praise the Lord!

Mama has physical therapy scheduled today after which we are meeting Brittany and the girls for lunch. Brittany wants Mexican food. I will have to choose carefully in that venue. The last time I had Mexican food, the outcome was not good.

Good news, pumpkin carving, reactions

Mamas’ first physical therapy session after the manipulation was a huge success. A milestone. She was able to bend her knee to 116°. She and the therapist were both very excited. He allowed her to do a range of machines that he had not been able to Mama use because of the stiffness in her leg. Mama will limit her visits to the therapist because we are paying for the visits out of pocket. It is not cheap. It is not horribly expensive, but we will rack up a sizable bill at two visits per week over the next three weeks. It should be worth it in the long run, but it is disappointing to be excluded by insurance for help with the visits. We are paying enough that there should be some cost sharing, but that is not the case. Sad. Recently I got a questionnaire from our insurance company and I was very honest in my responses – very thorough in the written responses. I do not know if it will make a difference in their attitude toward our financial needs related to Mama’s surgery and follow up, but at least I got to voice my concerns.

We had our 4^th Annual Pumpkin Carving activity at work yesterday. I have yet to be on the winning team, but it is always fun. Yesterday was no exception. I worked on a team of three and we made – or attempted to make – a caramel apple pumpkin. It was a good idea, but we had only an hour to pull it off. Enclosed are some of the final products of the labors during that hour. I am always amazed at the creativity of the group of individuals at this company. You can judge for yourself.

I was hurting very badly yesterday evening. I am not sure why; maybe the posture I used during the time we were working on our pumpkin. I am not sure. Not only did my lower back hurt but I was also a little nauseated. We had eaten Mexican food for lunch, but it is was from a restaurant I have eaten at in the past. Yesterday it did not agree with me. Lately, that has been my lot with almost everything I eat.  The nausea was easy to mask. The back pain was not. To help my back pain, Mama suggested I put a Lidocaine patch on my back. I reluctantly agreed. I had a vague memory of that not being a good option for me in the past, but I could not remember for sure. Anyway, within an hour I was severely nauseated, dizzy and weak. By that time, we were already on our way to church; hoping the feeling would pass. It did not.

We left church before the service began. Once we were home I took the patch off and scrubbed the area where it had been applied. Within twenty minutes I was feeling better. The dizziness and weakness were gone but the nausea remained through the night. Hopefully, I will remember not to do that again. On the brighter side, as we were leaving church – to get me home – Mama tried walking down the steps in church in a normal fashion. She succeeded. She was thrilled. I just wanted to get home.

Brittany and the twins will be here sometime late today. Mama is looking forward to that. Me too.

Voting, Mama

Monday morning and again at lunchtime Monday I went to the polling place set up for early voting in Decatur. Both times the line was so long that I had to forego taking the time to stand for my turn in the voting booth. However, when I queued into the line at lunchtime, I struck up a conversation with the man in front of me and he gave me a printout of all the places in Wise County that were set up for early voting. One of those places was in Alvord at the City Hall. I called Mama to let her know we could go together to Alvord before heading to the hospital. She was in favor of that. So, yesterday morning, Mama, Victoria and I went the four miles to Alvord and walked into an empty polling place. Literally. There was only one person there. She was already at the voting machines. No one was in line to be registered to vote. We were in and out in ten minutes. I was relieved to have cast my vote and excited to have seen the excitement in people wanting to get their vote registered. Early voting is a great option for me and I was thankful to have the opportunity to do so. Victoria left from there for work. Mama and I headed back home so she could finish her routine to prep for the preop. Both of us were fasting until after her procedure.

We were able to leave for the hospital in plenty of time and ended up getting there over thirty minutes early. Her procedure was scheduled for 2:30. We were there at 11:30. It was a little unnerving a short time later as we sat in the lobby, waiting to be called back for the hospital portion of the preop, to get a call from the hospital asking if we were going to make our scheduled time for the procedure. I assured the lady calling that we would make our appointed time because we were already sitting in the lobby; duly registered at the reception desk with our assigned patient number. When the person I was conversing with asked me to hold for a moment, I heard the phone at the front desk ring. The man stationed there – he had just taken over – answered and began talking with me. He was as confused as I was as to what we should be taking about. It was quickly sorted out and Mama and I were escorted back to get her hospital bracelets from the actual registration personnel; after which we were called back for the nurses to begin poking and prodding Mama.

When I left Mama to wait again in the lobby, it was less than thirty minutes later that I was called back to see her in recovery. However, on my way to see her, the doctor came out into the lobby to tell me how things had gone. He even had a picture of her leg in the fully bent position. He told me there was a lot of popping and cracking, but he was able to get the knee to 120-125°. Now it was up to us to keep that range of motion. I believe this time we will be able to do so. The alternative is not appealing at all. As part of the procedure, Mama was given a nerve block and the joint was infused with a form of time released Lidocaine. That should be effective for about four days. Keeping the pain at bay should help Mama and the physical therapist to be more aggressive with the knee as we struggle to hold onto our hard-won gains.

Mama woke fairly quickly. The only issue we ran into was that the attending nurse insisted on giving Mama two hydrocodone before she left the hospital. About an hour later she was very nauseated. Mama does not take much medicine and therefore tends to be sensitive to the effects of any medication. We did enjoy a good lunch before heading home and Mama was able to hold everything down through the evening, so overall, things went well.

Mama tells me that she feels a real difference in the leg and knee. A looseness she has not felt since the replacement surgery. That is a good thing. Maybe a great thing. She was able to walk almost normally after the procedure. Her brace fit much better as we applied it last night. Overall, everything seemed to be better.

We are encouraged but we still have a good bit of work ahead of us.

Savanna and Cori, Zoe, Mama

Since it had been several weeks since Savanna had been to church – due to her persistent high fever – she seemed a little hesitant to go; especially to Sunday School. Remember, she is still barely able to understand Spanish, so I can imagine how she would feel a bit out of place among her Honduran peers. So, Sunday morning, Savanna asked her mommy, “Mommy, I am mommy to my dolls. Right?” Not knowing where the conversation was heading, Cori cautiously answered that she was indeed the mommy to her dolls. To which Savanna followed up, “And mommies don’t have to go to Sunday School class. Right?” It was not a good enough case to allow her to avoid going to her Sunday School class, but it was pretty clever. Especially for a three-year-old mind. Later that day Cori was quizzing Savanna about her Sunday School class, asking her what the story was about. “I don’t know,” she responded, “the teacher kept talking about somebody called Noe.” Cori smiled and explained that Noe was the Spanish pronunciation of Noah. She instantly saw that the light came on in Savanna’s eyes. “That’s why we were naming all the animals!” It’s good to hear that she is feeling better.

Cori is still dealing with swollen lymph nodes and general malaise. I spent some time last night talking to her about what she is doing to combat the symptoms and got some insights into some of the exacerbating issues. Not the least of which is hydration. That has always been a challenge for Cori – even when she had unlimited access to clean, drinkable water. She is going to start correcting that problem and we will work our way out from there. Another complication could be from some of the oils she is taking internally. On that I am not sure but suggested that she research to see if any of the ones she is using are contraindicated for the symptoms she is experiencing. One of the problems with abundant natural health supplements is that we do not take the time to understand what the herbs or supplements can do outside of the suggested benefits. How much should we take? How often should we take the supplement? How long should I continue to take the supplement? Are there any harmful effects based on my gender, my metabolism, my blood type, my diet, my age, my current medical condition, etc.? I did not advise Cori to stop taking any one thing, only that she do a lot of homework to dig out the information on each thing she is taking to understand the upside and evaluate the downside – and there often is a downside.

Brittany called yesterday to tell Mama that Zoe had taken her first steps. They were coaching her through the process, but she was able to take three steps before falling onto her bottom to begin crawling again. That is always a monumental indication of progress so those beginning steps are always exciting. However, they are a harbinger of busy, exhausting days to come. Especially since Brittany has two little ones to follow after. Typically, two little ones like that will follow each other around so when something happens they are likely to be in the same place when it does. It should be several years until they diverge into their own personal mischief. Lord willing, by that time there will have been a lot of behavioral training presented to the twins. For the moment, we will enjoy the progress and watch the girls start to get about in an upright position. Brittany and the girls will be here with us on Thursday. Mama is really looking forward to that.

We are still on the docket for Mama’s second manipulation tomorrow at 2:30 pm. She will concentrate on hydrating today. She does not want a repeat of the fiasco she had to deal with last time when the nurses were unable to start IV’s or successfully draw blood. Mama has been able to sleep longer intervals in her brace over the past several nights. It shows when she walks. However, she wears out very quickly and she is only able to stand doing dishes or laundry or cleaning for short periods of time before the pain sets in causing her to have to rest. Hopefully, this manipulation will get the bend we need, and the brace will allow Mama to keep it. The issues of energy to do things and pain in doing those things should improve drastically as we get the joint operating properly. Or so we are told.

Time will tell.

Dental issues, still raining, business, Mama’s lamentation

Lately, tooth pain has been a recurring issue across our family. I have been dealing with general pain in my mouth for months now. Earlier this week, Mama started mentioning that she had some severe pain in one of her teeth and this morning after we had prayed, Mama told me that Maggie has a tooth causing her significant enough pain that she was seeking out a dentist within their insurance network. My pain is constant but not severe – letting me know that there is something wrong in multiple places in my mouth. Mama has not mentioned her pain for several days. I just thought it was interesting that the three of us fell victim to the same dental crisis at the same time. I am not going to deal with my issues until we sell our second house. My current insurance – which I will not be on for long – covers almost nothing related to actual dental needs. All of my charges will be out of pocket. My best guess is that we are looking at $20,000 for the work I need to have done. Sad thought.

We are looking at another rainy weekend. Mama and I have a lot of little things that need to get done at the farm this weekend. Not the least of which is to clean out the coop building. It has been a full two weeks since we have done that, and it shows. Chickens are messy birds. Forty of them produce a pretty good-sized mess. We typically get a full wheelbarrow of waste out of each side of the coop. It is good fertilizer for the garden but at some point that need will be exceeded, and I will have to find another place to put the refuse. Keeping the birds is fun. Every evening, when I go out to collect eggs and check feeder levels, the chickens gather to see what I have brought them. Generally, Mama will let them out to roam and catch bugs in the late afternoon. I do not have to call to them. When they see me, they immediately start clucking the alert to their flock mates and huddle up. By the time I am at the gate in the back yard I am having to shoo them out of my way. They will eat virtually anything, but they really like bread – in any form. Leftover pizza, moldy bread or biscuits, pie crusts, etc. One night this week, I took out some leftover beans and they devoured them. Very little goes to waste on the farm.

Last night I completed and sent the document I have been working on for my additional side business. I expect to hear back from my perspective partner by early next week. He is a very busy person. I told Mama as I sent the document that I do not know how he will judge the work I have done. I am working in a vacuum at the moment, but I am hoping that the feedback I get from the work already done can help set the direction for me. My dad told me years ago that a shrewd entrepreneur once told him that the mantra he used in starting a business was “Ready. Fire. Aim.” I prepared and fired. Now I hope to get some aim added to the mix.

Mama is already dreading her Tuesday appoint with the doctor at the hospital. I think we are better prepared than we were the first time – especially with the brace Mama is using. The MUA (manipulation under anesthesia) is not invasive so there is no risk of infection from the procedure. However, the doctor is going to aspirate and test any accumulated fluids in the knee to see if there is an unseen infection Mama is dealing with. He plans to use a local anesthetic in the knee – another injection - that should last more than a day. He also plans to apply the brace to the leg to keep the knee retracted after the procedure. Mama was hoping on going to physical therapy after her release from the hospital, but the procedure is not scheduled until 2:30 pm. The PT clinic closes at 4 pm. We will not be out of recovery until after they close.

We ate lunch together at the church yesterday and Mama was lamenting her late appointment. Bro. Zach said, “Someone has to be scheduled for those late appointments.” I smiled and said, “Thank you brother. I could not say that.” Mama hit me with the fly swatter she was holding. He did not necessarily mean for it to come out that way, but it was funny to me that it did. Even Mama laughed.

Last night Mama read to me a comic post from Facebook. A husband had been sent a picture by his wife of her in a new dress. She asked, “Does this dress make me look too big?” to which he replied. “Noo” He hit send before he realized auto correct had changed his response to “Moo”.

An electronic Freudian slip? Perhaps.

Rain, poor conditions, pre-Honduras prep

The rain has persisted daily for almost a week. Mama and I are not complaining; far from it. The little pond we have on our farm is filling up slowly. That is a good thing. Parts of the farm are getting very soft, but those are areas we can avoid until they firm back up. One of those areas is the garden. I pass through the garden when I add feeding the cattle to my evening or weekend routine. There are areas in the garden that are soft enough right now that I cannot walk in them. The sad part of that is that those same areas become as hard as stone when they are dry. To combat that, Mama and I have been adding the chicken manure and chaff that she puts down in the coop to absorb that manure onto the garden. It helps loosen the dirt somewhat. In about three more years of adding our organic supplement we might have a pretty good garden area. However, through the winter, we will avoid the soft spots as best we can. Meanwhile, all the animals on the farm have a safe, dry place to stay during these rainy times. For that I am truly thankful.

There is a little farm on the highway not farm from us. We pass it on our way home, so we see it often. The farm has chickens, guineas and ducks that sometimes venture close to the highway. Within the small enclosure they have set up for the fowls there is a separate, smaller enclosure where they keep a Great Pyrenees dog. Right now, the entire enclosure is overgrown with those big, tall, stemmy weeds we get in these parts. That is sort of a blessing. When those weeds did not hide the doghouse in that enclosure Mama could see the standing water in the dog’s “shelter” and bemoaned the terrible plight of the dog housed there. The poor animal, chained to the structure, had no place to lay down. When we could see the dog in the shelter, it was always standing because there were several inches of water in the shelter. We have not seen the dog door the several months that the area has been consumed by weeds, but I fear that the winter will reveal him to Mama once again as the camouflage does off. That will be a very sad moment. My hope is that the dog has been removed from the enclosure. Otherwise, it will sadden Mama every time we drive past that little farm. My fear is that the dog will be brought home with Mama one day and I will have three large dogs digging caverns in the front yard. Rescuing the dog would not bother me. Housing is for the next ten years might.

We are still accumulating items to be taken to Honduras. I believe we are far past fitting those items into less than three suitcases. At this rate we will have to purchase clothing in Honduras for our stay there because we will not have room to pack our own. Of course, I am kidding – a little. At this point we can only suppose we know the needs that Cori and Nate face in supplying those things that are familiar for their family and personal use, but we will definitely have a better idea as we go there and see the need first hand. I am not implying that Cori, Nate and the kids are lacking in any necessary thing. Only that some of the things they consider comfort foods and normal life and home needs are not available. To this point they have not found in-country substitutes for those items. Even when they do, it will be fun to get those everyday things to them. At that point it will be more like giving a gift than supplying a need.

Health wise, Savanna is much better. Cori is still suffering arthritic type pain. Mostly in her hips and wrists. As a family, they are attending a conference this weekend. I am not sure where the conference will take place, only that there is very limited access to cellular service. Mama and Victoria will have to spend the weekend disconnected from Cori and Savanna. They will especially miss their video chats with Savanna.

Please pray for safety for all those involved in the conference – and for Cori’s continued recovery.

One more time, getting wet, a little progress

I met Mama at the doctor’s office yesterday afternoon. She has not improved enough to avoid intervention. We are scheduled to have the knee manipulated under anesthesia Tuesday of next week. Mama is at 95 degrees of bend. The minimum the doctor would settle for was 110 degrees. He did tell Mama and I that if she was not in pain he would be willing to wait and monitor her progress, but since there is pain in the quadricep – the large muscle on the top of the thigh – he feels compelled to break the scaring loose one more time and get the quadricep to stretch out the way it needs to for her to have full function of the joint. Neither Mama nor I are enamored with the idea of another hospital visit, but we will try once more.

What else can we do? We certainly do not want Mama to be left with the limited function she now has. Wearing the brace has made a difference. It has reduced the swelling. Partly because we are not trying to force the knee to bend. The doctor did notice that. But in two weeks we have gained only one degree of bend. I did suggest that we bring the brace to the hospital with us, so he could apply it to the leg after the manipulation. That would allow Mama to keep the bend he forces on the knee. The doctor agreed that that would be a good idea. So, next week we go back to the hospital. Hopefully for the last time – at least the last time we go there for her left knee. I have often told our children that pain is our friend. It keeps us from overtaxing ourselves, cautions us when we are near limits and allows us to guard parts that are in the process of healing. Right now, for Mama, pain is not her friend. If we do not overcome it, her knee will lock up at some comfortable bend for the rest of her life. Not the worst fate, but not the outcome we wanted going into this surgery.

It was raining when we got home so I hesitated to go out and feed the animals right away, but it did not show any signs of letting up. Eventually, I went out while the soup I had put together boiled on the stove. I through I was through when I got done with the goats, but our cry baby steer reminded me that I had not given them any cubes since Saturday. When I went over to the barn lot well house to feed them I saw that the hay was completely gone. We had one bale on standby, so I had to take the time to put that out for them. We are fortunate to have a place to put the hay in the dry. Under the equipment shed I build some time back. It makes a difference when it comes to getting the most out of a bale of hay. Less waste. Less rot. Plus, it gives the cattle a dry place to eat. It does cause me a little more trouble to keep the area cleaned up between bales of hay, but I suppose it is worth it. It makes Mama happy. She does not like to see her cattle standing in the rain eating a wet bale of hay. It takes the three of them about ten days to eat a round bale of hay. The bale they just finished would have gotten about seven inches of rain on it over that period of time. I was pretty chilled by the time I got back to the house. It was a good thing I had made soup for dinner.

I worked on my second side business for a couple hours last night. Extracting the required information out of my aging brain is a challenge, but I made some headway in those hours. By the end of the week I will have accomplished what I need to have done on the first of two documents required for review. It is a bigger task than I had anticipated. I am feeling wholly inadequate for the task at hand.

We will see what the decision is once the documents are evaluated.

Surprise visit, Blockage, house #1, Mama’s appointment

Saturday was a very wet day, but it brought us a blessing in the afternoon. I was working at the computer when a vehicle we did not recognize pulled into the drive and parked in front of the house. The big dogs were not happy with the intrusion. With all the commotion they were raising, I stepped outside to greet our visitors. It was Chase and Makayla. They were attending a conference in Dallas and stepped out of the afternoon activities to bring Owen to see Mama. We have not seen him since he was a newborn. That was a very pleasant surprise. Victoria was off, so she got to participate in the visit. Owen is a very amiable baby. Very happy. He seemed immediately comfortable with all of us. That made Mama extremely happy. We visited at the house for a couple hours and then went to dinner before they headed back to Dallas. Sunday Chase and family came to meet us for lunch after church and went on to visit Grandma and Grandpa that afternoon on their way home. They even went to see Victoria at Walmart – she had to work Sunday - on their way out of town. That made Mama’s and Victoria’s weekend.

I took the day off yesterday, so Mama and I could go to the foreclosure auction in Lawton. It was a good thing I was still at home when Victoria left for work. She did into make it very far down the road. A large limb had fallen from across the road; too large for us to move by hand. It had been very windy all night and we had gotten over an inch of rain, but when I went out to see the deadfall the rain had slacked up significantly. That was a blessing. It was 38° F and the wind had not slacked up much. I went back to the house and got the tractor, so we could move the branch and the attached vines out of the roadway – at least enough for us to get our vehicles through. I was thoroughly chilled by the time I got the tractor parked. Had I not been off, I would have had to do the same thing a bit earlier in the morning, so everything worked out well. Mama and I left for Lawton after the road was clear.

We were both excited about the sale. We now have a process in place. We have an organization in place. We had researched the homes. We had coordinated with our real estate agent. We were ready. And it is a good thing we were. We got a house. Our first investment property. We will not be able to confirm the sale until the 26^th of November – at which time we will be in Honduras – but we are the recorded buyers. Our agent, Glenn, also bought a house. Our friend from Dallas bid on two houses but both went for far more than he was willing to pay. Oh well, he has bought three so far. All of which are in various stages of remodeling. His wife texted Mama wanting to know all about the house we were the winning bidders on. Surprisingly, neither Mama nor I were super excited. Maybe that will come as we actually take possession of the property. Meanwhile, Glenn will contact the person living in the house and let them know there is a new owner. That is something Mama and I have not developed the desire to handle yet. But we will get there. Glen will also serve as our liaison with the lawyers for the bank that owns the property. Our next auction is November 5^th. We are getting ready for that now – and there are some really great properties going up for bid at that auction. Mama and I may not have enough  money to get another property, but we will attend the auction none-the-less.

At Mama’s doctor’s appointment today, we will learn what the doctor has planned for Mama. The brace she is wearing is definitely helping although I am convinced that Mama is not wearing it as specifically intended. Although she is not able to get the 120° of bend the doctor is looking for, she is in far less pain and seems to have a greater range of motion than before she got the brace. It has only been two weeks since she started using the device, so it is difficult to tell for certain, but I can tell she is more comfortable. With the gentle constant pressure of the brace there is significantly less swelling in the joint. That is a blessing. If we are allowed to continue to use the brace through the time we leave for Honduras, perhaps Mama will get to the point that the doctor forgoes any further intervention.

If not, we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

Re-starting, farm life, auctions ahead

I have found that it is easier to write this blog if I do so daily. A habitual practice. When I miss a couple days of doing so, it is more difficult to get my thoughts together. It is also difficult to separate out topics to write about when so many things have happened in the course of the time I did not get to put my thoughts into print. The old adage that it is pointless to steer a parked car applies. Inertia is a powerful force even outside the law of physics. So, in beginning again, I will simply begin…somewhere. I spent the last two days teaching classes. These were two different classes that my current employer offers. The two I am most often asked to teach. I was still at the home office, but by the time I got home Wednesday it was time to get ready for church. We barely made it to Tractor Supply after church for an emergency purchase of Hen Scratch. God forbid out chickens go a day or two without.

Though Mama and I had anticipated getting home earlier, there were a number of people that needed to catch up with Mama on her progress. She had missed Sunday night services. It seemed like a very short evening. I had spent all day standing while teaching so I was sitting as often as possible; potentially giving the impression that I was not any particular hurry to leave. Yesterday evening, I was worn out by the time I concluded my second day of teaching and found my way home. I did the minor things around the farm that Mama cannot yet do because of her knee issues but was back inside in short order. We are in the mode of preparing for rain almost every evening. That requires the feeders to be staged differently for the goats. They do not eat as well when the feeders are in the barn, so Mama will put them outside on days when the rain potential is not as high. Last night was one of those nights to move the feeders into the dry. She has me do the evening feeding because by that time of day she is completely worn out.

Mama and I spent the rest of the evening searching realtor sites for the houses that will be auctioned off in early November. Following the routine of our past trip to the foreclosure auction, we will spend the afternoon following the auction looking at the houses we are contemplating buying. Seeing them in person often has a profound impact on our decision to pursue the property. There are so many on the November list that it will be interesting to see how that auction goes. This coming Monday, after the auction concludes, we will know if we have money to buy a house at the next auction. My hope is that we will. Mama and I are not planning to tie up all our cash on one house to start with, but it could potentially work out that way; depending on what properties we are actually able to compete for. Regardless, we are getting ready for the next auction in the queue. It only makes sense to do so.

Mama and I had a long chat with the realtor in Lawton. He is now acting as our agent in these auctions. We do not need to attend. He will do the bidding for us – even if we are present. He explained that there was no need to create the impression that there was more of an interest in the property being bid upon that was absolutely necessary. So, at the coming auction (Monday the 15^th). Mama and I will sit back and watch. I will capture notes as we go through the auction, so Mama and I can get a feel for the homes that bring the most money and the areas that generate the greatest interest. That will help us narrow our searches and coordinate with our realtor prior to each auction. I do believe Mama and I have found our niche.

Time will tell.

Thankfulness, a new tool for Mama, Honduras

Mama read a thought to me the other day. “What if you woke up this morning to only what you had thanked the Lord for yesterday?” That was a sobering thought for me. I have not been very thankful of late; too burdened by work, projects, trying to encourage Mama in her painfully slow recovery, ever increasing medical costs, business startup issues, etc. I have been very conscious of my portion in the struggle but not so conscious of my portion in the grace, the mercy and provision constantly showered upon me and Mama. We really are blessed. Just because we struggle in some areas of our health and finances does not mean we are lacking in God’s blessings. I have spent a lot of time crying out for help (which is a good thing because I need that help) but not so much time singing His praises (which is a better thing because He deserves my praise). We tend to go through life expecting to God to smile down on us while we do very little to cause Him to smile because of us. I would like to bring a smile to God’s face today. Maybe when you read this it would be a good time to do a spot check of your attitude of gratitude. Mine needed a little fine tuning…and I am not that unique.

Mama came home from the physical therapist yesterday with a brace specifically designed to bend her knee. It will not be cheap to rent the device but if it works it will be worth it. The brace attaches to the leg above and below the knee. It has a mechanical joint that can be increasingly torqued to bend the knee joint. Mama puts on the brace, tightens the mechanical joint and sits or lays down while the tension holds her knee in ever increasingly bent positions. The principle behind the brace is sound. Gradual, constant tension will stretch the tendons and muscles to increase the range of motion – hopefully without much pain in the process. Doing so under constant force should be far less painful than bending the knee in more sudden bursts – as was being done. The caveat is that to tighten the lower portion of the brace, Mama requires help. The tool designed for that purpose is not easily used by the person wearing the brace. For now, Mama is wearing the brace for an hour or two at a time so, I can help her every evening. The goal is that by the end of a week, she will be sleeping through the night in the brace with enough tension to get everything stretched out and functional. By my calculations, we have six weeks before we leave for Honduras. For Mama, everything revolves around that trip.

That date comes up in conversation every time Mama and/or Victoria talk to Cori and the kids. It did last night as Mama and Victoria talked with Cori and Savanna. Savanna is just now recovering from over a week of sickness. Probably a type of flu. Even last night she did not look very good, but her fever has broken, and she appears to be on the mend. We are tankful for that. No one else got the severity of symptoms that Savanna did but they all had something similar. Now, praise the Lord, they all seem to be past it and Cori may finally get a good night’s sleep. Speaking of the trip to Honduras, I am not sure how many suitcases it will take to get all the items we are accumulating into the country. I am seeing at least two suitcases right now – if we pack really carefully – perhaps three if we actually try to meet the weight restrictions. I suggested to Mama last week that we start to arrange the items to gauge just what is needed but that has not happened yet. All in good time. There are three of us traveling so we have the option of each taking one checked bag already. If extra bags are required, it will not be prohibitive in cost for each of us to have a second checked bag. I am not sure we have that many suitcases available, but we probably do. Right now, the issue is too far out to fret over.

We are all excited just to have the opportunity to take the trip – regardless of the minor additional costs.

Yard sale, home office, the continuation

Our yard sale got off to a rocky start. We were talking about loading things up Friday evening, but there was a communication breakdown between Grandma and Norman. The plans were to set up at Norman’s, but he was not in favor of us doing so. After some back and forth, Victoria called Norman and got things clarified. Because of the several hour delay in determining whether or not we were actually having the yard sale, it was late when we finally got everything loaded up in Victoria’s car and my truck. I tried to back the truck into the garage to protect the furniture items from the threat of rain, but the load proved to be too tall, so we covered them with sheets and hoped for the best. Just moving items out of the garage, the living room and the goat barn, opened up a significant amount of room in all those respective areas. I will try to make the best use of all that vacant real estate as we reoccupy it. The encouraging part of the trucking off of our marketable stuff was that I was finally able to set up a makeshift home office in some of that recently provided territory.

That humble space is nothing more than a table with the MacBook, the iMac and the printer all in one location, but it is a great start to a home office. I was able to sit and work comfortable at that “desk” for several hours Saturday. I had to take breaks because I felt like I was getting overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task I am set upon. Mostly I went to the shop and worked on a lathe table I am building, but it helped to step away, pray a little bit and get my focus re-centered on the documents I am creating. There is no particular deadline – other than that I have imposed on myself. I have given myself through the end of the month to get the documents in order, but with the limited time I have to focus on them, that may be an unrealistic goal. Time will tell. At least I have a place to work now. A place where mama and I can easily work together.

As has been our fortune, or lack thereof, the yard sale was only moderately successful. We sold some items but none of the furniture items; even though the price we were asking was extremely low. Grandma will continue to market them, but I am not sure how. She is determined to help us get money for our trip to Honduras at Thanksgiving. I appreciate the enthusiasm.  Victoria posted several items or groups of items on Facebook – with surprising results. That will continue through this week. One particular item created a stir with Norman and Grandma; a saddle we have had sitting around for a couple years now. Norman did some research and thinks he discovered that the saddle is worth over $400. I have a very hard time believing that, but Grandma could not let it go. We were advertising the saddle for $40. Victoria had already gotten several people responding to her post of the saddle for the $40 price but Mama had her remove the post so we could remarket it for a much higher price. We will see how that turns out. The plan is to clean up the dusty saddle and repost it. If it sells at the higher price, we will split the sale price with Grandma – so I am confident that it will not drop off into the abyss of forgotten projects. If it does, I will sell the saddle for the original price at some future date. We have no need of it and it was nice to get it out of the garage. Someone can actually make use of it when it is purchased.

We almost put a trunk we have saved from the old farmhouse in Bowie into the yard sale mix, but once we looked inside to remind ourselves why we have kept it, it got put back in its spot in the pile of stuff we are keeping. Just to make sure when we move again, we will have items to take that with us we have absolutely no need of.

It matters little that our house is already full of such items.

Finding time

As I sat last night and worked on my second potential business venture, I realized how the Lord had worked out the timing on it all. Since our real estate business is moving along in three-week cycles, it is fairly easy to keep up with the work involved in preparing for the auctions. Our next auction is still ten day away and we are ready for the most part. Things at work are standard fare with a few busy details scattered in the mix. For the most part, when I walk away from the office I can leave all that work behind me. So, last night I poured myself into beginning the work creating a proposal for this new venture. I see it as a monumental task. Having been thoroughly exposed to the processes of completing this work, I am a little overwhelmed as I bite off little bits at a time. To create the documents that will form the framework of the business and serve as a proposal for potential investors will take at least three weeks - working evenings at home. Especially since Mama always has an hour or more of work waiting on me every evening. I was able to squeeze out a full two hours. Not much, but it was a start.

Last night and tonight Mama’s tasks will focus on getting things set aside for a yard sale Mama and Grandma are staging in Bowie. I took all the rabbit cages out of the goat barn yesterday evening. They have sat unused for about a year, so it needed to be done anyway and getting the cages ready to sell was a good excuse to spend the time and effort gathering them. While I was in the goat barn working on clearing out those cages, I took down the shelves I had built to support the cages and swept the walls to remove the accumulation of very dirty spider webs. At some point in the very near future Mama and I will rake the floor of the barn and see if we can limit the dust that accumulates there. The goats, like the chickens, tend to pulverize the dirt so they can make themselves little hollows on the ground to lie in. it creates a mess over time. And since the barn stays dry all the time, the floor has turned to dirty talcum powder. It is on everything.

My Saturday plans are still up in the air. I am not sure what will be required of me for the yard sale, so I am on hot standby for ongoing assignments. I will spend as much weekend time as I can on the computer – if I can find a place to work. I mentioned the other day in my blog about needing to set up a home office. Now that is a matter of some urgency. Mama emptied the hutch we have been using as a computer desk for the iMac and I dismantled it for transport. I am in full agreement with that move. However, too many things are now scattered about for me to leave them as they are. Something will have to be set up to allow me and Mama to work together at our real estate business and to allow me to press forward on the new potential business venture. I prefer something comfortable but that may not be the immediate solution. The ideas that had been rattling about in my head are now beginning to coalesce. Not a moment too soon. Rearranging things in the house is always a good thing. It makes us clean areas that have been neglected since those items now being repurposed or rearranged are moved from where they have always set. I actually enjoy those moments.

That makes me think we need to pull the refrigerator out to see what has accumulated behind it.

Mama’s assignment, office space, Savanna

Mama met me for lunch yesterday after her physical therapy appointment. She was hurting by the time she got to the church to have lunch with me. I did not ask if the therapist was able to get more bend out of her knee during the painful session, but if anything extraordinary had happened I am sure she would have shared it with me. Keeping her motivated is not going to be an issue. She is on a fixed schedule to get this done. Both with the doctor’s office and our personal travel calendar. We leave for Honduras in 49 days. That is one trip she does not want to miss regardless of where we are in physical therapy. The issue is whether or not she will be able to tolerate the pain required to get the proper function of the knee back to what she needs; enough to satisfy the doctor that he does not have to intervene a second time.

 Mama was hurting too badly to go to church last night. She got dressed for church as I was getting ready but by the time I was ready to go, she was changing back into her stay-at-home clothes. With the increased use of muscle relaxers and pain killers, she is struggling to find the energy to continue her daily routine. Evenings will be even more difficult. The doctor warned her that this two-week period may be a two-week fog for her. She is not completely doped up but all the medications she is taking make her drowsy. To follow the doctor’s orders requires combining two such medications. Since Mama and I rarely take any medications, the effect they have on us can be more exaggerated than is common. That is why she and I typically cut the prescribed pills in half when we do use the muscle relaxers or prescribed pain medications. If we can get the muscles in her leg to relax enough to finally get her leg bent, it will be worth it, but we are only at the beginning of the timeline. She is home today but back at physical therapy tomorrow. This is the last week of covered physical therapy. From this point on, we will have to pay for the sessions out of pocket. I’ll happily pay that expense for a full recovery.

On the business side of our lives, I will have to give some serious consideration to setting up a home office. With the work I am doing in the evenings for an additional prospective business venture, I am having to work at the kitchen table – which is not horrible, but it is not productive either. We have a computer hutch that we have used for years but it is not what I need either. Yesterday, in doing some research for my employer, I found out that I can use the iMac I have as a monitor for the MacBook I have, but that arrangement will not work at the computer hutch. Plus, the printer I bought, will not connect to the iMac due to software incompatibilities, so the iMac is not any real use to us as a computer. The iMac is an older model: ancient in technology years. However, if I can use it for a monitor and an external hard drive to my little MacBook, it will be a great addition to a home office, when I do set up that home office. Ideas are rumbling around in my head right now. I will have to wait and see what tumbles out.

Savanna called Mama yesterday while we were at lunch to announce that she has thrown away her pacifier; her paci. That was a big step for her. We will have to wait and see how difficult the follow through is for the action exercised, but Savanna was impressed with her decision and wanted to make sure Grammy (Mama) heard about it right away. Of course, for Savanna, anything that pops into her head is a good reason to call Grammy. The ability to talk and see each other while doing so is one of the great things about the technology we have available to us today. For Mama and the grandchildren, it is an indispensable communication tool.

It would seem that Savanna is equally attached to the technology.

Mama at the doctor, Champ, time off

Mama and I had a good visit at the doctor’s yesterday evening. When the doctor did come in he put on a mopey body language and a sad face. He is more surprised by Mama’s poor recovery than we are. He told me and Mama that he does eighty procedures like hers every month, but that he does only five or six secondary manipulations per year. Her x-rays look perfect so what we are dealing with is scar tissue that has bonded to the soft tissue of the large muscles at the front and back of the repaired knee. We have to not only stretch the shortened tendons and soft tissue of the muscles affected by the replacement surgery, but we also have to dislodge the scar tissue. He had Mama swing her leg underneath the table as we talked and a couple of times he would force the leg a little further back than Mama was allowing on her own. He promised Mama that once she got the knee to bend, breaking loose the scar tissue, that most if not all of her pain would go away. Mama even remarked as we left the office that even the little that he did to her in the office had made her leg feel better. There was less pain. that was encouraging.

His recommendation for the next two weeks was for Mama to take half a muscle relaxer every eight hours along with taking a whole one each night. She is to take a whole pain pill after physical therapy session and one each night. He will see her again in two weeks. He is hopeful that the combination of the muscle relaxers, pain meds and aggressively bending the knee will get her to the point he has predetermined she should be before he intervenes again. If she is not at 120° of bend in that knee by the end of two weeks, he will schedule her for a second manipulation. He has done that only three times in his entire career. 120° of bend is what is required to get up from a seated position without twisting the hips and back to move into the standing position. This week is the last week that Mama will be getting physical therapy, so it will fall to Victoria and me to help her bend her leg during the following week. We will be her physical therapists. Not the best course of action, but the only one we have at this time.

When I went out to feed last night and saw the little buckling all cleaned up, I was impressed. I think we have decided to call him Champ. It is still a little sad that we lost all the other kids that should have been born to us, but we will eventually get over that. Speaking of getting over things, Tom has been absent from the farm for about two weeks now. We are never sure where he goes when he leaves – or where he came from in the first place – but he may be gone for good. I told Mama that he probably wandered to his old home versus telling her that he may have gotten eaten by coyotes. Mama really enjoyed having him at the farm. She has talked about getting a replacement for him, but so far, I have not given my opinion on the matter. It was nice to have him around, but I was worried what lengths Mama might go to to keep him comfortable through the winter months. I admit to being a little relieved that we do not have to resolve that issue.

I got pre-approval for the time off I need in November…sort of. I lack the vacation days with my current company to take the time off in a customary manner. The new Manager of Education acted as if it would not be a big deal to arrange, but he is new to the EWN cross-that-bridge-when-we-come-to-it processes. If all other plans to have that time off fall through, at least I have an advocate to help negotiate the time off. I keep delaying my real goal for time off, but that’s okay.

God is still I control.

Short trip, cleanup, the doctor

I traveled with my office mates to Southlake, TX this morning. We met with those from our company who are there giving short presentations to a large gas operator. It was a good time to talk with our new manager. Southlake is a little over an hour away. As it turns out, he is the piano player for First Baptist Church here in Decatur. He has an education administration background and is an expert in the area of instructional design. It will be interesting to see how well and for how long he fits into the management of our company. I am starting to see a shift in direction of our company, but I do not see a focus on building the support structure to make their ambitions bear fruit. Perhaps it is possible. Time will tell. I am not convinced the goals they have set are actually the right goals for our company as it is currently structured, but I could be wrong. Their hearts are in the effort but I am not sure who is guiding the scope and vision and it may be time to solicit some outside guidance for purely business alignment purposes. Again, I could be wrong.

All in all, it was a profitable trip this morning. He got to know us a little better and we got to see the state-of-the-art training facility at the operators headquarters here in North Texas. Plus, I got to see how others at the company are being allowed to present speeches in different venues within the industry. If things work out for Mama and me to go into our business full-time, there is a great support structure in place to carry on my current responsibilities in training. I am relieved about that. Especially since I have worked in the background to make that happen. Whether or not I get to leave in the next few months or have to wait until early next year, I can feel like I have made a difference.

Mama took our little buckling out of the paddock this morning and bathed him – at least his backside. He still had things caked to his flanks from his birth. The goat barn is not clean. There are four full grown goats that live in there – along with whatever other critters that travel through it when we are not looking. It is also quite dusty. Because of that, he was pretty caked up with gunk after the birth and it had stayed on him for long enough according to Mama. He is finally cleaned up. She is happier now. I am not sure if he is. Now we have the huge task of clipping the hooves of the four grown goats. It has been far too long since we took time to trim their hooves. It is not an easy task when both Mama and I are struggling with hurting backs and stiff knees. But I am not sure who to ask to help us with the chore. I get the sense that once we have done it successfully, we will not be nearly as hesitant to do so again. It is getting started the first time that is hard.

Mama and I are meeting at the doctor’s office this afternoon. I do not know what to expect other than the fact that we will get home pretty late in the evening. The appointment will take over an hour if things are consistent with past visits. We will be late getting to the farm because Mama wants to go to Walmart after we are through at the doctor’s office. I will be trying to listen closely while allowing Mama to have her full say.

Sometimes we husbands have to walk a thin line to maintain peace in the home.

Unhappy birthday, some progress, one more appointment

Sadly, Mama did not have a very happy birthday Saturday. She and Victoria decided not to travel to Brittany’s. That was the start of the disappointments. Not traveling to see the twins probably turned out for the best. Victoria was hurting very badly. Somewhere over the past few days she hurt her back and has not gotten any relief from the pain. Mama was hurting pretty badly also. And the twins were sick. It did not seem like a good time to travel. Mama was not feeling good emotionally either. It was a tough weekend for her. She was really discouraged by the fact that she still cannot bend her left leg. This was not what either of us expected at the outset of this surgery. Especially now, after going into the hospital and having the leg fully bent while Mama was under anesthesia. I guess it hit her pretty hard on Saturday. She is not one who handles discouragement well and it seemed to gang up on her this weekend.

We planned a shopping excursion for the afternoon, but it got postponed by the need to meet Wayne to get a couple bales of hay for the cows. They were totally out of edible vegetation on the farm. I went to Soul Winning Saturday morning and got home from that a little after 12 pm. Pastor led one young man the Lord and we got to visit one of our senior members who is recovering from open heart surgery in the hospital here in Decatur. Wayne was not going to be available until around 3 pm. So, we further delayed our outing while I worked on a few small projects in the shop. When Wayne called to tell me that he was headed to the field where we could load up the hay, I left to meet him. He was about an hour ahead of what he thought he could do earlier that day. I had the hay unloaded and the trailer disconnected by 3:20. I went in the house to let Mama know we were good to go – and she was asleep in bed. So much for that. I had rushed around trying to get things done to make sure Mama and I still had time to go out and the only place I got to go was to the shop. Her total funk lasted through the night Saturday and a little into Sunday morning. By Sunday evening she was back on track; willing to go through the trial and make whatever daily progress she could get.

That was a good thing. Today at the physical therapist – who is allowing her to come without charge this week – was able to get her leg bent to 94 degrees. That is the best she has ever done. She was encouraged. So am I. What we have to do now is reinforce those improvements at home every evening. To celebrate, and to celebrate our birthdays, we met for lunch at Sweetie Pie’s on the Square in Decatur. It was a good lunch and we got to hand out tracts to six guys seated at the table next to us.

Tomorrow, Mama has an appointment scheduled with the doctor. She made a special trip to the doctor’s office to see if she could get the appointment. She needs to unload on someone and I believe the doctor has broad enough shoulders to handle the complaint. Hopefully, he can give her some insight into the timeframe to full recovery. How long has it taken some patients to recover? Is there any chance that she will not get to full mobility? Is there more she can do to hurry the process? She will not ask but she wonders if he did something wrong. She has asked me to be there for the appointment, in case she gets too emotional. I am not worried about her.

But I will be there to listen and potentially interpret.