Sigh…
That moment when you’re sitting at work and you feel your elastic waistband slowly roll down…
Posts from the ‘Living Life’ Category
Mar 8
The Nursing Home Funnies
One night we were visiting with Frank.
He’s the cutest little, hunched over, Jimmy Durante nose character you ever did see. He’s got a twinkle in his eye and a sly grin when you say hello.
That night he regaled us with stories from when he was a miner.
The man is lucky to be alive.
He incurred injuries when a blast went wrong and he wound up underneath a pile of rock. Three months in the hospital, he got out and completed his recovery. His doctors told him he shouldn’t work anymore because of his extensive injuries, but he looked them in the eye and said “I have a wife and 3 kids”. And off he went to work.
At one point in our conversation Frank matter-of-factly, with a nod at the end, said…
“my birthday’s coming up,
I’ll be a hundred,
then that’s enough.”
Have a great day!
Patty O
ps…the names of my new friends have been changed to protect their identity. 😉
The Nursing Home Funnies
I’ve recently been going to our local nursing home to visit a relative who needs to stay there while he gets Physical Therapy and I have to say…I am thoroughly enjoying our visits with some of the other residents.
My new friend Emma is just a hoot. This woman has it all together and she makes sure everyone else does too. She’s sharp as a tack. Every day she wheels into everyone’s rooms every day to make sure they’re all stocked up on Kleenex and other essentials. If not, she’s off in her wheelchair to bring them more.
In one of our conversations, I asked her if she has children and then grandchildren. She said yes, she has children, but no grandchildren.
She said, and I quote…”They’re getting to be past the age where they can have kids.”
I looked at her quizzically and said “How old are they?”
She responded “68 and 64”.
Today, take time to laugh.
Patty O
ps…the names of my new friends have been changed to protect their identity. 😉
pps…yes, that’s me and my husband with our youngest daughter who’s now 16.
A Special Thank You to Veterans and Their Significant Others
A special thank you to the Veterans and their families this year.
Below you will find a link to a blog I read on a fairly regular basis. Today’s story honors Veterans and their spouses and families. I strongly encourage you to read it, it certainly inspired this post.
My Dad served four years in the Army, and while he served stateside during the Korean War, Mom was right there by his side raising our family.
Growing up, we’d hear stories from Dad about how his favorite time of day was when he would come home to Mom. One of my favorite memories is how she’d have his favorite glass of iced tea ready for him when he got home…every day…morning, afternoon, or night depending on his shift work at the mine. I’m sure that was his 3rd favorite thing when he came home…her hug and kiss were no doubt his first. They were quite a pair those two.
My brother joined the Army at age 18 and retired at age 40. While my brother served for 22 years, my sister-in-law maintained their home, raised their children, and kept the Faith. I can’t imagine how difficult it had to be when he would be flown out on a mission…she would have no idea where he was going, or how long he’d be gone. I don’t know if I’ve ever told her just how much I admire her and appreciate the love and support she has given my brother through the years. So today, on this Veteran’s Day, thank you Jody for being Steve’s love, his rock, and his home.
On this Veteran’s Day, I honor and thank all the Veterans out there, including my brother, nephews, friends, and Dad. You are the reason we are still here, safe and sound and thriving. And for the wives, husbands and families…thank you for being their home, their safe place, their love. You, too, I hold in my heart and prayers. You are amazing and you are appreciated.
(in)Courage Veteran’s Day Blog Post
God Bless You,
Patty O
A Pileated Woodpecker Came a Knockin’
So…we were sitting in our living room, enjoying one of our favorite tv shows as dinner was cooking, when…BAM…this woodpecker flew right into our living room window.
Now we’ve had many birds hit our window. You see they think it’s a through-way as our deck door is on the other side of our living room. Most shake their heads as if to jumble their brains back in place, and fly away. A few don’t make it. We try to pull the curtain on the opposing window which seems to help but yes, we need to put something shiny on the window so they stay away.
Back to our woodpecker story…
Tim and I both, for some reason, happened to look out the window just as it was flying fast toward the window and hit. Talk about a shock! The moment it hit the window I think the three of us jumped 2 feet into the air! Our hearts now in our throats, Tim and I both commented ‘Did you see that?’
Now those of you that know me, know that I’m a caregiver at heart and can’t stand to see anything or anyone hurt. So off my chair I jump and I’m out the door.
Gabi joined me as we checked on Mr. Woodpecker as he was lying on the grass. His eyes were blinking, but he wasn’t moving – obviously stunned. We said a little prayer that it would be ok.
I called one of our local Veterinarians (who lives a few blocks away). He gave us the instructions to put it into a box or paper grocery bag to give it a quiet, dark place to rest. Gabi and I gathered the bag and headed back outside.
While I have empathy and want to make everything better (a trait I continually need to work on resisting), I’m not entirely blind to danger.
Just as I started to lower the bag over the woodpecker in an attempt to ‘trap and scoop’, he started to flap its wings and move around. All I could think was ‘I’m going to get pecked to death trying to save this woodpecker!’ It reminded me of a plaque that I used to have that read ‘Raising kids is like being pecked to death by a killer chicken!’ I think substituting the term ‘kids’ with ‘teenage girls’ would be even more appropriate, but I digress…
Picture this…
As Mr. Woodpecker flutters around, Gabi yells “Mom!” and I just about jump out of my skin.
We decide maybe we should just observe him for a while…now that we know he isn’t dead. Then I start talking to him, at which point Gabi rolls her eyes.
“Hey buddy, it’s ok.”
“We’ll hang out with you for a while.”
“You’re not alone.”
“We just want to make sure you’re going to be ok.”
The woodpecker sat in one place for a long time, so long that I thought maybe I should try again (yeah, well, I didn’t say I was a brain surgeon).
As soon as I started moving, the bird started hopping until it hopped up onto our tree. I couldn’t help but cheer on Mr. Woodpecker! (At this point I decided to take photos of this beautiful bird.)
“Way to go!”
“Look at you!”
“You’re doing so much better!”
I was just in awe. I’d never been this close to a woodpecker.
They may be a homeowner’s pest, but they bring back memories for me. Living out in the country, we often heard one of these birds knocking on one of our many trees. I chuckle as I remember this one time that a woodpecker decided to peck at our light pole..while it wasn’t metal, it was like a huge telephone pole. Now that was loud!
As I kept talking to my new friend I saw Gabi out of the corner of my eye, head back into the house shaking her head. (Yes…it’s official…all three of my girls now think I’m losing it.)
Mr. Woodpecker and I hung out for a while longer. He perched on the tree, me sitting on the grass. I think somewhere along the line we came to an understanding. He seemed to warm up to me and let me sneak a few inches closer before he’d hop up a little farther on the tree.
Finally I decided I should call Peter, our friendly neighborhood Veterinarian, back. I was concerned that there still might be something wrong with my little friend so I asked him if he’d come and take a look.
The moment Peter drove up, the woodpecker flew off.
I shrugged my shoulders as I laughed and yelled to Peter, “I guess it’s ok!”
I’m pretty sure he shook his head as he drove away.
I’m not so sure the woodpecker didn’t too.
All in all, it was a very cool encounter.
Have a good day everyone!
Your thankfully imperfect friend,
Patty O
A Thankfully Imperfect Woman 