luminousone

I would probably still work - but my body is so fatigued from the treatment. I go to bed at 8 most nights. Sometimes 7:30 My friend C is devastated. There wasn’t any hint that she was sick. I walked with them just 3 days before - about 4 miles! (Very slow paced because of me). So when she didn’t eat much a few days later, C just thought she had eaten something she shouldn’t, but took her to the vet just to be safe. When she found out there was zero kidney function, the vet offered to flush her system to prolong the inevitable or to euthanize right then. C didn’t want her to suffer. The sadder thing about this is that her cat will likely die soon too. He has been having seizures the past 4 months. So I have been warning her that her cat might die soon too - just to get her prepared for that shock too. We continue to walk and talk on Saturdays, but it feels weird without L. Last week we went to the Farmers Market instead.

I was listening to the news this morning and they were talking about which you would prefer to do - go out to space or go down on a dive in a submarine. For me - neither. But if I had to choose, then I guess I’d rather go to space than down in the deep. I am reminded of a movie from the 80s - Das Boat. I don’t remember the plot, but it was terrifying when the sub malfunctioned way deep down in the ocean!

I know, I was thinking the same thing.

We are all on edge about the situation!

Tragic news

It has been 6 months since I was last on here! I almost forgot my password… Life has been busy - my cancer treatment is ongoing (and will be). The meds are working well at keeping the cancer at bay. But it zaps my energy levels. School is out now, so I have the summer to rest and recover. I told my admin that I will likely work just one more year and then retire, earlier than I had planned. That way I can spend more time on self care. We will see how I feel next spring! Now that I’m on break, I have a list of deferred tasks that need to be done. My house and yard are a mess, so I have my work cut out for me! But it was nice to sleep in this morning! I also have a pile of books I want to read. To catch you all up - my life rhythm is pretty much the same as it has been - work during the school year, walk every Saturday with my friend C (and her dog L, until a few weeks ago), church each week, and that’s about it. The sad news - my friend’s dog, L, died suddenly from kidney failure just 3 weeks ago. Such a shock! She was 14 years old and I’ve known her for 13 years, as we have walked every Saturday together. My friend C is devastated, understandably. L was a sweet sweet soul. My friend J came to visit last weekend so that was fun. She is still working this week - their school district doesn’t finish until this week. Anyhow, good to be back. I’ll have to read up on others’ journals to catch up!

Hay Sera! I have not been here in so long but I’m fine and I hope all is well with you.! I’m working in person this year again, and now the school year is almost halfway through. I have been super tired from the cancer medication but otherwise the treatments are effective at keeping the cancer at bay. I’ve been back at church in person too and I’m teaching Sunday School. But I still wear a mask at work and church because I am immune compromised with my treatments. I still walk on Saturdays with my friend and her dog. Her dog is getting older so the pace is slower these days. But that works for me these days too. Not much else going on - my oldest does love his home in Minneapolis and I went out there for a few days last summer to see him and to meet up with a few of my siblings. It was fun Younger son is still doing his music thing and is living in his dad’s attic still.

Please enter a code, Henry! MANIC

I’m so sorry you are going through this, Sera! I will say prayers for your husband’s continued healing and for peace for you. It must be so difficult to hold it all together for your family

School is out for the summer, although I may go in for a few more hours to organize things to make room for some supplies and materials that will come in August. I went to Portland this weekend to see some friends I hadn’t seen for several years, and we had so much fun! I stayed with my friend J, and we went hiking today. Her home is nestled in next to some marsh lands and a pond, so there is a lot of wildlife around. Very peaceful. This morning I woke up to birdsong.

Hope your husband is continuing to improve. He can be helped by a speech therapist for the stuttering and language, but it sounds like there has been improvement. How is your cat doing? My friend’s cat fainted at the vet office and then it happened again at home. Of course it was on a Sunday night and it turns out that COVID made our nighttime emergency vet services close down. So the nearest one is 45 minutes away. In the end, she had to wait until morning and was able to get in with the regular vet first thing. And - they have no idea what is going on but he is okay for now.

I had a neighbor once that was doing that and I was annoyed. Turns out he had advanced cancer and he was determined to continue doing normal daily things and it took so much out of him. He passed away, sadly. I had no idea that he was sick! Our garage was located at the back of our house off of an alley and theirs was out front. So we rarely talked. Apparently he got cancer and was dead within months, and I didn’t know it. I felt awful - I could have done something nice at least.

Restful elements are discovered yearly. PHASE

I was out sick for a few days but went back today. Neg for COVID, so no worries there. This afternoon I had a four hour training on Zoom, and then I left work early to go to the doctor for my monthly appointment and shots.

My son flew out to his new place last Saturday. His stuff will get there next week. I have not checked in with him since Sat night. I’ll probably call this weekend.

He is sweet natured, for sure. He is also a very unusual person and probably difficult to live with, as he has severe ADHD. He is creative, and so he doesn’t follow social rules, necessarily. But the sweet nature is there.

Overly timid, Theo eventually retreated. MIDST

Doing okay. Work has been intense for several reasons (end of year testing mostly, but some drama too). Cancer treatments continue to work. As long as I get good sleep, I’m good.

A few posts back I mentioned that my office mate might have gotten COVID. And she did. She’s been pretty wiped out by it. She finally came back on Monday, but she still has quite the cough.

My oldest son is moving to the Midwest next week. He bought a duplex and will live in one side and he has rented the other side out to an organization that is sponsoring an Afghan refugee family. They have already moved in.They don’t speak English but they speak a dialect very close to Pashto, so my sister gave him some websites so he can practice and learn. He is excited. He is moving from the Bay Area, with its temperate weather all year around. Being in the northern Midwest will be a huge adjustment. But I’m happy for him. He will continue to work from home.

Yes, I was thinking the same thing. Ugh. What a mess those two lives were. I’m not interested in listening to their drama. And the smirks and jokes from Depp show his sense of entitlement.

Hope you feel better very soon!

Blue asters seemed totally exceptional. BUNCH

Jib, your story about the raccoons and deer reminded me of my grandfather. I probably already told this on here, but I will tell it again. My dad’s father loved feeding his neighborhood squirrels. Whenever we (grandkids) visited, he would show us how he fed them from his hand. He used peanuts to feed them. One year he even planted peanuts in his garden to see if he could grow more to feed them. (He was unsuccessful as critters got to them). This is my dad’s father. Somehow I think my dad (his son) didn’t know about feeding the squirrels. My parents had a bird feeder, and my dad was always trying to chase off the squirrels. And then they infiltrated into the basement and attic, so they had to call pest control. So he HATED those squirrels! Anyhow, it was years after my grandpa had died. But they were so completely opposite on that!

My coworker’s son got COVID and now she is absent today. Yesterday she was at work, but she worried so much about possibly exposing me so she worked away from our shared office. Hope she didn’t get it too, but she was out today, and has a sub for tomorrow…