Friday, August 31, 2012

Late August

The last lazy days of summer
Weigh heavy on our spirits,
But time makes them fleeting--
A cold draft in their wake.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Broken Bone

It ain't easy
To do your thing
When one poor arm
Hangs in a sling.

To type at speed
Just won't happen
And forget 'bout
Doing clapping.

You can't raise up
Arm above head
Or roll over
At night in bed.

If you just sneeze
Or cough or wheeze
It sends a pain
Down to your knees.

And an arm load
Of things to bring
Is reduced to
One hand--one thing.

It won't last long
But till I heal
God grant me grace
For this ordeal.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Working Out

With a broken collarbone, I'm discovering lots of new challenges and puzzles to solve. I suppose you could be bummed about simple things becoming difficult, but I find it stimulating to have all kinds of obstacles to overcome. What are some of those things?

Typing with one hand for starters. I'm starting to get some speed up!

Getting dressed. But let's not get out of order... the first challenge in this department was getting undressed. The pullover shirt was dicey. I could get my good arm out, but pulling the top over my head (even with help) was not to be done without some heavy breathing and urges to scream. I can do a bra now with one hand plus one finger and thumb strategically placed and immobile. The biggest problem at the moment is that most everything I wear pulls over my head. I have one long-sleeved button-down shirt (very old) and a few fancy blouses. Fortunately I have one buttoned PJ top.

Taking a shower. Without a sling. I haven't even attempted to wash my hair yet. That will need some attention soon. It's not the shower itself that is so hard, but getting dried off afterwards. There are just places that can't be reached. Thank God, I don't live alone.

Coughing is unfair. It takes you by surprise, is very painful, and leaves you in need to blow your nose because the tears got going. One-handed nose-blowing must be accompanied with a mirror to make sure nothing is under-wiped.

Here's a basic: sleeping. Positions are limited, changing those few positions difficult, and you don't want to get into a position you can't get out of without help. Pain meds make it possible to sleep sitting up, however. But they upset your stomach, so you don't feel like eating. And since you're not doing much in the way of burning calories, you don't need to eat much, especially if you don't want to gain 50 pounds before this ordeal is over. So you see, it all works out!

Friday, August 24, 2012

Beauty and the Best

Although I only viewed a few hours of the closing ceremony of the Olympics, I was deeply disturbed by the performances and overall atmosphere that was presented. Pagan is the best word I can come up with--it was a worship ceremony of humanness. The vocal performers were the most unsettling--strutting onto the stage with their defiant gestures and brazen costumes. Designed to inspire awe and arouse emotions, the event seemed to only stir up bestial drives and shallow values. The immodesty and crudity was stunning. It saddened me that the best and most beautiful of athletic performance was sullied by this shameless side show.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

One of the verses of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" is:

They say that breaking up is hard to do
Now I know, I know that it's true
Don't say that this is the end
Instead of breaking up I wish that we were making up again.

I have to admit that I've never broken up, having had only one boyfriend who I married. We don't intend to break up. Perhaps breaking up is hard, but staying together, making up over and over again, is really hard and really worth while.

Jack and I like books. We have read books about marriage, books about communication, books about parenting, books about keeping romance alive, books about how to get through difficult conversations. We didn't do everything perfectly, but we learned from our mistakes.

The Olympics are on right now. If you want to see people doing things that are hard to do, that's where to tune in. Imagine a Marriage Olympics. A select few married couples have a talent for marriage that make it look easy. The rest of us are like those petite gals on the balance beam, teetering this way and that, occasionally falling off and climbing back on. If we could see the years of practice, the falls, the awkward jerks behind that one flawless gold-medal winning performance, we would be encouraged.

There are times when a relationship must end. It is clear it is not working. Figuring this out early on is better than later on. I don't know what that is like and try not to judge what I don't know. I do know that not breaking up, choosing to stay and work it out because that's what you both want, that IS hard to do.