A Good Thing

It’s a good thing that we are done elfing, so we can get through the last of the medical and eye appointments for the end of the year.  Kind of a necessary pain.  It shoots the entire day when it is one for Dennis in the morning and then one for me in the afternoon.  Of course it is hurry up and wait.

I had not known that Medicare offers a yearly question and answer period at your local clinic for items that have occurred in the last year.  It is to make sure they have the records correct at the clinic of your family doctor.  It also includes little tests such as: “I will give you three words to remember.  After I give them to you, I would like you to draw the face on this clock diagram with the numbers on it with the end result having you show me where the hands would be if it were 11:10.  Then repeat to me the three words. ‘Banana, chair and sunrise’.”  Nailed it!  There were also questions in regard to what we had in place for safety measures in our home, whether we felt we needed assistance within our home, etc.  Medicare paid for the 45 minutes I met with the RN . . . so why not.  My blood pressure and pulse were in the best of markers.  The scale showed less than previous, so it does encourage for continued progress.

With the adjustment for Dennis’ meds he is not feeling as cold as he had been last week.  His blood was too thin at that time.  It is all about us older folks keeping track of ourselves and also those with whom we share our days.  One slip up could make the difference in our day-to-day lives.  What I have noticed is that Dennis enjoys conversations about what his years have given credence to.  The stories of being in Korea, the stories of him hauling milk for the dairy farmers, his part time job of city policeman and bartending in between times.  I have lived in St. James area since 1978 and it makes it easy for me to join in and follow the stories.  Conversation is important for a healthy mind.

With that being said I give myself permission to continue talking to myself as I go about the days.  There is no better solution to challenges than having a frank, open discussion about it with someone who shares the same interests . . . ME!  Ya kids . . . keep an eye out.

I have just enough time to do my neck exercises for the afternoon.  When one particular exercise is done, it is almost as if I move my neck farther to the side, I hear the click much like the minute hand on our living room clock.  The gristle is bucking.

Soup and a ham sandwich is the fare for tonight’s supper.  I have two bags of soup in the freezer for another day.  There is no way Dennis nor I will ever go hungry.  There is always a “plan B” not too far away.