Normal Stuff

Ron got home from camp Thursday about 20 minutes before I got home from Em's. I was so happy to see him, and that's the nicest feeling. A lot of people -- married people -- don't get all fuzzy and warm inside, and they certainly don't want to rush to share a kiss and hug. It's true that I like being alone -- always have, always will-- just not so much in this house, but I love it when Ron's around.

While at camp, Ron read all the info about dialysis. He understands now how difficult choosing a modality will be, if indeed he is a candidate for all of them. At home? At a center? Peritoneal? Hemo at home? Each has pros and cons.

Em was a bear Thursday. She got 3 or 4 time outs. Her cold was bothering her and she was a Jekyl and Hyde with her emotions. About the only thing we agreed on was we had to get out of the house so I proposed we go for a ride. She liked that idea so much she willingly got dressed. We ended up at Target's, and I let her lose in the toy department, with me close on her heels. There were 5 kids there, and it seemed that the moms/grandmoms with them had the same idea I did: Something to do at the tail-end of a long winter.

Em's been wanting to go to the park, and I've been telling her that the "man" locks the park during winter. It's a lie, of course, but there is nothing there but dirty snow and on warmer, sunny days, lots and lots of mud. It's not ready for us to go play.

Yesterday was monthly grocery shopping. I went to Price Chopper in Catskill. 20 miles south to Catskill or 20-25 miles north to Albany makes little difference. The store had few people in it so I was in and out in just over an hour. We will eat for another month!

Today is kind of a cleaning day. I dusted, cleaned the bathroom and stripped the bed. I vacuumed with the big vacuum Wednesday and used the cordless electric broom a couple of times since then. I won't vacuum today.

Michele is bringing Em here tomorrow so I can have her overnight. Monday is not a usual Ember-care day, but Pam is busy so I'm "it." Thing is, with Michele's new hours at work, Monday is a day she has to leave at 7 AM, way too early for me to get there in time, so Em will stay here from Sunday to Monday instead.

It will be a miracle if I don't sink into the mud in the backyard. It seems worse this year. Certainly everything is wetter because we had so much snow that is now melting. The slate sidewalk from the driveway to the stairs sunk quite a bit this past year, so it is under water every day, unless it's cold, then it's ice. One could lose a shoe -- if not a foot!! -- in the mud where we park the vehicles. I am so looking forward to everything melting and then drying up.

Weather - It's been chilly this week, partly cloudy and partly sunny. Today it's breezy and sunny with a temp of low 30s.

Gas prices - They've been stable at $1.95 in Glenmont to $2.05 in town.

Exercise - I haven't done much the past 10 days. My aches and pains caught up with me and I didn't have exercise in me.

Life lessons - There is one lesson I've learned, that being not to get my hopes up unrealistically high so that any disappointment doesn't hurt as much. Tony had given me personal news a couple of weeks ago that made me happy for him, but the plans didn't come to fruition. I hadn't hung my hat on a positive outcome so I wasn't down in the dumps about it.