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The Waking
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I cannot go.
We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.
Light takes the Tree, but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me; so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.
This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.
--Theodore Roethke
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Joy's Updates - Straight from the Horse's Mouth.
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Sunday, December 31, 2006
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to all of my friends and family who read my blog. Thanks so much for being here with me and reading my babbling thoughts about life as I know it. I appreciate your comments and emails and knowing you are there. I wish that your dreams come true in 2007 and that you have a most wonderful year!
9:54:00 PM
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Mother
Mother had trabeculectomy surgery Thursday morning for glaucoma to relieve the pressure in her eye. She was out of surgery by 8:30 and felt like going to breakfast afterwards. She had an appointment to go back to see Dr. Gayle Howard, the glaucoma specialist who did the surgery, at 3:30 that afternoon, so we went back to her house instead of trying to find something to do in Nashville. That was better since it gave her a chance to rest and relax. Of course we ate before going back home. She said those meals tasted better than any she'd had in quite a while, which was probably because the pills she was taking and got to quit the day before the surgery made her nauseated. She was really glad to be able to leave those off.
I spent the night with her Thursday night and stayed all day Friday until around 9:30 last night. I made her a chart to check off the times she used her eye drops and also wrote out instructions. She has to wear a shield at night when she sleeps and keep her glasses on during the day to protect her eye. She's also not supposed to bend over or lift anything heavy, so I loaded and unloaded the dishwasher and helped out, and Butch took down her wreath and did some other things for her. I got her one of those things that picks up objects so she doesn't have to bend down and got me one, too, since it reaches things on high shelves.
She's doing really well and is amazing! At 86 she drives, takes care of herself and others, and is organized and scheduled. She's always worked circles around me and has the best attitude. I enjoy being around her, and we have a good time together. We watched The Family Stone yesterday which I don't recommend. It has a good cast and sucky writing. It was a Christmas gift as well as Monster-in-Law which we enjoyed pretty well today.
I'll go back to check on her every day and take her for a regular check-up with her doctor here in town Tuesday morning and back to Dr. Howard Thursday afternoon. This means I missed work last week and will next week, but they are very understanding about that.
I haven't been home but two nights since Christmas Eve and was here just to sleep then mostly. I went to Kathy's Christmas and came back Wednesday. We had a really good time as always. I am so thankful she found me and that I know her and my grandchildren now. What a remarkable blessing! We feel so close to each other and have a wonderful relationship. I watched another bad movie, Pirates II: Dead Man's Chest, but with good company. Brian and Melissa said it was bad, and I agree. We play games, watch movies, and have a good time. I enjoy my life.
In the News
I've been watching Gerald Ford's funeral with nostalgic smiles and tears. I liked him and admire his and Betty's relationship.
The whole execution of Saddam Hussein makes me feel squeamish. I can barely stand to think about all that. It feels wrong. I couldn't watch those videos of him with that noose around his neck. I understand that he was an evil man who committed unspeakably horrible atrocities, but watching all that is just too much.
James Brown died, too.
So many deaths in 2006 of people I know and the famous. Seems as if there have been more this last year than usual.
5:44:00 PM
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Innocent bystander and innocent victims .... are there guilty bystanders and victims?
9:40:00 PM
Saturday, December 23, 2006
OK, I switched over to the new Blogger and lost my archives. All I can access is the current archive which is not the ideal way I want to go with this. I can't find anything about it on here and noticed that it's not that easy to contact them now. Any ideas?
8:58:00 PM
Merry Christmas!
Hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas. I'll be out of pocket for most of the next week but will be thinking about you and wishing you all the best of everything. Leave me some comments if you get a chance since I always enjoy hearing from you. :-)
8:32:00 PM
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Dickson County vs The Mountain
I went to the Signal Mountain Middle School band and choir concert last night since both my granddaughters were in it. They did well with Kari in the 6th and Kelsey in the 8th grade bands. Here we have our band and choir concerts in the school auditoriums. There for middle and elementary schools, they perform in the Tivoli Theatre downtown. It's a beautiful, ornate, historic theater which made it quite an experience. Signal Mountain is the Brentwood of Chattanooga, so this makes sense. It's also the best public school system in Hamilton County, so I'm glad that's where they attend. I had a great time getting to be with Kathy, Mark, and the kids. That's always such a pleasure!
It rained most of the way on my drive there but was fine coming home. I began the retired teachers meeting and left early. Unfortunately I had to leave before the Creek Wood choir performed. I got to see some of my former students but was sorry to miss hearing them sing. Rachel White does a good job teaching and directing them. I told the members that a year from now no one will remember if I presided or not except Pat (the vice-president) but that my granddaughters would remember if I missed their band concert. They nodded their heads and agreed with me.
6:31:00 PM
Sunday, December 10, 2006
In with the New?
Have any of you tried the new version of Blogger? I read about it when I logged on and thought it sounded good. Just wanted to check before committing to it.
1:56:00 PM
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Time Flies
Or as Townes Van Zant used to say, "Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." Sorry. I can't help myself.
I can't believe it's been a week since I posted on here. What have I been doing? Working! That's what! I have my homebound student I'm teaching a few times a week and go almost to the end of Spencer Mill Road to her house. It's a pretty drive, and I listen to an audio book since it takes almost thirty minutes one way. I've discovered Walter Mosley and enjoy his writing. I worked at the vitamin store all day Wednesday and half a day Thursday. Paige and I went to the library in Bellevue Tuesday where I got some more books (page-turning and audio) by Walter Mosley, Louise Erdrich, and Robert Parker. I'm all set now. I listen to them when I do quiet housework and iron. They are also nice to listen to when I have trouble getting to sleep since it's like having someone read me a bedtime story. We do what we can, right?
After homebound Friday, I bought a new dryer. My old one is 36 years old and is avocado which tells you something! I definitely got my money's worth out of it and am looking forward to one that is more energy-efficient and has new features on it that I'm not used to. This one is white and matches my washer which is around 20 years old or so but still works. I'll replace it when I have to.
Next week is going to be even busier. We have a retired teachers meeting which I will begin presiding over and then leave early since I'm going to Kelsey's band concert. No one at the meeting will remember how long I'm there, but my granddaughter would remember if I didn't attend her concert. I want to be there and enjoy it. Mother always went to Brian's activities with me, and it meant so much.
What about you? Have you decorated, baked, shopped, wrapped, and gotten ready for Christmas? I'm still not gung-ho about it, and it's almost here. I need to get in gear. Mostly I enjoy being together and enjoying each other now more than anything else. That's what I like so much about Thanksgiving and wish Christmas were more like that. I'm not Scroogish, just something else.
2:07:00 PM
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Population
If you haven't seen this, you might want to take a look. It's a video about immigration, but doesn't mention the world's population in general. As a proponent of zero population growth, I think that is an issue as well as those outlined in his presentation. What do you think?
(Aled can stay here. We need the comic relief.)
6:18:00 PM
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