It would be funny if it wasn't the truth.

Last fall my mother-in-law, Emma Jean, came to live with us.  She was falling and in very poor health at 80.  We did not realize how bad she was until it was almost too late.  She stayed with us for two months before she passed away.

Whenever I had to help her with something, no matter how unpleasant it was for her, she would always thank me.  We would sit and talk.  I found out the most fascinating things about her life.  I learned that she had a brother and a sister that passed away as infants. She did not have an easy life.  She lost a husband and two sons early.  Her husband was just 58 when he died of an abdominal aneurysm. My brother-in-laws died at 34 and 38.  When she died she only had 2 sisters and 1 son living out of seven siblings and 3 children.

Going through her pictures were really sad.  She had three grandchildren and two of them were ours. No great-grandchildren.  She left us a letter that stated how much her faith and family meant to her.  I know she had been very lonely for a couple of years.  Everyone had a busy life.

How sad it must have been to lose the people you loved so early.  I didn’t give her enough credit for her strength.  She was an incredibly strong lady and I know she is free from pain and suffering now.

I elected to take short-term disability insurance.  The last company I worked for had disability sick leave. It was much easier to use and I often used it when I needed to rest and recover.  I assumed this worked the same way. I called the doctor who said that basically all that could be medically done had been done and I needed to file for disability. I made an appointment with the doctor but couldn’t get in for three weeks since it was not an emergency.  I filed the Family Medical Leave Act, which was approved with no problem.  The doctor signed and wrote a statement on both the FMLA forms and insurance forms the day after I filed.

The insurance claim manager had a problem with it as soon as she got it because she said I did not see the doctor the first day I stayed out of work. I had been sick two weekends in a row with nausea and ear aches.  Not to mention feeling like everything is leaning and moving.  When I could not go to work the second Monday I knew the time had come to file.  I didn’t go to the doctor because it wasn’t necessary.  We all knew it was the Meniere’s.

They requested the latest doctor’s notes and it was the week I was “level-headed”.  The notes say I had improved with only occasional dizziness.  Never again will I try to put on a good front!!  From now on I will tell it like it is.

Anyway, the insurance company turned me down. Said there was no proof I was sick on my last day of work.  Now the doctor will not release me to go back to work and the company I work for will not let me go back to work without it. Pardon me, but basically I am screwed.

Now there is an appeal process and of course, I had to get a lawyer.  Meanwhile I have to pay my bills. Thankfully, I had saved enough money for a few months.  Politicians like to say private insurance is better than social security.  I bet they don’t have the same company I have!

A little bit of heaven on Earth

Friends should make us smile and laugh.  They should make us feel good about ourselves.  As friends we should try to be positive and bring joy to their lives, as well. We often feel friends are people that listen to our problems, but isn’t it better if they take our minds off of our problems.  Friends listen and try to comfort, but they should bring joy to our lives as well.

We got to see our county with new eyes. The beauty of our lakes and mountains gets taken for granted.  Our friends helped us see their true magnificence. We gave them a tour of the area ending at the state park for lunch.  There we realized that we had a beautiful spot for a local getaway. We also saw the devastation left by the tornadoes in April.

We enjoyed having them here so much. They didn’t feel like visitors at  all.   Can’t wait to see them again!

Some things you have to plan for, but worrying about tomorrow never prepares you for today.  Before you know it, today is yesterday and all you have of it is your worries.  I think if we take care of today, God will take care of tomorrows.  I am going to make a resolution that I will be happy today and deal with what happens today.  No regrets for yesterday and no worries for tomorrow.

Now, if I can just stick to it tomorrow.  But tomorrow will never be, only today.

I could not get out to Mother the first day.  My Aunt got to her from Anniston.  God bless you, Aunt Ossie, Keith and Cindy. The roofer came right out and covered the roof with tarps.  I told her the blue roof was pretty.  Sure makes it easy to give directions. The debris is on the side of the road, and the tree limbs are cut off. Wayne had to pull some of them off with a chain because they were so large. Mom is still without power but insists on staying there in case an adjuster comes out. Everyone is fine, just stressed out like every one in the area. The recovery from this will be so slow for everyone.

Mother’s house was in the path of the first tornado.  Mother, Brendan and Itzy, in her doggy crate, were in the bathroom on the lowest floor.  Mother said she didn’t think she would have a house when it finally ended.  When they came out, water was pouring into the house, but the house was intact.

Outside was another matter.  Trees were down, some pulled up by the roots, others broke in two.  One tree had branches from another tree twisted up in the top.  And it was from a type of tree she didn’t have. Her yard looked black from all the shingles and tar paper.  A bathroom vent had been pulled out breaking the heavy PVC pipe.  Her stove vent was pulled out and she has water in her stove. The power of this thing was incredible.

Next door on the right there was no damage other than a small tree blown down and toys blown around. On her left, the neighbor had a very large tree fall into her bedroom.  Thankfully, she wasn’t home.  Across from my Mom, a pontoon boat was turned on its side and jammed into an aluminum awning. Across from that house, several very large trees fell on a garage and took out a brand new Nissan.

The road to the Guntersville State Park was blocked and all the power lines up that road were snapped off at the bottom of the pole.  Campers were blown into the water.  Some tent campers were found a day later huddled in the restrooms. The worst I heard was there were 2 fatalities from that tornado.

That was the first one Wednesday morning. Wednesday evening they got real mean and took on the rest of North Alabama.  We could not get any outside news.  Thankfully an old friend who moved to Ohio called us and told us what CNN was reporting.  Lives have been lost, families left homeless and destruction that will not go away.  I still have not heard exactly how many hit us.

I am so proud of the people in our area.  People have been on the radio asking for critical needs such as power to run a baby’s breathing treatment. Immediately there were several offers to help.  Traffic has been very smooth even without traffic lights.  I have only seen one or two hot heads, mostly juvenile males!  (And I ain’t referring to age!)  Most people have volunteered to help others.  People have shared their generators to help their neighbors save their food.  Others with gas water heaters have shared their showers.  And we have all pitched to see how much of the food we could eat before it ruined.  The first two days had a lot of neighborhood cookouts.  People with generators kept it going the next two days.

For some, there is still no power, no water, or no home.  Areas in west Huntsville have been hit bad.  Redstone Arsenal is still closed and will be closed tomorrow.  Some businesses are opening up but other areas are still closed.  Governor’s Drive has working traffic lights. The next major road west does not.

After 5 days without power, hot water, internet or cable and very iffy phone serve, we have power and can connect with the outside world now, hooray! But my new TV got fried. Took it back and got a new one…love Costco. Other than that no damage to our house or land. Even our little camper on top of the mountain remained as unstable as always!   Of course, we really lost a lost of stock at the store without coolers and freezers. The power was our biggest problem.

Wayne was off the whole time, but there was so much to do at mothers. Wayne’s mother did not have any damage to her house or trees, but she needed to be checked on and taken care of.  She is very frail and cold-natured. Every morning Wayne would get his mother and we would warm her up in front of the gas logs.  In the afternoon, she would want to go home.  She never complained and at least she ate while she was there.  She is such a sweet lady.

Adam’s National Guard Unit has been activated and are in the area working. They gladly do their duty and want to help, so tell them you appreciate it. They are an MP unit sent for your protection and will not harass you in anyway.  Be kind and helpful to the soldiers.

Remember the day of April 27, 2011.  It is the day North Alabama showed what being American means!

His closet

My husband could live in a one room shack without water or electricity. Honest!  He doesn’t use a clothes hamper.  He doesn’t use furniture drawers. That isn’t handy!  He wants things where he uses them.  Shoes need to be in front of the sofa because that is where he puts them on.  House shoes by the back door.  Running shoes outside by the door.  You don’t want to know where the running clothes have to go!

I, however, have to have everything put in its place.  A place for everything and everything in its place.  I must admit that a place mat out-of-place used to drive me nuts.  I would organize and clean for days just to start over again.  I could tell you the exact location of anything we owned.  Yes, I know. I was a little obsessive compulsive.

Mine

The first 20 years of our marriage were war.  Our poor kids!  We fought over everything.  Of course everything he did drove me batty.  And the battier I got the crazier he got.  We went to counseling and kept fighting.  We would talk about calling it quits but neither one of us could do that.  You see we loved each other.

Underneath all the fighting, were two people who loved and respected each other.  We now have separate closets, take care of our own things, and agree to disagree on other things. Accepting the differences between you creates a stronger bond.  Acceptance allows honesty and honesty builds trust. I think that is a good marriage.

Christmas as a commercial season is very new.  Industrialism and then media brought about the commercialism of Christmas. Our children didn’t just wake up and decide that Santa should bring something that wasn’t handmade.  And who decided that the one toy that every kid had to have wouldn’t be available until after Christmas.

As a Christian, I should be spending my energy and time celebrating the birth of a baby to a very young virgin mother. A baby who had very little but had a profound future.  A baby who, I believe, is the son of God.  This baby would grow up to save humans from a life separated from God.  This baby was Jesus.

May you have the peace of knowing Jesus.

At least my cat helps out!

This week I had my regular check with the Ear Nose and Throat doctor for my Meniere’s which is secondary to the Sarcoidosis. In other words, it is a gift from my good friend Sarcoids. I though it was under control and expected some positive news from this visit so I went in with a big smile on my face. Leaving I felt like crying.

The first thing I had to do was a hearing check. This was expected as they generally do this once a year. Meniere’s can cause hearing loss if it isn’t controlled. This time I had to do some testing that I don’t usually have. Still I wasn’t alarmed.

Then the doctor came in and sat down. If a doctor ever sits down, you can bet you aren’t going to hear anything good. I have lost all the lower range of hearing in my left ear. The Meniere’s is now full blown in the left ear.

He has doubled my medication and if that doesn’t work, he wants to do the steroid infusions into the left inner ear. While this isn’t a horrible procedure, it does involve making a tiny hole in the eardrum. Not something I am eager to do.

On top of this, I realized I had not had my lab work in six months. This is normally done every 3 months. The medication I am on can cause damage to the liver, kidneys, heart, and thyroid. The disease can cause a build up of calcium in the blood while sucking it from your bones. It also can cause anemia and an elevation of white blood cells so it is very important to have this blood work on a regular basis.

Guess you could just call me Lucky, like the three-legged, blind dog!