Are You Okay?

When Chuck and I got to the condo a few weeks ago, I walked straight to the living room, opened that sliding door and just sobbed. My sister in February; my nieces fiance' in 2019 three days before their wedding; my dad just one month later; Chuck's mom last year; the stress at work; covid; Chuck's cancer... it all just poured out. Chuck stood there and rubbed my back for a few minutes.

 

I took a deep breath... it's been an overwhelming few years. I feel bad for always writing about it. At least I feel like I'm always writing about it. But I know I'm not alone. It seems like everyone has had enormous things happen in their personal lives the last few years.

And speaking of that, how are you doing?

What's been happening in your life? Are you okay?

Birthday, Fainting Update, and CPAP

Today is my sister Kathy's birthday. March 21, she would have been 69. I finished making the memorabilia posters last night and I'll have them delivered to my sister Deb's, in San Diego. This way I won't have to try to pack them in a suitcase.

Chuck was in the hospital for 3 days. He had an EEG, EKG, MRI, blood work... but everything has come back normal. I took him to the doctor today to have the staples removed and the doctor says he can't drive or go to work until he gets the results of the heart monitor and sees the neurologist and cardiologist, which will be the middle of April. So for now he's at home resting and doing light work around the house. 

Life is moving on.

Beth brought her CPAP mask up to us about 5 months ago to show us how it was falling apart and she had it all taped together. It was at that time I got on-line to order her a new one. Weeks later we realized it had never come so we called them and they told us it had been too long since we got the original mask and she needed to see the doctor first. It was weeks before we could get an appointment. While we were there she fell asleep in the waiting room and then again in the patient room.

 

She's put on a lot of weight and she isn't sleeping at night. She'll wake us up at 3:00, 4:00 in the morning while she's laughing at the TV or singing to music. Then she sleeps until noon or 1:00 in the afternoon. Well, the new mask finally arrived a couple days ago! Since Chuck used to wear one too he made sure it fit well.

 

 

  

She and I went grocery shopping so she could get some distilled water for the machine and she wore it last night for the first time. I'm hoping it helps her sleep better.

A Quick Post

On Saturday Chuck woke up, went to the bathroom, checked his blood sugar and was making coffee when he suddenly didn't feel well. He sat down in the office chair and quietly said, "Cindy? I feel queasy." 

I stood up and took about 3 steps toward him when... down he went. Completely passed out and fell out of the chair. He didn't brace himself, protect himself, just went down hard.

He cut his head, on what I think was the heater vent deflector. You guys, it was bad. I freaked out, one of the worst wounds I've ever seen in my life. I grabbed a washcloth and put it on his head and just kept calling his name.

Yelling actually. If I yell loud enough he'll hear me and come to, right?!? Crazy, I know. 

He was covered in blood. Sharaya called 911.

After getting 14 staples in his head, all the tests came back normal: CT scan of his brain, blood work, EKG, urine sample... a few hours later the doctor had him sit in a small chair and was talking about discharging him when he said he was feeling dizzy again. A few guys got him back into the bed just in time.

They're keeping him overnight again tonight because every test comes back normal. They have no idea why he passed out so they're going to send him home with a heart monitor tomorrow and see how that goes.

I've thrown the heat deflector away.

Watching The Ocean

Chuck and I got away for a few days this passed week. We planned this in January and I'm so thankful we did. Born and raised in San Diego I love the ocean and certainly didn't appreciate it as much as I should have when I lived there. 

We live on the east side of Puget Sound, a waterway between Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula so we're five minutes from the water. But we're a three hour drive from the ocean.

We went to Ocean Shores and got there around 2:30 Monday afternoon. The weather was cold, rainy and windy. Oooh that wind was cold!

 

This was our view when we arrived. And it was like this for a couple days.

 

We went to the grocery store and bought stuff for breakfasts and dinners but we usually went out for lunch. We played games, read books, walked along the beach, we did whatever we wanted! By Wednesday afternoon the clouds began to part and the view was beautiful! There was so much wildlife there too. One night we drove around the peninsula at dusk and saw 24 deer in about 2 miles!

Little Sandpipers were all over the beach. It's a little hard to see them in the second photo but all those little spots are Sandpipers!

 

I walked along the beach every single day. And every day it was different! Shells and rocks, driftwood and shifting sand. Looking out the window one day, I saw a bald eagle! 

All bundled up and ready to go out!

There were two paths going from the back of the building by the pool, out to the beach.

Looking back, our room was on the top floor. I spent a lot of time out on that balcony!

 

In this picture you can see on the right side, the affect the wind had on the sand compared to the ocean washing up on it.

 

Then on Wednesday afternoon the sun came out!! Oh you guys, it was glorious!!

 

Walking back to the condo, I'm coming to the end of the path and run into this... they really were everywhere!

 

On Thursday, I pulled the chair up to the window and I sat there for three hours. I didn't stress about work. I didn't think about things going on in the world. I just watched the water. I watched the waves crash. I watched the tide come in. I just sat and watched the ocean.

 

And I thought about how blessed I am: I have a loving family; I've had amazing opportunities that many haven't had. This trip being one of them. The Lord has been so good to me and I'm humbled by the grace He pours out to me day after day. 

Have you had an opportunity recently to just 'watch the ocean'?

A Tale As Old As Time

I was getting ready to shut down the computer when I remembered I haven't shared Beauty and the Beast with you yet!

Sharaya was given tickets to Anastasia at the Paramount the same night Beth and I were going to the 5th Avenue Theater so we ended up taking the Light Rail downtown. It was so much faster and we didn't have to fight traffic or search for parking.

 

We walked through the tunnel to get outside then stopped at MOD Pizza before heading to the theater. We got there about 20 minutes after the doors opened and by then the line was really short. We had to show ID and proof of vaccination, got our hands stamped and went inside! We were so excited!

We had such great seats! They were perfect. We took a few pictures and read the program while we waited for the show to start! Beth took a picture of the rose on the curtain and put it as the background on her phone.

 

The whole play was good. There were a few new songs but most of them were from the movie. The actors voices were phenomenal, the music was familiar - all the songs you know and love - and we tried our best to not sing along. Too loudly.

Our favorite part was Be Our Guest. Oh my word, the audience erupted in applause and we gave them a standing ovation for that! It was spectacular! Of course, no pictures allowed so I took this at the end. This was the set for the library and the tower, it slowly turned depending on what they needed. The last couple pictures I got from their website.

It was a magical night! If you get a chance to see it, we highly recommend it!

Autism, Puppies and Technology

Ken called the other day and said he'd like to have the memorial in San Diego on Mother's Day weekend. It will give him enough time to continue working on the house and would be a nice way to honor my sister. So now I'm scanning photos to make some posters to take down with us. Instead of taping photographs onto display boards, I guess the thing to do now is to just have some posters made. Upload your pictures and they print collages on any size poster you want. It will definitely be easier than packing all the photos, then buying the boards once we get down there.

I went down to the waterfront the other day and saw this guy 'greeting' everyone who walked, jogged or drove by.

 

Special Connections is going well. We have two boys - brothers - who absolutely love the class. They refuse to be with the typical students and even ask me to close the door when the other kids get too loud in their room across the hall. They are both on the spectrum but often hug me and tell me Sunday is their favorite day of the week. It does my heart good!

The boys with our other teacher, playing with kinetic sand

 

Poppy is growing fast and learning all sorts of things: sit, stay, come, don't eat that! Let go of my finger! You know, typical puppy stuff. We took her for a walk a few weeks ago and she became so overwhelmed by the people, other dogs barking, traffic (she's just 4 months old) that Diana had to carry her the rest of the way home. She won't be able to lift her much longer!

 

Beth got a new phone. She dropped her old one and the screen cracked. Not just the protective cover but the actual screen. She wanted a Motorola since that's what she's used to and was so concerned she would lose all of the information on her old phone. She was so relieved to find out they would transfer everything to the new one!

 

That's about all from here. I hope you're doing well and are enjoying this last bit of winter.