How long is an hour?

Have you ever had a week that seemed like it was about a month long? I remember once the boys asked for the millionth time how long until we got somewhere and Dale said an hour. Then they asked how long is an hour. Dale replied it depends; riding in a car hour and watching cartoons hour are not the same length of time. He had a point. Some hours and some days and some weeks are simply much longer than others no matter what the clock or the calendar says. This was one of those LONG weeks.

A week ago today we got up on a rainy stormy day and took our own sweet time getting ready and then headed south. We stopped to shop a bit and grabbed a bite to eat and headed on down to my hometown. We went to two cemeteries and left our flowers and recalled memories and then we went on our way. But then on the spur of the moment, I called my mom's brother and sister-in-law and asked if they wanted to ride with me to my parents' and siblings' graves. They did, so I swung by and picked them up. I'd never seen their house before and it is a beautiful home. Then we went on across town to the cemetery and met my sister there and decorated my parents' and brother's and sister's graves. Then we went to two other cemeteries and my aunt and uncle showed me where my great-grandparents and an uncle and great aunt and great uncle are buried. While driving and standing in cemeteries we had the nicest visit and shared more memories. It was a fun afternoon. Then I took them home and headed on to my niece's graduation party. Don't tell my niece, but the cemetery visits were more fun than her party for me because I really didn't know anybody to visit with at the party. My sister and I and my daughter and a friend from my childhood and her two kids sat at a table together and visited and that was nice, but most of the guests were my sister-in-law's relatives or friends of their family that I didn't know. Of course my relatives were too busy hosting the get-together to visit with us, and that was to be expected. The food was good as usual. Then we headed home to northern Iowa and got home about 11:30pm. Sunday was church and etc. Monday my daughter and I went to the Mennonite produce auction to get some plants. The place was PACKED and lots of Minnesota vehicles there. You couldn't even get close enough to see what they were selling so we gave up and went to Riceville for lunch and then to a Mennonite grocery store for a few things and then to a Mennonite greenhouse where I spent my gift certificate on lots of pretty flowers. Then we came home and planted all of them.

Tuesday was my husband's cardiology appointment. Now he's been having trouble breathing for a month or so and has been to the doctor 3 times. The first two times they just ordered him another inhaler and another pill. So a week ago Thursday I went with him to a different doctor and insisted they look at the bigger picture. Found out his heart was once again out of rhythm like it was 6 years ago and way too fast again. So put him on Lasix and told us to see the cardiologist on Tuesday. So I went with him on Tuesday. The cardiologist said he needed to be admitted to Rochester that afternoon and I should drive him there. My husband, bless his stubborn soul, said he couldn't go right then because he has corn to haul to town and beans to plant and couldn't we try another med and wait a week or two. So the cardiologist said they'd do an echocardiogram and he'd talk to our medical doctor and go from there. I went on back to work. About 2:45, the cardiologist called me and said based on the echo, my husband needed to go to Rochester immediately and not by car, but by ambulance. So I went back to the local hospital and stayed with him until the ambulance carted him away at 4:00. Then I came home and packed his things and some for myself and my daughter and I drove to Rochester. His heart rate was about 190 beats per minute and just fluttering not moving blood like it should. So they put him on IV meds to slow it down and strengthen it and to drain off fluids. We sat there until after 10pm then my daughter and I went and got a motel room just 1/2 block from the hospital. We were told to be back at the hospital between 7:30 and 8am to talk to the doctors. So we were there by 8, without even a morning coffee, and we sat and waited until 10:30 for the doctors to come through. Then we sat and waited until 1:00 for them to come and take him away to shock his heart back into rhythm (cardioversion). Then we sat and waited until 3:30 for them to bring him back and tell us if it had worked. They said it did, and that he could go home after he had eaten and walked and seen the doctors. So we sat and waited until almost 8pm for the doctors to come and discharge him. Why does sitting and waiting make you more tired than actual physical labor? On the way home we stopped for supper and we discussed who was most capable of driving home. My daughter was so tired she was nearly in tears. I was so tired I was stumbling over my own feet, and Dale couldn't drive because he was still coming out of the general anesthetic. So I drove. My principal had arranged a sub for me for Thursday as well as Wed. so she told me to stay home and rest up. But I went in about 11:30 and my daughter came and helped me and we did paperwork while the sub did nursing work. Friday I was back to a normal work day.

Now we are back to a regular Saturday again. I've done laundry and planted another flower. I slept late this morning and then took my shower. But looking back at this past week, it seems like a month ago that we went to Ottumwa for the day. For only working 1 full day and two partial days, it seems like it was a very long week. Today we have a couple more graduation parties to go to. Dale's still not breathing really well and he sees the cardiologist and has more tests this coming Tuesday. I hope he continues to get better. Monday and Tuesday are my last days with kids at school, then I have Wed. and Thurs. for meetings and paperwork and we are off for the summer! YEAH!!! I have a house to clean and books to read and gardening to do and emails to catch up and so on. But I hope the weeks of summer break last as long as this past week did.

How long was your week?

51st birthday and Kansas City trip

Ok, I know, I should apologize again for getting behind on my blogging. But I won’t. It has been and still is a very very busy time of year at school and I will get back to it soon. At least I will try to get back to it more often. I won’t promise anything. Only 8 more days of school with kids there and 2 days of cleaning up and finishing up and then it is summer break! I am so looking forward to that. It seems sometimes the staff are more excited than the kids are. Unfortunately some of the kids don’t have good home lives to go home to and the thought of being stuck at home for over 2 months without their friends or any way to get away from it, makes them depressed. But then there are others who have been counting down the days almost since Christmas break was over. I do have mixed feelings because I have so much work to get done yet at school, and yet I want to catch up on my sleep and my reading and my housework too.

So what news can I catch you up on? April 30^th I left on a charter bus for Kansas City, MO with the high school band and vocal groups. We headed out at 5:30 AM on Thursday and got back at 5:30 PM on Sunday. I was asked to go as the nurse/chaperone, but I was also asked to pay my own way. I didn’t think that sounded quite fair since the other school employees going were going for free. So after six weeks of dickering, the superintendent agreed to pay for my trip. ½ hour later the vocal teacher told him I didn’t need the school’s money that another chaperone had cancelled and her trip was paid so I could use hers. Then 10 minutes later the band teacher asked if my daughter could go as a replacement chaperone and use the free trip. Communication? Hello? So the way it shook out, I went for free and I had to pay $200 for my daughter to go along as a chaperone. Everybody told me I was dumb to do that, but oh well, it is over and done with now. However, I don’t intend to do this again. I am getting too old I guess. The two new music teachers are younger than my sons and have a different philosophy than I have regarding behavior and respect and discipline.

Anyway, we did do some fun things in Kansas City. We visited the Truman Presidential Museum and Library. President Truman and his wife and daughter and grandson are all buried there in the garden. I learned a lot about his presidency and the different decisions he made that changed history. Did you know he was the president that dropped the atomic bomb on Japan? Did you know that he was the president who accepted Israel as a nation? It was very much a learning experience. If you’re ever in Independence, MO, I’d recommend a visit there. Then we went to a very elite upscale shopping region and my cousin Matthew and his wife Amber met my daughter and I at 810 Zone for supper. It was a sports bar and the food was awesome! We had Bleu Balls, an appetizer of little cordon bleu nuggets. Then we had BBQ for supper. Cassandra had pulled pork and I had beef brisket and they were both wonderful. Then she and I had hall duty until 3AM. That was my 51^st birthday.

The next day, Friday, May 1^st, we went to the Jazz Museum and the NLB Baseball Museum. They were both fascinating. In the jazz museum we saw a saxophone played by Charlie “The Bird” Parker, and one played by President Clinton. We also saw Louie Armstrong’s trumpet. That was a thrill as I LOVE jazz! The museum is on the corner of 18^th and Vine in downtown KC where jazz was born. We spent our afternoon at band and vocal clinics at the University of Missouri-KC. Then we went to Arthur Bryant’s original BBQ place for supper of chicken, ribs and ham with French fries and coleslaw and baked beans. Then we went back to 18^th and Vine and heard real jazz music performed in the Blue Room.

On Saturday, May 2^nd, we spent the day at Worlds of Fun. I rode the train and the carousel. Aren’t I brave? Then we had a picnic lunch and headed back to the hotel to get ready for going out to the dinner theater. We had a wonderful gourmet meal and then laughed through Jamie Farr’s production Don’t Dress for Dinner.

That night we had hall duty until 2AM. Sunday morning, May 3^rd, we got up and checked out of our motel and the buses headed back to Iowa. We stopped at Jordan Creek Mall in West Des Moines and then headed on home. It was mostly a pretty fun trip. I saw a lot of things I’d never find if I were to go there on my own probably. I’ll have to see if I can download some photos of our trip. My daughter downloaded them to facebook, but it is so windy our internet isn’t working right now anyway. So maybe I can add them later. Of course I can’t post this to my blog until the internet is back up either. Well, that’s my KC trip and my birthday.

As you can see, the internet is up and the photos are now included. Linda