Random Acts of Kindness

In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving the challenge on facebook was to make your status each day something you are thankful for. That was easy. The only hard part was trying to narrow it down to one a day. Now in the days and weeks leading up to Christmas, a friend of mine has challenged us to do random acts of kindness each day. His challenge was only for a week, but I can't think of a nicer way to prepare for Christmas, than to carry it on for the month. So I am trying to do a random act each day. For instance, sending a card to a neighbor who is now in the nursing home. So yesterday when I picked my daughter up at the airport, I decided to do a random act of kindness there. As I left the parking lot, the parking fee for me was $2. So I gave the attendant $10 and told him to keep the change and use it to pay the fees for anybody following me out until the $8 was used up. He looked at me like I had lost my mind. I explained that I was doing a random act of kindness to celebrate Christmas. He still looked at me like I was a mental case, but as he tucked the $10 bill into his money drawer he reluctantly said, ok, he'd see who else left the lot. Now maybe he blessed another 3 or 4 people or maybe he kept the money as a tip. I don't know and I don't really care. I felt good doing it and I hope I made someone else's day as well even if it was only the parking lot attendant's. So here is my challenge to you. Try doing random acts of kindness from now until Christmas and let me know of any fun experiences you have with it.

Black Friday

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Mine was okay. Wednesday was better actually. My daughter and I made a turkey and mashed potatoes and corn casserole and cranberry salad and pumpkin pies. Actually she did most of the making and I did the dishes. She had a girlfriend from college over for lunch and then we watched an old movie together. It was a nice day. Yesterday was the family dinner with the inlaws at a hall which I'd arranged. But I had forgotten to arrange for heat to be turned up ahead of us arriving and so the complaining began promptly. For at least 4 hours I watched as one after another tried to turn the heat up although I repeatedly explained it had to be done by computer by a trained person. And when the trained person arrived after my calling him and disrupting his dinner, he couldn't get it to work perhaps due to all the tampering others had been doing. So for 4 hours I listened to complaining and whining and even insulting about how this hall rental had been handled. Thanks so much. It cost them nothing. They didn't have to clean it. They just had to show up and eat. Today we found out that a repairman had to be called and there will be expense to fix this thermostat situation. The food was good. But somehow I lost track of Thanksgiving in the midst of all the whining and complaining. How sad is that?

So now today is Black Friday. I have relatives who planned to be at the stores by 5AM. The newsman said there were 50,000 people in the mall between midnight and 2AM. There were people camping in tents in the parking lot at Best Buy last night in November in Iowa where the temps were in the 20s. Why? What does all the grabbing, fighting, commercialism have to do with the coming of Christmas? The coming of Christ? The radio today was playing a lot of Christmas carols, while people are out fighting to save a buck or two. On TV a lady said she plans to spend $1500 on Christmas this year so she had to go fight the crowds to make such a little amount spread far enough. "Little amount?" The next story on the nightly news was about the face of hunger in America. It showed a lady who tries to feed a family of 2 adults and 4 kids on $150 a month for groceries from her unemployment. The kids only get to eat breakfast a couple days a week. She cried because she couldn't afford to buy a box of cereal for them. She eats her lunch at a soup kitchen many days of the week. And then the bright spot was the story about the 8-yr-old girl who asked Santa for a kidney and a friend of the family gave her one of hers. I know it is called black Friday because that is when the retailers hope to get into the black for the year. But I find it blackly depressing as it points out the skewed priorities of some people and the vast disparities in people's circumstances. So, did I go shopping? Kinda, not really. My husband needed to pick up something at Best Buy for our business so we went closer to noon. I let him out and I went to Barnes and Noble to use the restroom and then bought a couple books I've been wanting to read and did get a gift for my sister-in-law to give to her granddaughter. Then we ate lunch and came home. It was very good to get home away from the crowds. I hope we can put the "thanks" back in Thanksgiving and keep "Christ" in Christmas.

A Note of Thanksgiving

I have been feeling very guilty about being so slack in updating my blog. I have no good excuse at all. I have just ignored you, my dear friends, for 3 months plus. On Saturday I went to see the movie Julie and Julia with my daughter. We were both disappointed in the movie itself, but in the movie Julie faithfully updates her blog every single day even if she is ill or fighting with her husband or having a bad day or whatever. Every single day!! So that really laid the guilt trip on me. So here I am. First of all, I will give you a brief update on my condition. As you may remember, on July 22nd I went to the hospital for a total knee replacement. When I woke up, I was told I still needed it but the surgeon had only scoped it and would do the total knee later. So on Sept. 9th I went back to the same hospital and that time I did receive a new knee joint. As it turned out, when the anesthesiologist put the femoral block in to numb the leg, he actually paralyzed the quad muscle in the leg. 11 weeks later I still have to lift that leg by pulling on my pant leg or putting a towel sling under my foot. Anyway, after many sessions of physical therapy, it became obvious to the therapists and myself that the joint is also not hooked up correctly. It seems the knee cap is on the outside of my leg, not center, and the joint grinds and pops and slides around in there and hurts and is unstable. So when I went back and pointed this out to the surgeon, he said well maybe he'd have to go in again with the scope and see if he could push it into place. Well, my thinking is, he had two chances so why should I give him a third one? So I am waiting to get into Mayo for a second opinion on Dec. 8th. I am so hoping and praying that the doctor there can somehow put it together without another surgery. In the meantime, I am still walking with a walker, still not sleeping well, still unable to do a lot of things for myself and for my home. And I have now been off work 11 weeks, so the sick leave is flying by. But since I am basically house bound, I have no excuse for not updating my blog on a daily basis. Please forgive me and please keep me in your prayers.

NOW, ON TO MY NOTE OF THANKSGIVING!I have so very much to be thankful for!
1,2. I have several friends who have been struggling with cancer all summer. I am thankful they are still here and I am thankful my knee isn't something life-threatening.
3. I am thankful that my daughter is living at home and going to community college so she is here to help me with the cooking and house and grocery shopping and all the stuff I can't do.
4. I am thankful our crops are finally all out of the field.
5,6,7. I am thankful that even though our well and furnace both had major problems this fall, we were able to afford to get them fixed/replaced and I am thankful for water and heat.
8. I am thankful for sick leave so I still get a paycheck.
9. I am thankful God sent a substitute nurse who ran out of severance pay from her hospital job the same week I had my surgery and she can sub for me as long as I need her to.
10. I am thankful for the new king sized bed my husband finally bought us.
11. I am thankful for having the cupboards and freezers full of food.
12. I am thankful for a nice house (it's not big, it's not fancy, but it's nice enough for me).
13,14. I am thankful for health insurance and for health care workers.
15. I am thankful that almost everything I need is all on one level of my house since I can't do stairs now.
16. I am thankful for my new rolling walker with a seat and basket so I can go to the store some now too.
17. I am thankful for good friends who care about me and call and send cards and bring food and most of all pray for me.
18. I am thankful for southern gospel music.
19. I am thankful for women's Bible study and the camaraderie of sisters in Christ who share in our joys and tribulations and share hugs.
20. I am thankful for my church family.
21. I am thankful for older Christians who are mentors and encouragers and who pray for me.
22,23. I am thankful for good books to read and jigsaw puzzles to put together.
24,25,26. I'm thankful for sunshine and sunrises and sunsets.
27. I'm thankful we haven't had any snowstorms yet.
28. I'm thankful for a car that runs.
29. I'm thankful for clothes to wear.
30. I'm thankful for animals who love us unconditionally.
31. I'm thankful for all five of my senses and that they work so I can so fully enjoy the world around me.
32,33,34. I am thankful for my kids and my husband and my siblings.
35. I am very thankful that my nephew at Ft. Hood only heard the gunfire and wasn't injured.
36. I am thankful for missionaries who put their very lives on the line on a daily basis to help where they are needed.
37. I am thankful for our military who does the same.
38,39,40. I am thankful for indoor plumbing and modern appliances and technology.
41. I am thankful for pain relievers.
42,43,44,45. I am thankful for forgiveness and salvation and eternal life and God's grace.
46. I am thankful for democracy.
47. I am thankful for the 152 religious leaders who weren't afraid to draft and sign the Manhattan Declaration and stand up for Christian values.
48. I am thankful we still have enough religious freedom that they can do that without being shot for their beliefs.
49,50,51. I am thankful for mountains and oceans and miles of corn fields and wheat fields.

Oh, I could go on and on. You thought I already did, didn't you? But there are so many many things to be thankful for. God has blessed me abundantly and continues to bless me so far above what I deserve. I am thankful we have a holiday dedicated to giving thanks so we actually stop and take time to be thankful. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you also take the time to make a list of your blessings. God bless you!

SAVING

In reading some other blogs, I see where people are talking about saving for the recession, saving for emergencies, saving for job losses, stockpiling for disasters, etc. Now I admit I saved ahead for the Y2K non-disaster. I didn't go overboard, but I did stockpile some necessities just like I normally do during the winter months. I did however, add a few more oil lamps and bottles of lamp oil than I normally would. I am a "saver"; can I blame that on my parents surviving the depression? I have an extra kitchen in my basement that has cupboards of home-canned goods in them. I have cupboards of paper plates and plastic utensils. I even have a spare stove that is electric while my main one upstairs is gas. The original intention was that would be my canning kitchen and not heat up the upstairs. However, since it is also my sewing room and has become the family dumping ground for anything they don't know what to do with, canning there was a major undertaking and moved back upstairs. But it is a good place to use as my survival "pantry". Now, I've been on the Homeland Security website and others and have seen the 3 page lists of "essentials" to stockpile in case of disaster. There are even separate lists based on which disaster we are planning on; a flu survival kit for the pandemic, a live out of your basement survival kit in case of nuclear disaster, and lists of things that will be endangered first in case of a bartering system being instated. There are lists of supplies needed to live off the land, and lists of supplies to never set foot outside on the land again. I sometimes laugh that I could feed a 3rd world country out of the stockpiles of groceries already in my house. Am I paranoid? Or am I prepared? Am I frugal? Or am I over-spending? The Bible says not to be anxious about what we will eat or wear because God will take care of us just like he does the birds and flowers. But shouldn't we also be responsible and prepare for the days ahead so we aren't a burden on others? Where do we draw the line so to speak? What is taking care of our families and what is wasting our family's money? Those of you who know me well, know that I am a "planner". When we go on vacation I take along blankets in case the hotel room is cold and I take along a fan in case it is hot and doesn't have air conditioning. I take along food and extra clothes and extra medications and etc. My husband is a "fly by the seat of your pants" guy. He figures why pack so much when there is a WalMart every 100 miles or less and he can buy whatever he forgot to take along. My motto is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best and usually reality is somewhere in between the two. Recently in Bible study, we were watching a video series When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box, and the speaker said we are accumulating stuff we don't need even knowing that we can't take it with us when we die. He talked about how much money is spent each year by people renting storage units to store the stuff they accumulate. And how we work long hours and ignore the things truly important to us, so we can buy more stuff to store, stuff that someone else will have to get rid of when we are gone. So I guess my question is, how do we know when we have enough stuff? How much do we need to save? I am interested in any of your thoughts on this subject.

And here we go again?

I went to the surgeon for my checkup appointment today since it has been six days since the surgery. I thought the stitches were to come out today, but he said nope not time yet. So now I have to miss some work next Tuesday to go back to get the stitches out. That's okay I guess. But then they tried to schedule me for August 19th to do the other knee. Now I'm concerned, very concerned. Last week I went in for a total knee replacement and got a scope repair. This time I am going in for a scope repair and afraid it will turn into a total knee. So I don't know what to do now. I want to do it before I hurt the first one again, but I don't want to do it till the first one heals some more. I also don't want to wait and run into ice and snow and slipping and sliding with my walker if he does the total knee. So what do I do? Come on, God, you know you are control on this one. You know you will change my plans as needed. So please, God, just help me make the right plans to start with. Thanks. Will you all pray for me too?

And still more changed plans!

Well, sometimes I have no idea why things happen the way they do. I know I was surrounded by prayer, so I must accept that God's will was done. Right? But why and how and now what? As you read yesterday I was to have a scope and probable total knee replacement. Up at 4AM, drove through horrible fog to get to the hospital 45 miles away by 5:30 AM. Stuck and dug 3 times by lab to get more blood samples, started an IV, etc. Into surgery at 7AM. Woke up in the recovery room and was told nope you didn't have a total knee. I went back to sleep, woke up again and asked, did I really not get a new knee? Nope, you didn't get a new knee. I was home by 1PM. I never saw the surgeon before or after, but he told my family that yes I have arthritis and yes I need a new knee, but he decided to wait and do it another time when it is worse and try just fixing the cartilage and meniscus this time instead. I wasn't given an ice pack or crutches, just a can of Sprite, a piece of toast and a pain pill and sent home and told to see him in a week. I'm not to get my incisions wet for a week and to keep it elevated as much as possible and do my exercises and take pain pills. That is all. I am so confused. If it needs replaced, then why didn't he do it? Why am I in worse pain now than I was before I had the surgery? When will he do the other one? What will he do to it? Why did I go through 3 weeks of pre-op preparation and all the hassles; 2 trips to the medical doctor, 1 to the dentist, 1 to the eye doctor, 1 to the orthopedics doc, 3 hours prep at the hospital and have to come up with a living will and power of attorney and all the blood tests and ekg and xrays and so on for nothing and so I can just hurt worse than before? I am so discouraged and depressed and frustrated. But yet I am not the one in control. I know that and I accept that. I have to accept that.

Right now in Bible study we are doing a study by John Ortberg from his book, "When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box". Our chapter this past week was that we are not the Master of the Board. He is. He is in control. I know He is. But it is so very hard to not try to be in control. I want answers. I want to know the plans ahead of time. I want to see the game rules. I like to take care of others. I don't like to be the one needing taken care of. I don't like feeling helpless. It hurts to get in and out of bed. It hurts to go to the bathroom. Please pray for me to quit hurting so much. Please pray for healing. Please pray that I will give up and give in and let Him be the master of the board, even if I don't understand. Thanks.

Changed Plans

Somebody told me the other day that we make plans and God laughs. I don't know if that is true, but I know His plans for us are not necessarily our plans for us. His plans are the right ones though I am sure. I had planned to get a lot of stuff accomplished this summer while I am off work from school. This particular week I was going to take my daughter and go to Colorado to see my stepson and my aunt and my daughter's college friend and some of my cousins. We had our itinerary planned. We were going to spend some time in the Denver and Ft. Collins and then Colorado Springs areas. But my knee which has bothered me for years got a lot worse this spring and even worse this summer. When I was using a cane and not sleeping at night, I went to the family doctor who sent me to an orthopedics doctor who scheduled me for knee surgery this week. There went my trip to Colorado. But the funny thing is my stepson is in California, my aunt doesn't feel up to having company, the college friend is also not in Colorado, and my daughter who was going with me, got a job and started to work yesterday. So much for my plans. Once again God has proven that He is in control. I am to be at the hospital at 5:30AM tomorrow and to have surgery at 7. The doctor is going in with a scope first and if it looks as bad on scope as it did on xray he will go ahead and do a total knee replacement while I am still under. If he fixes it with the scope, I will be home tomorrow night. If I have a total knee replacement, which he told me to plan on, I will be in the hospital 3-5 days, probably until Sunday or Monday. I will then walk with a walker for 4 weeks and do daily therapy and not drive for weeks. I don't know what will happen when it is time for me to go back to work at school. I will cross that bridge when I come to it. In the meantime, I am just looking forward to having it over and hopefully less pain. I will also have to have the other knee replaced at some point and don't know how soon. The surgeon said the right one looks worse on xray but since the left one hurts worse, we will do it first. So if the operating crew gets mixed up and do the wrong knee, so be it, they both need it. Please keep me in your prayers and I will update you when I am home again. Thanks, Linda