Chicken Soup

It's only a little after 9 AM on Monday morning and I have a pot of chicken noodle soup cooking on the stove. In a few minutes, my boxed soup with the addition of cannned chicken breast will be ready.

I apparently picked up a bug or ate something that seriously disagreed with me. I was in and out of bed, on and off the toilet most of the night. I finally slept between 3 AM and 7 AM. I figured I'd have Jonnie at home with me and try to keep him entertained with TV most of the day since I am not at work today. I'd left a note for Jon on the shower that I was sick & not going to work. Shortly before 7 AM, Jon brought Jonnie to the spare room where I'd gone to sleep so he could kiss me goodbye. Jonnie was walking for Daddy since Daddy cannot carry him. I'd wanted to ask Jon to take him to school but I was afraid. Jon has gotten upset with me in the past for taking sick days and he's gotten frustrated with the time off I've taken to assist my parents. He understands why I want to help my Mom after each of her eye surgeries but feels I should make someone else do it.

Who would help? My Dad only stands for a few minutes at a time to talk with me on the phone every once in a while. He also is not allowed to drive. Sure, Mom has friends but one has a store plus grandchildren she cares for and a husband in ill health. The other friend has taken Mom to previous doctor's appointments but I don't expect her to stay with my parents overnight to help!

Chicken soup nourishes the soul. I know, there's a whole line of books on that and they even have a pet food line (I'm not joking, I saw it a couple weeks ago). Today's soup is Mrs. Grass's Extra Noodle. I can smell the soup and the rich chicken broth. I imagine the warm soup filling my tired and achy body on this cold day. I imagine the warm soup filling my tummy which is rumbly. The chicken broth, lots of thin noodles, and chunks of chicken nourishing my body while the warmth nourishes my soul.

Keep On Keeping On

Yesterday, I had the privilege to attend a women's retreat sponsored by our parish's women's ministry. It was a wonderful and welcome experience! I had opportunities for quiet time and reflection which I feel will help me use my Monday evening Adoration hour more effectively. I also had a chance to see close friends that I hardly ever see anymore. My pasta and ground beef dish with peppers and onions did not seem to be a big hit but there was so much food at this potluck, it was impossible to sample everything. Trust me, I usually try to sample everything and I don't even think I sampled 3/4 of the offerings laid before me.

During the retreat we were encouraged to find our song that guides us in life. Actually having quiet time to hear my thoughts and, pardon my bluntness, "cut through the daily crap", I realized that I've been living my song without realizing it. My song is actually a phrase that my late Grandpa Woodruff used to say all the time and that is "Keep on Keeping On".

Grandpa's simple yet meaningful phrase has guided me through the chaos I've had during the past month and it will guide me through future chaos, I'm sure.

Well, since Jonnie crawled into our bed around 11:40 PM last night and I ended up moving too the spare room and was too lazy to reset the alarm from 5:30 to 6 figuring that I could get my homework reading done, I should close out my blog posting and do more reading this morning.

Keep On, Keeping On!

The Chore Bucket

The Chore Bucket....no, it has nothing to do with Plankton's restaurant called the "Chum Bucket" across from the "Krusty Krabb" on "Spongebob Squarepants".

It's a varation of the "chore jar" which I read about in a book I'm reading on care giving. I'm using an old Folgers coffee bucket instead of a jar so I altered the name. I made a cute picture to put on the bucket and then I typed up a bunch of chores, printed them out, and cut them into strips. The idea is that you shake up the bucket and each family member reaches in and pulls out a chore to do that day. As I was doing my first chore today which was vacuuming the work out area, the guest room, and Jonnie's room, I thought of more chores. I came down and wrote them on slips of paper and added them to the bucket. I had Jon pull a chore out of the bucket with the understanding that he might not be able to do what was on the slip. He is supposed to dust the guest room and the work out room. Since I'm not home on Tuesday nights, I pulled out a second chore tonight which was dusting the dining room and the play room. I put an envelope in the bucket for chores that are "DONE". Once all of the chores are done, we dump them back into the bucket.

There are some chores that will be bypassed given the time of year. I would look silly tomorrow if I were outside mowing the lawn while it's snowing so that chore will be placed into the envelope and I'll choose another one. The hope is that our household chores will get done regularly without any one person feeling overworked.

We ordered our new bed yesterday. It's a Captain's bed with a bookcase headboard and drawers on the sides and on the footboard. The king size bed will really change how our bedroom looks. I went to Big Lots yesterday and purchased a couple of sheet sets and mattress pads. I need to order our new comforter set from Bed, Bath, and Beyond in the next few days. We're going to order the mattress from Sam's Club and we're trying to put that off until just before the bed arrives in mid-February. I learned, the hard way, how much larger king size sheets are than full size sheets. I tried to wash both sheet sets and both mattress pads together. The sheets were a wrinkled mess so I rewashed them separately.

It's only going on 7:15 PM on Saturday night and I wish Jonnie were in bed! He's been a bit of a pain today. He's following me constantly and I almost knocked him over a couple of times while trying to carry laundry baskets and run the vacuum. He distracted me while I was making dinner and I sliced into my left thumb and thumbnail. I realized while cleaning up from dinner than I left a blood trail on the counter when I ran for a paper towel. Yikes! I'm down to just a waterproof bandage on it now and I think that will be good. I did have it wrapped in gauze and tape but it was falling off.

I'd better close. I'm going to see if I can sneak off to the other room and read more of my book on care giving. It's a really good read! Have a great rest of the weekend!

Pride & Humility

My friend Sarah wrote on her blog an article about swallowing pride and accepting help. You can click on the link and read the entire posting yourself but she basically talked about how she has allowed herself to accept help from others now that she finds herself in a time of need.

I read her posting this morning and it gave me something to think about as I ate a bagel and drank some coffee. I thought about recent events in my life and how I've swallowed my pride and even experienced humility.

At work, I have no problem asking people to work on tickets or asking people to work a shift so another person can take a day off. It's my job to make sure that my operations center runs smoothly.

On a personal level, I have a real problem asking for help. I try to do so much on my own and many times I've fallen flat on my face or otherwise failed. My husband had to fix the tire on my car a couple months back after I flattened it like a pancake trying to check the tire pressure. I was instructed to never touch a tire gauge again. I sorta went against this rule earlier in the week when I stopped in and bought two new tire gauges but Jon didn't get mad at me because I only bought the gauges to put in our cars; I didn't try to use them.

Sarah's been the recipient of stressed out emails from me several times since the end of December. She's got a knack of seeing a "cry for help" even though it's not been clearly stated. She arranged for Deacon Tony to come in and sit with Jon and Jonnie last night so I did not have to miss my night class at OSU. It gave Jon and I a much needed break from each other. I can never possibly repay Deacon for what he did.

I've recently found myself in the role of caregiver. With Jonnie being the exception, I never had to take care of anyone before. When I drove to Ashland on December 28th to be with my Mom when my Dad was in the hospital, I absolutely knew it was the right thing to do but I found myself asking "Okay, I'm here; what do I do?". I gradually found that "what to do" came to me and I was able to do things or encourage things without making my Mom feel uncomfortable. I didn't do anything heroic....I suggested to Mom that we get some dinner while Dad was in surgery. I let my Mom just talk to get things off her mind. I moved Dad's car on the street a few times so it would not get ticketed. I let her do all of the driving while I was in town so she maintained a feeling of worth. I let her smoke although I longed for fresh air. We went to Sunday mass although it was weird to have the "cradle Catholic" asking "the convert" questions.

My biggest challenge as a caregiver came just recently when my husband had surgery on January 12th to repair a hernia. I think this was a big lesson in humility for both of us. Jon and I are both very independent people to the point where we maintain separate checking and credit card accounts so we each control our own finances. That seems weird for a married couple but it's worked well for us. Everything was going fine on Friday until we were in the 7th floor waiting area and a nurse came out to the waiting area. I thought she was coming to get US but she was only coming to get JON. I protested and the nurse very politely told me to "sit down and shut up". Jon comes and goes all of the time for Knights stuff, IDPA matches, errands, etc. so why was I suddenly protesting that my husband was being taken away? I can only thing it's because I thought that was going to be the last time I might see him. I sat down and tried to read but it was no use. I was tired, hungry, and worried. I went to the desk and asked what time I should be back to pick up Jon. I was told that I would get to see him shortly and I did. We laughed while Jon and the nurse sprayed Windex on Jon's left hand tugging and pulling to get his wedding ring off. The mood was light as Jon answered questions but I sat there looking at my husband with his perfect hair but wearing a hospital gown and gripper socks. We finally had to part ways prior to surgery so I ate lunch, read, arranged for a sitter, pick Jonnie up from school, check in on my parents, and even put Jonnie's hospital cart together. I went back to the hospital and after some parking hassles, finally was making my way to the building. My cell started ringing; it was Jon asking where I was. "Oh my God, he thought I was going to leave him" crossed my mind as I rushed into the hospital and found him. I wanted to cry when I saw him with his mussed hair, hospital gown, gripper socks, and tubes everywhere. Jon told me about some recovery complications and rang for the nurse to help him to the bathroom and that's when the feeling of helplessness really set in.

Helping Jon has not been as natural as helping my Mom. It's been downright awkward for both of us. "Can you put on my socks?" Jon asked me on Friday night when he was dressing to leave the hospital. I thought "you want me to do what?" but given his procedure, I knew he couldn't possibly put on his socks or his shoes at that time. I still don't quite tie Jon's shoes to his satisfaction but he's putting on his own socks. Screaming when I saw him in his birthday suit for the first time after surgery was probably not the most graceful move I've made recently. With Jon's procedure, I've taken on some of the caregiving he did for Jonnie such as putting him to bed, taking him to school, and baths. I got so sick with a headache for two days because I had so little sleep because Jonnie doesn't go to bed very early. I wimped out and slept on the couch with Jonnie sleeping in my chair the other night. Jon told me that I really need to get Jonnie back to his bed and I need to sleep in our bed. Jon and I tried something new on Tuesday night that worked pretty well. Jon wasn't tired so he hung out with Jonnie while watching TV and I went to bed by 11. Around 12:30 AM, Jon got me and had me bring Jonnie up to bed. I went back to bed, went back to sleep, and when my alarm went off at 6, I actually felt rested. I think this might be our new approach to bed time.

Even the cats are seeing change. Jon thought he'd gotten all of the cat litter situated but he had not. The cats prefer a particular brand of litter only available at one pet store chain in the area. With everything else going on, I don't want to mess with this. Jon is no longer on pain meds which means he can drive so I dropped him off at Crown to pick up his van. I was cutting through a plaza parking lot to get out to the main road when I saw a pet store. I decided I would stop in and get some litter. The store didn't have the brand of litter the cats prefer but I picked up something to mix in with their preferred brand in hopes of trasitioning them to a new brand. I also bought a healthier kind of food which I mixed in with their current stuff. I don't think Mid is too happy with me right now and thankfully Tiger is too dumb to care!

Thanks, Sarah, for sharing your story about swallowing your pride. Setting aside pride and experiencing humility are both something my family and I have dealt with for the past several weeks. We haven't always handled it gracefully but we've handled it much like you've come to welcome help from others in your time of need.

Very Brief Updates

Just some really quick updates before I head out to the OSU Med Center to pick up my hubby.

Jon's hernia surgery went well. The doctor called me around 3 PM to say that he was out of surgery and in recovery. I was enroute to get Jonnie from school at the time. I have a sitter coming here at 6 so I can go back to the hospital and bring my hubby home, hopefully!

My Dad was released from the nursing home and is thrilled to be back home. He couldn't stop talking about how great the cheeseburger and fries were that Mom made for dinner. He also took a little nap in his recliner. He was in very good spirits.

The doctor's cart I ordered for Jonnie came in. I put it together so that the doctor can care for his patient when I get Jon home. Unfortunately, the doctor has all of his tools strewn through the house already so I'm not sure how well prepared the doctor will be!

Thanks to everyone for their prayers and support. A shout goes out to my dear friend Sarah for a speedy recovery from her broken arm!

A Day with Dad

Yesterday, I drove to Ashland after mass to see my Dad on his birthday. It was a great trip (minus the crappy weather on the drive home). Mom and I had lunch at Perkins and got a "to go" order for my Dad. When we got to the rehab center, my Uncle Bobb, Grandma Woodruff, and Aunt Dorothy were there. They left and my Mom's friend Lou and her husband Ted stopped in. All of the visits with the hugs and cards made Dad pretty teary-eyed. Dad liked all of his gifts with I think the Dulce de Leche Oreos and the Buckeyes book being his favorites. To avoid anymore tears, I shook Dad's hand and said "GO BUCKS" really quick to get him to laugh before I left.

Dad is doing really well. He can get around really well with the walker and we took a walk while Mom & I were there. It's weird seeing him with a walker though. He does have some pain and his foot on the side where his hip was fixed was swollen. He sees the surgeon on Friday for a checkup. I am hoping that he'll be back home by my birthday (February 15th) as I plan to come up for that weekend 16th-18th. I just sold the Bluejackets tickets Jon bought me and will give him back the money. I can't take a gift from him this year since he's done so much while I've been helping my folks.

I have to run to a meeting so I will close. Thanks for all of the prayers of support!

I bet you didn't know!

My friend Sarah posted her new "title" on her blog so I checked out the web site she used to see what my title might be and here it is:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Baroness Jodi the Rustic of Hardy St Thomas Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Of course, I had to see what Jon's name might reveal. Actually, since I did not use a suffix, perhaps this applies to all 3 of the men named Jon in my life!

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: The Right Reverend Jon the Loquacious of Giggleswick under Table Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

General Updates and Random Thoughts

I have some good news on my Dad. Mom told me yesterday that the therapists have given him clearance to walk around the rehab center with his walker without the aid of a therapist or nurse. Mom and Dad took a walk up to the lobby and sat there for a change of scenary. Dad told Mom she should get going because the rain kept getting heavier.

I made a trip to Big Lots last night mostly for something other than work. I found a new FM radio for my Dad. The one I bought him several years ago isn't working quite right and it's not easy to find just a simple radio these days. I got him some mints, a small box of Dulce de Leche Oreos (yum, I got us a box, too), and a PJ set. When I was at Sam's Club this morning, I found a Buckeyes book with the foreward written by Coach Tressel. I bought two copies because I figured Jon would get jealous if I got one for Dad and not him. I got lots of stuff at Sam's this morning but couldn't find the water softner salt and forgot the apple juice (the main reason for going other than chicken nuggets). I bought a case of Perrier in small bottles and found when I got home that something shifted and fell on top of the Perrier and broke 3 bottles. Luckily, everything stayed inside the box which was wrapped in plastic but it was still a mess.

Today is the first time I've finally been able to cry. My emotions have been running wild after my Dad's injury because I know Mom's struggling emotionally as well. I've also been making preparations for different things related to Jon's surgery and recovery. My Mom asked my advice yesterday on whether or not she should cancel doctors appointments that she has since Dad is not home. I told her not to cancel them because she needs to take care of herself. The one appointment is a follow-up on cataracts and she might need to have them removed. I told her if that is the case to tell the doctor that she would prefer to wait until March to have the removed. Given the situation, the doctor should understand and I told her that I can try to make arrangements to come up and help out. After I said that, I realized I need to tell her she can't have surgery on Monday because I have Adoration, I can't come up the first weekend of the month because I usher, and if Jon survives his operation, he'll have matches the 4th Saturday of the month. Jon has Knights meetings mixed in but he's taken Jonnie with him before and people have been really understanding so I don't worry much about that.

Although Jon is here and able-bodied today, I tried to tell Jon that we need to pretend that Daddy is not here today. Jon's hideous camoflouge sweatsuit helps with that; I didn't think there could be anything uglier than SIN but this sweatsuit comes pretty close. I'm getting really nervous about Jon's surgery and how it will turn out. How will I survive 6 weeks of being caregiver to 4 people (2 people at home and 2 people remotely)? Jon is pretty optimistic that he'll make it through surgery and have a full recovery because he's been filling out paperwork this afternoon to allow him to carry his firearms in Pennsylvania because there is a national IDPA match there sometime in the fall. Good Lord, I'm can barely think ahead to March! I've realized that I need to sell the Bluejackets tickets that Jon bought for my birthday (February 15th but the game is the 18th) because if Jon's recover comes along well he could be at the point where he would be able to watch Jonnie so that I could leave for Ashland after work on the 16th and come home on the 18th so I can help my parents out. After tomorrow when I drive up for the day, I won't have a weekend until February 16th that I could go to Ashland.

My cry earlier didn't really help. I need to talk but the two people I talk to are at the heart of why I cried. If I tell my Mom about my feelings, she will feel guilty and I don't want that because she needs my support. If I tell Jon how I feel, he'll tell me to stop worrying and that I'm just stupid. I've tried explaining to Jonnie what is going to happen to Daddy next week but I am not getting through to him. I am so looking forward to Adoration on Monday night because I have a lot on my mind and I hope being in the quiet of the church will help me think through everything and let GOD in on what's going on in my head.

Sorry for babbling; you can probably tell I've got a lot built up and this is a rare outlet that I have. Jonnie sounds like he's trying to destroy the place so I'd better go. Not to mention, I need to get out of the office and away from Jon and his horrid sweatsuit! Take care!

General Updates

I have a few minutes so I thought I'd take some time to post some general updates.

First, I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Our family did not do much on either day but that was welcome considering I had just gotten home on Sunday afternoon.

Jon made himself a lasagna for his birthday on Sunday. I told him I'd make him a lasagna since he got a cake at work. Being out of town because of my Dad's injury put a monkey wrench in making the lasagna for him. Jon said he was really looking forward to it and decided to make it himself. It's absolutely delicious; I gobbled up 2 pieces for dinner Sunday night. I'm looking forward to a leftover piece for tonight's dinner.

We had French Toast and bacon to start our New Year's Day. It was a leisurely day which was nice. I spent most of the day writing thank you notes, birthday cards, Knights of Columbus membership cards, and letters to family on my Mom's side for whom I only have postal mail to communicate. I took a break in the afternoon but by 9 PM last night, my right arm was tired from all of my penmanship efforts. Of course, my hardwork was a bit in vain since there is no mail delivery today. Oh well!

Dinner last night was exciting. When Jon baked his lasagna, some of it spilled onto the bottom of the oven. I forgot about this. Mom gave us some stuffed pork chops so I put those on a bed of sauerkraut and put them into the oven. I went into the office to read email and came out to find the kitchen filling with smoke! Nothing was on fire but the stuff on the bottom of the oven was smoking. We had windows open and fans running until the chops were done. After the oven cooled, I sprayed oven cleaner in it and I need to wipe it up when I get home from work today.

I checked in with my Mom to see how my Dad is doing. He's in a better mood than he was on Sunday when he was checked into the rehab facility (I'm working very hard not to call it a nursing home). The physical therapy is more extensive at Kingston than it was at the hospital but Dad is still doing well. I guess yesterday, Dad took a walk using a walker with my Mom and a therapist up to the front desk. The therapist had her attention diverted for a brief moment and found my Dad taking off down the hall with his walker on his own. Mom said he got reprimanded for breaking the rules. I guess the food at Kingston is as bad or worse than the hospital. I might consider asking if I can bring in lunch for my Dad on Sunday and get him a lunch and a piece of pie to go from Perkins so he has a nice meal on his birthday. I'll have to call and ask what the restrictions are.

I should probably close up for now. I was in at work by 6:20 AM because there were reports that I had not done last Friday since I took off for Ashland so quickly. Everyone has been really understanding both at work and at church where I missed my ushering committment on Sunday morning. How many people turn in a medical note to their church? I did because that's how guilty I felt! I also sent thank you cards to the woman I was supposed to usher with for stranding her on Sunday and I also sent one to the parents of the young man that filled in for me.

Happy New Year!

I wanted to log in this morning to wish all of my friends and family as well as other blog readers a "Happy New Year" and I hope 2007 is a good year for everyone.

Some of you might already know that 2006 did not end very well for our family. My father fell on the 28th and broke his hip. I ran out of work, packed a quick bag, and got to the hospital as they were prepping him for surgery. He has been progressing well with the physical therapy but had to be transferred from the hospital to an assisted care facility yesterday. That is the new term for "nursing home". My Dad was pretty emotional about it but seemed to understand it was for the best. Mom sent me back home to Plain City so when Dad got nasty yesterday afternoon when he was moved to the facility she bore the brunt on her own. I called all of my aunts and uncles to update them.

I hate to run but the griddle is probably preheated for the bacon and French Toast by now.