Test of Patience

Linda's Bible Study

Did you ever teach a child to knit?  You find out how patient you are; you learn how effective a teacher you are.  You learn about hand-eye coordination; you learn about clear communication.  You learn that what is as natural as breathing for you is very confusing for someone else.  You also remember how hard you worked when you were learning to knit!  I ripped out yards and yards of stitching before I came up with a decent-looking finished piece.  It’s so hard for a little girl to be patient.  She wants to make something RIGHT NOW!!

So we’ll keep pegging away at it.  I even found a good video about teaching children to knit.  Love the internet.

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Friday Today?

Linda's Bible Study

Boy.  When I’m not following my normal routine, I tend to lose track of the days.  It’s Friday, I guess 🙂  Sheila is at work for the morning, and Ken is sleeping.  He got in around 5 a.m.  He took the week off, starting now, I think, so he an be available to us more. No, wait. He probably has to work tonight, too. 

Anyway.  A couple of years ago we bought Kyle and Ivan a Boe-Bot kit that was actually beyond their reach at the time.  We kept it, hoping to figure it out, but never really did.  So we brought it with us on the trip, and Kyle and Ivan are fiddling with it now. We got as far as installing the program on their laptop, and connecting the ports etc.  Now they’re trying to figure out what to do next to program the “breadboard,” whatever that means…

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Sioux Falls, South Dakotah

Linda's Bible Study

We made it in excellent time.  It was a bit over 500 miles, and we were here around 3.  The speed limit, once you leave Fargo and drop south to Sioux Falls, is 75 mph, which helped a whole lot. 

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It’s hot here, got to 93 degrees today.  Humidity or not, I was very thankful for air conditioning!  

It was so good to see my three gandkids here after a year and a half.  Wonderful to see Ken and Sheila, too, of course 🙂  But getting my hands on those kids was just wonderful.  Kyle is about 4 inches taller than I; Ivan is  maybe one or two inches taller.  Alayna is nearly up to my shoulder.  They do a heap of growing in 1 1/2 years, that’s for sure. 

We are so thankful to Ed and Betty, who brought us all the way out here.  Ed is a…

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Grand Rapids, Minnesota

Linda's Bible Study

Whew.  300+ miles later, we just got checked in to our motel for the night.  This will be the last stop before we head out for Souix Falls in the morning, and it’s going to be a very long day in the car, probably 10 hours.  My body aches just thinking about it. 

Today we’re visiting Gary, Terry’s best friend during his college years and best man at our wedding. Image After we got checked in, Gary came and picked Terry up.  He’ll be back in an hour or so to get the rest of us.  We all felt the need to stretch out for a few minutes before meeting Gary and his wife for supper at their place. 

Renewing these old friendships has been very good for Terry. They’ve all enjoyed getting to know each other again, and reliving the “old days.”   Even thought Ed and Betty and I…

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Iron River

Linda's Bible Study

It’s beautiful here in Ice Lake.  We’re in a motel that looks right out on the lake. Very peaceful and relaxing. Two adult geese just went swimming by with a little gaggle of babies in single file between them.  It’s cool, nice breeze coing in through the windows.  One thing I’d forgotten, though is the the mosquitImageos have absolutely no shame. They attack instantly, and telegraph to all their little buddies that Linda is back in Iron River! They’re gathering on the screen as I type, looking for any timy little hole that will let them come in and torture me. 

We’re meeting some childhood friends of Terry’s soon, getting pizza from the Riverside Pizzeria.  Best pizza I’ve ever had bar none.  It’s been maybe 30 years since I had it, and I hope it’s still just as good as it was back then.

This trip is something of…

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Are We There Yet?

Linda's Bible Study

Surely someone, somewhere, has written a poem or a song using this line.  I just did a quick Google, and there is sure enough a little kids’ book with this title.  So maybe that will be my goal tomorrow or the next day–a silly poem about “Daddy, are we there yet?  I really want to know, ’cause I’m really tired of riding, and I REALLY gotta go!”  

There’s the start.  Anyone feel like chiming in, help yourself 🙂

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Taking a Break

This blog and my other one are taking a break.  We’ll be back to normal postings on June 9.

Linda's Bible Study

I’ve been home for a whole week, loving every minute of sleeping until I feel like waking up, having no need to get all gussied up every day to go to work, getting some things done around here. 

Tomorrow, that’s going to change!  We’re going on a road trip with some close friends.  Can’t wait!  Good times!

I’ll be taking my laptop, hope to stop in now and then, but my normal posts will not appear again until June 9. So until then, happy trails! 

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What is He Thinking!

Daily prompt: Who’s the last person you saw before reading this prompt? Whether it’s a family member, a coworker, or a total stranger, write a post about what that person is thinking right now.

My husband left around 7:30 this morning.  He had an appointment to get his van inspected. He’s been working on it for most of a week, fiddling with something called an evaporater; also tinkering with the emission thingy so it will pass our state’s emission control standards.

We’ve been married for almost 45 years. He has ADD.  I know exactly what he’s thinking right now.

He’s amazing, really.  He gets a lot done. He’s brilliant, especially when it comes to fixing, repairing, rebuilding, re-inventing anything he can do with his hands. He’s an engineer by training, and that profession is perfect for him because he’s always looking for the loophole and how to plug it. Apart from the ADD, he’s an analytical, detail-oriented thinker.  I’ve never, ever called any sort of repairman in 45 years.  Never taken the car to a mechanic. Never called the HVAC guys to install central air. I’m very spoiled. If he dies before I do, it’s going to be a scarey new world.

Anyway, back to what he’s thinking right now. I’m pretty sure he’s working with his previous boss on a project having to do with a new piece of equipment that was purchased just before Terry retired. His boss told him no one has been able to figure out how to use it yet.  So right this minute, Terry’s brain is totally occupied with the mechanics of that new piece of equipment, and he’ll get so absorbed in the details than an earthquake could happen under his feet and he’d be oblivious to it. 

He never wanted to retire. He loves to work. He keeps busy around here all the time with projects he didn’t have the time or energy to do before he retired.  He has to rest often, and that bugs him to death. He injured his foot severely a couple of years ago, and it’s changed his ability to be on his feet all day.  He’s in pain all the time, never free of it, and he gets really tired. So life has changed for him, for both of us really, but it hasn’t changed his churning brain.  His body just can’t keep up the way it used to.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/mind-reader/

The Door to Anywhere

Daily Prompt: (Your local electronics store has just started selling time machines, anywhere doors, and invisibility helmets. You can only afford one. Which of these do you buy, and why?)

“Linda, where are you going?”

“I don’t know. Anywhere. Just somewhere other than here!”

“When will you be back?”

“When I’m done with Anywhere.”

“What are you going to do?”

“How will I know until I get there?  Anything can happen in Anywhere.”

“Why are you leaving?”

“I’m not, not really.  I just need a little break, so I’m going Anywhere that I don’t have to cook, clean, do laundry, sweep floors, clean bathrooms, make beds, go grocery shopping,  do the finances, clear my desk, answer mail, file stuff, lose weight, exercise, talk to people who don’t want to listen, or answer silly questions.”

“Well—can’t I go too?

“No!  Get your own door to Anywhere!  I just need to be alone for a while!”

I turn the knob, inching it to the left, and peek through the tiny crack to Anywhere. All I see is swirling white mists and clouds.  I turn the knob all the way and open the door wide so I can see more, but there’s still nothing to help me know where Anywhere is taking me. Heart hammering, I creep through the open doorway, wondering what my feet will touch when the door closes.

Overwhelmed with delight, my feet  tell me that the sand is warm and soft.  My nose tells me there are tropical flowers and trees nearby. My ears tune in to the gentle wash of foamy blue water, and my eyes adjust to air so clear that the colors all around me are too intense. Sunglasses plop onto my face, and I realize I’m wearing a cover-up over my swim suit.  

A sand chair is waiting for me, or I could choose the hammock swinging from the palm tree nearby. Beside the chair is a low table holding  a pitcher of Southern sweet tea, a tumbler full of ice, and a bowl of fruit. Beside the chair, there is a big tote bag.

Wonder what’s in the bag?  Only one way to find out. The sun warms me as I toe through the white sand.  Reaching the bag, I am excited to see at least two dozen books I’ve been wanting to read but haven’t had the time. Tucked in with the books is my iPod Shuffle with my earbuds.

I think I love Anywhere.  I think I’ll stay for a while.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/pick-your-gadget/

Daily Prompt: Great Expectations

(Tell us about one thing (or more) that you promised yourself you’d accomplish by the end of the year. How would you feel once you do? What if you don’t?)

Dickens fan that I am, this prompt caught my attention right away!  I loved teaching Great Expectations to my high school lit classes, introducing them to all the wonderful characters that reflect our own foibles and successes.

So, two things that I promised myself to accomplish:  Get my weight down in order to stay off the Diabetes Type 2 spectrum;   Get busy on that book I’ve been promising to write.

I’m not doing so well on either one.  Excuses abound.  I’ve been sick most of the winter.  I’m just now feeling more like tackling things, since I got the meds I needed for the asthma that’s been keeping me slowed down since January.  Why did I wait so long to see my doctor?  Long story, short version:  Last September, when Terry retired, we both applied for Medicare Part B.  He got his, I did not. It took until last month to get that ball of twine untangled.  Working with the 800-number Social Security folks is a real test of one’s patience.  I must have gotten a dozen different answers from a dozen different people.  Finally went back to the SS office where we applied and was blessed to get a woman who’d been working there for 40 years.  She got me my Medicare in less than two weeks. I will be forever grateful to Mrs. Clark!

Anyway, went to see my doc. Of course she treated the asthma, but she also noticed the creeping weight gain.  Lab work shows my A1C to be around 8.2, highest it’s ever been.  I’d never hit 7 before.  She wants me to start taking Metphorin, but assured me that if I get back on track with exercise and trimming the weight, I can probably go off the meds.  I’ve always managed to control it before now, and I can do it again.  Get that A1C under 6, that’s my new goal.  Starting now.

The book?  Well, I AM still working!  Excuse #1, lack of time.  Excuse #2, lack of energy. Excuse #3, hard to get big blocks of uninterrupted time now that my dearly beloved is home most of the time.  Excuse #4, and the real truth?  I’m scared to death!  What if I go to all that work, and no one wants it?  What if I get rejected? 

Can you believe that at nearly 67 years of age, I still worry about rejection!  Good grief.

So there you have it.  Health and writing. How will I feel if I accomplish my goals?  Oh my, euphoric!  And if I don’t?  Well–pretty much the way I feel right now.

Fat, diabetic, and still making excuses.

Because I don’t want to end on such a negative note, I need to say here that I understand what I need to do.  I know how to do it. The problem is tapping in to that fire in the belly that motivates me to get it done. 

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/great-expectations/