When calling my parents, I just found out that my dear father, who is 80 years old, is in the hospital and needs to have his gall bladder out. I called the hospital and talked to him, since he is not up to having visitors right now. He is in pain but is in good hands, being watched over and medicated for the pain. Tomorrow I will call and see if he's ok with me coming to see him. I believe in being with my family during these times, but my family is less nostalgic or warm/fuzzy. It's all very formal with little emotion shown. Still, I'll be there whether they care or not. I never take my parents for granted.
My father, a retired architect, is a proud and quiet man. He keeps his feelings to himself and doesn't say anything about illness unless he's really feeling bad. He's such a good, sharp person with a keen mind, a photographic memory and is a serious animal lover who loves his cats and taking care of wild creatures too. Birds, squirrels, anything. He's a really good man who has been through a lot in life. I'd do anything for him, my precious dad!
Thank goodness for University Hospital. They've saved my father's life before. A year ago he was fading before my eyes from Arrhythmia and Congestive Heart Failure, with blood pressure so low that the BP monitor alarm was sounding off all of the time, as he lay in Intensive Care. As a child, he worked so hard on the farm his parents owned that his heart was enlarged, and he'd always had problems such as Angina, etc. He was fading and glassy eyed while waiting for his pacemaker. I called the nurse after seeing him, alarmed at how dangerously ill he was, bust out crying a little as I talked to her. She told me that they were watching over him very carefully and kindly reassured me, to trust them. Trust is hard for me but I did..painfully. It's hard to let go and relax, after all, he was basically on his way out of this world at that time. He'd been rushed by ambulance to the hospital multiple times while they waited for the right time to do the operation. Mom and I sat in the waiting area as he had his pacemaker put in. I didn't cry because I wanted to be strong for her. The surgeon came out and told us that the operation was successful and later, we got to see him. Those bright blue eyes were no longer glassy, the color was coming back to his skin and he was smiling. It was a miracle to see him understandably very weak, but back to life and on the mend! And in the following months, he returned pretty much back to his normal self! And, they've monitored him every step of the way. Better safe than sorry. So now I know dad is safe and being cared for. It's been a whole year since that surgery, and it's been so wonderful to see dad have energy and sparkle in his eyes. So him being sick now, all I can think of is him being through this next operation as stress-free and painless as possible!
Farrah (in "loaf" formation)
Matisse smiling for the camera
My beautiful and sweet Beau
Tonight I'm going to rest, read a book and make myself a caramel latte. My home is always peaceful and calm, and the cats enjoy their lives by watching the many birds on the birdfeeders. I am in the midst of creating butterfly and hummingbird gardens (work in progress). It's so fun to just get out there in Nature and be among the many colors of flowers! I am going to have blue Morning Glory flowers climb the front two posts on my porch, which will make them look better and create hiding places for birds within the foliage, giving a lush feeling to the front of the house. It's going to be a floral paradise, an Eden! Here's some photos of what it looks like now, but many plants aren't blooming yet. The Morning Glories aren't big but their tendrils are starting to reach out and grab things. Patience..and it will be much fuller, more floral and pretty! If you want to see more about my garden, see my other blog at: My Country Home and Garden
