I was thinking today about how much I am dependent upon others right now, as I continue to recover from "the plague."  I'm amazed at how hard it is for me to "stay down" (and do nothing) while my children and Jesse do the bulk of what needs to be done.  I've also realized that, without modern medicine and antibiotics, I probably would have never lived this long if born in the 1800's, regardless if I had people to "help" or not.

I remember last Monday morning I was thinking about JanaLyn's upcoming b-day and how Luci's was in a couple of weeks.  Jesse and I talked yesterday afternoon and actually LOOKED at a calender.  Her birthday is next Sunday! 

She wants Strawberry Shortcake decor for her table.  I've been cleaning things that required me to sit, and yesterday I went through the box that holds party plates and napkins and found a whole set of Strawberry Shortcake things. (yay!)  This party will be easy to pull together.  BUT, I do not have one gift or one idea.  Jesse suggested clothes since she always gets hand-me-down everything, and that may be a good way to go.  New nightgown, new dress or two (IF I can find one that looks like "us").  He even added, she'd probably be thrilled with socks and panties - and I believe he's right.

Jesse was going to go to the grocery store for me last night.  He called right after he left to say the store was stripped down.  No produce department.  No butcher or bakery department.  It ends up Albertston's has been bought by someone who is changing the store and the name today.  I hope the quality of meat and produce is the same as when they were Albertson's.  I depended on them.  We have a Homeland (Safeway) at the corner, and I may try shopping there for produce.  We need our fresh fruit!  That won't help me with Luci's gift, but later in the week, I can shop for just Luci and the grocery shopping will be out of the way.

How did the future get here so quickly and become the past?  We were just acknowledging Luci's birthday was on its way!  Next Sunday will arrive before I know it!

I broke down and went to the doctor on Saturday morning.  I was given some mega-antibiotics, chest & sinus decongestant pills, and told to drink lots of water and stay "down!"  Although I haven't taken on any extra projects (except to put the garage back to make room for the birthday pinata), I only laid down for 2.5 days last week.  According to the doctor, that was NOT long enough.  What I have is "serious" and he said tons of water and lots of rest (with his plethora of horse pills he prescribed) is what will make me well.

I made some headway in the garage yesterday.  I wasn't able to put everything up on the shelves, but at least boxes are now sitting in front of the correct shelving units.  I put up about a third of the pantry items, then got overheated and had to stop.   I have SOME vegetables, SOME fruits, and 92 million cans of Sloppy Joe and Chili (with and w/o beans!!!) back in their proper places.

My cold/whatever is still hanging onto me, but I continue to persevere and hang in there each day.  I feel pretty tired by late afternoons, so dinners have been (and will be) simply, simple this week.

Over the past few days, I have been thinking about all of the different summers in my life and what made them memorable.  My memories are of climate, songs on the radio, swimming in different places, different friends, good and bad summers, etc.

Climate:  Moving from the San Francisco Bay Area was a shock when I arrived in Oklahoma August 27, 1972 with my one pair of denim shorts.  I never needed more than one pair of shorts in California where the temps rarely went above 80 degrees.  On most days, light weight slacks were sufficient and on many days a jacket was needed.  In Oklahoma, the summer heat (especially in August & September) beats down on anyone outside, and the humidity strangles you if the sun doesn't burn you.  However, the summer heat was my first exposure to extreme seasons, compared to the mild changes in California.  I loved it.  I still enjoy the changes of season being so well defined and have to bite my tongue if I ever consider criticizing the heat of the day.  Of course, now I wear longer dresses everyday, but I can't say I find them to be less cool than shorts.

Songs on the radio:  I guess when I sat by the pool, there was always music from someone's radio.  The same songs being repeated over and over became emblazoned in my head representing the "Summer of 1966," etc.  Actually, the summer of '66 was the one I will always remember as my "best summer" ever!  I'll go into more details in a minute.

Swimming:  The different pools I hung out at, for some reason, are a big memory.  Weird, huh?  The high school pool where I taught swimming in the mornings and stayed all afternoon with friends.  The "good" high school pool in another city at Aragon High where I took swim lessons as a little child AND paid admission to get into when I was older.  I think the "good" pool at Aragon High was more like the "first pool" I had been exposed to outside of my wading pool at home!  Then there were the apartment pools from the different places I lived after moving to Oklahoma City.  I actually had a pool in the backyard of the first house I bought. 

Different friends:  I remember Elke Siewertson (summers of '66 & '67) and the fact her family had a BOAT(!!!) and I sometimes got to go to the marina with her and her dad.  There is Nancy McNeill (summers of '68 through '71) and all the driving around we did to different pools, the mall, etc. and how I envied her beautiful thick hair!  My move to Oklahoma City was in August '72 and my roommates, Debbie & Glenda Smoot, were my only friends for the first few months I lived here in the city.  Kim O'Connor was my closest friend ever and we spent the summers in the early 80's doing things no Christian should do - but that's where I was in those days . . . lost.  I have a very fond memory of raising my oldest daughter, Stephanie, as a single parent.  I remember hours by the pool of our apartment and eating Sonic footlong cheese coney dogs, onion rings, & lemonade; it was a summer tradition for Stephanie and me.  Next: my husband, Jesse, who is the "Backyard Grill King" of my life!

Good and bad summers:  As I said, I have always called the summer of 1966 the best summer of my whole life.  Maybe I call it that NOW because I've said it for so long!  Certainly I can remember other good summers!  The summer 1966 was my summer after 7th grade and, looking back now, it seemed like I felt very grown up.  I became aware that clothes had "style" and plaid pants with a checked shirt didn't go together!  I discovered "Seventeen" magazine and cute boys (none of whom returned a glance my way!).  It was the first time I really listened to music (on my transistor radio) and learned to like different songs; which, by the way, are now classic songs from the past or instrumentals I hear in the grocery stores!!!!  Then there are some not so great memories, like the one summer I lost a baby.  Another summer, I watched helplessly while my marriage deteriorated and it culminated in my husband leaving me for another woman on Labor Day.  But, along with the summer of 1966, I'd have to add the summer of 1997 when my current husband swooped into my life with his large family AROUND MY POOL and gave the best pool party, ever, at MY house!  We quickly became bestfriends and then husband and wife.  He and his family brought so much joy to the summer of 1997, and he continues to bring joy to each of my days.

More recent memories are of my young children in our different backyard wading pools, which will eventually have to become bigger pools as they grow!  The current songs on the radio have been replaced by their voices singing "Standing on the Promises of God," and the general sound of voices from children giggling and having fun.  We've learned to take advantage of the summer bounty of fruit, since fruit in Oklahoma the rest of the year leaves a lot to be desired!  My husband loves to cook outside and calls it "cookin' a mess o' meat" when he does, because that's his only contribution to summer meals - the sides are my responsibility!  He's not only the "Backyard Grill King" but also the "King of Swimming Pools," because every child has a great time with him while he attacks them under water and throws them high in the air or gives them piggyback rides on his back. 

I rarely get in the water anymore, but have managed to teach two girls to swim.  I'm waiting for another backyard pool where I'll have some privacy!  I don't listen to popular music on the radio, but don't seem to miss it, either.  My family members are my bestfriends and life is good!  I still like the heat of the summer compared to the cool California summers, and I have more "good summers" now than "bad summers" . . . which is always a GOOD thing! 

After my early post Thursday morning, this "cold" turned deadly.  I went to bed Thursday afternoon and was IN bed until this morning, Sunday.  Jesse was able to maneuver his schedule to come home early Friday and be home Saturday and, of course, today.  Luci also got sick.  The last time I had something like this was May of 2006.  I made it through the fall and winter without even catching a cold!

Rissy took over the house like she was 16 instead of 6!  She has always been good at doing chores and doing them well.  Jesse and I hadn't realized she was as observant as she is until I became ill.  She literally took over the house Thursday.  She did housework without being told, got breakfast and lunch for her and her sisters and cleaned up the mess afterwards.  She brought me appropriate medicine (although the Sudafed was a children's pill) for whatever ailed me.  Decongestants, antihistamines, Ibuprofen, lots of water (and reminded me to keep drinking), etc.  She truly was a blessing. 

She found a movie they all agreed to watch and kept her sisters occupied in the den so the sound wouldn't bother me.  Things went so smoothly, I remember worrying, at one point, about WHY they were so quiet!  The house remained clean as I heard her clucking like a hen to, "Clean up!" or, "No toys in the den!  Let's go girls!  Get it cleaned up!"  She took care of Luci who also had a sore throat and lost her voice.  Rissy had this same thing earlier and I guess was immune to all of our germs.  I had purchased some Airborne Jr. a while back, and Rissy made sure Annamarie took it to prevent getting what we had - so far, so good!

Anyway, I'm out of bed today and forcing myself to stay in an upright position.  I don't want to get weaker than I already feel.  Jesse will HAVE to go back to work tomorrow and I'll be on my own again.

I will call the dentist office tomorrow to see if they can change my Tuesday appointment to the next week and maybe trade appointments with someone who needs to get in sooner.  Since my nose is still congested and I'm coughing so hard, the gas won't do me any good (not always being able to breathe through my nose) and who wants to work on a patient with a cough that sounds like she has the plague?

I know many of you who read my blog were praying for me.  Thank you.  Thank you for your personal notes, too!  I found a cough pill prescription (I think it was a high dose of Robitussin) from May of 2006 that broke up my chest stuff quickly, this time.  It's a miracle I found that little bottle shoved to the back of my shelves (an answer to prayer).  And, I made it through this with no doctor visits and no antibiotics.  Another answer to everyone's prayers. 

Thank you!  Thank you!

Not much time here, today.  The "termite guy" will be arriving at 9:30ish and he and his jack hammer will work for about 5 hours ridding us of termites!  Oh joy!

Sunday was a rotten day.  Luci complained and whined all day and then eventually went into a melt down and throwing one of those "every now and then" BIG fits.  I was exhausted by Sunday night and had a tension headache that wouldn't leave.  I went to bed early, but tossed and turned all night because of the stress I'd been through.

Monday morning, bright and early and without much sleep, I went to the garage and moved everything from the perimeter of the garage to the middle so the "termite guy" could drill his holes out there.  It took me hours of moving heavy boxes, throwing away LOTS of things, and packing up all of the canned goods from the pantry shelves into Wal-Mart sacks.  Then, moved heavy pieces of still filled boxes and shelving units to the middle of the garage.  All of this in my nightgown which means the garage door was only propped open a little bit!  I opened the door about two feet to get some airflow and immediately realized I should have left the door closed and gotten an oscillating fan, instead.  The humidity rushed in but there was NO air flow anywhere!  I'm feeling the fruit of my hard labor today!  I looked at my work (I quit shortly after 10:30, which made up a little more than 3 hours of work) and thought, "Not bad for 54 years old and being a girl!"

Luci had a doctor appointment Monday afternoon.  He has put her back on seizure medicines, hoping to control her fits and uncontrollable outbursts.

I felt like milk toast lastnight and dragged myself to bed.  I was brushing my teeth and looked at the clock and asked Jesse, "Is it really only 8:45?"  It felt like 11pm!

I need to take Luci to daycare, hop in the shower, and then move (nothing like biting the dog that bit you!  I'm SO stiff today!) my grandmother's secretary desk (not an easy task) and some other furniture in the formal living room away from the walls, so the "termite guy" can get under the carpet and drill holes.  The carpet is so old that I'm afraid when he stretches it to tack it back down, it might shred!  After paying for termite treatment, we are hardly in a position to buy carpeting!

PLUS, yesterday afternoon the doctor said he wants me to have a complete physical (he recently put me back on birth control pills) and said he'd cut the testing short so it wouldn't cost me $500 (we have no insurance).  It will "only" be a bit over $300!!!

This is proving to be a rainy AND a costly summer!