This morning in Texas, it was a crisp 47 degrees. When I went out for my daily walk, the sky was overcast with "snow" clouds and there was a brisk wind. It finally felt like Thanksgiving! We had a full day of eating and football-watching ahead of us. But before I let the day get away, I had to stop and list a few of the things I'm thankful for.
1. Life and breath
2. Health
3. A loving, faithful husband
4. An amazingly bright, handsome son
5. Family and friends, near and far
6. A warm bed
7. A cozy home
8. Food in abundance
9. The freedom to publically gather and worship as I chose
10. The freedom to pursue my dreams
Thursday 22 November 2007
Wednesday 21 November 2007
One Week to Live
On Friday, Bill's immediate family flew to Kansas City to attend his aunt Trish's funeral. Friday was her 51st birthday. She died of colon and bile duct cancer. Trish and some family members got together in July to see off her son before he was deployed to Iraq. She had one bought of sickness, but felt fine otherwise and had a wonderful visit. Between then and the end of October, she was hospitalized twice, diagnosed with two types of cancer and died.
As awful as this sounds, I think this might be one of the better ways to die. All of her loved ones came to see her, to have a chance to say goodbye before she died, and she didn't have to suffer long before she finally passed away. (I don't know how much pain she was suffering before she went to the doctor; I would have to think some.) With the help of the Red Cross, even her son was able to come back from Iraq, see her once last time, and then stay to take care of things afterward.
This made me wonder, and this may become a reccurring theme depending on how many people respond to it - which is worse, to lose a loved one instantly, or to sit by helplessly and watch them suffer for months or years before they pass? I think perhaps a week is just about the right time.
So here's my real question, if you were certain to die in one week, what would you do with the next seven days? You can respond here or email me at bacooper65@btinternet.com. With your permission, I'll post the responses.
I hope this isn't too macabre. It's something we all will face, but don't really like to think about.
As awful as this sounds, I think this might be one of the better ways to die. All of her loved ones came to see her, to have a chance to say goodbye before she died, and she didn't have to suffer long before she finally passed away. (I don't know how much pain she was suffering before she went to the doctor; I would have to think some.) With the help of the Red Cross, even her son was able to come back from Iraq, see her once last time, and then stay to take care of things afterward.
This made me wonder, and this may become a reccurring theme depending on how many people respond to it - which is worse, to lose a loved one instantly, or to sit by helplessly and watch them suffer for months or years before they pass? I think perhaps a week is just about the right time.
So here's my real question, if you were certain to die in one week, what would you do with the next seven days? You can respond here or email me at bacooper65@btinternet.com. With your permission, I'll post the responses.
I hope this isn't too macabre. It's something we all will face, but don't really like to think about.
Thursday 15 November 2007
rethinking the blog
I've just been looking at some of the Blogs of Note and I've decided that I need to rethink my blog. It's pretty mundane and I don't think very many people are interested in reading about my life. I just saw where the author of To Do List Blog has published a book of over 5000 lists that have been sent to her by people from around the world. It's an intimate look at people's everyday lives, from buying milk to finding a soul mate.
My blog is an intimate look at my life, I suppose. It's special to me. And I hate to share my ideas that I might want to turn into a book. So, for now, I guess you'll continue to get, mundane me.
...
I'm writing late in the week because Bill and I have been away on a thoroughly adults-only long weekend. We went to Las Vegas. He gambled as much as I could tolerate, and then spent the rest of the time walking around the strip with me. We saw two shows - Mystere by Cirque du Soleil and the magic of Penn and Teller. I love their magic, but I've seen it all before. They need to work on new material. We've seen about four other Cirque shows, and while this one was fun to watch, it wasn't my favourite (oops, lapsed into British english, there). They always have unusual characters, but this one was a bit more dreamlike, actually nightmarish, and disjointed than the others. I loved the Kyoto-style drumming and the strong-men-that-move-in-slow-motion act that most all of them have. They are amazing. It's been running for years and there are others on the strip to try out if this one doesn't do it for you. I wanted to see Love, which is set to Beatles music, but I couldn't convince Bill.
Of course we indulged in the buffets, one breakfast and one dinner. We decided to sign up for the Players Club Rewards Program to see if we could accumulate enough points to get any freebies. Bill's goal was to get a free buffet. Believe it or not, in the three days that we were there, we earned enough points to have all of our meals that we ate at the hotel and charged to our room comped! And when we return, we'll get a free night in the hotel and another free buffet. Wow! That is one book idea that we kicked around - making the most of rewards programs and freebies. Don't take it! I'd be surprised if it hasn't already been written about, but I have to research to see.
Do you have a favorite program or way of getting freebies that you recommend? I'd like to hear about them.
Finally, the last night we were there, we got a notice in our room that the Frontier would be imploded at 2:30 am, so don't be alarmed by the sounds and rumbles. It was the second hotel that was built on the strip. We really wanted to stay up to see it, and if the window in our room had faced the other side of of the strip, we could have seen it from bed. But I know me better than to try to pull an all-nighter. We were awoken at 2:30 to the booms of the fireworks that preceded the demolition, and thought it was anti-climactic. Then the real explosions started. The percussions could be felt in our guts and the hotel shook when the tower fell.
The next morning we saw people in the coffee shop with shirts on that said, "I saw the implosion," who had obviously stayed up all night. I kinda wished we had. We saw it the next morning on TV. What a sight to see.
My blog is an intimate look at my life, I suppose. It's special to me. And I hate to share my ideas that I might want to turn into a book. So, for now, I guess you'll continue to get, mundane me.
...
I'm writing late in the week because Bill and I have been away on a thoroughly adults-only long weekend. We went to Las Vegas. He gambled as much as I could tolerate, and then spent the rest of the time walking around the strip with me. We saw two shows - Mystere by Cirque du Soleil and the magic of Penn and Teller. I love their magic, but I've seen it all before. They need to work on new material. We've seen about four other Cirque shows, and while this one was fun to watch, it wasn't my favourite (oops, lapsed into British english, there). They always have unusual characters, but this one was a bit more dreamlike, actually nightmarish, and disjointed than the others. I loved the Kyoto-style drumming and the strong-men-that-move-in-slow-motion act that most all of them have. They are amazing. It's been running for years and there are others on the strip to try out if this one doesn't do it for you. I wanted to see Love, which is set to Beatles music, but I couldn't convince Bill.
Of course we indulged in the buffets, one breakfast and one dinner. We decided to sign up for the Players Club Rewards Program to see if we could accumulate enough points to get any freebies. Bill's goal was to get a free buffet. Believe it or not, in the three days that we were there, we earned enough points to have all of our meals that we ate at the hotel and charged to our room comped! And when we return, we'll get a free night in the hotel and another free buffet. Wow! That is one book idea that we kicked around - making the most of rewards programs and freebies. Don't take it! I'd be surprised if it hasn't already been written about, but I have to research to see.
Do you have a favorite program or way of getting freebies that you recommend? I'd like to hear about them.
Finally, the last night we were there, we got a notice in our room that the Frontier would be imploded at 2:30 am, so don't be alarmed by the sounds and rumbles. It was the second hotel that was built on the strip. We really wanted to stay up to see it, and if the window in our room had faced the other side of of the strip, we could have seen it from bed. But I know me better than to try to pull an all-nighter. We were awoken at 2:30 to the booms of the fireworks that preceded the demolition, and thought it was anti-climactic. Then the real explosions started. The percussions could be felt in our guts and the hotel shook when the tower fell.
The next morning we saw people in the coffee shop with shirts on that said, "I saw the implosion," who had obviously stayed up all night. I kinda wished we had. We saw it the next morning on TV. What a sight to see.
Tuesday 6 November 2007
Dear, Deer
Hands up, how many of you saw one of these when you walked out your front door today? I always wanted to live in the Hill Country. So what if its in a trailer? It only takes half an hour to clean it from top to bottom, and then you can go sit outside and watch the deer. We lured them close by cutting up our Jack O'Lantern and tossing it over the fence. We definitely need to get some deer corn. This past weekend I got even more of the great outdoors. I had the pleasure of going on a ladies retreat with my mom. The rustic camp was set on a hillside above a creek that feeds into the Frio river, one of the coldest, most beautiful rivers in Texas. It is owned by the HEB Foundation, along with about 2300 more acres. Anyone can use the campsites for FREE if you agree to leave the facilities better than you find them. It is a blessing to come to such a naturally beautiful place.
20 women with connections to Grace Lutheran Church fellowshipped, ate wonderful homemade food, and spent quiet time encountering God in nature. We even took a two-hour hike that wound through riverbeds and up hills. It was special to share the time with my mom and I came back feeling renewed - although I didn't see any deer there.
Thursday 1 November 2007
I Have Pictures!
Happy Halloween - one day late. I had to get some photos of Brendan in his zombie costume...yes zombie. It was Bill's idea to do the skaterboy with injuries, but the whole time, Brendan really wanted to be a zombie. So he ditched the skateboard and helmet at the last minute. Thankfully, all the wounds and scabs we'd made applied to both. We bought a tshirt and jeans at Goodwill for $5 and Brendan had a great time distressing them with his knee pads and a utility knife. And he carved his first pumpkin. He has newfound appreciation for the intricate carvings he tried to have me do all those years.
You gotta love that compound fracture. We broke a chicken bone in half, carved down the ends to a diagonal, stuck them on the arm with band-aids, put a stocking over them for good measure, and added a bunch of fake blood. He got lots of great comments about it. Still, he lost one piece on the walk around the neighborhood, and backtracked to try to find it, with no luck.
It was wonderful being back in a country that does Halloween in a big way. We went to the grandparent's neighborhood to trick-or-treat, and EVERYONE was out in force before it was dark. Brendan tried to wait, but he couldn't help himself. I took one shift and Bill took another. In all, we were out about an hour and Brendan got enough candy to last him til Easter - at two pieces per day.
Bill's mom says she had 126 trick-or-treaters (she counts the candy). By far, the most popular costumes were princesses for girls and pirates for boys. But there were lots of transformers and Disney character thrown in. I love it. Brendan said it was his best Halloween ever!
Hope you had a great time, too.
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