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.
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