Ponderings

Less than a week till surgery. I had to stop all medications and supplements, even my daily vitamin. I have only two prescriptions, one is a daily anti-inflammatory for mild arthritis and fibromyalgia, the other is a muscle relaxer to help me relax enough to sleep when my muscles are aching, which I just take occasionally as I need it. It won't be too bad to do without the anti-inflammatory, and I can actually take the otherr. The concern is anything that might think my blood; avoiding free bleeding is a priority, of course. But who knew that a daily vitamin or an omega supplement would be no-nos?

I guess I'm having a little stress that I'm not noticing. I've discovered I'm apparently grinding my teeth at night. The last couple days my teeth have been extremely sensitive and achy, especially the two lower front teeth. Dang, my whole mouth hurts! When I try to avoid putting my teeth together during the day, it makes my jaw ache, so it's a lose/lose situation. I bought a bite guard today to help me avoid this. I have put the guard in, just trying it out as I'm typing this, and it really helps! In a half-hour, I've quit hurting! I didn't think I'd been carrying any tension, but obviously I don't know everything!

I went into the hospital in Ruidoso to have an EKG, the last of the tests before surgery. It was perfect, of course. After that I picked up dog food and salt for the water softener. Stopped at WalMart for some last minute things, such as the bite guard. I think I'm pretty much stocked up and ready for a few weeks of laying around. I'll have to send TL for a few things like milk or eggs, but nothing serious.

In the last few weeks I've reconnected with a couple other former classmates from high school. Both are guys I barely knew back then, but as we've encountered each other somewhere online, we've begun some interesting conversations. One lives in Salt Lake City, the other in Hawaii. It is fun to find out about what people have been doing through the years, and I've been struck with the fact that I've found valued friends in people I hardly knew and conversely, people that were friends back then have grown apart through the years. Odd, isn't it?

The man in Hawaii has traveled a lot in his life, lived for a couple years in India and encountered many interesting people and ideas. He shares some spiritual paths with me, and I'm feeling a great deal of comfort talking with him. He has shared some information with me that has encouraged me to look into some DVDs to watch during convalescence, books to look into, etc. It has been really comforting, a individual journeys.

The man in Salt Lake City is a PhD/MD, involved mostly in research, and it has been enlightening to talk with him. Learning about the course of each other's life has been so interesting. Sometimes when he asks questions of me, I learn a lot about myself as I answer them, and conversely when he tells me about his life, it makes me consider more deeply about similar events in my own life. So while finding out about his life, I'm also being more introspective into my own.

I'm reminded in the finding of these two gentlemen about the treasures with which we are gifted as we travel our paths. Thank goodness we meet or re-meet people to shake our lives up a little, to give us pause to think about how things have unfolded, to realize the fortunes we possess that we don't even think of until someone asks us something new or shares their own stories for our comparison. With our every day friends, we fall into patterns and after a while, may not think out of the box much. A new acquaintance stirs the waters and brings that which has settled to the bottom up for review. What fun!

I have had conversations in the last few days with several friends my age about aging. In some ways, it just sucks, because we still feel vital and active, but we are reminded of reduced stamina and strength in many tasks. and then there is that occasional glance in the mirror that bring up a startled realization of, "Oh, when did that happen? How did I get this old?" It's usually fleeting. Most times I look in the mirror and see me, the face I'm used to, the silver hair, the wrinkles, the skin that is beginning to sag. It's no surprise, except for those once in a while moments when I think "WTF??" I dislike being less capable of taking care of things and of myself. I wish I didn't have to rely on others so much for the things I used to do without a second thought by myself. And yet .... the richness of the fabric of my life is invaluable. I wouldn't trade my life experiences for the opportunity to be young again. Nope. Life is good. In fact .....

....Life is beautiful!!!!

It's been a while since I said that, hasn't it? :)