First and Last

My philosophy has always been, if it's not broken don't fix it or if you are not having a problem, don't go looking for one.  The following procedure I did finally for my husband who has been bugging me to do this ever since I turned fifty (so many years ago).

I am usually a rule follower.  But this particular morning (Friday) of last week, I broke that tradition and I refused to finish this extremely nasty concoction in prep for my very first (and only) colonoscopy.  

Nothing but liquids the day before the procedure.

Then, 8 PM dose number # 1 of what I call THE POISON.

Gag. Burp. Yuck. Eww.  Blah.

I barely got it down.  But when I did, I felt as though it would not stay there.  After it settled, I started drinking the fluids.  40 oz to be exact.  Then I waited.

All HECK broke loose about two hours later and I felt as though a bomb exploded inside of me.  It was not a pretty sight.

No sleep was expected that night so you can imagine my delight to have nodded off for a good 45 minutes before urgency sent me flying to the john in those wee hours of the morning on Friday.

4 AM came.   I stared at the cup.  Part two of the prep.  The 5 ounces of POISON.  I sipped.  I gagged.  I chocked down another swallow.  I sipped some more.

I had heard that the prep was the worse part.  My doctor said it was a piece of cake, not to worry.  This, why I do not totally trust doctors.

I took another sip.  My stomach began to churn and bubble up.  I concluded that I was not going to be able to do this.  At that point I thought maybe I'd do what I refused to do earlier.  I googled.

"Don't take the stuff!"  "It made me violently ill!"  "I was sick for days..."  and the negative comments went on and on.

But still.  I had 4 oz left that I must finish and I better hurry because by 5 AM I needed to be finished the POISON and 24 oz more of water!

I felt like such a failure.  I wasn't even able to finish half.  I decided I'd call the surge center in the morning and let them know I just couldn't do it.  It seemed a shame since I was more than half way there.

No worries.  I guess I was prepped enough, which made me think...  the second dose of that POISON was over-kill...  and speaking of kill, I thought I'd die if I had to drink one more drop.

 At 8 AM the nurse blew a vein and tried again to get the needle in my hand to hook me up to the IV.  Finally success.  A talk with anistheseology and a brief waiting period and before you know it the team of nurses were telling me to roll onto my side and then everything faded.

I opened my eyes to good news.  I passed the test.  I was barely able to stand to dress but they shipped me out the door and I was soon home and the nightmare was behind me.


No nightmares for me.  Only sweet sleep.  Gracie.

Opinions. Facts. Facebook. Disagreements. Left. Right. Yadda~Yadda~Yadda

Once again, Facebook has become a battleground for political argument.  And yes, I get sucked right into the drama as I feel the need to share my opinion and thoughts as well.  

I respect deeply everyones right to their own opinions, thoughts, beliefs etc.  So I rarely share my 2 cents worth on someone else's fb post if it goes against what I believe is right and true.  Let them have their own circle of friends high-five them on what they believe to be right.   Who wants argument!  

If the posts that I share are offensive in any way to anyone, then I would hope that the opposing opinion would unfollow me.  (I learned this is possible last year after it was too late - when I un-friended 3/4 of my Facebook friends because of political differences in hopes for a more peaceful Facebook experience)   Un-friending leads to hard feelings and sadly,  relationships with family are affected.  Now, if I do not want to see a friends posts, I just un-follow them.  Still friends. Just in disagreement about some stuff.  Absolutely no hard feelings.  (Forever learning!!)

I like Facebook though.  It's a place to share prayer requests, news, thoughts, photos, and yes... even opinions.   It should never get ugly.

One might say, I go by facts only.  But really...  will the media be honest in reporting facts or will they slant the story to make it juicy?  We should never let media news be our final enlightenment.  I'd say...   dig a little deeper if you want truth.

*sigh*

Though sometimes I put my foot in my mouth, I try to choose my words wisely when I post.  As is in today's most recent post:

So maybe there is something I am not understanding. I just watched a news clip where one of the Muslims that were detained at the airport was released just days later. All checked out okay. My question is, how will our president fight terrorism if he does not take the steps to do so? Personally, if I were detained for a couple of days in order for me to be 'checked out' to make sure I was not a terrorist, I might be a little put out by it but looking at the big picture it is for my own safety. If I am innocent, why would I make such a fuss? Shouldn't we be willing to be a part of the fix for the problem? I am not saying this to start an argument... I just truly do not understand. Are these detainees being tortured or not being fed or being mistreated? I will give you an example. Many years ago I sat in my old beat up car along the quiet country road waiting for the school bus to come and drop my kids off so I could take them home. A police officer pulled up in back of me and came to my car asking me for my registration, etc. He checked me out. Asked me what I was doing there. Said I looked suspicious. Honestly, I was okay with it. Just an officer doing their job. Is there something I am not understanding about this whole thing?

If you disagree with my above post, I love you anyway.  It is not for the sake of argument that I share my opinions.  I am open for opposing views if they are shared in a respectful and smart way.  All I ask is that you view my opinions with equal respect.  

What I have found to be true is that if you are labeled a liberal or left, you do not agree with anything on the conservative or right side.  And visa-versa.  Am I right?  We no longer have true thoughts on our own...  we rely on our 'party' or affiliation to decide for us.  
  
That's all.

Dear Diary,

It's Bun-Bun.  He runs from me.  I chase him.  I catch him.  He laughs at me.  He hides and squeaks and teases me.  I think he should sit still and let me chew his ears off.  He disagrees.  But at the end of the day, he's still my buddy.  Gracie.

My Great Adventure AKA How I Got My People by Gracie Phillip

 FICTION OR NON-FICTION?  YOU DECIDE.

It was a dark and rainy night.  I had just gone outside to go potty when suddenly this big black giant monster dog jumped from the bushes and started coming towards me....

  I was scared! I started running but I fell down a waterfall...

Two people came and rescued me and gave me fries.  

And now.  I'm stuck with them.  The end.

It's About Life

Let's see.  What to write about.

It's raining.  It's January.  The days are getting longer.  And next month we will be able to say that the following month spring will arrive!

Gary and I are on season 6 of Mad Men.  It has turned out to be a very engrossing series...  The show takes place back in the early 60's and it's enchanting to go back in time and watch the drama unfold in the lives of these imaginary advertising agency people.

The men are all pigs and the women submissive, but slowly they are gaining their place in the world.  They all chain smoke and even chain drink.  The men cheat on their wives and think nothing of it while the women mind the children and keep the homes in tip top shape.  Kids crawl from the back to the front seat of a moving car without a care.  Women have a hissy-fit over the dry-cleaned dress that could have been left on the floor to get dirty but ignore the child that stands in front of her with the dry-clean bag over her head.  It is absurd!  But in reality, it was the way we lived back then.  We didn't think of the dangers associated with life led throwing caution to the wind.

Now you might ask, why would I be interested in such a corrupt, low-life bunch of invented individuals who put new meaning to the word sin?

Well.  Tucked deep within the story-lines of corruption and decay are lives of gentleness and love.  Ones who have good hearts and good works.  Kind of like how life is.  There are good people and there are bad ones and our works are a reflection of our hearts.  It's all a stage and we are the actors playing our parts.  Only it's the real thing.

I hate to see this series end, but when it does we will move on to another.  And then spring will be here and we will give the remote control a rest.

Gracie, how's it going with you?

So glad  you asked, mommie dearest.  You know that sound?  The music?  The depressing, deflating, awful music that fills the room when you and dad recline in your chairs with your bags full of cookies and the far-away look on your faces?  The sound has got to go!  It is haunting and stupid and ridiculous and could you pass me a cookie please...  n' then I'm headed for bed.   *Yawn*  Gracie.

L.O.V.E.

Today I packaged up the magic and put it away.  Gone is Christmas for 2017.  

But first, it was a weekend of fun for the grand-angels.  Every single one of them.

It's the first time we had all five of them together at once.

Much fun was had with the train and the Christmas village.

Then a little virtual reality play...

The kids put new meaning to paraffin wax treatments, dipping their hands in the warm wax under the supervision of daughter Lindsey.

The tablecloth took a beating, or should I say a waxing...  but I was getting tired of that old thing anyway.  Next year if this world is still in place and Christmas comes again...  I will replace it with another.

With much smoother hands, it was time to get back to the business of ice skaters gliding on the fiberoptic pond, kids sled riding and building snowmen,  lighted carnivals with musical carousels and wrecked trains.

There's magic in that Christmas village.  I know, because I see it on the faces of those who gaze longingly into the life that lives beyond those tracks.

I hope the magic that is now stored away in plastic containers for the season is stored away in the hearts of these precious little people and that long after we are gone, they will remember the love that Pop-Pop and Grammy put into making Christmas special for them.

Saying goodbye to our NJ grand-angel was hard.  But sweet time was spent with him, and we are thankful for their visit and the opportunity to spend quality time with him and his mommy and daddy.

Gracie, your turn.

Finally!  Peace and quiet!  But hey...  I liked 'em.  Especially the kid.  He kept smiling at me and asking to pet me and saying I was white.  I liked that he noticed.   I felt special.   Gracie.

Show and Tell

I am grateful to have the holidays behind me without incident.  For the past three years holidays have coincided with family loss.  Close family loss.  I'll be honest.  My faith had dimmed and I was trying not to care too much or get too comfortable with life while going through the 'happy' holiday motions.  

I baked.  I wrapped.  I decorated.  I lit candles.  And it was all good.

But all the while, a burn in the pit of my stomach, the same burn that stayed with me that day last year on the 29th of December when my sister and I met up for our last sisterly chat and she breathed her last breath of life, right there as I was in mid sentence.  How dare her!  But.  Her mansion awaited.  It was her time.

Oh, back to the burn...  

I want to blame it on a combination of cookies, lack of sleep and stressssss but deep inside I knew that I was preparing myself for something awful.  

But nothing awful happened.  And the burn is gone.  

And so... I'm embarrassed for my lack of faith.  But thankful for the gift of hope that God gave me this year at Christmas!

 And speaking of gifts,  do you mind if I share some of my more special Christmas gifts 

from this year?

A cup which I am drinking my tea and honey from right this very minute...  it reads

  Everything is Sweeter at Grandma's.  Jake was so excited to give this to me, and he picked it out himself at the school Christmas Santa shopping event. 

And....  This paper weight.  It is wonderful!  I have it sitting on my desk and I will look at it every single day to remind me to ENJOY LITTLE THINGS IN LIFE!  And who wouldn't enjoy those two 'little things' whose picture I will look at along with the message...

Another very special gift....

There's a story behind that little plaque.  You see a couple of years ago Gary bought me a cute little globe.  I'd always told him I wanted one...  so he came home with one that he had engraved 'You are My World'  Love, Gary.  Well.  I teased him saying that I couldn't find my name on it anywhere and I asked him who it was for?  I told him the reason he did not put my name on it was so if we ever split, he could give it to someone else.  Or, in the event that I died first... he could re-gift it.  Haha!

Well, well, well....

My special guy made a special trip out of town just weeks before Christmas just to find a place that would engrave a plaque just right... so that he could use to replace the old one.  Now wasn't that special?  I thought so.

Gracie, tell them what you got for Christmas...

Bells on my neck and feet.  Forgotten about. Oh, and a cookie and new toy. That's all I have to say. Gracie.