Summer Update

It is just past noon on a Tuesday morning.  I love mornings at home when the agenda page on my iPhone calendar is clear.  Jim is at work, so I don't even get sidetracked by his company.  No appointments take center stage when planning the day; however, the long to-do list in my head does nag at me:

1. Water the plants
2. Fertilize the flowers and bushes.
3. Find out what bugs are eating your flowers and deal with them.
4. Take a morning walk.
5. Do some household laundry.
6. Schedule appointments for next month.
7. Write those notes to friends that need to be written.
8. Organize your stacks of stuff in the upstairs office.
9. Organize that even bigger stack of stuff in the downstairs guest room/quasi office.
10. Go grocery shopping.
11. Fix a healthy meal for lunch and dinner.
12. Check in with your blogging friends and see how they are doing.
13. Try to get a blog written and published.
14. Take a shower.
15. Fold laundry.

So far, I have accomplished getting numbers 1 - 4 finished.  Somehow, I skipped down to number 13 and sat down to write a quick blog while I cool off from my outside work and my walk by sitting in front of the open window in my study.  The breeze feels refreshing.  

The familiar sound of a plane from the nearby United States Air Force Academy  pulling a glider across the sky connects me to the place in which I live.  I think of those young air cadets training to get their wings. I envy the freedom and excitement the young cadets must feel when that glider is pulled into the skies, released from the aircraft that has taken the glider to to the required altitude, and the glider itself  then soars and swoops and then glides back down to earth.

Such an experience is not gained by these cadets without hard work, solid academic performance, and sacrifice.  These cadets have a schedule, and they stick to it.  They won't succeed if they do not use discipline and organization.

The gliding through the air does appeal to me.  At this point in life, I find the schedule that leads to accomplishing much in life doesn't hold much appeal.  

I also know myself well enough to know that I don't function well without schedules.  I fight against them.  Always have.  As I grow older, I probably need a proper schedule more than I ever have, but I hate them all the more.  

I want to glide, and slide, and be free of those time restraints in life that continue to bind me.  Life just seems too short to do laundry, clean house, shop for groceries, and fix meals.  I want to read, write, walk, play in the yard, dig in the dirt, eat lunch with friends, enjoy time with my husband, and visit my children and grandchildren.  

I also want to stop all these medical appointments because of medical issues.  Summer is for fun.  It is not for medical procedures.

Many days I am very well.  Other days I am not.  Last week, I had an earlier than expected colonoscopy.  The results from biopsies are not in.  This week, on Friday, I will have an endoscopic ultra sound of my pancreas at the University of Colorado Hospital.  I had the same procedure three years ago,  at least I know what to expect with the procedure.  I just don't know what to expect on the outcome.  I may require additional risky procedures that same day.  There is talk of a stint for a malformed duct.  Most of my pain and discomfort comes from the pancreatic area, but thankfully I haven't had any bouts of pancreatitis that required hospitalization since 2013.    

As if all of this were not enough, for the last few weeks I have been bothered by floaters that block my vision.  The latest, a very large one that has been assailing my vision for three days in a major way, has made reading and writing nearly impossible.  My stubborn nature went into overdrive so I could write this overdue post.  Defying that seemingly pencil eraser size floater, I sat at my computer and wrote this.  Don't worry, I've been to the eye doctor yesterday and I have not tears or detachments.  I'm just dealing with the aging process in the eye that seems to have gotten worse since cataract surgery in March and April.

So, dear blogging friends, I haven't forgotten you.  I'm just not spending much time using a computer or other technological devices due to my eyes.  I also have been out enjoying life with my dear hubby and my precious family and wonderful friends as much as I can this summer.  I have been working with my writing group every other week.  I meet with church friends for prayer or breakfast.  When Jim isn't working, we have lunch, dinner, or breakfast with couple friends or with my cousin Donna. Other days, when Jim is home,  long walks in the morning invigorate while more leisurely walks in the evening bring peace and joy.  

Some of those things on my to-do list can wait until the weather forces me inside.  In the meantime, the deck or front patio are ready and waiting for friends to drop by and visit.  Books are being enjoyed in the cool of the shade.  I'm winning a few wars with the wildlife by planting and protecting my impossible garden.  I'm also staying strong in spite of health problems that continue to hit.  Keep me in your prayers on Friday.  I hope to be back to summer activities soon.