Another Day, Another What?

The old adage goes "Another day, another dollar" but that isn't something I feel like discussing, not exactly anyway.

Maybe I really don't have anything outstanding on my mind this morning other than that I managed to survive my first full day home from the hospital with no major issues. Ok, "another day" bit the dust and that's fine and dandy!

As days go, yesterday was perhaps a bit lackluster I suppose one could say.

I felt things went quite well, from my perspective as I had no problems coping with my new contraption. Of course, I didn't do anything special either like try to change the bag and the barrier which I don't feel near knowledgeable as yet to try that. I did, however, manage to empty it and was quite pleased that my normal tendancy towards being a total klutz didn't surface so the whole procedure there went off quite well -without a hitch! I didn't get any messy stuff on me, on my clothes, nor on the bathroom carpet or the tile! Yippy skippy, chalk one up for the gipper, huh? Hope they all continue to go that easily!

It was a nice day in that I had a visitor - my good friend, Mary Kaye, who stopped by to cheer me on, give me some good hints she had from her years of experience as an LPN as well as the final nine years of her marriage to Joe and how he had dealt with the complexities of living with a colostomy. Kaye and I have shared a good, strong and solid friendship that goes back beyond our high school years and much of it has a foundation in our mutual membership in our church. We both tend to see things that life puts before us from the same focal point. The focus is about to switch in about a month though as she will be undergoing some major surgery too and I just hope I can be there to lend her a little moral support as she heads into that area of her life too.

The grandchildren - always high on my list - were pretty much their normal, sweet and yet very impish little selves. Maya did well yesterday with her speech therapist and Kurtis was just his big sweet-smiling self for much of the day. All of which adds to a lot of pleasantry in the household!

Today, I am to have two visitors - the home health nurse (Susie Gillette) as well as an ostomy nurse from the home health service will be showing up to assist me. It will be nice to see Susie again. She was the nurse who put in my pic line over three years ago when I had the first round of chemo treatments. From Moshannon area, Susie and I share a lot of common ground in that we both know a lot of the same people from her area because I spent about seven years of my working life slaving at the local truckstop there in Snow Shoe. Her sister-in-law is also a former neighbor of mine from childhood too. Yep, lots of things we can always chit-chat about when she comes calling and it makes for an easier visit that way.

Today marks the beginning of the next phase of my "special diet" too. I get to leave the "full liquid" part in the dust now and can add soft foods to my menu now. I'm really looking forward to finally having a bit of a "sated" feeling deep in my tummy after being able to ingest things like soft-scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, other soft-type foods that I can enjoy for not just texture and fullness but also that have a better liking for me in the sense of flavor too! Hopefully, by the weekend, I will be fairly close to back to a more normal eating pattern.

Yesterday, I managed on a can of cream of tomato soup for lunch, a can of cream of asparagus soup for supper and polished off the evening with a nice big dish of vanilla ice cream with some chocolate syrup to top it off for a good flavor addition and had no problems digesting any of it! Yeah! Another milestone reached, huh?

My son-in-law even commented to me last night that he sensed I must be feeling a lot better because I seemed to be moving better, overall, seemed much more chipper. And, I have to agree fully with his assessment too!

No major pains from the surgery is, of course, always a good thing for anyone only a week into the recovery aspect. The main pain is still present though and that's the constant thing just under the skinline along my right side from these freaking shingles that just doesn't want to seem to ever cease and desist. I keep taking the lortabs and it does quell that a little bit but I am dreaming of the day I will get up and have my right side completely painfree! A nice goal and one which I had more means of taking control of getting that to happen as well! Unfortunately, apparently with these shingles, it is something you deal with the way it bounces at you - nothing that you or the medical community can do to hurry any progress along there and that is frustrating.

I had a phone call yesterday too from a cousin of my mother's - Arline Bengston Calhoun. Always so nice to talk to her! She's a gem among my family tree members and I consider myself - and my kids - to be very blessed to have a really close relationship with Arline. Her Mom was my maternal grandfather's baby sister and was one of my favorites of my great-aunts and uncles. Such a sweetheart was Aunt Elin and Arline is pretty much as close to being a clone of her mother as anyone can be. Arline's daughter, Sandy, who looks very much like her grandmother, also acts so much like her too that it always gives me such a warm feeling there - just makes me feel Aunt Elin is still walking in our midst you know.

So, although the day was kind of blah in some respects - no calamaties or anything like that - it was pleasant and good and just the kind of easy day that makes you really happy to still be around to see what today might have to offer as well.

To top the day off last night, my son Clate stopped by after he closed the local bar (where he works parttime, evenings) for the night. Seeing him always makes me feel darned good too. Add to that, a phone call last evening from my "little prince" - Grandson Alex - and his mother - and hearing Alex recount a little about his final football game on Sunday of the pee-wee league season, getting a little bit of updating on his trumpet practice and learning about music and that instrument, plus his commentary on his school work (I'm getting lots of good grades, Grammy J) is always good stuff for my old ears to hear! I made a deal with Alex too. I reminded him that as he knows, Grammy J doesn't buy toys for the grandchildren and I'm not that keen on purchasing clothes either cause I don't remember sizes well nor am I up on individual tastes in clothing styles these days for kids but I do love to give him books and so far, he enjoys reading very much too. So, I told him to make a list of books he thinks he would enjoy receiving and give it to his mother and for her to pass this along to me. That way, over the next two months, when Gram does get out and is able to do a little shopping here and there, I can look for some of these books and hopefully find a couple to present to him under the tree come Christmas morning!

He was very agreeable to that idea as was his mother and I think it makes for a better arrangement all around for us. No book is ever a bad gift in my opinion!

And, I hope his attitude about reading and books always stays as it is now - good and solid! Can't go wrong there, can we?