58 Years Ago Today . . .

Not too bad for a 58 year old grandaddy! Happy Birthday, Lance!

A Little More Kakki Time

Reed is growing like a weed and a cute weed at that!

Since Reed has arrived, I can hardly stand it if I have to be away from the boys for more than a two week period. This could get rough for Laura and Chase, but at this point I think they are more than happy to have the extra helping hands. Laura, Chase and William went to see the bulldogs play, and we kept Wes and Reed.

Getting a little Poppa time

Happy Birthday to Me

This past Friday I turned 58! Yep. Hard to believe (ha ha). I'm not sure what 58 is suppose to feel like, and even though I have a few aches and pains here and there, I still think I am in my 30s. Okay, my 40s.

This birthday was an unusual one to say the least. It really started on Thursday.

A little background: Earlier in the week, I was sick with a sore throat and achy ears and congestion. William had strep throat the week before, so I figured I got it from him and brought it home with me when we came home on Sunday from keeping the boys in Tupelo over the weekend. I laid around Monday and didn't go to work on Tuesday. I went in on Wednesday and worked on Thursday to make up for the time I missed on Tuesday.

Thursday afternoon around 2:30 my mom calls to say that my dad is in the hospital and the doctor thinks he has had a stroke. Naturally, I drop what I am doing and head for the hospital in Cleveland. When I get there, my dad is lying in the bed like he is king of the hill. He has already had a CAT scan and a series of x-rays. The tech told daddy that we would find out the results Friday morning when the doctor makes his rounds. Side note: Daddy's doctor was a young fellow I taught in the 11th grade. I know him well, but there is just something about my daddy's doctor being a student whom I put on detention several times when he was younger. I leave daddy at the hospital and mama safely locked in the house that evening.

Friday (my b'day) morning first thing, Sara Ann drops by to bring me a birthday present as Lance and I are leaving to drive to Cleveland to wait to hear from the doctor. My former student doesn't come by, but the on-call doc-of-the-day does. Immediately, my defenses go up, but once he starts talking to daddy, I like him and feel at ease with him, even more so than with detention doc. There are some problems with Daddy's carotid artery, i.e. blood not getting to the brain. If there was a stroke, it was a TIA, nothing to worry about. The doc orders a Doppler to be done on the arteries and will make some decisions after the test is completed.

One down; two to go.

Mama and I hit the road for Oxford so she can go to the eye doctor. She has glaucoma and has to keep a check on it. On the drive over, I get several calls and texts wishing me Happy Birthday. BR calls and tries his best Elvis impersonation and ends with, "Happy Birthday, old lady!" With friends like BR, I don't need any enemies. Wes calls and sings "Happy Birthday" to me complete with the blowing out of pretend candles. So Sweet!! Cindy calls to say "HB," and Gale texts to extends best wishes. Rachael texts and calls me an "old fart." Joyce from work calls to check on daddy. Mama makes the comment that I am popular.

We get to Oxford, eat at McAlister's where we share Mama's favorite reuben sandwich, and get to the eye doc a bit early. She gets in right away, and we get good news that her eyes are doing better on the new meds. Hooray!! During the exam, I get a call form William who sings "HB" also. We jump in the car and head back to Cleveland. When we arrive, daddy is again lying in the bed like a king, and Lance is reclining in the recliner. What a life! The Doppler went well and the tech said the doc would be by Saturday morning with the results.

Two down; one to go.

Now, I have been looking forward to my birthday meal all week, and since daddy ios doing well, we head out. We are going to Doe's in Greenville to meet BR and Cindy and Gale and Bill. I get another gift, and we are entertained by Cindy who has had one too many beers. We eat the best salad and steaks ever and visit. After supper we all head home. The day has been a pretty long one, and one that has been spent in the road for the most part.

Three down; none to go.

When we get home, there are gifts sitting in my swing and one hanging on the door. No mama, I'm not popular, but I do have some truly good friends that I treasure so much and ones with whom I plan to spend many more birthdays, the good Lord willing and we can keep daddy out of the hospital!

FYI: Daddy got a fairly good report on the Doppler from still another doc. He has 69% blockage. Usually, nothing is done until there is 80% blockage. Daddy is to see his regular doc next week for a close look at all the tests and a plan of action.