November 30 - “The Big”

After taking her walk in the morning, Chris spent the bulk of the afternoon decorating the house for Christmas. She’s not finished yet, but it already looks really good. 

I had a really rough day, myself. Back never let up all day, except when for the times I was able to fall asleep. That lying flat for the CT really ate my lunch. As a result … not much to talk about. I managed to doze off and on in my recliner through two or three movies. Guess I needed the sleep after waking up at three. 

T-minus five days to the big … yeah. That’s it. The Big. 

James‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬ says, Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Father, please give me things to do and think about over the next few days to help pass the time. Amen. 

November 29 - “CT”

We got up relatively early yesterday. Well, I would say I got up really early (how does 3:50 sound?) and Chris followed around 7-ish. We had to get on the road so we could see off Josiah for his tonsils/adenoids removal surgery. 

Then I had to be at my haircut appointment at their new shop by 11. Now we have to cross over east of 61st Street. I guess Suzann is worth it, though. Wait. Of course she’s worth it!  Go check out their new shop. 

After a quick lunch, I downed the pill the doc gave me, and we headed for the big CT scan. Yes, my back was already hurting before we left. Yes, I was counting on the medication to make it possible for me to lie flat enough. And she did allow me a prop for my back. 

Well, the meds and props may have taken a bit of the edge off, but as soon as my back hit the table, it screamed. As far as I know my mouth stayed relatively shut, preferring instead to simply groan and engage in my breathing exercises. The redeeming factor, though was the length of the test. I was inside the machine for three deep breaths, three brief holds, and three exhales. Not even five minutes. I’ll choose that one over an MRI any day of the week. 

Problem was, the rest of the afternoon my back was killing me. I did sleep off the meds, but oh, when I woke up was that back ever hurting. 

2 Corinthians‬ ‭9‬:‭7‬ says, Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Father, thank you for the quickness of that scan. It could have been really bad. Amen. 

November 28 - “It’s cold again!”

The fire department/EMS made a return visit to our neighbor’s house yesterday. At least this time it was during the day. I went out to chat with the fire fighters after they completed their part in assessing the situation and assisting the ambulance crew. We stood in the front yard and soon came to the same conclusion. It was mighty cold!  Wind chill was in the thirties. Aaarrgh. 

Needless to say, we spent a good deal of the day indoors. Some of that indoors involved the innards of Walmart and Randall’s, though. I had a few prescriptions to pick up at Randall’s, and we needed to replenish a load of goodies after our Thanksgiving feasting with family. It was good to see Daryl from church as well as Pedrameh from home group. Gotta love Walmart. 

I had a phone call from the hospital while I was at Walmart. They wanted me to pay my co-pay “so the nurses can then be freed up to call you and get you your surgery time and arrival time.”  Huh. Sounded like my surgery was being held hostage for ransom. I assured them I would call as soon as I got back from Walmart. 

Speaking of surgery … Today is my CT scan in preparation for the back surgery next week. I dread the scan more than the surgery. I have to lie flat on my back for the scan. At least for the surgery I’ll be asleep. 

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬ says, Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

Father, please help these CT techs run a really fast test today. Amen. 

November 27 - “Quiet week??”

We had a huge surprise visit from an old Oklahoma friend (by way of Denver when I was his youth pastor). Ryan Dennis, Josh’s best friend since jr high, rang our doorbell. They had been on a cruise and he was just stopping by to say hello before heading home to Oklahoma. Imagine his surprise when Josh rounded the corner from the kitchen. It was a real old home reunion for us all. Great to see you, Ryan. 

The Waco family loaded up and headed home not long after Ryan. Something about a fire in the fireplace and decorating their tree. Oh, and the “guest” Zak has coming over to join them. We have met her. She is a cute one, and seems very sweet. 

I guess that marks the beginning of the end of the Thanksgiving holiday. Oh, Chris won’t consider it over until she is able to do a thorough sweep and mop of the premises, inspect the Christmas decorations that have been started, and complete the rest of them so we can move the decorations’ boxes to the garage. Whew! And I just thought it would be a quiet week before my surgery. 

And speaking of decorating…

After church we stayed around for a while to do some more decorating for Bethlehem Street Market and to get the church ready for Advent next Sunday. I think we (Well, OK. I guess it’s more accurate to say “they”. I wasn’t allowed to pick up anything) got the worship center looking good. There are still some trees and wreaths to be finished upstairs, and of course all the tables need to be set up. It’s great to have Glenn and Anita and Corey and Janell there helping. They are really hard workers. Thanks, guys. 

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭18‬ ‭says, There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Father, please give a special blessing to the ones who stayed and worked so hard yesterday. Amen.  

November 26 - “Early Excitement”

We had a bit of neighborhood excitement yesterday. Early excitement.  Very early. It began for me when my phone’s text ring went off at 3:30 a.m.  Instantly in pastor/chaplain mode, I was wide awake. The texter was Sam. The message? “Are you awake?”  I checked around my immediate circumstance. It appeared that I was, indeed, awake. After all, I had to wake up anyway to answer the phone. She was wondering what three emergency vehicles were doing at the house next door. I quickly checked my app. Ah. One of our neighbors was having some trouble breathing. Proud of my fire department family. 

I was able to doze off again after that little wave of excitement, but I was up again just before 6. Luke joined me soon thereafter, and among his array of amazing verbiage came the following wisdom. It was his definition of the aging process. See what you think:

Young - 0-10 years old

Pre teen - 11-12 

Teenager - 13-17

Adult - 18-49

Old - 50-59

Old person - 60-79

Dead - 80 - 90 - 100

After breakfast  the morning grew strangely quiet. Josh and Christi took their youngsters to meet up with Christina and their young-uns at Home Depot. No, not to do Christmas shopping (as far as I can tell).  They went to one of those sessions for kids where they can build bird houses and the like. If I heard correctly, this time it was Christmas ornaments. 

The Turkey Bowl once again convened near high noon, this time out at the beach. A total of 23 brave souls attended, and a lot of them even played. Aunt Sam made an appearance, and surveyed the action from her luxury box seat (er, from the car parked on the Seawall).  I have no idea which team won, but there was sure a lot of scoring. 

My favorite moment of the game (apart from when Josh tossed a pass in my direction and I just happened to be standing in the end zone for a touchdown) came in the second half, after us elderly folks had retired (well, except Uncle Josh).  I was chatting on the sidelines with Chris and Nathan and April and Christi. All of a sudden I noticed a large SUV pull over to the curb. And out popped a young boy, maybe ten years old. He made his way down the steps, introduced himself, and was of course welcomed into the game. 

Backstory from talking to his Dad. They were just cruising the Seawall enjoying the view when young Ahmet suddenly screamed, “Pull over here, Dad! You have to stop the car now!”  Dad thought something was wrong, but no. Ahmet just really wanted to play in the American football game. 

Back to the game. Ahmet took his place on Uncle Josh’s team. After a few snaps, the inevitable happened. The pass was in the air. Ahmet circled under it. Caught! Touchdown!  He was ecstatic. So much so, in fact that he did a little touchdown dance that rivaled any I have seen in the NFL. I asked Dad if he had taught the dance to his son, and beaming, he replied, “Oh, no. He teaches it to me!”  Nice job, young man. After the game Chris explained to Dad the nature and history of this particular game. She also said that most of the ones out there were our kids or grandkids. He grinned really big and said something in a foreign language. “In our culture, that means,” he translated, “God has blessed you.”  I replied, “Yep. God has blessed us in our culture as well.”

The golden MVP Dee Clements Trophy was voted on and presented at halftime. It was a close vote this year. So close, in fact, that there was a tie for first. Cailyn’s memorable “I got got!” declaration that carried through from the practice game on Friday was a clear favorite. However, one other nominee rose to prominence when it became known to Nani that referee DadDad had actually scored a touchdown. You might say, in fact, “He got got!”  Yup. DadDad’s “Oops got got” got enough support for the official “Got Got” tie. 

Coming in a close second was Uncle Nathan’s arm across the chest salute, like he was a storm trooper or something. He played the whole game keeping his bum shoulder immobilized. Not an easy task, there, Nathan. Remember, you have a surgery scheduled in March. 

Numbers‬ ‭6‬:‭24‬-‭26‬ ‭says, The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

Father, thank you again for the family you graced me with. Love ‘em. Amen. 

November 25 - “Getting started”

I was up at around 6:30. That’s a little later than usual, but hey. We stayed up the night before. Like, past 1 a.m. late, watching a movie. Yawn. 

I made my way groggily into the office, and soon thereafter I was joined by Luke. He is a talking machine, and he kept me more than entertained until the rest of the crew woke up. And when that happened, Chris and I spent a good deal of time chatting with Josh and Christi. 

The first wave of cousins blew in around 10:30. Just Christina, Noa and Ezra. I assumed the others were still in bed. Sure enough, the rest of them trickled in sometime later. Nathan and April and Cailyn were running their Black Friday errands, so the rest of us grabbed a bite to eat around 12:30 or 1. The final missing Santa Fe puzzle pieces arrived in plenty of time to join in the grub. Oh, and they even brought an extra or two. Their shortest pup waddled in. So did Cailyn’s good friend Griselda. I know she has another name, but I can’t ever remember it. 

After everyone had their fill of scrumptiousness, the youngsters all adjourned to the street in front of the house for a quick pre-Turkey Bowl practice game. And wow! was it ever a barn burner. The first half was rather slow-moving, but then Cailyn made a reception, was promptly tagged, and proclaimed loudly, “I got got! I got got!”  Yep. That may or may not have become the mantra for the rest of the game (at least from a certain referee/play-by-play announcer on the sidelines). Oh, and the player of the game number two was almost certainly Nani, when she received a pitchout and was blindsided by a grossly illegal tag. The ensuing 89 yard penalty placed her team in position to stroll in for an easy score. Sadly, however, it was her only play of the game. Just like Chris - go out on top. Now they all should be set for the actual Turkey Bowl today at noon. Of course the excitement of this warmup game will be awfully hard to beat. 

Last night were some more exciting events, not the least of which was the putting up of the Christmas tree. And the best part? For the first time ever, we had a tree with lights already built in. Pop together the three portions and plug it in. Voila. Lights. The moms all jumped into action and got the fluffing done. Looks great, gals. Then kids then got in the act. Nani handed out ornaments, and they got the tree looking even greater than great. There are still some more things to get done after the big football game today, but it was a perfect start. 

Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ says, Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Father, thank you for our family-filled Thanksgiving and a fun start on Christmas. Amen. 

November 24 - “Deliveries and more”

Yesterday began for me - honestly - when my back woke me up at about 3 a.m.  I moved to the recliner so I wouldn’t wake up Chris with my restlessness. Freddy joined me as my service dog. Well, at least until I kept waking her up with my restlessness. She moved to a different chair, but she kept a close watch over me. 

I finally gave in around 5:30 or so and got up. I did have a big day ahead of me. Thanksgiving Day fire department fried turkey deliveries. I left the house a little before 8. Finished up around 11:15. In between I made a visit to each of the 6 stations covering the whole island. Lots of driving, but I always enjoy seeing whoever is on shift. They all seemed to appreciate the turkey, too. The ones who have received turkey in past years were really good about encouraging the newer ones (and me) that it would be good. Thanks for being there, guys. 

Thanksgiving meal number one with family was amazing, as usual. Cailyn and April arrived first  (Nathan was at work).  I think they enjoyed being the only ones here for a while. The LaMarque gang arrived not long after, and the eating officially began. Fried turkey, ham, cornbread dressing, sweet potatoes, beans and corn in various arrays of simplicity as well as casserole-ic presentation, mashed potatoes and gravy, not to mention apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, tortilla cheesecake, and even homemade chocolate chip cookies. 

Helen from church came by on her way home from work. She’s the one who delivered an extra turkey for the fire fighters from the residents of the assisted living facility where she is chaplain. The Waco clan arrived in the late afternoon, so everything was recycled for Thanksgiving Meal number two. Good times two. And more to come today.  Big difference today? Nathan will be here this time. 

Psalms‬ ‭107‬:‭1‬ says, Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Father, thanks for another chance to share great times with family and friends. Amen. 

November 23 - “JBS (again)”

And so it begins. My JBS - Journey into Back Surgery (again) has officially left the dock. But first …

The day actually started in the morning (as it usually does).  I had an appointment to pick up my other hearing aid. Much-welcomed addition to my arsenal of age-related assistants. 

But while we were there, we stopped in at the little optical factory on site. Why? Because my glasses broke clean in half the day before when I was trying to clean off turkey grease. I wrapped the proverbial nerdly tape around it as a temporary fix, but it wasn’t really a successful union. So … it was off to the glasses shop to see if they had a cheap frame that would hold my lenses. Aaand of course they did not. Well, unless I wanted to spend upwards of $400. Nope. The lady was really nice, though. She did a temporary fix with some kind of shrink wrap gadget. It’s together, but is “extremely flexible.” Guess I’ll get used to my old ones again until I can see an ophthalmologist. Next year. Maybe. 

As important as the hearing aid was, that’s obviously not included in the back journey discussion. Now, yesterday afternoon was reserved for the first pre-surgery required test. This one was a DEXA Scan. The purpose was to determine if my bones are dense enough to hold the screws needed to put in the rod for my back. Whew. That’s a mouthful. The neurosurgeon told me to take a Valium beforehand, because I would have to lie flat on my back for a while. Not a comfortable position for me (to put it mildly).  He also called one in for my CT scan next week. Yay (I guess. Don’t remember ever taking Valium before). 

As it turned out, if that’s how the Valium “worked,” then next week for the CT scan, I think I’ll add a couple of those super extra strength Tylenol to the mix. I finally did get a little sleepy - after we got back home. That test, though? It was, thankfully, quite short. But for my back … also quite painful. 

By the way …  it was great hanging out with Jachin the other day. He came over after his parents left and had a slice of pizza with us. 

‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬-‭18 says, Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Father, thanks for helping me get through that time on the table. One more of those and then it’s the big day. Amen. 

November 22 - “Turkey Trifecta”

Turkey Fry Day

We started around 7:30 getting ready for frying turkeys. Eight big ones. Thanks so much to Corey, first of all. He came over and poured the oil into the two frying pots. Chris would not have been happy if I had made any attempt at that. But thanks to him the oil had its start heating up. It usually takes almost an hour to get hot enough for the first turkeys. 

A little after nine the lift brigade showed up. That would be Kel and Micah, and Josiah. They were responsible for hauling the critters to and from the back yard and carefully easing them into the boiling pots. Great job throughout the morning and afternoon by all three of them. 

Meanwhile, Noa and Nana buried themselves in the kitchen to get started on the baking projects. They whipped out a pie or two, and some cookies were dutifully taste tested by all around. 

We had not one, not two, but three first-time occurrences in the turkey realm. We had a lot of trouble regulating the temperature in the pots. The required temperature is 300 degrees. One pot wouldn’t get over 250 degrees. The other wouldn’t stay under 325. That’s not necessarily unusual, though. However …

One of the turkeys came out grossly underdone.  Chris jumped to the rescue, though. She baked it in the oven to make up the difference. Check on number one. 

A second turkey came out grossly, ummm, overdone. The pot that was running over-hot really did a number on it. No fixing that one. We managed to salvage some tasty bites, though. 

The third snafu was probably the most “extravagant”(?).  As Josiah and Kel pulled the turkey out, it started falling apart. That’s some tender turkey. Except … half of it ended up on the ground. The white meat. Those legs and thighs held their ground. We scooped it up quickly, though. Don’t pay any attention to any leaves you might find between your teeth. They’re just part of the salad …

Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭6‬ says, Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Father, thanks for the muscles we had around here. Sure needed them. Amen. 

November 21 - “Med Reports”

Doctor visit reports from yesterday. 

Me first. I saw my PCP for his review of … well, everything. He was more thorough this time than he has ever been. We talked through each of my medications, and he approved refills on all of them, and tweaked a few. He went over all the back stuff, and basically approved of everything being done there. He ordered the shots I needed, and the nurse took care of those. I should be all set for my surgery now. 

Next we went over to Randall’s to get one of Chris’ refills she has been waiting on for a long time. They filled it all right, but had to use two bottles for the same drug. Two different companies, because they didn’t have enough of one. Strange to get 2 pills in one jar when the other is somewhat full, but has plenty of room. They are technically separate prescriptions, though. Just weird. 

Back home I put in a call to the audiologist to see when I could pick up my hearing aid. Our church family friend Cathy who works there already told me it was in. In fact, she already read them the riot act about getting me on the schedule. So … a Hearing Thanksgiving. Well, a better-than-without Hearing Thanksgiving. 

Next stop was back to the lawyer’s office to re-sign our wills. They had a snafu in the last attempt. All’s corrected and ready to go. Guess it’s safe for us to die now. 

Final doc report is actually a final radiation report. After ten treatments, Sam completed this round of radiation. Way to go, Much Older Sis. I’m proud of you. 

Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭25‬ ‭says, Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Father, thanks for walking with Sam through this round of radiation. Now please grant her some rest. Amen.