September 1 - “Phantom pain”

Day one post ray gun. I know the doc said to anticipate some sort of issues through Saturday or so, but I gotta say, this was  … uncomfortable. I could feel the injection site, for one thing. Not horrible, but just there. On occasion there were muscle spasms. That was new, but the doc specifically mentioned them. And then there were the off and on stings of what I knew as nerve pain. Guess there was some phantom pain at work. But what can you expect when the procedure was accomplished using alien technology? 

I tried to help with the house cleaning for home group, but Chris threw me to the ground and ripped the vacuum cleaner from my hands. Oh, and speaking of cleaning, I went into the bathroom before supper, and what to my horrified eyes should appear? My gloriously shining image had mysteriously vanished from the lid of the toilet. I was crushed. But word has it that the picture was beginning to reveal more and more signs of some exotic leprositic disease. So, sadly, it’s … gone. 

We had another birthday party at home group last night, amid the battle between the Israelites and Philistines. That thing (the battle, not the birthday bash) has been going on for a week or two now. Or three. Or maybe four. But we did celebrate Bobby’s very special entry into his decade of the 60’s. Welcome to the downhill slide, my friend. 

Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭18‬ says, The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Father, please be with Bobby on his trip back to Tennessee. Amen. 

August 31 - “A day of alien infiltration and recovery”

My day started off with one of the biggest challenges regarding any medical procedure involving sedation … yep, you guessed it. No food or drinks after midnight. Actually, my restriction wasn’t quite as restrictive as that. I couldn’t eat, but I was allowed to take my morning meds with clear liquids. In fact, I was allowed “clear liquids including black coffee” up until 6 a.m.  Wait. When did BLACK coffee become a CLEAR liquid?  Doesn’t make sense to me at all. I obeyed, though. Took my pills with water around 5 or so, then nursed a cup of coffee until 5:59. Way to go, Me. 

I did wake Chris from her beauty slumber way earlier than her usual. Not to take me to the doc, though. That wouldn’t be necessary until 7 or so. I just wanted her to join me for a romantic stroll to the middle of the street so we could gaze lovingly at the Blue Super Moon and at Saturn, lurking nearby. It was some really beautiful scenery. The astronomical phenomenon wasn’t bad, either. 

We arrived for my semi-voluntary alien probe at 8 a.m. sharp. Almost immediately they called us and another victim/ patient. As we approached the surgery suite we chatted. She was having the same procedure. She theorized that the doctor would do two procedures at once, one with each hand (I pictured here … “tentacle”). She said what she did jokingly.  If only she knew the truth that’s out there …

The nursing staff were all pleasant and excited to see us. Real party atmosphere. I was led into a room with a hospital bed and told to take my clothes off and put on a robe - the proverbial tie-in-the-back version. I crawled in bed and began the one hour wait for the procedure to begin. 

The nurse came in to see me and fill out some paperwork. She asked the question I had been preparing for all week: “What are you here for?” Naturally, I launched into my description of the alien RAI (Radioactive Atomic Incineration) gun and its capabilities. My fellow-abductee … er … neighbor on the other side of the curtain was quite entertained. Not so the nurse.  I think she was stunned by my knowledge and grasp of the true situation. She took it in stride, though, and checked off the question on her list. 

They finally came and got me and wheeled me, bed and all to the surgery room. They rolled me right up to the procedure table and were going to help be get on. But all I had to do was roll over onto my stomach and I was in place. Done. 

I don’t remember much about the procedure other than 3 or 4 stabs of pain. That was by design. Built into the happy juice they gave me. 

But immediately after, boy was I ever woozy. I actually needed the wheelchair. Not so much my head this time, though. My right leg just wasn’t sure it could remember the basic “steps” to walking. It eventually wore off, but Chris made me keep my hiking stick nearby. 

Oh … when they removed the IV, they also did their best to remove all traces of the alien futuristic intervention. How? They wrapped the area with tape … green tape … with dinosaurs on it. Dinosaurs?Really?

The plan is to take it real easy for a few days. Any pain is to be dealt with through ice packs. Any unusual continuation of symptoms like the wobbly leg, and I am to call right away, and/or go to the emergency room. By Saturday, according to the doctor assistant, I should be feeling “100%” better. 

Well … last night was a bit of a challenge. I woke up around 1 a.m. with my back just … hurting. Very strange, too. There was definitely a general aching that was familiar. Mixed in with that were occasional muscle spasms (I was warned about those by the doc). And to top it all off, there were some occasional stabbing nerve pains - the kind that really do wake you up. Rather than take the time to get an ice pack (or rather a bag of frozen peas), I got up and took a Tylenol and worked on another crossword puzzle for awhile. I finally dozed off again, and enjoyed a kind of fitful sleep-ish until I got up for good a little before 5.  Now we’ll see how today goes … 

John‬ ‭15‬:‭12‬ says, My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

Father, thanks for guiding that doc’s hand. The relief so far has been nice. Intermittent, but nice. Amen. 

August 30 - “Alien treatment”

Well, I sure had an interesting day. Actually, there wasn’t much interesting about it. I didn’t really do much of anything. 

Chris did her walk, but since we did yard work the days before, it was my day off. I did some early planning for the teachings I may or may not get a chance to do when and if our Mediterranean Cruise pans out next year. Other than that, watched as one TV and worked on our new jigsaw puzzle. 

But today promises to be … different, at least. We’re heading into Texas for me to receive specialized ray gun treatment administered by the reverse engineered technology from a downed alien spacecraft. Hopefully, it will successfully burn a few nerves in my back so that I won’t be able to feel the pain from pinched nerves there. Very hush hush stuff, you understand. 

Here we go … 

Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭9‬ ‭Says, If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Father, please be with the doc this morning. Give him those steady hands. Amen. 

August 29 - “Kumbayamatoes”

Yesterday was yard work day. I got the mower out, but Chris insisted she wanted to do it. Historically, that IS a task Chris has enjoyed doing. Of course, our mower is on its last leg, so I had to help her get it started. She took off, though. But … when she got to the front yard, she got yelled at by Corey. Our neighbors look out for us. He told her she shouldn’t be doing that. She replied, “It keeps Kelley from doing it.”  Umm … Thanks?

Continuing in this adventurous realm, I ate something for lunch that I can say I have never had before. Leftover ribs? Nope. They were good, but not what I’m talking about. A salad? No that’s not it. Well, it sort of is. I’ve had salad before, but never with one particular ingredient. Brown tomatoes. Called kumbayamatoes. Well, something like that. Our neighbor Janell found them at Krogers and she tried them at her house, but had too many for them to eat them all. Benefit - Vaughan’s. And, hey! If you didn’t look at the color, they tasted really good. Thanks, Janell. 

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭says, I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being

Father, thanks for our neighbors who really do care about us. Amen. 

August 28 - “Celebrating with the Methodists”

Met a family from Australia at church. Long way to come to church. Oh, and we had an interesting glitch in the sound system. Intermittently it sounded like someone was blowing their nose. Hilarious, but kind of gross. Not that the glitch had anything to do with the Australians. They all seemed really healthy. 

After church we joined some Seasiders at Pit Stop for some barbecue. There was a pretty big group from a local Methodist church already there when we arrived. As we chatted with one of them, we found that he had just been baptized that morning, and the crowd was there to celebrate. He was one excited individual. Pretty special thing to be excited about. 

1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭6 says, Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

Father, be with the guy who was so excited about his new connection to you and to your church. Help him grow. Amen. 

August 27 - “Futbol Furnace”

Yesterday we drove clear to the other side of Pearland to watch Cailyn play in a soccer tournament. The good guys lost the first game. No further comment other than … it was hot. Capital H hot. Fortunately, the game only lasted an hour. And out of that hour, they had four water breaks. Temp at game time was 96*, wind chill of 102*. No wind. Nathan did bring his battery operated fan, so we were able to sit in front of the the hair dryer it created. Thanks, Nathan. 

We vacated the Futbol Furnace (FF) as soon as we could. The AC in Nathan’s truck never felt so good. He drove us to Firehouse Subs for some lunch and some more time in the AC. About the time we had almost recovered, it was time to head back to the FF for one more game. 

Game two began at 107* … er … I mean … 2:15. I guess I mean 107* was the wind chill. Game time actual temp back at the FF was 101*. Unbearable. But we stuck it out to encourage the girls. They played much better, but they lost just 1-0.  Very proud of them. Especially Cailyn, of course. 

Psalms‬ ‭105‬:‭1 says, Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.

Father, thank you for watching over those young ladies during those soccer games. Please do it again this afternoon at their game. Amen. 

August 26 - “Pondering”

I made my third walk goal for this week! Of course Chris does that all the time. But I made the two miler again. Good thing I got it in, too. Today we are going to watch Cailyn play soccer in the Pearland heat, and tomorrow we have church. Two days off. Woohoo!

We spent the afternoon doing something I never thought we would even two or three years ago. We pondered, then moved into the research phase, of planning a possible Mediterranean cruise. And the one we’re looking at even includes stops with excursions to Jerusalem, Ephesus, Athens, and Rome. Just investigating still, but it sure sounds exciting. Now to see if we can fund it …

Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28 says, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Father, it would be really nice for Chris to get to see some of the Holy Land places. Give us some wisdom in that direction. Amen.