I’m posting my usual ‘Monday post’ on Tuesday because I simply couldn’t motivate myself to write anything yesterday. Life continues to throw curve balls at me, and sometimes it just gets to be a bit too much. Yesterday was one of those days…
The weekend was a busy one. Our oldest son turned 33 on May 10–Mother’s Day.
the birthday boy
Our entire family (almost) celebrated his birthday with him on Saturday night. His wife made delicious pulled pork for supper, and finished the meal off with her delicious ‘Hershey Bar Cake’. I can’t believe 33 years have passed since our son entered this world–just four hours after Mother’s Day of 1982 ended.
Of course, the Saturday night celebration was followed, on Sunday, by Mother’s Day. I’d like to say it was a ‘great’ Mother’s Day, but instead I’ll just have to say it was a ‘different’ Mother’s Day. We went through the motions of celebrating, as usual. I spent time with my daughter and both of my sons, at different points throughout the day. I received several lovely gifts, some cards (and a letter), and Ed took care of making breakfast and lunch. I felt very loved and appreciated, but a cloud loomed over our celebrations–and I didn’t take one single picture.
The damper on the celebrations was the fact that our son-in-law, of almost 14 years, was not with us. He and our daughter are in the midst of some marital woes, and are currently spending some time apart. Life threw us this curve ball about a week ago, and we’re still reeling from it. If you know me, you know how I feel about family and marriage, so I’m definitely hoping and praying the two of them will be able to back up, regroup, and make things right again. In the meantime, it’s tough for all.
Life threw, yet another, curve ball when our son helped us install a moisture meter (I think the correct term is humidistat) under our house over the weekend. Even after adding insulation and a moisture barrier, the humidity level under our house was still over 80%! I wanted to cry. For the moment, we’ve added a fan to the equation, which seems to help some. In the meantime, we’re figuring out our next course of action.
I’m still having some back issues, but continue to put off going to the doctor because of the medical bills I know it will cause. Most of the time my back feels okay, but my left leg continues to be a problem. Sometimes my leg goes to sleep if I sit or lie down in a certain position, and sometimes it will begin to have what can only be described as spasms when I walk. It often feels ‘heavy’. For now, I’ll continue my ‘wait and see’ approach. My daddy had chronic back issues, as does my older brother. I’m pretty sure it’s genetic.
Ed continues taking care of the garden alone. I am finally able to walk out there each day, but that’s pretty much all I can do, at the moment.
Ed (far left) hoeing alone
2015 is proving to be a challenge, in gardening, for us. The ground is either too wet or it’s too dry. Then there’s the challenge of fighting off insects, rabbits, and deer. Our latest curve ball, regarding the garden, happened yesterday, when the tire of the tiller blew up! Ed just bought a new tube for that same tire, last week. Now he’ll have to buy the whole tire. It’s always something!
a few garden-fresh veggies
On a happier note, so far we’ve enjoyed fresh squash, carrots, cabbage, and garden peas, and a few blueberries from our garden. The hens have been enjoying fresh lettuce from the garden, each day. We expect to have fresh potatoes and onions in a few more days, and, hopefully, some green beans before too much longer.
During these days of our trials and tribulations, I have to constantly remind myself, Kathy, things could always be worse. God showed me this, yesterday, when a particular incident occurred. I’d sent Ed to town to run an errand for me. He’d only been gone a few minutes when the phone rang. It was Ed, on the other in of the line, saying, “It’s me.” He went on to tell me that he’d come upon a bad wreck, on the way to town, involving a large tanker and a pickup. There were two Life Star helicopters on the scene. Ed was calling to let me know he wasn’t involved in the accident, in case I heard about it before he returned. After I hung up, I immediately thanked God that Ed hadn’t left for town a few minutes earlier. Yes, things could always be worse–but I’m sure hoping they’ll be better soon.
Reflections...by Kathy 
When it rains, it pours, doesn’t it? Is your back pain caused by sciatica? I had that a couple of years ago…not so fun. Every now & then I’ll feel a pain and think, “Uh-oh”.
Hope everything gets back to normal soon. Praying for your daughter & SIL.
About the sciatica: I went to the chiropractor…it took about a week, but he fixed it! When I feel it coming on now, I stretch (and stretch & stretch!). I found a few exercises online, and my chiropractor told me to do the same ones. Apparently stretching helps.
Oh my, 2015 is not your year, is it? But remember these things make us stronger. However, do see about your back. Make sure it’s nothing more serious, which in th elong run could turn out to be very expensive in more ways thank money. Time spent gardening and enjoying every day life is priceless and precious.
Happy 33rd Birthday to your son! Our daughter turns 34 next week. My heart feels your pain. It is very difficult when these things happen in our lives. We have been dealing with marital problems with our daughter and son in law for two years now. They are seeing each other now, he spend the night often but he is not living here with her. He isn’t very sociable with us and it is breaking me apart. I will be praying for your daughters marriage. ((HUGS)) Your garden looks amazing and I too always have to be thankful to God because things can always be worse in many situation.
Happy birthday to your oldest.m it’s heartbreaking to see our kiddos going through difficult times, isn’t it? I don’t know about you, but I want to kick into Mama mode, swoop in and fix everything. I know I can’t (and shouldn’t) but I sure want to. I’m praying for your daughter and her marriage … and for you and your back, too.