some good thoughts

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone: Hope you're all having as good a day as can be today. Sometimes I

get time to just sit and think and relax. Today was one of those days. My

husband is pretty weak from having to take lactulose 3 times a day and not

having a big appetite besides. He has lost quite a bit of muscle mass and has a

hard time with routine things. Last week when we had the ambulance here, one of

the ambulance guys said to me that I might at some time have to consider putting

him in a nursing home. That was the day he went to the hospital, not one of his

good days. Today we got up and I got him into the shower. We have a nice

shower seat he can sit on, and my son installed a hand held shower head a couple

of days ago. That thing is a real Godsend. He sat on his seat and enjoyed a

good soaking and shampoo with a nice head massage. The portable shower head

sure came in handy a few nights ago when he had one of his " lactulose episodes "

if you know what I mean. I got him into the shower, hosed him down, got clean

clothes on him and got him back to bed. Then I took the portable seat that goes

over the toilet and stood it in the shower and hosed it down. Much faster

clean-up. Well, this morning, my husband was remembering the episode from the

other night and said he feels bad for me that I have to do all this stuff for

him. He said maybe he should go in a nursing home. I got him all dressed and

into his recliner, then I checked his blood sugar, gave him his meds, breakfast

and a shave and haircut. After that he said he felt like a million bucks. I

said to him " why should I put you in a nursing home and pay them thousands of

dollars to do what I can do for you? " Then I told him it's kind of like being a

baby the 2nd time around but this time you're aware of it and you get to enjoy

it. That got me thinking--I can remember how scared I was 28 years ago when our

twins were born. We only expected one baby. Jimmy came into the world without

a name. I remember how scared I was when I brought them home and wondered how

would I know what to do to take care of them. Like everything else, you learn

as you go. Life is an adventure--a wonderful one. As the months turned to

years I learned many new things and had lots of fun being their mom. On the

days that I didn't get it right I tried something else until I did get it right.

Now 28 years later they have become nice young men. Now I'm dealing with my

" big baby. " On the days that I don't get it quite right I try something else

and I enjoy the good days when all is well in his world. We will be able to

look back on this experience someday and say " we done good! " There are

blessings to be found in each day. May you all be blessed with those good days

frequently. Jackie