Showing posts with label Julie and Mike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Julie and Mike. Show all posts

Monday, February 27, 2023

GOING TOO FAST

From this pix 3 1/2 years ago with Mike, Syd and newborn Anthony...
to now with Julie (Jim's daughter) holding Anthony.
And Anthony who is already techno savvy at 3 
and older brother Syd who just turned 8 this week.
Syd tells me he is the 2nd best kid on his basketball team,
hee hee,
and he's also smart as a whip.

                Syd
It truly is remarkable but maybe kind of sad too
 how much these kids absorb and know at such an early age these days.
And how different parenting seems 
with all the resources our children have at their disposal for our grands. 
Is it a good thing?
Only time will tell how this new generation will turn out.
I really hope I live long enough to see it.
And I hope it's positive.
But based on what I'm seeing in our sheltered upscale neighborhood 
and community here in Anaheim Hills,
the generation before these young ones (the older teens) 
are going everywhere in their pajama bottoms,
 and don't want to work, get a job, or volunteer in their communities.
And the drugs,
not just the pot,
are easily available at our local high schools 
with Heroin being the popular drug of choice.
These kids here seem so entitled, slovenly and crazy disrespectful
 and that scares me.
I had a couple teens a few months back who were jumping our pool fence
which is prohibited and posted tell me to "F" off when I called them on it.
And when our security showed up,
 they were too chicken to take them on and let them stay.
Unbelievable!!!
And of course we are seeing less and less consequences.
I know there are exceptions but overall this is what I'm seeing.
Also noticing the boy and girl scouts/camp fire girls are a dying breed.

Is this just in Southern California or where you live too?
Are you as worried as I am?

Sorry for this rant,
it just kind of all spilled out.
Or maybe I'm just getting old and frightened.
LOL

And have I mentioned yet how much I dislike our Governor?
I better not let myself get started on that.
Ha ha!

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

BFF's FOREVER

Meet Sophie and Bogie.
They do not care for each other,
instead merely tolerate when the occasion arises.
Sophie has been known to snap at Bogie when he gets too near me or her food.
Bogie is scared of Soph big time.

Sophie belongs to Jim and I,
a rescue that we got right before we married,
 so we guess she is about 13 years old now.
An older lady set in her ways,
an only child.

Bogie was dumped off at a golf course,
 we think,
because he was so incorrigible.
A very naughty boy.
See this link that inspired an art quilt in Feb. 2010.
He had Doggy Obedience school.
He flunked as did we with him.
My ex and I adopted him about 16 years ago,
and when we divorced he stayed with my ex.
He is a friendly pup and loves everybody,
even other dogs and cats,
except of course for my Sophie.
She is a meanie.
We think Bogie is a Rat Terrier with nervous energy.
Sophie, we think, is a Wheaten Terrier, Cocker, and Poodle mix,
usually very relaxed, laid back and sweet except when she sees Bogie.

Ahhh,
but look at this,
they are chilling side by side,
not touching,
 mind you, 
but long enough for me to take a pix.

Ok, so what's going on here?
I've been babysitting Bogie for the past 2 1/2 weeks now 
because my ex, Inars, suffered a mild heart arrest
 3 weeks ago on the golf course.
His 2 best friends he was with saved his life by administrating CPR
until 911 arrived.
A detective took over from them until the ambulance got there.
 Paramedics did 3 paddle shocks and 5 adrenaline shots to the heart.
Inars was without a heartbeat and oxygen for 30 mins total.
A very long time.
We were scared to death.
And Bogie needed a home.

On the exact same day my husband Jim,
yes the one who had the terrible car accident,
was taken to the hospital by ambulance.
He was having difficulty with balance and walking
(along with several other motor skills) 
and fell into our sliding glass door. 
Thank goodness the plants against the door broke his fall so he didn't go all the way thru the glass.
But he did hit his head and was very confused and not able to walk.
Turns out Jim had 2 brain bleeds.  
One from the accident a few months ago that was slowly building up 
and creating dementia like symptoms,
and a new bleed from his fall into the door.
An MRI was done and a Neurosurgeon was brought in
 to immediately drill 2 holes on either side of his skull and release the fluids.
It worked!!

But more bad news.
Both men were hospitalized for over 2 weeks,
Inars also being treated for a UTI and an infectious bacteria.
We had to suit up to go into his hospital room.
He also lost all his cognitive abilities.
His name, his address, where he was.
The list was long.
 My two children were with him day and night 
helping him,
quizzing him until he started to remember things.
I have never been prouder of how they stepped up to the plate
to be there for him and continue to do so now that he's home.
And did I mention that he contacted Covid in the hospital too?
And that he was sent home to us infectious with that?
Again both children were there regardless if they caught it or not.
Crazy loving kids.

Jim also lost his bearings for a couple of days after brain surgery,
but actually recovered quicker mentally.
He was also diagnosed with pneumonia along with the brain bleeds. 
What do they say?
When it rains it pours,
right??

The good news.
Jim is now in a wonderful Rehab center learning how to walk and balance again.
He will be coming home to me this Friday with a plan for lots of Physical Therapy
and Narcotics free.
Bogie is back home with his dad
who will be getting a defibulator as soon as his Covid is over,
and his memory is getting stronger everyday.
Sophie is an only child again.
And as you can see below,
Bogie and Sophie learned how to co-exist peacefully side by side
and have decided they can bee Best Friends Forever.
Sophie actually even gave the Bogster a kiss yesterday when I brought her over with me to check on my ex.
Life is looking up again!

A special note:
I was never alone in all of this.  
Jim's amazing daughter Julie and her husband Mike 
were by my side the entire time,
constantly calling doctors, checking on meds,
even feeding me a Thanksgiving dinner when I wasn't able to get out to
celebrate with my son's in-laws,
a lovely tradition that's been going on for years now.
Thank you Mike and Julie,
I could have never done this without you.

And to my two children,
Zach and Danielle.
How I love you both with all my heart.
How very much you have learned in the past 3 weeks.
All new experiences for you,
life lessons that have taken their toll on you both and your partners.
Like I said above,
I couldn't be prouder of you both,
especially how you shared the responsibilities equally.
Dad and are are so very lucky that you both are ours.