My first picture of Dancer on a too infrequent walk using the iPhone in weeks. Is is a rejuvenation on the birthday of my former mother-in-law, a woman who I love and consider my second mother and who is loved by my mother and who we called on her birth day this day and she answered and returned a phone call as promised? A person with integral and unchallenged integrity and fortitude. I don't believe so because change comes dripping slow and I ache or at least pretend to as I waste each day, one after another.
Showing posts with label Mom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mom. Show all posts
Saturday, August 16, 2014
15 August 2014: Friday ... Mom's birthday ... a rejuvenation ... a walk nearing sunset
My first picture of Dancer on a too infrequent walk using the iPhone in weeks. Is is a rejuvenation on the birthday of my former mother-in-law, a woman who I love and consider my second mother and who is loved by my mother and who we called on her birth day this day and she answered and returned a phone call as promised? A person with integral and unchallenged integrity and fortitude. I don't believe so because change comes dripping slow and I ache or at least pretend to as I waste each day, one after another.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
29 July 2014: Tuesday ... Mom's 83rd birthday ... Christine's lesson of patience in yoga ... Nick's call ... NV's call ... Uncle Nick's call ... flowers from Acme ... a herd of deer by JDHS
The array of flowers and cards for Mom's birthday.
Mom poses behind orchids sent by Doug.
It is so easy to break out of a routine and settle back into lethargy and renew that sense of incompetence. Yet, to learn patience -- represented so aptly by breathing in yoga and the focus of Christine's class this morning -- is to be able to take the time, each day, to do a little of a variety of activities that activate the mind and spirit, much like this writing, just a few minutes, after a much needed walk around JDHS and a circle of the quarter mile on the track with Dancer outside of the fence and not inside the track and the football field, where we marched over 40 years ago and sat in the stands playing our fight songs for the team.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
1 July 2014: Tuesday ... Email on the iPad ... Andrea & dialectical behavior therapy ... Belgium beats US, 2-1, in OT (great game) ... Mom recalling boat trip home
She's learning and yes, I forced her to write a few short e-mails this morning on the iPad, return posts to Mary Picking, Norma Clara Nyhoff, and Lori Jones. It's slow going but she's getting the hang of it and learning the position of the letters on the keyboard. What it does do is take her mind off her symptoms and focus on another activity. When she was writing and composing the short responses, her physical complaints vanished. Now, I'm sure she's still feeling the pain but she didn't mention them. I think that's good. I also entered the cell number of Mary P. and made the phone call before I left for the Y and she had, I believe, a nice conversation with her longtime friend, not an unlikely outcome as Mom 2 is always endearing and connected on the phone.
She asked to sit at my table (the only one by the coffee station in the Y hallway between the youth center and toddler care rooms) to read her book, Doing Dialectical Behavior Therapy: A Practical Guide by Kelly Koerner, one about a form of psychotherapy that uses the word dialectical behavior therapy.
Her name, Andrea, is from her French (she knows some but has worked to be fluent and has gained it in Spanish with trips to Barcelona and Costa Rica) mother and it comes with an accent aigu on the "e" and stress on the second syllable "dray" and not the first "Ahn" (phonetic spellings). She is a decade divorced with three kids and is now looking toward graduate school to expand her psychology degree from university. She is also a longtime practitioner of yoga and took the class with Christine, who sang to us beautifully, acapella, at its conclusion, just prior to three chimes. It was rewarding to meet her, she never got to read her book, but I have that effect on people. I'm a talker and am interested in people. I don't give them a break.
Well, the U.S. run in the World Cup is over in a thrilling game where a more talented Belgian team beat the U.S. team in overtime, 2-1. Goalie for the US, Tim Howard, made the most saves ever in a World Cup game. He was extraordinary but he couldn't keep them all out.
She asked to sit at my table (the only one by the coffee station in the Y hallway between the youth center and toddler care rooms) to read her book, Doing Dialectical Behavior Therapy: A Practical Guide by Kelly Koerner, one about a form of psychotherapy that uses the word dialectical behavior therapy.
Her name, Andrea, is from her French (she knows some but has worked to be fluent and has gained it in Spanish with trips to Barcelona and Costa Rica) mother and it comes with an accent aigu on the "e" and stress on the second syllable "dray" and not the first "Ahn" (phonetic spellings). She is a decade divorced with three kids and is now looking toward graduate school to expand her psychology degree from university. She is also a longtime practitioner of yoga and took the class with Christine, who sang to us beautifully, acapella, at its conclusion, just prior to three chimes. It was rewarding to meet her, she never got to read her book, but I have that effect on people. I'm a talker and am interested in people. I don't give them a break.Well, the U.S. run in the World Cup is over in a thrilling game where a more talented Belgian team beat the U.S. team in overtime, 2-1. Goalie for the US, Tim Howard, made the most saves ever in a World Cup game. He was extraordinary but he couldn't keep them all out.
Goalkeeper Tim Howard played the match of his life, but in the end the U.S.
couldn't win against Belgium.Belgium won 2-1 in today's World Cup match in Salvador, Brazil,
eliminating the U.S. from the tournament. But it could have been worse had Howard not been
the team's savior in the goal -- recording a spectacular 16 saves. (Just learned in an ABC News
feature that Howard suffered from Tourette's Syndrome as a child and soccer was a refuge,
raised by a single mom.)
feature that Howard suffered from Tourette's Syndrome as a child and soccer was a refuge,
raised by a single mom.)
Mom got to talking today while I watched a segment on the NewsHour, something I wanted to watch but I also listened to her talk about Holland and Doug turning two on the boat and Uncle Dick passing away soon after our boat left Holland for New York, a trip, she thought 4-5 days, but there was a play area which I was hesitant and unsure of and said no to, but they dropped me off there with my walking brother (he started at 9 months) and we were having a great time. Well, as Jeffrey Brown interviewed Evan Osnos of The New Yorker magazine, who has written a book on China, about the 17th anniversary of the turning over of Hong Kong to China (a period of time that I worked as a fill-in photojournalist at The Chronicle, before digital but where I scanned negatives and did not print photos, when the photo-j I replaced went to Hong Kong to cover the turnover).
Certainly not the boat we took but it may have been Holland Lines.
Certainly not the boat we took but it may have been Holland Lines.
But it's good to listen when she talks and recalls, especially when I hurt my ankle in dad's bike, just a few days before the return trip. The wound was open and had to be changed regularly. I still have scar on my lower left ankle.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
22 June 2014: Sunday ... High Clouds, Brilliant Sun Thru Window Shades ... TED Radio Hour on iPhone ... breakfast at a packed Crossroads ... lunch @ Hartefeld ... Doug leaves minutes after 3 p.m. for 7 p.m. flight
It's the GUY Radio Hour, I'm Ted Roz. (I found that spoonerism amusing this morning.)
MOM HAS TAKEN HER OWN SHOWER this morning (Hallelujah!). She also made her bed and folded clothes from a dryer load I placed their prior to her shower, but she has a "kink" in her back. Think she feels good about her accomplishment, though.
"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." ~ Henry David Thoreau
I saw an elderly couple, similar in perspective (they looked alike), stoic, seated in a booth at Crossroads Restaurant this morning as Doug and I ordered our breakfast (Doug waffles and assorted pork sides, moi a broccoli scramble). Unspeaking, they turned to leave at the same time and got up from their seats, at the same time, and then, she smiled, which broke the frieze.
Hartefeld National, a premier Avondale golf club, features 18 challenging golf holes
designed by renowned architect Tom Fazio.
Great walk today with Dancer at Carousel, almost all off leash, we walked exactly 3.0 miles when we got back to the car, the lone one in the parking lot for Bark Park off Skyline Drive. Where was everybody? Watching Team USA tie Portugal, 2-2. The game was over when I began my walk -- Portugal tied it, literally, in the last seconds of the game on a cross and header (a beautiful goal) -- so USA now has 4 points and missed an opportunity to head straight into the Round of 16 and eliminate Portugal. But back to the reason for this cutline, our walk. It was wonderful and different, a trail that took me through the woods and back out onto a walk leading over the bridge, where Dancer plopped down and drank (I caught a photo of
her on the bridge from below ...
).
MOM HAS TAKEN HER OWN SHOWER this morning (Hallelujah!). She also made her bed and folded clothes from a dryer load I placed their prior to her shower, but she has a "kink" in her back. Think she feels good about her accomplishment, though.
"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." ~ Henry David Thoreau
I saw an elderly couple, similar in perspective (they looked alike), stoic, seated in a booth at Crossroads Restaurant this morning as Doug and I ordered our breakfast (Doug waffles and assorted pork sides, moi a broccoli scramble). Unspeaking, they turned to leave at the same time and got up from their seats, at the same time, and then, she smiled, which broke the frieze.
Hartefeld National, a premier Avondale golf club, features 18 challenging golf holes
designed by renowned architect Tom Fazio.
Great walk today with Dancer at Carousel, almost all off leash, we walked exactly 3.0 miles when we got back to the car, the lone one in the parking lot for Bark Park off Skyline Drive. Where was everybody? Watching Team USA tie Portugal, 2-2. The game was over when I began my walk -- Portugal tied it, literally, in the last seconds of the game on a cross and header (a beautiful goal) -- so USA now has 4 points and missed an opportunity to head straight into the Round of 16 and eliminate Portugal. But back to the reason for this cutline, our walk. It was wonderful and different, a trail that took me through the woods and back out onto a walk leading over the bridge, where Dancer plopped down and drank (I caught a photo of
her on the bridge from below ...
Monday, June 9, 2014
15 May 2014: Thursday ... Tina from China (workout BodyVive) ... Carol the panda expert & National Zoo lover (Bao-Bao cam) ... Nick at work (photo by David Keesee) ... Mom sends text to Doug ...
Nick at work, happily, at The Soul Bar, photographed
by David Keesee, who's stopping by the place a couple of times a week.
Bao Bao, panda at the National Zoo.
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/webcams/giant-panda.cfm
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
27 May 2014: Tuesday ... great workouts with Pamela & Christine ... Mom watching the birds from her bedroom ... Walmart pay-it-forward moment ... bought a fan ... called Horizon about AC check & repair
Sunday, May 11, 2014
11 May 2014: Sunday ... Mother's Day ... Flower Communion at Church ... relationship assumption w/Maggie ... Hispanic twins, uno mas nina a cinco ... Mom as artist ... joyful conversation (again) w/Eleanor ...
Mom created this painting/picture on the iPad with an app I downloaded. It is called "Foolproof" and indeed, you can't miss with it. After you load the picture -- this one of Dancer from the Wilmington Flower Market at Rockford Park yesterday at the performance venue as I sat eating lunch with Katia -- you just use your finger and stroke the image to completion. Took her a while to figure it was her favorite dog but she got it after a little bit and enjoyed the activity. Hopefully, she's doing the same with the second pic I downloaded from Facebook, the one of me petting Dancer along the Brandywine River taken by the women couple under the bridge on a rainy afternoon last month.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
9 May 2014: Friday ... Mt. Cuba Center lunch break w/Katia ... Liz & Frank's Mother's Day flowers ... English yew w/docent Dick Cloud ...
Mom gives Liz a Thank You call for the flowers in the background.
An English Yew plant is a beautiful growth. There are two at Mt. Cuba, anniversary gifts to the Copelands from some 80 years ago. They are youngsters but are huge. Our docent guide, Dick Cloud, said they live 100s of years and were used by individuals to fashion strong and long bows for launching arrows. Hard to imagine as the plant's limbs are twisted and short but some have length, so, with age, I imagine, there could be large enough boughs to work up a weapon the height of a 6-foot person.
This English yew is a lot larger than the one at Mt. Cuba.
Monday, May 5, 2014
Friday, May 2, 2014
1 May 2014: Thursday (May Day) ...
A short post because I was too lazy to do any blogging or writing at close of the first day of May ... a memorable moment was watching the Bruins-Canadians playoff game while Saint-Saens' Organ Symphony #3 (mom's favorite) played on the iPad on her hospital bed. It really sounded OK as the teams battled into the first OT (Montreal won the game in the 2nd OT, 4-3).
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
7 April 2014: Rene visits while I'm at the Y ... mom calls as I spin ... cancel dad's AAA membership ... sign up for Nielsen ... Eleanor's contribution in dad's behalf to Am Cancer Society ... Associates rehearsal at Gordon's tonight ... misty walk with Dancer
Working out was a challenge today. I was, as Helena declared, the "token" male in Body Pump today, hiding back in the corner, but it was a good workout as only the maid from Brighton can do. She is tough on herself and her fellow practitioners. Afterward, the minutes went slowly during cycling/spinning with Carla. It went faster when she challenged us to a 2-minute pick-up to see if we could make a mile on our monitor. My first attempt went for .97 mile and on my second attempt, I went for 1.03 miles, so the encouragement was vital and I even boasted of my achievement. (I was in the first row next to the middle-aged woman with the great legs, always riding in the first row, next to John.)
During my spinning got a call from mom. A nurse, Rene, came to visit and she called out the front window about the key under the mat.
During my spinning got a call from mom. A nurse, Rene, came to visit and she called out the front window about the key under the mat.
Friday, March 21, 2014
20 March 2014: Thursday ... 1st day of Spring ... Hallelujah ... A Great Day ... filled with wonderful interactions (so many to document) ... Brandywine Springs Park history ...
- Poor mom has the cold that I had and she's congested, coughing and is miserable. Thankfully, we got a visit from a PRN nurse, Erica, who entered with her laptop in her folded arms and was thoroughly helpful (I'd called Beth Kincaid earlier and she said that she was wrapped up and said that another nurse would come visit ... got a call almost immediately from Erica). I went to RiteAid and got some Mucinex and it helped right away with it's combo of pain relief, decongestant, and cough suppressant.
- Fantastic Body Pump with Jennifer Fawzi. She really got into it and taught the moves so well. Afterward, I told her so and then kidded her that she should talk to someone at the "Y" about getting on full time. "I do work here full time," she chimed back.
- Got my login straight for Expresso HD and road a moderate course of just over 5 miles, not too much terrain, and road for a little over 20 minutes after Body Pump. Nice finish. Did not have the energy to do spinning like John does, who, by the way, had his knee go funny in BP and had to take it easy for awhile.
- Delightful Heidi (the one who wears the foot-shaped athletic shoes and absolutely loves Body Combat by participating with intense zeal) , whose name I learned today, manned a volunteer slot for a booth detailing the fund drive by the Y for its yearly goal to raise money to assist needy members and other needs. There only about 1/2 there and the Fit to Give campaign, which is this Saturday, the 22nd, is just a part of it.
- Learned from a woman, who I did not know, but who immediately picked up on my kidding at the coffee station when she brought back her cup and I asked where she'd made it to my liking. She said she had. I felt serendipity and asked about caring for an aging parent who had a cold. She had some good suggestions: Mrs. Grass chicken soup (comes in a box, which I found at Acme and saw Susan Okarski (who checked my few groceries ... Mrs. Grass chicken soup mix, mango Popsicles), who told me about a longtime nurse, who lived in Limestone Gardens and died a few days ago and who worked for Dr. Georgieff, who I think was the Okarski's doctor), some sherbet, which I could not find.
- Fantastic walk and return to memory lane and learn history at Brandywine Springs Park. Posted Dancer on a trail above the Red Clay Creek on FB and got some tremendous responses about the park's history.
Made our way to Brandywine Springs Park which the Red Clay Creek, seen in the back, traverses and was treated to a history lesson. Dancer walks near the boardwalk that took people between amusement sites at a former park, now all oer'grown and just whispers of a generation gone. Fascinating and nostalgic. What you don't know about your own neighborhood. — with Dancer at Brandywine Springs State Park.
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