The pieces are everywhere and some may be difficult to find - but I am going to Sherlock-Holmes them with a vengeance.


I went to visit my ill first cousin and his wife in Georgia on March 16th.  This visit was planned in advance, but he subsequently had a double heart attack, coded, was brought back only to go into intensive care and then hospice.  I stayed with his wife, Jeannie, at hospice until he passed.  If only he had a DNR in place, he would have avoided unnecessary suffering and the family would have avoided helplessly watching him die.  A message to my family:  if there is no chance of me living a normal life in an event such as this, DNR!!  


Flying is another nightmare  - I am talking about flying in a plane - flying around the house with my special flying skills is another subject for another day.  It is even worse when you have to change flights midstream.  Atlanta Airport - forget trying to find the car rental place - and it is not "just around the corner".  You are packed like sardines into seats designed for a skinny teenager, the person who used the seat belt before you was a size 0,and the plane looks like it was built by the Wright Brothers.  Since you have to cram everything you can into your overhead bag so you don't have to pay to check one, it weighs more than the huge person who winds up sitting next to you and is impossible to lift to put into the compartment. Because everyone is already edgy, civility has been left at the hanger and no one offers to help - until it lands on the head of the aisle person who shoves it in and plops down with disgust.  So, from the time I had to leave my cousin's house in GA (4:00 am for a 7:00 am flight), return the car, catch flight no. 1, land in Charlotte, catch flight no. 2, go to off-site parking to retrieve my car and drive home - 8 hours have passed!  It takes 11 to drive down - which is what I shall do the next time.


So, I get home on Sunday, do a little stuff around the house, grab a glass of wine (or 2) and settle down in my comfy bed to rest and enjoy a surprise visit from daughter no. 1.  I wake up at 2:00 am with horrible stomach pains and am vomiting my guts out.  After no cessation for 5 hours, I got to ER, am admitted and treated for diverticulitis or possibly a viral intestinal infection.  The pain was like childbirth without a bonus at the end~  But, all better now and my 3 girls are helping me to get back on the right track at tempering stress levels and living better.


So, I am going around my life and looking for the pieces that are missing or need some attention in order for them to fit properly - starting with drinking my 8 8-oz glasses of water, eating a fiber-enriched diet, and moving about more.  Who knew?


Tomorrow, I will write about the reaction of my animals to my homecoming~


Hugs,
Trish