Surgery, pain and life.

This will be short. I am one handed and in pain but have to brag about a wonderful husband and sweet granddaughter.

Friday I had surgery on my hand. it was n extensive surgery where they removed the joint at the base of my thumb on my right hand and made a new one out of a ligament from my arm. This meant cutting the ligament and turning it back around and stringing it through a hole they drilled in my thumb bone. They then roll the rest of the ligament up and shove it where the joint was and it now will settle in and become the joint.  All this means I can’t use the hand for a month. After the month it will get retrained to work, then they will do my other hand.

My dear husband has taken off work this week to help me. Pain and the inability to use my right hand has me a bit handicapped.  Yesterday I had to have my 3 yr old granddaughter help me get my pants up!

For me not doing is hard. My lambs are being cared for by hubby. Two lambs are afraid of my hand and look at the cast and bandage as a threat. One tries to defend himself and protect me from my hand! Not a good thing! Depressing for me to not even be able to go sit with them for a bit.

I do not know how you handle things like this but I am a much better care giver than a patient.  Pray for my poor hubby and for me.

As faithful readers know, I babysit one of my granddaughters all day, every day. She is a delight, but has brains beyond  her years of 3! Her association and quick thinking can be a real challenge on many days, a big source of humor on other days.   Yesterday was both.

Over the weekend my husband was finally getting at the rest of the painting in the living room. That is until he ran out of paint and time and could not finish the one wall.  Here is what it looked like when he got done rolling out all that was left on the roller just to use it up.

I asked my granddaughter if she liked the way PAPA painted the wall.

Nose turned up, eyes funny as if to say “I need to be polite, but it looks awful” she said a sarcastic “yeah” and, not missing a beat, pointed to the other walls

and said: “So, you painted the other walls?” in a tone that said “they look so good I know HE would not have done it”.

NO darling, PAPA did them all and then I explained.

Later that day I caught her outside on the porch with a pointed stick trying to poke the goat in the eye.

I screamed and made her come in and gave her a good talking to and a corner to sit in.

That night her dad talked to her about being mean to animals and never hitting or poking an animal. He went through all about being kind to animals when  granddaughter got into his face and put her finger on his nose and said “But Daddy, YOU are the one that throws rocks at the cats” walked away and would not listen to him any more on the subject.

Yes, this is a 3 yr old. Kids listen to our actions more than out words.

While the first incident with the paint was funny and an association that was humorous, the second one is a lesson in actions speak louder than words.

What ARE we really telling our children and grandchildren? They will learn what they see us do quicker and more meaningful than what our words say.

Some days a three year old can test you to the end. Today was one of those days.

Most of you know I watch my 3 yr old granddaughter every day. She is one of those kids that is ahead of her age and you never know what to expect from her. She is tall and yesterday someone thought she was going into Kindergarten or first grade. She is only 3 and a half!

Today I was not sure what she was acting like. How it all started is a blur at this point, I am so tired and the mess she has left behind is still all over as I have no energy to pick it up.

I walked into the kitchen this morning and there on the counter was they chocolate syrup. It was in the refrigerator. I opened the frig to put it back and saw the lid was not on the milk. I knew what I must have interrupted. Walking back to the counter I found my coffee cup with chocolate syrup in it, my dishcloth with syrup on it and milk in the sink.

Dear darling granddaughter was out on the front porch, she ran there when I came out of the bathroom.

In and out all day, clothes hanging to dry pulled down making a cape for riding the bike. When I told her to put on her shoes I was told “Dang it (PAPA taught her that one) I do not want to wear shoes.

I fix the clothes, she went inside. Mess after mess happening.

Finally she went to the bathroom. I knew she had not gone in a bit so did not think anything of it., that is till I went in the bathroom.

I never saw she went in with a spoon or I might have known something was not right, you just do not take spoons into the bathroom. I never saw the spoon though, but wish I did.

On my counter, and on her, was a mix of Oil Of Olay, ChiggerX, toothpaste and cherry lotion. She had spooned out my jar of Olay and added ChiggerX to it, then the other stuff and made a nice mess.

I got after her for the umpteenth time and put her in a chair in the corner. The only corner I thought was safe.

I walked to the corner moments later and there was water all over the floor. I knew she never left the corner so asked how it got there.

This little girl planned ahead. Behind a can on the fireplace bricks was her tea set, all filled with water and ready to play with!

The day went on like that, one thing after another but at least I knew to watch the corner for her stash.

Some time after I spoke to her mom and told her about my day. She told me that the night before she had to put her in the corner for a time out also, but mom found the stash first. Hidden in the corner, but sticking out enough to catch mom’s eye, was some suckers (or lollipops, according to where you are from). They were hiding there for the next time she had to sit in the corner.

So, mom’s, grammies, aunties or who ever you are, search the corners before placing a child in for time out. I learned the hard way!

On August 20th I am having surgery on my hands. I am not looking forward to it at all. Until I went to see the Dr. for what I thought was going to be a simple carpal tunnel surgery answer I never knew there was such a thing as thumb joint replacement. I knew of knees being replaced as well as shoulders and hips, but thumb joints?

I got the news that both my thumb joints, the joint where your thumb meets the hand bones, have to be replaced. I am having carpal tunnel problems and that will be fixed to, but the thumbs are an intricate surgery that will mean not being able to move my thumb at all for a month, then a month of therapy. Then repeat on other hand.

How will I get along one handed? What about the things I do with my animals and granddaughter? What about sewing? Dishes? Showering? Doing my hair?  I had rotator cuff surgery and was shoulder-less for some time as it froze up on top of it, but still had hands. Now I will be without a hand.

I am trying to look at it as a learning experience and to get a sense of what people have to go through when they have to live like that the rest of their livs. However, if does not make it any more enjoyable to face.

I have been thinking of how it will all play out. My husband is taking off a week to help me, but then what?

As these thoughts go through my mind I am realizing how thankful I am that there is something that can be done. If I did not have this surgery in a few years I would not have the use of my thumbs at all. Imagine that! A month does not seem so long after all. Thank you Lord for what you have given to our Doctors so they can perform “miracles” like this one.

You have heard all the birthday jokes and wise cracks. I know, I have too.

This week I had a birthday. I am getting older, aren’t we all.  I have always dreaded getting older, but the one thing that has helped me all along the way was people thinking my grand kids  were my kids. This rarely happens any more. Oh, it does if I am with my older grand kids, but not being with a 3 yr old.  Only on occasion will someone say “Ask your mom if I can give this to you”. Believe me I beam when they do!

I have little gray hair, at least not noticeable unless you are staring at my head. My hair is thick, granted not as thick as when I was young, but for my age is still pretty good. It is natural curly, so my hair style is not “old lady”. Will not work with my hair anyway. I was also not one of the people that hit 30ish and get their hair cut short. Mine is long. Just to fool em!

Not really. I have never liked short hair on a woman and also… now do not get mad… but I believe that God intended for women to have long hair and men to have short hair. ( We find this in the Bible in several places, one is in 1 Corinthians 11). Because of my convictions, my hair will always be on the longer side.

Back to growing old.  I look back on life and think about things along the way. In reflecting, yes, there are things I would have done differently, places I wish I would have gone and things I wish I never said or wish I would have said.  However, I also believe in a Sovereign God who  will use it for His glory in the end. Things I look back on and think I should have done differently, I now can look and see how HE used it later on for the good.

Birthdays bring about all kinds of thoughts for different people. I do find that many, when “getting up there” do reflect on their life as well as think of the future.  For me, I wonder how many years I have left. Not that I REALLY WANT to know, but yet I wonder. I wonder what is going to happen to our country and how that will effect us older people. It looks gloomy to be honest.

One thing I do know, God has it in His hands and my years and hairs are numbered by Him.

SOOOOOOOOOO another birthday is another blessing. Early retirement here I come…..