John’s thoughts, rants, and crazy ideas
There are many sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and sensations that bring JOY to our hearts. Hearing one of your children’s voices after an extended absence; the touch of a friend when you are going through troubling times; a light breeze on a warm evening; mom cooking in the kitchen. The list for each of us can go on for pages and pages and I would love to hear some of your JOY’s below. Like you, JOY for me comes in…
Our world is filled with acronyms, that list of long words that turn into what we know the item or company by. Organizations are also good at making their name based on the acronym. So let’s see how you do in the first-ever BAGS (Bruns Acronym Game Show) See if you can identify the following acronyms. Answers will be listed below AARP NPR BMW CVS ZIP Code TCBY GEICO PATHWay OK, the last one is a ringer. PATHWay is the…
No, Suzanne isn’t scheduled for a tongue transplant, although that would be pretty cool. With a tongue transplant, she wouldn’t have to find me every time she needs an envelope sealed; I wouldn’t have to be around when she cooks dinner for her dad to see that it tastes right; and most important, She wouldn’t even be stuck on a liquid diet. Yea, I’m sure she would be in for that, but I digress. I don’t know about you, but…
I’ve always enjoyed history. As a young grade-schooler, the Civil War was my favorite. Our family would vacation in Kentucky and the tourist traps would be full of Civil War stuff just ripe for the pickings of a young one like me. In Middle School, I focused more on World War II. I remember playing army with my friends in the neighborhood and using my dad’s WWII artifacts as props; Flags of both sides flying from the porch, Wearing German…
Who doesn’t love flowers? Birthdays, Anniversaries, Funerals, Get Well Wishes, everyone loves flowers. Since getting home from the hospital, lots of friends and family have been sending flowers to Suzanne which bring such joy to her. Bright ones, tall ones, roses, bright yellow, short ones, all sizes. Especially in the past few days, she had 6 different arrangements that really brightened up the house today. Trying to discover all the variables that lead to Suzanne’s lung and sinus mucus problem…
When friends visit and we spend any time outside, the first question we get is “Don’t the trains going by bother you?” The easy answer is “We don’t hear them anymore”. I’m sure the same holds true for my good friends to the east and to the south who are even closer to the tracks. As we get used to noises that are repetitive, our mind has a way of quieting them down to the point that you don’t hear…
There is no bigger job for the caregiver of a loved one than to be ‘The Great Pretender’. “Pretending, that I’m doing well . . . . weee doo, weee doo.” For the ‘Pretender’, the daily minutia of wound dressing, medications, meals/feeding, morning & bedtime routines, and overall well-being of the family member is paramount above all personal needs. Their time to wash their face, brush their hair, and prepare for the day occurs after the loved one is set…
When you hear the term “The Right Stuff” it brings to mind astronauts. Those brave men & women had qualities about themselves that made them do what needed to be done which most people would find difficult to do. Venturing into space where no one has been before. In my mind, the same would hold true for the pioneer who moved west through the United States. Not knowing what laid in store for them but searching for something better for…
I’ve shared before, I’m a numbers guy. When we had our business, I loved the bookkeeping, payroll, balance sheets, sales, projections, and anything related to the numbers of the business. So it was natural for me to put Suzanne’s illness into a format that I had some control over; a medium that gave me a quantitative value for our life together both now and the future. If you have been reading along since the start, you’ve seen the numbers I’ve…
Her sixteen day journey in patients now changes into a lifetime of hope. Nothing moves at a farmer’s pace in the hospital. Decisions have to go up the ladder and back down before actions occur. Boundaries, a chain of command, job authority, territorial responsibility, and all the other descriptions of how individual employees in such a large organization are forced into little boxes, make it tough for the common person to deal with things happening at such a snail’s pace….