John’s thoughts, rants, and crazy ideas
Just another typical Saturday in a Chicago Hospital. Unfortunately, we have enough experience now that we can say that. I went home last night to re-load, hopefully for the last time. Got my birds fed, did a load of laundry, discovered I have a critter eating cat food in the barn, found Suzanne’s embroidery, packed and on the road I was. Arriving at the hospital, Suzanne was more than ready to see me. Sharing her stories of what all happened…
There’s a big difference between ‘Killing Time’ and ‘Time Killers’. When you could be productive but choose to do things that just take up time, that becomes a time killer. When you are away from or unable to perform your normal routines or tasks because of the situation, you end up just killing time. Here in Chicago, I’ve been forced into the killing time mode. Waiting 14 hours to hear about Suzanne’s surgery outcome, just killing time. Every morning, waiting…
Calls & texts were the first part of my morning as the inner circle of family and friends wanted to hear a voice. I was unable to visit Suzanne until Noon because my attempt to get an early exemption failed. Amazing how questions in your mind clear after some thoughts. I realized this morning that the fright I saw in Suzanne’s eyes last night is just like a movie plot we have all seen. The patient wakes up after a…
I just can’t comprehend how much the lives of the Apostles changed in just one day. A man, walking along the seashore stopped and asked these men to follow him, follow him across the lands as his associates. For each one that did, their lives changed that day forever. Mostly fisherman, one day these men were casting their nets into the sea and the next day, they were on a journey that would make history. What moved them to make…
Been to the bank lately? Hope it was to make a deposit. I took Suzanne to the bank today, the voicebank. We are working to have her voice saved in a voicebank in case she is unable to speak in the future. Recording words, phrases, and sentences that can be analyzed and create a virtual voice that sounds like her is the goal. We are working on this from two different directions. First, I have put together a large number…
Here’s a cliche question: What would you choose to eat if you only had about 50 meals left to eat in your life? That’s only 18 days of breakfast, lunch, and supper. Suzanne is facing that exact question before surgery on the 23rd. After that, it’s questionable whether she may ever eat solid foods again. When her surgeon told her to enjoy life on February 4th, food and lots of variation have been on her plate. This is the first…
Noun: The sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level. So what is it to be in communion with someone? It’s that relationship you have with a spouse, good friend, or neighbor that takes it to ‘the next level’ of a relationship. You are at that point that you can share almost anything without fear of losing that relationship. In the Church, Communion takes on a different meaning, it…
I’ve never seen a ‘Chicken with its head cut off’ but that saying sure was meant for me today. My day was pre-determined when the first question I asked Suzanne was “Today is Thursday, right?” At that point, I hit the ground running in so many different directions that I knew there had to be more than just four. Cleaning the woodstove out was first on the agenda to ensure that the living room stays toasty for the wife. Then…
We had two pairs of cardinals show up at our feeder this week. They have been gone all winter and to show up this week in these snow-covered near-zero conditions makes us wonder that their internal clocks were off by a couple of weeks this year. But what a joy and wonder to see that bright red spot amongst the mass of regular birds at the feeder. You can also spot them in the trees west of the house just…
Warning: Ensure Plus with Fiber may cause gastric issues including extreme flatulence and diarrhea in some people. I’m sure if are one of the regulars, you are puzzled by this topic. Well, It’s a public service announcement that I hope my previous training in Search Engine Optimization is written in such a way that Search Engines like Google and Bing pick it up. You see, it’s the ‘With Fiber’ version of Ensure Plus, not regular Ensure, or even the old…