October Ups and Downs

October really flew by this year, but some days, it seemed as though life was just creeping along. Either way, I have been having a hard time keeping up.

Bill and I spent a few, fabulous days in New Orleans at the beginning of the month; then I had oral surgery, two-and-a-half hours away from home, in Fort Collins, which has meant three car trips back and forth, so far, and some unexpected, coexisting, health issues. I was just beginning to recover when our 13-year-old cat, Charlie, had to stay at the animal hospital three different times, before we made the hard decision to end his suffering. In the midst of it all, I was excited when my new children's book, Grandma, Whatcha Doing? was published and became available for purchase on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. All of a sudden, I had to scramble to put together an author webpage, which can be found at https://grandmajanetk.wordpress.com/, and set up author pages on Amazon and Goodreads.


So many decisions with so little energy...

It didn't help that we had three snowstorms in October. That's right, three, with unseasonably cold weather that is still with us. Once again, for the second year in a row, I feel like winter has hijacked fall. (You can go to last year's blog post to read more of my thoughts about that, in poetry form.)

While I have been recuperating from surgery, I haven't had the ambition or energy for daily walks. I would be more motivated if the temperature were more cooperative. I like to ease into my cold weather walks, but it looks like winter is here to stay. In the last two or three weeks, I've only met my 10,000 step goal a couple of times. When Jackson gazes up at me longingly, hoping I will put on my coat and grab his leash, I have let him down, more often than not.


I tell myself that November will be different, if not warmer. Maybe I'll regain my resolve to walk every day, if only for Jackson's sake. We started off on the right foot today, on this first day of November. I bundled up to ward off the 35 degree weather, thankful that the wind wasn't blowing, for a change. I didn't walk 10,000 steps today, but I did get out and walk for half an hour. It was a good start to a new month.

Have you noticed that life always comes with ups and downs, sometimes one right after the other? It's been that way forever. Check out the story of Adam and Eve, or Noah, or Abraham, in Genesis. Thankfully, God gave them hope in their tough situations. Today, I remember that He wants to do the same for me--and for you.


Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Three Weddings and Too Many Funerals

Image
It's been fifteen years since my middle daughter, Meagan, married Andy. Fifteen years of living and working in and around Gering, and five, almost six, children later, everyone they know would say that they are happily married. Their wedding was big and formal, and held in our church, like many weddings were then, at least here in Gering, with a sit-down dinner and dance afterward at the Civic Center. They both grew up here, and were well-known in the community, so many local people attended their wedding. In addition, they each had large extended families who were willing to travel quite a distance to be present for their big day. It was a memorable day, for sure. Fifteen years ago, our family was quite small. They both settled in to teaching, living in an old house on Andy's family's farm before building a house at the same location about ten years ago. Now, Andy continues to teach at Gering High School, while Meagan has been focusing her teaching skills on her own childr
Read more

Introducing Anna

Image
Anna Elizabeth Tyler was born almost three weeks before her due date, at 10:53 a.m. on Monday, October 30th, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio. She weighed 5.45 pounds, and was 17.25 inches long. Her entrance into this world was more dramatic than we had hoped, since she had to spend eleven days in the NICU to monitor her breathing. But, after the initial scare, she is nursing well and growing appropriately at home. Anna at just a few days old Anna is the only one of our eight grandchildren who has spent any time in NICU. At one month of age, she is still small, but she is finally outgrowing her preemie clothes and moving on to newborn sizes. It's hard to be more than 1200 miles away from family when they need help, but contemporary forms of communication make that much easier than it used to be. Nevertheless, Bill and I were glad to join our daughter, Erin, her husband, Reed, our grandson, Will, and baby Anna, for Thanksgiving. We got to see for ourselves how their whole family is thriving.
Read more

A Little Covid

Image
Like so many of you, I am tired of hearing about Covid-19. As I look back to 2020 and the intervening years since then, I can't help but think that our government, along with many others throughout the world, may have overreacted, insisting on too many, perhaps unnecessary, restrictions. However, the fact remains that I am currently quarantined at home because, for the first time, I officially have Covid. I would never have known I have Covid except that it morphed into a sinus infection. So, I dutifully made my way to Urgent Care because I knew I would need an antibiotic to get over it. And, of course, I had to have a test to rule out Covid and Influenza A. Except, even though my vaccinations are up-to-date, the test was positive for Covid. My Covid symptoms have been minimal, probably because I’ve been vaccinated: some fatigue, some sneezing, and a headache that won't quit. Initially, I passed off those symptoms as my normal allergy symptoms, aggravated by the windy condition
Read more