Hopefully, troubles are gone for awhile around here. With Oliver safely home after a delightful visit with his buddies, we return to our routine. Finding in necessary to work on my patience in times of disaster, I’ve realized frustration only costs me valuable minutes when minutes count. I’ve been praying for a softened heart and the ability to accept this crazy world as it is. It’s a far stretch to accept so much of what’s happening today. All aspects of healing during this Post-Pandemic nightmare is going to take some time.
When VST became ill, the first 90 patients had just died in a Washington convalescent home. His 9-week illness progressed so quickly, there was no time for the news. The night he died, I turned on the television and saw that 20,000 people had died from something called Covid. Grieving in a widow’s fog while packing and moving, if I wasn’t coughing up a lung, I obviously wasn’t dying of this virus. I had no time or mental energy to watch TV. And so, the months went. I couldn’t tell you the headlines of 2020. That wasn’t my focus.
Now, I realize it was a blessing I wasn’t wrapped up in the news. When I do watch anything about Covid, my heart hurts for the victims. So tragic. My tactic for survival? Stay isolated as much as possible. Continue a healthy lifestyle. Wear a mask if the numbers start to go up. Shop online. Common sense things to keep me apart from anyone sick. Similar to things I’d do if there was an outbreak of the flu. The sheer terror that gripped the nation is lost on me, because, I faced a terror much worse. Cholangiocarcinoma. Like a mouth full of marbles, that word. Cancer of the bile ducts. A Virus? I’ll take my chances with that any day over what VST faced.
In addition to those things, I spend time in the garden with Oliver. As I brown to a glowing shade of bronze, my body works on Vitamin D production. Sunshine sterilizes everything. Any vintage model mother knows this. That’s why we hung our cloth diapers in the sun. Our healthy babies spent time playing outside, something lost on many parents and children today. There is nothing healthier than enjoying fresh air and sunshine. Good for the soul.
Every business in my little town struggles now, needing help. Nothing runs at it should. Just last Sunday, the Tee Pee Bar and Grill shut their doors. Broken AC with no company available to come repair it. When they did re-open, customers were leaving because of the wait. A big HELP WANTED sign sits on Main Street, while customers continue to flood in. Sweltering, the chef and staff worked on Monday in 100 degree temperatures at the stove while waiting for necessary repairs. They’re down to only two servers and a dishwasher. The managers help as much as they can. Patrons are patient as the restaurant limps along.
If I were younger, I’d waitress a bit. But, I’m set like an arrow, ready to fly off into the wild blue yonder. Being tied to a rigid schedule of writing, gardening, hot-tubbing, practicing lazy, and taking care of Oliver has me pretty busy at the moment. The most I can do is contribute to the economy by eating out at the Tee Pee once in awhile.
My heart needs to soften while I wait ten minutes for a glass of water, or find myself a little warm eating my “Lil’ Mo Bet-tah Burger” and sweet potato fries. I need to breathe and count to ten when things cost more than they did the week before. Remembering all the wonderful things that happen to me every day, I need to find forgiveness for the pot-holes in the road of life and carry on. This presents a challenge most days.
Yesterday, with my mutilated teeth still in there temporary jackets, I hit the wall. It’d been weeks since the dentist, in his adorable need to “Do No Harm”, drilled the wrong tooth when preparing my new crown. Solving the problem with two-crowns-4-the-price-of-one, my confidence in the outcome wasn’t great. Then, the wait for the new crowns went on for weeks. Until yesterday. With increasing frustration, I wrote an email to the office manager.
Mind you, it was a very pleasant, heart-felt plea for help. Had they forgotten me? When could I expect to receive the crowns I’d paid for in full? Quicker than a cricket, the phone rang, and the sweetest voice offered a spot at 2:30! Just like that. Now, the normal person might question how long the finished crowns would have sat in some cupboard? Five weeks more?????? But, the new and improved butter-soft heart of mine focused on the excitement of finally getting back to normal.
The new teeth look great. They seem to be a perfect fit. Dr. B and Nurse A were as adorable as I remembered them from before. After consideration, I think I’ll return for the rest of my dental needs. Perfect place? No. Is there such a thing? No. Nice people working in my mouth? That counts for a bunch. And these crowns are beautiful, fitting perfectly.
With my teeth fixed, I turned to the hacker that was still at it. Taking matters into my own hands, I went to work opening “Settings” in the control panel of my blog to find something I might try. Three lone boxes in “Save Yourself From Hackers Here” were unchecked. I checked them. Low and Behold!!!!!!!!! The hacker was frozen in his computerized steps. The nightmare stopped.
For now.
Two big problems solved, as I continue to work on a grateful heart. I’m so blessed in a million little ways. Yesterday, I celebrated the life of a husband of which women would only dream to love. Such memories of years of adventures with the man I would’ve rather been with than anyone else in the world. The one who could finish my sentences before I began them. The one who was an Alpha Male matching me, his Alpha Female, the two of us forming a Power Couple. Not completing or competing, but joining hands to take on the world. My beloved VST. Don’t Worry, Be Happy!
Broken AC — Replaced.
Broken Sewer Pump — Replaced.
Thousands of fallen apricots– Cleaned up an done for the year.
Oliver — Well again.
Two old crowns — Replaced.
Hackers — Stopped in their tracks.
Dishwasher??????????
OHHHHH NOOOOOOO.
A story for another day here on the high desert plains of North Western Nevada.